Books & Writers · The Creative Process: Novelists, Screenwriters, Playwrights, Poets, Non-fiction Writers & Journalists Talk Writing, Life & Creativity

"Actors are remarkable teachers. They are often brilliant in their unique way, often not in a way that is schooled necessarily. They often don't have the language some of us who are more academically inclined have, but you underestimate their brilliance at your peril. And, in fact, you are missing an opportunity if you presume that they are just reading words. They are performing a very particular kind of magic in their process when they are great. And they save you constantly. They find solutions to your weaknesses in the words. They help you make implausible situations more plausible in your staging.""I've, like anyone, always had a fascination with movie stars, an attraction to the romance of who they are, men and women. So I wasn't immune, but what I realized very quickly is that I could acknowledge that and try to take those things that had always drawn me to the movies and provide them to the audience and have them really lift up these stories that I wanted to tell because finally, it was the stories themselves that I was trying to serve. There were ideas in those stories. Some of the ideas were about the characters and personal, but some of the ideas were a larger canvas. They were often about subjects. And the subjects could have been historical, they could have been political, they could have been social, cultural subjects, but they had some other agenda in them. And yet, that's not why people go to the movies. They go to the movies because they want to see relationships. They want to see - whether it's beautiful people or powerful people - they're drawn to relationships. In some sense, you’re creating a kind of stew where you're doing more than one thing at a time."Ed Zwick is a writer, director, and producer who's been active in the film industry for over 40 years. He has been nominated for two Golden Globes for directing the films Glory and Legends of the Fall and received an Academy Award as one of the producers of Shakespeare in Love. Zwick continues to work with his longtime friend and partner, Marshall Herskovitz, at their company Bedford Falls, where they created the widely loved TV show Thirtysomething. His memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions details many of his greatest experiences in the film industry. www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Ed-Zwick/212290077https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001880/www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Ed Zwick is a writer, director, and producer who's been active in the film industry for over 40 years. He has been nominated for two Golden Globes for directing the films Glory and Legends of the Fall and received an Academy Award as one of the producers of Shakespeare in Love. Zwick continues to work with his longtime friend and partner, Marshall Herskovitz, at their company Bedford Falls, where they created the widely loved TV show Thirtysomething. His memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions details many of his greatest experiences in the film industry. "Actors are remarkable teachers. They are often brilliant in their unique way, often not in a way that is schooled necessarily. They often don't have the language some of us who are more academically inclined have, but you underestimate their brilliance at your peril. And, in fact, you are missing an opportunity if you presume that they are just reading words. They are performing a very particular kind of magic in their process when they are great. And they save you constantly. They find solutions to your weaknesses in the words. They help you make implausible situations more plausible in your staging.""I've, like anyone, always had a fascination with movie stars, an attraction to the romance of who they are, men and women. So I wasn't immune, but what I realized very quickly is that I could acknowledge that and try to take those things that had always drawn me to the movies and provide them to the audience and have them really lift up these stories that I wanted to tell because finally, it was the stories themselves that I was trying to serve. There were ideas in those stories. Some of the ideas were about the characters and personal, but some of the ideas were a larger canvas. They were often about subjects. And the subjects could have been historical, they could have been political, they could have been social, cultural subjects, but they had some other agenda in them. And yet, that's not why people go to the movies. They go to the movies because they want to see relationships. They want to see - whether it's beautiful people or powerful people - they're drawn to relationships. In some sense, you’re creating a kind of stew where you're doing more than one thing at a time."www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Ed-Zwick/212290077https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001880/www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastImage Courtesy of Dick Thomas JohnsonCreative Commons 2.0

"I wrote Survival at Stake because I've been working in animal rights for nearly the past 25 years. Throughout that time, one common question has been asked: Well, shouldn't we deal with human issues first. But animal rights are human rights. Animal rights is environmentalism. These things are not distinct. And that's the point I was really trying to make in my book. I was inspired to write it because of the COVID-19 crisis. It just brings us back to the point of why it is so important to teach people, young people, and young men the importance of being kind to everyone, animals included. If you teach them that, I think the other lessons start to much more automatically transfer over."Poorva Joshipura is PETA U.K. Senior Vice President. She is the Author of Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals is Key to Human Existence and For a Moment of Taste: How What You Eat Impacts Animals, the Planet and Your Health.https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/24/2jdwp5ogezjqb5wxg76eqfqeq/0/14474d94f4e832cd573ffc39be471e57616314b12314a26ca7dd9c2bbf559ac0www.harpercollins.com/products/for-a-moment-of-taste-poorva-joshipura?variant=39399505592354www.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

