

The Creative Process · Arts, Culture & Society: Books, Film, Music, TV, Art, Writing, Creativity, Education, Environment, Theatre, Dance, LGBTQ, Climate Change, Social Justice, Spirituality, Feminism, Tech, Sustainability
Mia Funk
Exploring the fascinating minds of creative people. Conversations with writers, artists and creative thinkers across the Arts and STEM. We discuss their life, work and artistic practice. Winners of Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Pulitzer, Nobel Prize, leaders and public figures share real experiences and offer valuable insights. Notable guests and participating museums and organizations include: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Neil Patrick Harris, Smithsonian, Roxane Gay, Musée Picasso, EARTHDAY-ORG, Neil Gaiman, UNESCO, Joyce Carol Oates, Mark Seliger, Acropolis Museum, Hilary Mantel, Songwriters Hall of Fame, George Saunders, The New Museum, Lemony Snicket, Pritzker Architecture Prize, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine Galleries, Joe Mantegna, PETA, Greenpeace, EPA, Morgan Library and Museum, and many others.
The interviews are hosted by founder and creative educator Mia Funk with the participation of students, universities, and collaborators from around the world. These conversations are also part of our traveling exhibition.
The interviews are hosted by founder and creative educator Mia Funk with the participation of students, universities, and collaborators from around the world. These conversations are also part of our traveling exhibition.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 25, 2021 • 10min
Merging Art, Mathematics & Technology in the World of Origami w/ ROBERT J. LANG - Highlights
“In origami design, historically people have always used their intuition. They probably started by folding traditional shapes or folding designs by others, developed an intuitive understanding of how the paper behaves and then from there they can explore that intuition to create new shapes. That was the way design worked for years and years, that was the way it worked for me, but I eventually hit a limit to what I could do with my intuition and so part of my motivation for exploring mathematical methods was to externalise some of the design process. If I could get some of the design process on paper in a meaningful way, then I could handle more complicated goals than I could just fit in my brain.”Robert J. Lang has been working with origami for over fifty years and is now recognized as one of the world’s leading masters of the art and one of the pioneers of the marriage of origami with mathematics and technology. He has consulted on applications of origami to medical devices, airbag design, and space telescopes, is the author or co-author of twenty-one books and numerous technical articles, and lectures and consults on the connections between origami, science, and technology.· langorigami.com· www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 25, 2021 • 56min
ROBERT J. LANG - Master Origamist, Physicist & Author
Robert J. Lang has been working with origami for over fifty years and is now recognized as one of the world’s leading masters of the art and one of the pioneers of the marriage of origami with mathematics and technology. He has consulted on applications of origami to medical devices, airbag design, and space telescopes, is the author or co-author of twenty-one books and numerous technical articles, and lectures and consults on the connections between origami, science, and technology.· langorigami.com· www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 24, 2021 • 10min
Hustle & Post Traumatic Hood Disorder w/ Poet DAVID TOMAS MARTINEZ - Highlights
"When I was younger, I never really thought of living past twenty-five…I felt like I was in a movie. I thought that I was living this movie idea of things and there’d be gunshots around you. You hear it hitting the concrete, and you’re like ‘Oh, shit’. Seriously, I didn’t think of it as real life. When you’re young, the idea that I’d known people that were killed early, you go to prison. These just felt like matter of fact. They seemed to be this part of life and you just accepted them.”David Tomas Martinez is the author of two collections of poetry, Hustle and Post Traumatic Hood Disorder, both from Sarabande Books. Martinez is a Pushcart winner, CantoMundo fellow, a Breadloaf Stanley P. Young Fellow, NEA poetry fellow, and NEA Big Read author. Martinez lives in Brooklyn.· davidtomasmartinez.com
· www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 24, 2021 • 1h 13min
DAVID TOMAS MARTINEZ - Pushcart Award-Winning Poet
David Tomas Martinez is the author of two collections of poetry, Hustle and Post Traumatic Hood Disorder, both from Sarabande Books. Martinez is a Pushcart winner, CantoMundo fellow, a Breadloaf Stanley P. Young Fellow, NEA poetry fellow, and NEA Big Read author. Martinez lives in Brooklyn.· davidtomasmartinez.com · www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 22, 2021 • 9min
GAVIN JAMES CREEL - Tony & Olivier Award-Winning Actor, Singer & Songwriter - Highlights
“To not honor that we are all creative, beautiful, interesting deep, rich individuals. We’re not zeros and ones on a spreadsheet. We’re not scientifically explained. We are not mathematically judged. We are imperfect blobs of emotion and bone and spirit and life and when we come together there is nothing greater than the chemistry and the alchemy of musical theater… There’s a joy, there’s a bounce, there’s an effervescence that’s part of that music. I had a great teacher in college, the head of our program Brent Wagner said, 'With lyrics, I can tell you to open the door, but with music I can tell you how.’ Lyrics are information and music is emotion.”Most highly noted for his stunning work in musical theater, Gavin James Creel is a Tony & Olivier Award-winning actor, singer and songwriter. On Broadway, he’s performed in shows including Throughly Modern Millie, Hair, The Book of Mormon, Waitress and Hello, Dolly!, his performance in which won him his first Tony Award. Creel is also a LGBTQ+ activist, having done much to raise awareness and fight for marriage equality.· www.imdb.com/name/nm1342128· www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 22, 2021 • 53min
GAVIN JAMES CREEL - A Tony-Winning Journey from The Book of Mormon to Hello, Dolly!
Most highly noted for his stunning work in musical theater, Gavin James Creel is a Tony & Olivier Award-winning actor, singer and songwriter. On Broadway, he’s performed in shows including Throughly Modern Millie, Hair, The Book of Mormon, Waitress and Hello, Dolly!, his performance in which won him his first Tony Award. Creel is also a LGBTQ+ activist, having done much to raise awareness and fight for marriage equality.· www.gavincreel.com· www.creativeprocess.infoHELLO, DOLLY! Photo by Julieta Cervantes

