Creative Pep Talk

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**Creative Pep Talk**

A Weekly Podcast Companion for Your Creative Journey

Transform your creative potential into reality by making your creativity a practice. A “creative discipline” can feel like an oxymoron. Creativity is about doing something new. Discipline is about doing something consistently. The aim of this podcast is to help you strike that elusive balance.

Each week, New York Times Bestselling Author Illustrator Andy J. Pizza shares everything he’s learning about building a thriving creative practice. Through solo episodes and interviews with top-tier creatives, Pizza brings you the strategies and stories that you need week in and week out to keep your inner critic at bay, bust through creative blocks and stay creatively pepped to the max!!

Learn more: creativepeptalk.com
Check out the host: andyjpizza.com

Latest Episodes:

557 - Finding Your Scene, IRL Creativity, the Hopeful Return of Indie / DIY with Hanif Abdurraqib May 27, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

Your genius might be hiding in your backyard.

This episode is for you if:

1 - You need to find real people to collaborate with.

2 - You need to cultivate real creative connection in real life.

3 - You need hope of a more human future for creativity.

4 - You want to be inspired by a brilliant creative mind like Hanif!

I had a blast chatting face to face with the local AND worldwide creative legend, MacArthur “genius” grant winner and bestselling author, Hanif Abdurraqib.

SHOW NOTES:

Hanif Abdurraqib
https://www.abdurraqib.com

Living for the City Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod

”We Always Have This Year” by Hanif Abdurraqib
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/695817/theres-always-this-year-by-hanif-abdurraqib/

Headshot of Hanif Abdurraqib by Megan Leigh Barnard
https://meganleighbarnard.com

ICON 13 ILLUSTRATION CONFERENCE $100 OFF:
www.eventbrite.com/e/1808652431109/?discount=ICON13FriendofBoard

Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.co
Audio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.co
Soundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com
Spotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

RULA
Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental

health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/peptalk #rulapod

*FIXED SEE SHOW NOTES* 556 - Make This Shift to Reclaim Your Creative Spirit from Your Phone May 21, 2026

Show notes

This episode was initially published without the end of the story and the main point of the episode spelled out! We had one essential portion of this episode missing in the previous edit!! Thank you for those who sent me messages so that I could clear this up. I really love this episode and I am glad we fixed it!

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

Listen to this episode if:

1 - You are sick of trying to prove yourself on the internet.

2 - You need to find a way to shift away from pouring all your creativity into your phone.

3 - You need a grounding exercise to help you get more in the present, connect your now to your past self and open up new possibilities for your future!

SHOW NOTES:

Mysterious Things
invisiblethings.co

Angus Fletcher - Primal Intelligence
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740110/primal-intelligence-by-angus-fletcher/

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

RULA
Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental

health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/peptalk #rulapod

555 - Overcome Dead Ends & Open Up to New Directions with Hrishikesh Hirway May 13, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

This episode is for you if:

1 - You have hit a dead end and need to open up to totally new directions.

2 - You are stuck doing nothing and need a small place to start.

3 - You need to find new guidance from an outside perspective.

This is a chat with musician Hrishikesh Hirway. You may know Hirway from his phenomenal podcast “Song Exploder” or his work as a composer for the film “Companion” or Netflix television series “Everything Sucks!”. Today we discuss the winding journey to his new album “In the Last Hour of Light” which features guests like Iron and Wine and Fenne Lily.
SHOW NOTES:

Hrishikesh Hirway
https://hrishikesh.co
Hrishikesh Hirway - In the Last Hour of Light
https://hrishikesh.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-last-hour-of-light

Song Exploder
https://songexploder.net

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

554 - Get Back to Creativity that Actually Helps Your Mental Health with Gemma Correll May 06, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

Most of us start making things because on some level it feels good! It feels like a meditation. It brings flow. It helps us process.

But if you ever get serious about your work, you may also accidentally lose all these positives and replace them with negative side effects like pressure, anxiety, and even despair.

If you want to get back to the kind of creative practice that lifts you up instead of triggers you, this episode is for you!

Gemma Correll is a world-renowned illustrator and cartoonist with one of the most personal and practical creative practices that I know of. She has been art journaling way before it was cool, and it’s turned into a cathartic experience that she now shares with the world through her online comics and now her phenomenal graphic memoir “Anxietyland”.

We discuss:

1 - How to access that energy of making just for yourself before you think about anyone else.

2 - The power and pitfalls of mixing creativity with your mental health.

3 - What type of creative community we hope to see evolve in a post-social media-centric world.

SHOW NOTES:

Gemma Correll
https://www.gemmacorrell.com
Anxietyland by Gemma Correll
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Anxietyland/Gemma-Correll/9781668004159

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

553 - Recover Sense of Self & Creative Voice with These 6 Juicy Prompts Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

This episode is for you if:

1 - You have been pretending to be someone else for so long that you have forgotten who you are.