How can we improve animal-human relationships? How can we increase our sensitivity to the other animals who share this planet with us?Poorva Joshipura is PETA U.K. Senior Vice President. She is the Author of Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals is Key to Human Existence and For a Moment of Taste: How What You Eat Impacts Animals, the Planet and Your Health."I wrote Survival at Stake because I've been working in animal rights for nearly the past 25 years. Throughout that time, one common question has been asked: Well, shouldn't we deal with human issues first. But animal rights are human rights. Animal rights is environmentalism. These things are not distinct. And that's the point I was really trying to make in my book. I was inspired to write it because of the COVID-19 crisis. It just brings us back to the point of why it is so important to teach people, young people, and young men the importance of being kind to everyone, animals included. If you teach them that, I think the other lessons start to much more automatically transfer over."https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/24/2jdwp5ogezjqb5wxg76eqfqeq/0/14474d94f4e832cd573ffc39be471e57616314b12314a26ca7dd9c2bbf559ac0www.harpercollins.com/products/for-a-moment-of-taste-poorva-joshipura?variant=39399505592354www.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

"The point I explore in Being Human is that humans have constraints, and we only have our capabilities and the human condition; therefore, the whole course of world history has played out in the interplay between those constraints and capabilities. Talking about the constraints of our cognition, our memories are clearly limited. And on the whole, that doesn't really affect our everyday lives. Our cognition and our psychology developed under very different circumstances in East Africa and the savannah and the grasslands. Our brain has evolved to make survival decisions quickly and on the whole effectively. There's a whole area of psychological neuroscience research to do with cognitive biases. How our brains, often unbeknownst to us, sort of hidden behind the scenes, make assumptions or rational errors in the decisions that they make. So there's a whole chapter about how we have these fundamental flaws in our cognition, sort of bugs in the programming code of our psychology, if you like, and how they come about and what might be the causes behind them, but also what some of the effects of those have been through history, through these cognitive biases. I talk about things like confirmation bias. We are very resistant to changing our minds, changing our opinion on something even in the face of mounting evidence that shows we were wrong."How have our psychology and cognitive biases altered the course of human history? What would you do if you had to rebuild our world from scratch?Lewis Dartnell is an author, researcher, and holds the Professorship in Science Communication at the University of Westminster. He researches astrobiology and the search for microbial life on Mars. He also works as a scientific consultant for the media and has appeared in numerous TV documentaries and radio shows. Dr. Dartnell has won several awards for his science writing and outreach work. He has published five books, including The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch; Origins: How the Earth Made Us; and Being Human: How Our Biology Shaped World History. http://www.lewisdartnell.comhttp://lewisdartnell.com/en-gb/2013/11/the-knowledge-how-to-rebuild-our-world-from-scratchwww.penguin.co.uk/books/433955/origins-by-lewis-dartnell/9781784705435www.penguin.co.uk/books/442759/being-human-by-dartnell-lewis/9781847926708www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastPhoto credit: Shortlist/Paul Stuart

How have our psychology and cognitive biases altered the course of human history? What would you do if you had to rebuild our world from scratch?Lewis Dartnell is an author, researcher, and holds the Professorship in Science Communication at the University of Westminster. He researches astrobiology and the search for microbial life on Mars. He also works as a scientific consultant for the media and has appeared in numerous TV documentaries and radio shows. Dr. Dartnell has won several awards for his science writing and outreach work. He has published five books, including The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch; Origins: How the Earth Made Us; and Being Human: How Our Biology Shaped World History. "The point I explore in Being Human is that humans have constraints, and we only have our capabilities and the human condition; therefore, the whole course of world history has played out in the interplay between those constraints and capabilities. Talking about the constraints of our cognition, our memories are clearly limited. And on the whole, that doesn't really affect our everyday lives. Our cognition and our psychology developed under very different circumstances in East Africa and the savannah and the grasslands. Our brain has evolved to make survival decisions quickly and on the whole effectively. There's a whole area of psychological neuroscience research to do with cognitive biases. How our brains, often unbeknownst to us, sort of hidden behind the scenes, make assumptions or rational errors in the decisions that they make. So there's a whole chapter about how we have these fundamental flaws in our cognition, sort of bugs in the programming code of our psychology, if you like, and how they come about and what might be the causes behind them, but also what some of the effects of those have been through history, through these cognitive biases. I talk about things like confirmation bias. We are very resistant to changing our minds, changing our opinion on something even in the face of mounting evidence that shows we were wrong."http://www.lewisdartnell.comhttp://lewisdartnell.com/en-gb/2013/11/the-knowledge-how-to-rebuild-our-world-from-scratchwww.penguin.co.uk/books/433955/origins-by-lewis-dartnell/9781784705435www.penguin.co.uk/books/442759/being-human-by-dartnell-lewis/9781847926708www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastPhoto credit: Shortlist/Paul Stuart

