A Breath of Fresh Air With Brian Eno

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Oct 3, 2025

Brian Eno, a pioneering force in ambient music and producer for legends like David Bowie and U2, shares his insights on art as grown-up play. He believes art helps us navigate feelings and personal history shapes our emotional reactions to it. Eno contrasts the generative music he’s known for with modern AI, warning about technology’s control over creativity. He discusses the evolving role of music in our lives, emphasizing the importance of artistic ecosystems. Join him for a thought-provoking exploration of creativity and technology.

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INSIGHT

Art As Adult Play

Art functions as adult play that trains our minds to imagine and feel alternative realities.
Brian Eno argues this play cultivates emotional attunement and mental flexibility rather than direct survival benefits.

INSIGHT

Feelings Are First Antennae

Feelings act as fast, primary antennae that form quick judgments before reasoning kicks in.
Eno says these rapid feelings often guide useful first impressions that we then backfill with facts.

INSIGHT

Recover What You Really Like

Pay attention to what you truly like amid constant persuasion from advertising and politics.
Eno suggests probing why something moves you to recover reliable personal taste.

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Brian Eno’s music opens up worlds I love to step into during trying times. And this conversation with Eno did the same thing.

Eno is a trailblazing musician and producer who’s worked on seminal records by U2, David Bowie, the Talking Heads and Coldplay, among others. But Eno isn’t just a great collaborator with other artists; he’s also a great collaborator with machines. He’s been experimenting with music technology for decades. Long before we started worrying about ChatGPT replacing human creativity, Eno was tinkering with generative systems to pioneer ambient music – a genre that has deeply influenced how we listen to music today. Eno’s use (and playful misuse) of technology has expanded the possibilities of what music and sound can be.

Many of you emailed in asking for a break from the news. Here it is.

This episode contains strong language.

Mentioned:

What Art Does by Brian Eno and Bette Adriaanse

East West Street by Philippe Sands

Silence by John Cage

Book Recommendations:

Printing and the Mind of Man edited by John Carter and Percy H. Muir

A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander

Naples ’44 by Norman Lewis

Music Recommendations:

The Rural Blues

“The Velvet Underground” by the Velvet Underground

The Consolers

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker, Kate Sinclair and Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Aman Sahota and Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. Transcript editing by Sarah Murphy. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Alyssa Jane Moxley, Sophie Abramowitz, Geeta Dayal, Jack Hamilton and Victor Szabo.

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