Lodestar with Tamzin and Finola

Our dream guest today is a writer and director making history. Payal Kapadia won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2024 for her sublime film, “All We Imagine As Light,” which was hailed by The Guardian as “A triumph.” She was the sixth woman to ever win this award and it was the first Indian film to be submitted to the festival’s main competition in three decades. Her films are captivating audiences around the world and Payal was nominated for two Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and so many more. Her documentary, “A Night of Knowing Nothing,” won the L’œil d’Or award for Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. She is currently a Fellow at the Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris.

Tamzin and Finola loved every minute of speaking with Payal, from hilarious behind-the-scenes stories on her film-sets in Mumbai, the importance and power of female friendship and so many amazing tools and games to unlock your creativity when you’re feeling stuck! Is Payal a morning person or a night-owl? When she was a little kid, what did she dream of being when she grew up? And what creativity challenge does she have in store for us? Find out all this and more!

You can follow Payal on Instagram: @payalkapadiafilm

About your hosts:
Tamzin Merivale is a visual artist and writer, on a mission to explore diverse stories and to guide people to process their life experiences through art. Tamzin’s visual art facilitates people in their quest to unearth their true, powerful selves — work which is unique and transformational. Tamzin’s writing was recently published in the New York Times best-selling memoir The Book of Alchemy (2025) by Suleika Jaouad, alongside Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Rushdie and more. Subscribe to Tamzin’s Newsletter here or follow her on Instagram @tamzinmerivale.

Finola Merivale is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, based between France and Ireland. She is currently a 2025–26 Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Her music has been described as “edgy and discomforting, yet exciting and distinctive,” and "a wild ride." Finola completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University. Recent accolades include fellowships from MacDowell (2025) and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2024), a 2025 Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland and an award from the New York Council on the Arts. Her music has been performed internationally. Follow Finola on Instagram @finolamerivale.

Audio editing and production by Finola Merivale
Music by Finola Merivale
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In this fun episode, Tamzin and Finola get together to chat about how they fared with journalist Hanna Liubakova's creativity challenge.

Last week, Hanna Liubakova gave the Lodestar listeners the creativity challenge of going on a fact-finding mission about their home countries, and to present this information to the world in a way that would get people interested. And what fun facts they found! While Tamzin has uncovered the truth about Irish weather (did you know, it doesn't actually rain much in Ireland?!), Finola discovered a surprising result of the Irish famine, which occurred in Ireland in the 1800s. They also chat about the wonderful Manchán Magan, his influence in Ireland and over the Irish language.

Listen in to hear about how this creativity challenge led to attempted (and failed) haikus, visiting Oscar Wilde's grave, and plenty of laughter as they uncover some truly unexpected facts about Ireland.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content Warning: In this episode, self-harm and torture are mentioned at approximately the 29:00 mark.

“We in journalism say that whatever happens, you have to stay alive.”

In this episode, we speak with the extraordinary Hanna Liubakova, an exiled journalist and political analyst from Belarus. Widely regarded as a leading voice in the free press, Hanna is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and has written about developments in Belarus for international outlets including The Washington Post, The Economist, and others. Liubakova began her career at Belsat TV, the only independent Belarusian television channel, banned by the regime in Minsk. She is now living in Paris where she is a journalist in residence at Reid Hall.

In this powerful and candid interview, Hanna discusses homelessness, the period after she was tried in absentia and sentenced to ten years in prison, and finding joy in the little things. She gives us a glimpse into her book-in-progress, Exiled Voice: Preserving Belarus’ Story under contract with Bloomsbury. And she gives us our next Creativity Challenge!
You can follow Hanna on X: @HannaLiubakova

Tamzin Merivale is a visual artist and writer, on a mission to explore diverse stories and to guide people to process their life experiences through art. Tamzin’s visual art facilitates people in their quest to unearth their true, powerful selves — work which is unique and transformational. Tamzin’s writing was recently published in the New York Times best-selling memoir The Book of Alchemy (2025) by Suleika Jaouad, alongside Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Rushdie and more. Subscribe to Tamzin’s Newsletter here or follow her on Instagram @tamzinmerivale.

Finola Merivale is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, based between France and Ireland. She is currently a 2025–26 Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Her music has been described as “edgy and discomforting, yet exciting and distinctive,” and "a wild ride." Finola completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University. Recent accolades include fellowships from MacDowell (2025) and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2024), a 2025 Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland and an award from the New York Council on the Arts. Her music has been performed internationally. Follow Finola on Instagram @finolamerivale.

Audio editing and production by Finola Merivale
Music by Finola Merivale
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our amazing guest last week, pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown, gave hosts Tamzin and Finola Merivale their first Creativity Challenge: Set your timer for 5 minutes and write about memories you might be forgetting.

Inspired by Michael, Finola dove into her own memories of piano performance – from inspiring first teachers to distressing exams – while Tamzin reflected on old homes and the significance of our doorways and keys.

Meet your hosts, the sister-duo Tamzin and Finola:
Tamzin Merivale is a visual artist and writer, on a mission to explore diverse stories and to guide people to process their life experiences through art. Tamzin’s visual art facilitates people in their quest to unearth their true, powerful selves — work which is unique and transformational. Tamzin’s writing was recently published in the New York Times best-selling memoir The Book of Alchemy (2025) by Suleika Jaouad, alongside Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Rushdie and more. Subscribe to Tamzin’s Newsletter here or follow her on Instagram @tamzinmerivale.

Finola Merivale is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, based between France and Ireland. She is currently a 2025–26 Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Her music has been described as “edgy and discomforting, yet exciting and distinctive.” Finola completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University. Recent accolades include fellowships from MacDowell (2025) and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2024), a 2025 Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland and an award from the New York Council on the Arts. Her music has been performed internationally. Follow Finola on Instagram @finolamerivale.

Connect with Michael Stephen Brown: @michael_stephen_brown

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we sit down with Michael Stephen Brown, the New York‑based pianist‑composer hailed by The New York Times as “a leading figure in the renaissance of composer‑performers” and celebrated for his “fearless performances.” A graduate of The Juilliard School, Michael has been awarded many accolades including an Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center and an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

He shares the story behind his witty “Breakup Etude for the Right Hand Alone,” a piece that appears on his new album Twelve Blocks, which was just released, and he reflects on what success truly means to him.
Tune in to hear about Michael’s rituals for creativity, the not-so-glamorous truth about performing internationally, the isolation and connection of composing music and How to Name Your Piano. Also, we announce our very first Creativity Challenge!

To learn more about Michael you can follow him @michael_stephen_brown on Instagram. And check out his new album here.

Tamzin Merivale is a visual artist and writer, on a mission to explore diverse stories and to guide people to process their life experiences through art. Tamzin’s visual art facilitates people in their quest to unearth their true, powerful selves — work which is unique and transformational. Tamzin’s writing was recently published in the New York Times best-selling memoir The Book of Alchemy (2025) by Suleika Jaouad, alongside Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Rushdie and more. Subscribe to Tamzin’s Newsletter here or follow her on Instagram @tamzinmerivale.

Finola Merivale is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, based between France and Ireland. She is currently a 2025–26 Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Her music has been described as “edgy and discomforting, yet exciting and distinctive.” Finola completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University. Recent accolades include fellowships from MacDowell (2025) and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2024), a 2025 Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland and an award from the New York Council on the Arts. Her music has been performed internationally. Follow Finola on Instagram @finolamerivale.

Audio editing and production by Finola Merivale
Music by Finola Merivale
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.