"My area of work is sustainable development with a focus on climate. And you can ask what does sustainable development mean? To put it very simply, it means how do you have economic growth that is socially equitable and environmentally sustainable? It's not just that you have ecological sustainability; hence, that is sustainable development. Because lots of examples of economic, ecological, and ecologically sensitive growth need not be socially equitable. That's why this whole emphasis on just transition is not just about climate, but it's also about justice. It's about social equity in economic growth. Unlike in Europe, where there is now the call for degrowth or a circular economy, most parts of the world would look at you blankly if you talked about degrowth because they are hungry for growth.And so sustainable development is about managing these trade-offs, which is what I've been working on. My work is really focused on institutions, and how do you bring the best of science into development. And for me, development is also spatially informed. It's not just the statistical averages, but it's spatially informed because you have people living in cities, villages, and homesteads. So, how do you become geographically sensitive in your policymaking? And that comes from my own background in planning and architecture."Dr. Shiv Someshwar is a Development Clinician, diagnosing development of cities and nation states. A Visiting Professor at Columbia University, New York and at Sciences Po, Paris, he was the founder chair-holder of the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po. He helped set up the initial national and regional networks of the global Sustainable Development Solutions Network.His publications cover a range of issues: planning, institutions and governance of sustainable development; climate change mitigation, adaptation, risks and offsets; and ecosystem management. He edited Re-living the Memories of an Indian Forester: Memoirs of S. Shyam Sunder and is presently writing The Fallacy of Evidence-Based Policy Making.He convened and chaired the Independent Task Force on Creative Climate Action. Dr. Someshwar received a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles, and he was a Bell-MacArthur fellow at Harvard University. He has two masters’ degrees, on housing and on environmental planning, and is also trained as a professional architect. He has previously worked at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, and the World Bank in Washington D.C.https://www.sciencespo.fr/psia/sites/sciencespo.fr.psia/files/ITFClimateReport_Web.pdfwww.amazon.com/Reliving-Memories-Indian-Forester-Memoir/dp/9388337131www.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

