American Masters: Creative Spark

Comedian and actress Leslie Jones has lived a lot of life and she wants you to know it. The Saturday Night Live alum and veteran stand-up comic returns with a new special, called “Leslie Jones: Life Part 2.” In this interview, Jones traces the long road to discovering her comedic voice. She speaks candidly about family life and the comedians like Richard Pryor who influenced her at a young age. We talk about the time she first fell in love with comedy in college and the many years she spent honing her craft. Jones contends that our current generation needs to accept the struggle, and not try to shortcut the process. We learn about what that creative process is for Jones as she developed her newest special. She offers her take on whether comedians have a responsibility in our culture to provoke thought or if simply getting a laugh is enough.

Comedian Phoebe Robinson is a girl boss in recovery. As the creator and star of projects like 2 Dope Queens and Everything’s Trash, she’s long been one of the hardest-working voices of her generation. But in her new comedy special, I Don’t Wanna Work Anymore, Robinson takes a sharp, self-aware look at the millennial hustle-culture mentality. In this episode, Phoebe Robinson shows us the hard work that goes into crafting a special about not wanting to work anymore. She gives us a candid look into the full arc of her creative process, from spreadsheets to the comedy club. We talk about the convergence of art and commerce, the shortcomings of today’s comedy climate, and how to resist making “fast-food” comedy in pursuit of something greater.

Hi all! We're taking a break from our usual episodes of Creative Spark this week to share a podcast from our friends at The Peabody Awards and the Center for Media and Social Impact. Their show is called We Disrupt This Broadcast. Host Gabe Gonzalez introduces us to the brilliant, absurdist, hilarious Peabody Award-winning HBO series Fantasmas. In a funny, enlivening conversation with creator, writer, and comedian Julio Torres, they explore how Torres uses humor to uncover the real absurdity of our immigration, healthcare, and economic systems. They discuss how creating fiction – like the “proof of existence” that the fictional Julio is so desperate to avoid – can expose our even stranger realities, like the “aliens of extraordinary abilities” visa that real Julio applied for when immigrating to the U.S. In the second half, Gabe speaks with Andrew DeWaard, author of Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture. Andrew’s work focuses on the cultural cost of the financialization of media. And don’t worry, he also explains what the word “financialization” means.

Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan says, “we need opportunities to feel connection and to feel less alone.” For her, music is the salve. The three-time Grammy Award winner is back with her tenth studio album, Better Broken. Amidst our tense collective cultural moment, McLachlan aims to create music that bridges divide. In this episode, Sarah McLachlan talks about touring between Canada and the United States and finding common ground with people from all walks of life. We explore the lasting impact of Lilith Fair, the all-women music festival she founded in the 1990s, which featured artists like Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Tracy Chapman, and more. McLachlan also shares the influence of Peter Gabriel on her sound, details her own songwriting process, and reflects on the challenges of parenting and how she has imbued those experiences into her new single, “Gravity.”

Actress Natasha Rothwell returns as Belinda in The White Lotus Season 3, a role that’s earned her two Emmy nominations and cemented her status as the show’s moral center.  In this episode, Rothwell shares how she connects to Belinda’s journey of self-discovery and how she collaborated with creator Mike White to bring greater nuance to the character. She reflects on the importance of diverse storytelling in Hollywood, the inspiration she drew from actress Nell Carter, and why she believes the arts are an empathy machine. Rothwell also opens up about her experience as a neurodivergent creator, the power of destigmatizing diagnoses, and the untapped potential of art. As she puts it, “From water lilies to Lily Tomlin, it’s all awesome.”