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Have you ever looked at your life and realized that while everything is functional on paper, you aren't actually present for it? Welcome to Reports from the Creative Closet! In this dispatch, I'm sharing one of the biggest reasons we feel so drained: we've built a system that treats human beings like machines, and then we do it to ourselves all over again when we get home. If you are tired of living on autopilot, running on a hamster wheel, and scrolling your evening away because you have nothing left in the tank, this episode is your invitation to step off the track and choose aliveness instead. In this episode, I discuss: The Hamster Wheel Trap: How selling our time for a paycheck can turn us into appliances on a hamster wheel and make us afraid to express agency. How "Shoulds" Contaminate Your Life: What a wild animal can teach us about breaking free from guilt and reclaiming how you actually live. The Efficiency Trap: Why fitting 20 pounds of tasks into a 1-pound bag is a great skill in moderation, but a disaster for your energy. Metal, Glass, and Real Life: Why screens are a simulacrum of connection and how to get back to real human presence. My Restorative Creativity Framework™: Why making messy, pointless things for the sheer joy of it is the fastest path back to feeling human. The Liam Neeson Warning: How to use the Daily Credit Report and Bingo Card as reminders of what you've done, without letting your inner critic turn them into productivity weapons. Chapters: 0:00 - Waking up feeling like a machine 3:26 - The hamster wheel and the carpet track 6:47 - How "shoulds" contaminate your life 9:18 - The efficiency trap: Fitting 20 pounds into a 1-pound bag 13:41 - Creativity as the fastest path back to feeling human 18:00 - The Credit Report, Bingo Cards, and the Liam Neeson rule I’m Nancy Norbeck, your Messy Muse Mentor. I specialize in using creativity to reconnect people with themselves, so you can make room for things that interest and delight you and feel like you’re actually alive again. Get Your Takeaways and Join the Community: Grab your free printable Daily Credit Report and Bingo Card here. Have a question for the Curiosity Clinic? Submit it here.  Send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour: Join the Creativity Circle here.  Catch up on earlier Reports from the Creative Closet here.

What if you didn't actually lose your childhood imagination, but simply stopped giving yourself permission to use it? Welcome to Follow Your Curiosity! In this episode, I'm joined by Haitian-born poet, educator, publisher, and cultural curator Enzo Silon Surin. Enzo is the author of American Scapegoat and When My Body Was a Clenched Fist, the founder of Central Square Press, and an instructor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Together, we explore why adults tend to define their creativity away, how modern technology tricks us into consuming other people's lives instead of living our own, and how viewing the world through a "poetic lens" can transform the way we ask questions. In this episode, we discuss: The Dentist Chair Epiphany: Why adults do not lose their imagination, and how we confuse adult responsibility with a lack of creative spark. Consuming vs. Creating: Why we spend hours watching people on screens when we could be having real-world experiences ourselves. The Virtual World Shift: How algorithms and social media comment sections simulate connection while distancing us from reality. Tricking the Inner Critic: Why intentionally making "bad art" bypasses perfectionism and opens the door to genuine play. The Ultimate Reward: How sharing authentic, imperfect creative work helps others feel seen and understood. Episode breakdown: 0:00 - Welcome to Follow Your Curiosity 1:41 - Making kites in Haiti and childhood creativity 3:45 - The dentist debate: Do adults really lose their imagination? 13:58 - Consuming vs. creating: Why we watch others on screens 26:03 - Is technology warping our sense of reality? 37:35 - Poetry as a lens to ask deeper questions 45:29 - Writing "bad" art to trick your inner critic 51:03 - The real reward of art: Helping people feel seen I’m Nancy Norbeck, your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play. Get Your Takeaways and Join the Community: Send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour: Join the Creativity Circle Learn more about Enzo Silon Surin and his work in the show notes! Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in writing. Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join us for the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle. Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks! If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