How do urbanization and rural development impact communities differently? How can we make public policy and enlightened self-interest advance climate action?Dr. Shiv Someshwar is a Development Clinician, diagnosing development of cities and nation states. A Visiting Professor at Columbia University, New York and at Sciences Po, Paris, he was the founder chair-holder of the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po. He helped set up the initial national and regional networks of the global Sustainable Development Solutions Network.His publications cover a range of issues: planning, institutions and governance of sustainable development; climate change mitigation, adaptation, risks and offsets; and ecosystem management. He edited Re-living the Memories of an Indian Forester: Memoirs of S. Shyam Sunder and is presently writing The Fallacy of Evidence-Based Policy Making.He convened and chaired the Independent Task Force on Creative Climate Action. Dr. Someshwar received a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles, and he was a Bell-MacArthur fellow at Harvard University. He has two masters’ degrees, on housing and on environmental planning, and is also trained as a professional architect. He has previously worked at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, and the World Bank in Washington D.C."My area of work is sustainable development with a focus on climate. And you can ask what does sustainable development mean? To put it very simply, it means how do you have economic growth that is socially equitable and environmentally sustainable? It's not just that you have ecological sustainability; hence, that is sustainable development. Because lots of examples of economic, ecological, and ecologically sensitive growth need not be socially equitable. That's why this whole emphasis on just transition is not just about climate, but it's also about justice. It's about social equity in economic growth. Unlike in Europe, where there is now the call for degrowth or a circular economy, most parts of the world would look at you blankly if you talked about degrowth because they are hungry for growth.And so sustainable development is about managing these trade-offs, which is what I've been working on. My work is really focused on institutions, and how do you bring the best of science into development. And for me, development is also spatially informed. It's not just the statistical averages, but it's spatially informed because you have people living in cities, villages, and homesteads. So, how do you become geographically sensitive in your policymaking? And that comes from my own background in planning and architecture."https://www.sciencespo.fr/psia/sites/sciencespo.fr.psia/files/ITFClimateReport_Web.pdfwww.amazon.com/Reliving-Memories-Indian-Forester-Memoir/dp/9388337131www.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Scientists, artists, psychologists, conservationists, and spiritual leaders share their stories and insights on the importance of connecting with nature, preserving the environment, embracing diversity, and finding harmony in the world. Music courtesy of composer Max Richter. All voices in this episode are from our interviews for The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast.00:05 Adapting to Earth: Indigenous PerspectivesTIOKASIN GHOSTHORSE - Founder/Host of First Voices Radio - Founder of Akantu Intelligencehttps://firstvoicesindigenousradio.orghttps://akantuintelligence.org01:06 The Beauty and Fragility of the Natural WorldAPRIL GORNIK - Artist, Environmentalist, Co-founder of The Church: Arts & Creativity Centerwww.aprilgornik.comwww.thechurchsagharbor.org02:01 The Importance of Whales in EcosystemsNAN HAUSER - Whale Researcher - President, Center for Cetacean Research & Conservation - Director, Cook Islands Whale Researchhttps://whaleresearch.org03:27 The Importance of Community and Collective Well-beingROBERT WALDINGER - Co-Author of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happinesshttps://www.robertwaldinger.com04:19 The Power of Love, Respect, and UnityJULIAN LENNON - Singer-songwriter, Photographer, Doc Filmmaker, Exec. Producer of the films Common Ground & Kiss the Groundhttps://julianlennon.comhttps://commongroundfilm.org05:05 The Importance of Cultural and Scientific KnowledgeRUPERT SHELDRAKE - Biologist & Author of The Science Delusion, The Presence of the Pastwww.sheldrake.org0:6:18 Mastering Confidence & Human PotentialIAN ROBERTSON - Author of How Confidence Works: The New Science of Self-belief - Co-Director of the Global Brain Health Institutehttps://ianrobertson.org07:01 The Magic of Coral ReefsGATOR HALPERN - Co-Founder & President of Coral Vita - UN Young Champion of the Earth - Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurhttps://coralvita.co08:06 Lessons from Ancient Trees and TundraDOUG LARSON - Biologist - Expert on Deforestation - Author of Cliff Ecology - The The Dogma Ate My Homeworkhttps://experts.uoguelph.ca/doug-larson09:36 Understanding the Flow of LifeMASTER SHI HENG YI - 35th Generation of Shaolin MastersHeadmaster of the Shaolin Temple Europewww.shihengyi.onlinewww.shaolintemple.euMax Richter’s music featured in this episode are “On the Nature of Daylight” from The Blue Notebooks, “Path 19: Yet Frailest” from Sleep.Music is courtesy of Max Richter, Universal Music Enterprises, and Mute Song.www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast, Professor David Palumbo-Liu and Azeezah Kanji talk with artists and activists Isabella Frémaux and Jay Jordan about their book, We are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself: Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones Vagabonds/Pluto/Journal of Aesthetics & Protest, 2021. They tell the story of a 40-year struggle to preserve 4,000 acres of wetlands from being destroyed to make way for an airport, but the book is also a profound and beautiful meditation on what it means to live together and struggle together outside the logic of capitalist extraction and violence.Jay (formerly John) Jordan (they/them) is labelled a "Domestic Extremist" by the police, and “a magician of rebellion” by the press. Part-time author, sex worker and full time trouble maker, Jay is a lover of edges, especially between art and activism. They co-founded Reclaim the streets and the clown army.Isabelle Fremeaux (she/her) is a popular educator, facilitator, action researcher and deserter of the neoliberal academy where for a decade she was Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck College London. Co-author (with Jay) of the film/book Les Sentiers de L’utopie (2011, La Découverte), together they coordinate The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, bringing artists and activists together to co-design and deploy tools of disobedience. They live on the zad of Notre-dame-des-landes, a territory “lost to the Republic,” according to the French government.https://labo.zone/index.php/we-are-nature-defending-itself-entangling-art-activism-autonomous-zones/?lang=enwww.labo.zonehttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/oct/27/police-spotter-card-john-jordanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reclaim_the_Streetswww.palumbo-liu.com https://speakingoutofplace.comhttps://twitter.com/palumboliu?s=20www.instagram.com/speaking_out_of_place