Jun 18, 2021 • 13min
FRANÇOIS CLEMMONS - 1st African American Actor on Children’s TV - Officer Clemmons on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood - Highlights
“I always find it an ironic thing to think about the fact that Fred Rogers was colour-blind. He could barely tell a blue from a grey. I was young and to him I was a child and I certainly played the role of a child and he played the role of parent… He was profoundly patient.”Dr. François Clemmons is perhaps best known as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’s Officer Clemmons. He made history as the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children’s television program. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College, a MFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and an honorary degree from Middlebury College. In 1973, he won a Grammy Award for a recording of Porgy and Bess; in 1986, he founded and directed the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble; and from 1997 until his retirement in 2013, Clemmons was the Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence and director of the Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir at Middlebury College in Vermont, where he currently resides.· https://francoisclemmons.net · www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 18, 2021 • 1h 21min
Grammy Award Winner FRANÇOIS CLEMMONS on Pioneering African American Representation on Children's TV
Dr. François Clemmons is perhaps best known as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’s Officer Clemmons. He made history as the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children’s television program. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College, a MFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and an honorary degree from Middlebury College. In 1973, he won a Grammy Award for a recording of Porgy and Bess; in 1986, he founded and directed the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble; and from 1997 until his retirement in 2013, Clemmons was the Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence and director of the Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir at Middlebury College in Vermont, where he currently resides.· https://francoisclemmons.net · www.creativeprocess.info

Jun 15, 2021 • 11min
Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth with AVI LOEB - Highlights
Avi Loeb is a Professor of Science at Harvard University and a bestselling author with lists of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and more. Loeb wrote 8 books and over 800 papers on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the future of the universe. He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy (2011-2020), and Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space.Website: lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/Essays in Scientific American: lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/Opinion.html· www.oneplanetpodcast.org· www.creativeprocess.infoPhoto: Lotem Loeb

Jun 15, 2021 • 1h 1min
Are We Alone in the Universe? AVI LOEB - Harvard Astronomer, NY Times Bestselling Author of Extraterrestrial
Avi Loeb is a Professor of Science at Harvard University and a bestselling author with lists of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and more. Loeb wrote 8 books and over 800 papers on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the future of the universe. He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy (2011-2020), and Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space.Website: lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/Essays in Scientific American: lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/Opinion.html· www.oneplanetpodcast.org· www.creativeprocess.infoPhoto: Lotem Loeb