What is the one decision, pitch, or ticket you’ve been putting off because you’re terrified of what might happen—or what might not? Welcome to Curiosity Clinic: Proceed at Your Own Risk! When I set up this series, it never occurred to me that anyone would ask a question about my life. But listener Michael sent in a big one: "What's one curiosity you followed that ended up changing the direction of your life?" Telling this story turned out to be surprisingly hard. After attempts to write it down this summer, and to record it for the Clinic, ended up being a complete disaster, I decided to practice what I preach: I gave myself permission to do it badly, messy and imperfect. It’s the story of how a curiosity that started in 2012 with actor Sam Neill’s Twitter account eventually led me to spend $1,500 on an event ticket for the chance to meet him—and from there to New Zealand, some unexpected Doctor Who convention encounters, and, eventually, the creation of Follow Your Curiosity. If you stay with me until the end, it might just give you the nudge you need to change your life, too. This episode is an invitation to look at the risks you’ve been talking yourself out of and the tickets you haven't bought yet. I’m Nancy Norbeck, your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play. Episode breakdown: 0:00 — Welcome to the Curiosity Clinic 0:16 — Michael asks a question I wasn’t expecting 5:32 — The $1,500 ticket and a ridiculous chance 8:17 — Why I decided to go alone 18:43 — The trip to New Zealand 25:58 — The shower thought that became a podcast 29:07 — Asking a completely ridiculous question 31:45 — When “no” became easier to hear 39:45 — Buy the ticket. Send the pitch. Don’t wait. Get Your Clinic Takeaways: Grab your free printable Credit Report and Bingo Card here. Submit your own question to the Clinic.

Have you ever stood in the middle of a room full of cardboard packing boxes, felt completely paralyzed by the sheer volume of stuff, and realized you needed a way to bypass the dread?   Welcome to the very first actual episode of the Curiosity Clinic: Proceed at Your Own Risk! This is a brand-new, low-pressure playground built for perfectionists who want to take a break from performative adulthood and embrace some nonsense and play.   First, a quick warning: I have absolutely zero scientific, behavioral, or traffic-safety credentials. I am a master creativity coach taking my very best human guesses at your questions, so please do not go betting anyone or testing these theories out on a busy street! In this inaugural clinical dispatch, we diagnose two excellent inquiries from our first "patients": Lin wants to know how to make the exhausting, daunting task of packing up, moving, and unpacking an entire house actually fun. Suzanne wants to know why drivers refuse to stop for pedestrians in unmarked crosswalks when they’re headed toward a red light anyway. For Lin's moving question, we look at how to bypass resistance and make a heavy chore feel lighter using some of my favorite creative coaching tools. For Suzanne's traffic question, I step back from professional coaching to offer my amateur, observational human guess on driver behavior.   Get Your Clinic Takeaways: Grab your free printable Credit Report and Customizable Bingo Card here. Submit your own weird, confusing, or absurd question to the clinic here.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.

Have you ever shared a creative project that you felt really good about, only to have someone else's casual criticism completely crush your joy and send you into a downward spiral?   In this week's Report from the Creative Closet, I’m sharing a heartbreaking online post that has been on my mind all week. It’s from a grown man who tried music production, had fun, and loved his first creation—until a friend's feedback convinced him he was terrible, leading him to believe that artists are "cowards and liars" who rely on genetic destiny rather than hard work. We unpack this painful situation to look at how adult expectations act as a form of creative amputation, slicing us away from our own souls. I share why your creative practice requires you to protect your quiet "Jiminy Cricket" voice from the loudspeakers of external critics, why the Restorative Creativity Framework(TM) is designed to bring those dormant parts of you back to life, and why the Fifth Doctor’s "Brave heart" rule is the ultimate key to giving yourself permission to create badly.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Zombie Effect: Why society's rejection of adult play cuts us off from the external animal form of our souls. Jiminy Cricket vs. The Loudspeaker: How to keep external critiques from overriding your personal data and enjoyment. The Myth of Genetics: Why assuming creativity is a magical, effortless gift leads directly to despair, and how to embrace the slow process of learning. The Toddler's Rage to Master: Why toddlers fall flat on their faces, laugh, and try again, and why adults lose the patience to do the same. Mark Cuban's AI Mistake: Why iterating instantly with technology destroys the entire psychological benefit of the creative journey. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." Join the Creativity Circle.   Episode breakdown:   0:00 Welcome to the Creative Closet 0:07 The heartbreak of suppressed creativity 2:30 Creative Amputation (Are we zombies?) 5:21 When critics kill your joy 10:58 The "genetic" creative myth 12:50 How to fall and laugh like a toddler 19:34 Why Mark Cuban is wrong about AI 21:42 Reconnecting with your aliveness   Please note: The original Reddit post isn’t linked because I don’t want to direct traffic toward the person who wrote it or encourage anyone to contact or harass them. Please don’t try to track them down.

Consider this your official invitation to exit performative adulthood for a few minutes and play in the sandbox of the unknown. This brand-new series is a low-pressure space for the weird, confusing, and delightfully trivial questions that pop into your head when you're supposed to be doing something else.   Episodes will release here and on YouTube as time and interest allow.   What’s your weirdest question? Send it my way and let's tackle it together!   Curiosity Clinic is entertainment and conversation, not professional medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice. I reserve the right to decide which questions I answer.

