Follow Your Curiosity

Happy Accidents with Anthony Wilson

Dec 11 • 63 min

Anthony Wilson’s varied pursuits almost all came to him accidentally: he is a teacher, composer, and writer—in fact, he co-authored the Doctor Who-related book BOOKWYRM with previous guest Robert Smith?. In this conversation, he shares his accidental path…

Replay: Art’s What’s Gonna Save Us with Domenic Sciortino

Nov 27 • 50 min

Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I’m replaying two of my favorite episodes from this past year. Domenic Sciortino isn’t a name you’re likely to have heard before, unless you live in York, Pennsylvania. He’s an old friend of mine whose day job…

Crushing Classical with Tracy Friedlander

Nov 13 • 58 min

Tracy Friedlander is a classical musician and host of the Crushing Classical podcast. Tracy and I talk about how she came to play the French Horn, what it’s really like to audition for and perform in an orchestra, the largely untaught art of listening,…

Bringing Death into Life with Tara Sroka

Oct 30 • 63 min

My guest this week is Tara Sroka, a creative end of life planner who helps make this often taboo topic more welcoming and even fun. We talk about how her mother’s passing continues to inspire Tara, ways to remember and honor those who’ve gone before us,…

“There Is No Magic Path” with Kristen Good

Oct 16 • 65 min

My guest this week is Kristen Good, a graphic designer, branding expert, and life coach. We talk about perfectionism, self-worth, vulnerability, self-care, and the willingness to get out there and do what you love without getting hung up on the nit-picky,…

Finding a True Path with Michelle Ward

Oct 1 • 51 min

Michelle Ward, aka the When I Grow Up Coach, has literally made a career out of staying true to herself, and helping others do the same. Michelle’s dream from childhood was to be on Broadway, but after graduating from NYU’s Tisch School and going to…

The Power of Ritual with Cat Kessler

Sep 18 • 60 min

Cat Kessler wants to bring more ritual and reflection to your life, and she’s started a business called Opt Inward to help you do just that. She joins me this week to talk about how she discovered the importance of ritual in her own life, what modern…

Conservatory vs. College with D’Anna Fortunato

Sep 4 • 58 min

My guest today is a highly acclaimed mezzo-soprano who has sung a wide variety of music and operatic roles. She has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood, with conductors including Leonard Bernstein. I met D’Anna Fortunato when I was…

Aiming for Excellence with Dr. William Payn

Aug 21 • 58 min

Today’s guest has been an important part of my life, and a big influence. A composer of music for choir and handbells, a respected festival conductor, and a former professor of music and director of choral studies at Bucknell University, he’s my college…

Chasing Curiosity with Vicky Cook

Aug 7 • 57 min

As you know, I’m a big fan of following your curiosity, so you can imagine how excited I was to come across someone else who finds it as key as I do. That someone is Vicky Cook, a coach who focuses on helping woman 40-ish and above get through midlife…

Amber Petty

Jul 24 • 52 min

Amber Petty attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, taught musical improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade, and starred in an off-Broadway show based on the 50 Shades books. She also discovered that the life she’d imagined and the one…

David Spencer

Jul 10 • 60 min

David Spencer is the creative force behind the Mischief Factory, where he seeks to create fun and adventure through art and illustration. He recently illustrated a new children’s book, The Epic Adventures of Huggie and Stick, and also draws his own clever…

Lela Rohrer Stech

Jun 26 • 54 min

Lela Rohrer Stech is an artist based in New York. Lela’s work is playful and fun, and so is she. (You’ll hear us talk about one painting I could see in the background, from a distance, and I’ve included a photo of that painting in the show notes at…

Adam Dietz

Jun 12 • 48 min

Adam Dietz grew up in small-town Pennsylvania, went to Westminster Choir College in New Jersey, and then moved to New York to seek his fortune on the Broadway stage. Things didn’t go quite the way he’d planned. Adam and I talk about what it’s like to…

Nina Hart

May 29 • 55 min

Nina Hart is a writer, dancer, stand-up comedian, and improv artist who is also a fellow Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach. Her first collection of surreal short fictions called Somewhere in a Town You Never Knew Existed Somewhere was selected as a Short…

Dawn Kotzer

May 15 • 52 min

Creativity and curiosity are bigger than just the arts. They’re bigger than hobbies. They’re vital parts of life, and the quality of our existence. Dawn Kotzer understands how creativity links into the realities of life better than almost anyone I know.…

Robert Smith?

May 1 • 60 min

We think of creativity as something associated with the arts—dance, music, poetry, etc. That’s why I wanted to talk to Robert Smith?, a mathematician who creates models that help improve disease control. He gained some fame a few years back for modeling…

Coaching Call: Maggie B.

Apr 17 • 43 min

This month’s coaching call is with my friend and former writing student, Maggie, who has several projects she’d like to be working on, primarily a novel, but also painting and weaving. She’s trying to keep track of the elements of her novel, while also…

André Jackson

Apr 3 • 54 min

André Jackson is a former student of mine who has grown into one of the most thoughtful, creative people I know. André got his undergraduate degree in fashion design, but switched to fiber art in graduate school. André is also a scholar and writer. All…

Nancy Norbeck

Mar 20 • 59 min

My guest this week is…me! I asked Domenic Sciortino to interview me, since it seemed only fair to turn the tables on myself, and to give you a chance to get to know me a little better. There’s a lot here about my history with writing and music, the folks…

Domenic Sciortino

Mar 6 • 50 min

Domenic Sciortino isn’t a name you’re likely to have heard before, unless you live in York, Pennsylvania. He’s an old friend of mine whose day job as a barber belies his experience with art and creative expression, which includes drawing, music, and a…

Coaching Call: Jamie W.

Feb 20 • 27 min

Our second coaching call is with Jamie—a new writer without a writing background who doesn’t let that stop her. We talk about having the courage to navigate the unfamiliar—in this case, a writer’s group that doesn’t always feel entirely friendly. If you…

Maria James-Thiaw

Feb 6 • 34 min

Maria James-Thiaw is a performance poet, playwright, and professor at Central Penn College. She’s also a friend of mine from the MFA program at Goddard College. Maria has been playing with words since she was old enough to understand them, and has a…

Coaching Call: Emily T.

Jan 23 • 32 min

Our first coaching call is with my friend Emily, who moved away from the area about a decade ago, so this is the first time we’ve spoken in a while. She’s feeling like she’s totally lost her creative spark and is worried that something’s wrong and she…

Kelly Flanagan

Jan 3 • 54 min

Kelly Flanagan, clinical psychologist and author of Loveable: Embracing What is Truest About You So You Can Truly Embrace Your Life, joins me to talk about why following our creative dreams is a vital part of being true to ourselves, and how uncovering…

Robert Shearman

Jan 3 • 55 min

Robert Shearman is the author of numerous books and dramatic pieces for stage, TV, and radio. I met Rob in March and we talked about everything from how he started writing to the process of turning a Doctor Who audio play for adults into a shorter TV show…