Film director Chris White and songwriter Daniel Smith of The Danielson Family have crafted an 8-minute short film/music video titled "Come and Save Me," a poignant exploration of acceptance and community as a cure to the loneliness epidemic of our post-pandemic world.
In this episode, Daniel and Chris share about the film’s inception, working with lead actor and comedian Fred Armisen, and why the arts play a central role in addressing social concerns.
Read MoreOne of the core markers of a person’s identity are the beliefs they hold to be true. A person’s faith becomes a fixed point from which they view and understand the world. But what happens when those beliefs are shaken? Or what happens when a person is confronted with a difficult truth that collides with or even contradicts their view of the world?
Our guest today is storyteller and best-selling author of Returning to Eden: A Field Guide for the Spiritual Journey, Heather Hamilton. In this episode, Heather shares what it was like to undergo a nervous breakdown and a subsequent mystical experience that re-ordered her understanding of the universe.
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Read MoreIn this bonus episode, I speak with one of today’s favorite mental health advocates, Dani Parks. Dani is a public speaker, author, minister and mentor of young adult girls.
In our conversation, she shares her story about her struggles with depression, suicide attempts, and the mental suffering she endured for over ten years due to the incorrect treatment of her bipolar disorder.
Read MoreJoshua Luke Smith is a British rapper, poet, and producer with a dramatic, socially conscious style rooted in explorations of the Christian faith. He was born in London raised in Pakistan, and holds a degree in philosophy, which informs his music with a unique perspective on the world both from his education and experience.
In this episode, I talk with Joshua about his upbringing, his creative process as well as well as philosophy and overcoming addiction.
You can see the show notes of this episode for links to Joshua’s new book Something You Once Knew and for additional patron only interview segments in our creative collective.
Read MoreJames K.A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and serves as editor in chief of Image, a quarterly journal devoted to “art, mystery, and faith.” Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. As an award-winning author and widely-traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.
In this episode I talk with James about the role of imagination in “re-storying” the narratives we believe about ourselves and society. James shares openly about his own bouts with depression and how poetry played a key role in his recovery.
Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment on the attentiveness as a core tenet of creativity and the counter cultural practice of contemplation.
Read MoreIn this third and final segment of The Artist Round Table on Mental Health, Stephen, John Mark and Vesper talk about neo-monasticism, the worship of youth culture, art as a means of therapy, and making sense of the darker parts of our existence with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
Questions discussed in this episode include:
What is true success?
What is true connection?
Should we share every work of art we make?
What if the Poet who has been healed?
Read MoreIn this segment of our 3 part conversation on mental health and the artist, my discussion with singer/songwriter John Mark McMillan and author/illustrator Vesper Stamper takes us to topics of art and identity, genius and madness and the dangers of isolation.
Read MoreWhat does Kanye West, Thomas Edison and Psychologist Adam Grant have to do with Social Media, Depression, Suicide and the Pursuit of Calling?
These are all discussed in this round table discussion on Mental Health and the Artist with John Mark McMillan, Vesper Stamper and Stephen Roach.
This discussion begins with the question, "Can you separate the art from the artist.... and should you?"
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