Have you ever faced a moment where your life was brought to a complete halt, and you realized you needed something deeper than distractions to survive?   This week, my guest is documentary photographer and artist Nathalie Latham, whose life took a dramatic turn when she was diagnosed with stage-three cancer at age 39. Nathalie joins me to share her extraordinary story of how she used oil pastels and drawings as a literal confirmation of life during eight days of intensive, round-the-clock radiation.   We talk about the magic of growing up in a musical family, the power of having just one adult who understands you as a child, and the silent pressure of the "safe" career path. Nathalie also shares why it took fourteen years before she could bear to look at her radiation drawings again, and how she now infuses her mantra practice into drawings of prayers for peace.   It's an invitation to stop overthinking your creative expression and start treating your creative practice as a vital act of self-connection.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play. In this episode, we discuss: The Power of One Person: Why having just one teacher stand up for your creativity can change the trajectory of your life. The Safety Tangent: Why we often choose the responsible path to please our families, and how we eventually find our way back home. Art Store Radiation: Why Nathalie packed a box of art supplies for her cancer treatment room and how drawing became her proof of life. Befriending the Trauma: The slow, patient process of healing and learning to find wisdom in our most difficult experiences. Prayers for Peace: How to combine spiritual practice with your creative practice to create a landscape of inner calm. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." Join the Creativity Circle.   Episode breakdown:   0:00 Introduction 1:21 Growing up in a musical family 5:12 Finding sanctuary in the art room 11:50 Choosing a "safe" career path 18:14 Following curiosity to filmmaking 21:11 Art supplies in the radiation room 32:40 Facing the trauma of the drawings 40:09 Infusing mantra and peace into art 42:05 How traveling shifts your perspective   Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in visual arts. Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join us for the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle. Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks! If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Have you ever looked at your life and realized that while everything is "okay" on paper, you feel like you're speaking a completely different language than everyone around you?   In this week's Report from the Creative Closet, we’re looking at what happens when we challenge our idea of what "normal" is. From the culture shock of a Doctor Who convention to growing up in a family that didn't understand the things I loved, we talk about why normal is a matter of perception, not a fixed rule. I discuss why your creative practice thrives when you find people who finally understand you, and how my Restorative Creativity Framework helps you rediscover the real you hidden under the "shoulds" of adulthood.   It’s an invitation to stop performing for the sake of being "good enough" and start returning to the creative capacity you were born with.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Relative Normal: Why the definition of "normal" changes depending on where you stand. The Power of Recognition: Why being with people who understand your "geeky" interests is a fundamental human need. Masking vs. Truth: How to know who you are under the layers of cultural expectations and performance reviews. Returning to Self: Why the things we love are the signals that tell us who we really are. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." Join the Creativity Circle.

What if the very thing you're trying to avoid—making a mistake—was actually the signal that it was finally time to rest?   In this week's conversation, I'm talking with artist Jackie Haynes. We talk about why the rigid discipline of adulthood often makes us fear the very "rinsing" of our skills that leads to new growth. From her more than seventeen years building an indestructible costume business in Manchester to her "handbrake turn" into a PhD in experimental art, Jackie shares why making mistakes is a fundamental part of the creative medicine we all need.   It’s an invitation to stop overthinking your way to a creative solution and start finding the creative oxygen that lets you breathe again.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Mistake Rule: Why Jackie only allowed herself to stop working once she messed up—and how it saved her from burnout. The Handbrake Turn: Why closing a successful business to pursue art was an act of self-trust, not failure. Merz Pies: How Jackie uses local landscapes and found objects to tell stories through experimental art. The Power of Play: Why Jackie’s 800-costume inventory is now a hands-on archive for community research and curiosity. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." We send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they're kept busy rather than getting in our way. Join the Creativity Circle.    Episode breakdown:   0:00 Introduction 1:33 A Creative Kid & The Orange Elephants 4:11 The "Mistake Rule": Working until it breaks 6:40 Starting the Costume Business in Pre-Digital Manchester 11:31 The Yellow Pages Advantage 15:24 Building an Indestructible Inventory 25:54 Digital Revolution vs. Accidental Discovery 33:38 The Handbrake Turn: Closing the Shop for an MA 38:54 What is an Art Practice-Based PhD? 45:41 Merz Pies and the Spirit of Kurt Schwitters 55:09 Making the Examiners Work for It (The Humor Section) 1:03:57 The Costumes as a Community Resource   Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in visual arts. Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join us for the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle. Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks! If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Have you ever tried to force yourself into a new habit through sheer willpower, only to end up exhausted and paralyzed a week later?   In this week's Report from the Creative Closet, I'm exploring the High Expectations Trap. We talk about the deep-seated cultural belief that change only happens through hard work and discipline—and how that belief actually triggers our internal surveillance system to shut us down. From the "Puritanical Trap" of the American work ethic to the reason we need to stop treating our lives like a performance review, we look at how to rebuild trust through permission and play.   It’s an invitation to stop overthinking your way to a "better version" of yourself and start returning to the creative capacity you were born with. I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play. In this episode, we discuss: The Discipline Fallacy: Why high pressure is actually the enemy of the pursuit of excellence. Internal Surveillance: Why your inner critic needs a vacation to a local summer camp ropes course. Restorative CreativityTM: How to trade "Transformation Theater" for a genuine return to yourself. The Luke Skywalker Principle: Why the biggest changes always start with tiny, quiet experiments. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." We send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they're kept busy rather than getting in our way. Join the Creativity Circle.