2 - You want to put more of your real self into your work and need help understanding how to do that.

3 - You need some fun and unexpected exercises to get back in touch with what you really care about and who you really are.

Check out the “Right Side Out” Series here: http://andyjpizza.com/rso

SHOW NOTES:

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

552 - Listen to This if You Need Help Remembering Who You Are (Right Side Out 1 of 6) *RE-AIR* Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

Check out the rest of the “Right Side Out” series on it's own podcast feed here: andyjpizza.com/rso

---

It’s been 2 years since we originally aired this episode.

This is part 1 of our 6 part audio memoir series “Right Side Out”.

On the surface it’s about my journey with ADHD and making peace with being “just like my mom”. But underneath, what it’s really about, is YOU. It’s about how to love yourself enough to get curious about who you are.

If you have had trouble finding your style, voice or sensibility as an artist, it might be because you’ve jumped to making for others too quickly. First and foremost, creative work helps us get our inner world onto the page so that we can get an outside perspective on ourselves. Kind of trippy, right? HAHA. But it’s true.

Listen to this episode:

1 - If you want to remember who you are.

2 - You need tools for putting more of yourself into your work, whether it’s creative work or not!

3 - You are longing for a more gentle, loving and ultimately more productive relationship with yourself.

SHOW NOTES:

You can now listen to the whole “Right Side Out” series on its podcast feed here: andyjpizza.com/rso

On Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/right-side-out/id1894328132

And on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/13Z8as20GdLXDifrQVxuyL?si=723da00dfa3048d3

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

551 - Consume and Create Art to Get Your Brain Back with Scientist Daisy Fancourt Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

This episode is for you if:

1 - You’re feeling like you’ve lost the thread and your point of view as a creative.

2 - You’re fed up with consuming so much junk online and need tactics to start consuming better creative stuff that inspires you again.

3 - Need to dive deeper into the science of why your relationship with art can make all the difference to your creative practice and general wellbeing.

This episode features a chat with scientist and science communicator Daisy Fancourt about her new Sunday Times Bestselling book “Art Cure - The Science of How the Arts Save Lives”.

Learn more about Daisy Fancourt here:
https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/44526-daisy-fancourt

Check out “Art Cure” here:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250364531/artcure/

SHOW NOTES:

Art Cure by Daisy Fancourt
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250364531/artcure/

Art Cure Events Calendar
https://sbbresearch.org/projects/artcure/

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

550 - Get Back to Your Creative Path with These 3 Counterintuitive Things Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

Listen to this if:

1 - You feel creatively off or can’t find your creative thread at the moment

2 - You’re in a season where you’re not making as much as you want to be

3 - You feel in a low place creatively and need to remember why you care about creating

4 - You feel ill from so much doomscrolling and consuming short form video!

SHOW NOTES:

Cal Newport’s Podcast
https://calnewport.com/podcasts/

Simon Critchley - On Mysticism
https://www.nyrb.com/products/mysticism

Angus Fletcher - Wonderworks
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Wonderworks/Angus-Fletcher/9781982135980

Lizzy McAlpine - Drunk, Running
https://youtu.be/Xa8iMI0yRVY?si=De3Uia0x0VkHL-mM

Wolf Children
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140203/

Wolf Children Soundtrack
https://open.spotify.com/album/3vZyva1XWxRbf0wq4MsU8q

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/piranesi-9781635575637/

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

549 - This is How Sensitive Creative People Make Big Changes with Eric Zimmer Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

Listen if:

1 - All the habit advice doesn’t work you as an emotional creative type

2 - You are tired of fighting yourself to make the changes you want to make

3 - You need an exercise for discovering your deepest held values

If these hit home, this deep dive with author and podcaster Eric Zimmer was made for you!

SHOW NOTES:

Eric Zimmer
https://www.oneyoufeed.net/about-eric-zimmer/

How a Little Becomes a Lot by Eric Zimmer
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-a-little-becomes-a-lot-eric-zimmer?variant=43996638838818

The One You Feed Podcast
https://www.oneyoufeed.net

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

548 - 5 Creative / Neurodivergent Friendly Productivity Hacks to Become a Doer Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co

---

This episode is for you if:

1 - You have so many ideas but struggle to realize many of them!

2 - Most productivity advice doesn’t work for you.

3 - You need to feel excited and hopeful again about your creative practice.

SHOW NOTES:

Creative Pep Talk Ep 548 with Jarod K. Anderson
https://www.creativepeptalk.com/draft-episode-for-mar-04-2026545-make-your-life-creative-work-more-rich-with-meaning-with-jarod/

Jim Collins - Jim the Bug
https://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/TheCurseOfCompetence.html

SPONSORS:
SQUARESPACE
Head to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK

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