When was the last time you actually met you? Not the role you perform for your family, your job, or your community, but the version of you that exists when no one else is watching?   In this week's conversation, I'm talking with playwright and actress Anne Odeke. We talk about why the rigid discipline of adulthood often acts like a clamshell that keeps our real selves hidden and how to find the medicine that helps us open back up. From the accidental path to teaching in flip-flops to her history-making play, Princess Essex, at Shakespeare's Globe, Anne shares why being seen—truly seen—is a fundamental human need.   It’s an invitation to stop overthinking your way to a creative solution and start finding the creative oxygen that lets you breathe again.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Clamshell Effect: Why we walk around closed off and how to stay open to your own creative aliveness. Jumping into the Fire: Why the sense of discovery is more important than the end result. Princess Essex: The true story of a woman who pretended to be a princess just to be seen for a day. Creative Oxygen: Why finding what makes you feel human is a necessity, not a luxury. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." We send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they're kept busy rather than getting in our way. Join the Creativity Circle.   Episode breakdown:   0:00 Introduction 0:38 From Teaching to Shakespeare’s Globe 1:52 Storytelling as a Family Nature 6:35 The Drama Teacher Who Led with Care 11:52 Stumbling into a Teaching Career 15:33 The "Yes, And" of Life: Jumping into the Fire 23:59 The Nudge that Led to Drama School 27:18 Mountview Training as Medicine for the Soul 30:17 The Clamshell: Staying Open to Everything 41:05 First Day at Shakespeare’s Globe 46:38 The Origin of Princess Essex 51:29 An Accidental Conversation at the Globe 58:42 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome 1:10:54 Find Your Oxygen: Reclaiming Creativity   Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in writing and theatre. Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join us for the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle. Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks! If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Have you ever had a brilliant "Aha!" moment about your own behavior, only to find yourself repeating the same pattern just a few days later?   In this week's Report from the Creative Closet, I'm looking at the Insight Trap. We talk about why understanding your patterns isn't enough to actually change them—and why your brain is often "too well-trained" to stop self-monitoring just because you noticed it. From the neural grooves that keep us stuck in performative adulthood to the fear of flying without a net during play, we explore how to rebuild trust through messy, low-stakes repetition. It’s an invitation to stop overthinking your way to a solution and start returning to the creative spontaneity you were born with.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Insight Trap: Why patterns don't disappear just because we finally see them. Automatic Self-Monitoring: Why years of scanning for approval become a default "groove" in your brain. The Netless Flight: Why open-ended play feels terrifying to adults used to performing specific roles. Repetition vs. Analysis: Why small repetitions matter more than joining another chapter of Overthinkers Anonymous. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." We send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they're kept busy rather than getting in our way. Join the Creativity Circle.

This episode discusses sensitive subjects, including psychiatric abuse, false memories, psychiatric over-medication, and mental health struggles involving self-harm.   What happens when a culture’s collective fear is weaponized against the very people seeking help?   In this week's conversation, I’m talking with my friend and author Jamie Lyn Weaver. Jamie’s new memoir, Locked in the Psych Ward, chronicles her survival during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. She was kept in a locked ward for four years, heavily medicated, and coached into "recovering" memories of horrific events that never occurred.   Jamie discusses the audacity it took to finally put her story on paper and how the writing process itself became her path back to aliveness. We explore the role of "retractors" in healing and why her story is a vital warning for the world we live in today.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Anatomy of a Panic: How psychiatric "experts" used leading questions and hypnosis to manufacture a crisis. The Witness Effect: Why having a safe, non-judgmental witness is the most powerful tool for creative and personal recovery. True vs. Not True: The mental struggle of surviving a ward that functioned like a cult. Creative Resilience: How Jamie moved from a childhood belief that she wasn't creative to writing a prize-winning memoir. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour and just enjoy some creative company? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." We send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they're kept busy rather than getting in our way. Join the Creativity Circle.   Episode breakdown:   0:00 About this episode, and content warning 1:05 Introducing Jamie Lyn Weaver: Surviving the Satanic Panic 2:50 The award-winning art Jamie forgot she made 5:53 Inside the Locked Ward: Why Jamie refused art therapy 8:42 The "Braun" Ward: 4 years of false memories and forced meds 12:56 The lack of advocacy and the "insurance game" 15:19 Dungeons & Dragons, Heavy Metal, and the 80s Panic 19:11 From intuitive writing to a completed memoir 24:15 The 100 Moments: Using structure to process the impossible 28:16 Finding the right coach: The power of being witnessed 32:58 "The police will meet you at the bottom of the stairs" 36:52 The "Feeling Wheel" and finding words for trauma 41:50 The "Apothecary" Reality: Surviving over-medication 46:33 Why being a "retractor" is a long road to aliveness 51:43 Jamie’s warning for the modern world   Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in writing. Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join us for the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle. Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks! If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Have you ever looked at your life and realized that while everything is "okay" on paper, you feel like you're just playing a role?   In this week's Report from the Creative Closet, I'm diving into the Performance Trap. We talk about why the modern world is obsessed with optimization and metrics—and how that obsession is actually stripping us of our humanity. From the "proceduralization" of our communities to the internalized pressure to be "endlessly capable," we look at how to reclaim our spontaneity.   It’s an invitation to stop treating your life like a performance review and start returning to the creative capacity you were born with.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through curiosity and play.   In this episode, we discuss: Dehumanizing Systems: Why HOAs and automated phone lines are designed to block human connection. The Self-Monitoring Trap: Why "metricking" your sleep and hobbies creates more exhaustion, not less. Trusting Your Instincts: How to stop letting external algorithms (and internal critics) drive your decisions. The Power of Play: Why we are starving for spaces where we don't have to be "good enough" to belong. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? We get together once a month for a relaxed, co-working-style session where you can work on whatever you want—without any pressure to do it "right." We send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they're kept busy rather than getting in our way. Join the Creativity Circle.

What happens when you realize the very things meant to connect us are actually stealing your creative spark?   This week, we conclude our special 30th-anniversary archive release with actor Paul McGann. Originally recorded in 2020, this conversation remains a vital guide for anyone trying to navigate a creative life without losing their humanity to the digital machine.   Paul shares his prolific journey into audio drama with Big Finish, his reflections on the different regenerations of the Doctor, and the fascinating reasons he decided to walk away from social media entirely. From his "favorite" role in Our Mutual Friend to the "theatre of the mind," Paul offers a masterclass in staying true to your own creative fingerprint.   I’m Nancy Norbeck, and I’m your Messy Muse Mentor. I help people feel alive again through creativity, curiosity, and play.   In this episode, we discuss: The Digital De-assimilation: Why Paul decided he didn't want to be the "kind of person" social media was making him. The Power of Audio: Why working in the "theatre of the mind" is qualitatively different and physically freeing. Richard E. Grant: A look at their rare on-screen reunion and the power of natural enthusiasm. The Next Story: Why for a professional actor, the most important role is always the one that’s coming next. Ready to send your inner critic to summer camp for an hour? Join the Creativity Circle.   Episode breakdown:   0:00 Part 2: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the TV Movie 1:40 Digital recording & the "wooden rabbit hutches" of Big Finish 4:15 Working fast: How to record a script in 6 hours 10:20 Dropping the extraneous: Learning while doing 12:56 Why Paul never watches or listens to his own work 17:15 Revisiting old roles like "holiday snaps" 19:11 Reunited with Richard E. Grant in Always Crashing in the Same Car 28:30 Stepping into Tom Baker’s shoes for Shada 36:52 Jodie Whittaker: "She cracked it instantly" 40:10 Matt Smith: The "beautiful skinny 12-year-old" alien 46:33 The 1996 audition: Why Phil Segal couldn't tell the brothers apart 51:00 Eugene Wrayburn: The role that "fitted" perfectly 1:09:10 "Are you on Twitter?" (The 2020 Social Media context) 1:15:45 The Jaron Lanier lesson: 10 arguments for deleting your accounts 1:20:20 How social media makes you a person you don't want to be 1:24:45 Richard E. Grant: A master class in natural enthusiasm   Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in theatre and  Doctor Who. Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join us for the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle. Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks! If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.