Stay ConnectedAn exploration of the creative life, lived in the in-between.
A sanctuary for the creative spirit in a results-obsessed world.
Moving beyond the highlight reel, hosts and working musicians Aaron Shafer-Haiss and Michaela Anne facilitate intimate, artist-to-artist conversations with renowned musicians, authors, visual artists and actors about the grit required to sustain a life in the arts. From navigating doubt to finding stillness, this is the reality of the work. Unfiltered.
Copyright: © 2023-24 The 0ther 22 Hours Podcast
Dan Wilson’s songs have shaped our collective cultural landscape, from Semisonic’s enduring anthem "Closing Time" to Grammy-winning collaborations like Adele’s "Someone Like You," The Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice," Chris Stapleton's "White Horse" and Jon Batiste's "It Never Went Away." Yet behind four decades of catalog mastery lies a quiet, rigorous inner examination of what it means to build an artistic life.
In this spacious conversation, Dan reflects on stepping off the tour bus during the height of rock success to care for his medically fragile newborn daughter, the radical freedom of striking the word "should" entirely from one's creative vocabulary, and why he spent the entire ascent of a global number-one single terrified instead of celebrating.
In This Episode:
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The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
Between late-night TV appearances and relentless album sprints, how does a working artist remain anchored in their own life? This week, we sit down with Nick Carpenter (Medium Build), whose catalog of raw, empathetic storytelling has earned him critical acclaim, tours with Mumford and Sons and Tyler Childers, and fans likes of Elton John, John Mayer, and boygenius. We discuss the exhausting trap of algorithmic omnipresence, the Jungian necessity of integrating our shadows rather than suppressing them, and the profound wisdom passed to him by Ben Kweller on honoring the muse. It is a generous, disarming exploration into stepping off the treadmill of validation and reclaiming art as an act of service rather than a product.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
What does it mean to witness ourselves transform? Singer-songwriter and bluegrass powerhouse Lindsay Lou, a frequent collaborator with artists like Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull, as well as a member of the Sweet Water Warblers and a festival staple in her own right, joins us to explore the tender, high-stakes choreography of modern artist-parenthood.
Celebrating her landmark all-women project, Bluegrass Women, Lindsay reflects on giving historical weight to the women who shaped roots music. She also gives unvarnished clarity about postpartum identity, surviving festival chaos with a 15-month-old strapped to her chest on stage, and the quiet revelation that comes when we stop trying to compartmentalize who we are. This episode is a deep dive into creative endurance, presence, and why artists pursuing their craft is a gift to their family rather than a subtraction.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
In a culture that demands creative output be loud, continuous, and universally relatable, what does it mean to plant your flag in the quiet, specific, and unpolished? Grammy-winning artist and guitarist Madison Cunningham joins us with raw generosity, examining the dissonance between holding music’s highest honors and sitting with everyday feelings of failure. Across an intimate hour, we delve into the discipline of ignoring both praise and venom, how teaching unlocked her own creative permission, and Mary Oliver’s timeless directive to never hesitate when leaning into what gives us joy.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
As the frontman of Grammy-nominated rock band My Morning Jacket, Jim James has spent decades at the center of new alternative. His long list of achievements includes a solo catalog of five studio albums, recording as part of the supergroup Monsters of Folk, and producing artists such as Ray LaMontagne, S.G. Goodman and Basia Bulat. Yet, beneath these accomplishments was an exhausting cycle of perfectionism and self-loathing fueled by the quiet fear that rest equals irrelevance. In this tender and expansive conversation, Jim explores what happened when he stopped trying to outrun his own shadow. He reflects on four years of sobriety, the transformative nature of EMDR and parts work therapy, learning to dance with his creative muse rather than whip the workhorse, and why reclaiming true creative vitality starts by making peace with the human being inside.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
We are often sold the myth that success cures insecurity. Brandy Clark joins us to unravel that narrative. Named one of the '"30 Greatest Living Songwriters" earlier this year by the New York Times, she is also a Grammy-winning artist who has placed her songs with Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban and Reba McEntire. In addition, she is the co-writer of the Tony Award-winning musical Shucked. In this beautiful conversation, originally aired in November 2024, she opens up about her fifteen-year journey to a breakthrough, the courage it takes to be a gay woman in country music, and the importance of only staying in rooms where you feel like a genius.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
What if the messiness of life isn’t an obstacle to making art, but the very material itself? In this reissued conversation from our archives, we sit down with New York Times bestselling poet and author Maggie Smith (Good Bones, Dear Writer). Together, we explore what happens when you dismantle the dividing wall between art and everyday life, the discipline of staying in solitude rather than catering to an audience, and how learning to trust your own instincts becomes the ultimate safety net for a sustainable creative life.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
With two Grammy Awards, 15 number-one singles, and a songwriting catalog recorded by legends like Emmylou Harris, Bob Seger, and Waylon Jennings, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Rodney Crowell stands as one of Americana's most enduring icons. Yet, after 50 years in Nashville, Rodney’s relationship to his craft is grounded not in recognition, but in the quiet, daily act of showing up.
In this conversation from 2023, Rodney reflects on the early years of roaming Nashville alongside Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt to evolving past the need for applause, the spiritual discipline of 7-day vision quests, and why a song can take 40 years to finally tell you what it wants to be.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and author Mary Gauthier, whose songs have been recorded by everyone from Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton to Boy George and Jimmy Buffett, joins us for a deeply resonant exploration of life, survival, and craft. Starting her songwriting journey at age 40 after a successful career as a chef and restaurant owner, Mary offers a deeply grounded perspective on what it means to build a long-haul artistic life.
Originally aired in August 2023 as Episode 27, we are revisiting this favorite conversation from our archive to unpack her 33-year journey in recovery, the necessity of patience in art and persistence in business, and how songwriting serves as a container for processing trauma and bridging human divides.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
This week, we dive into our archives for this special reissue of our conversation with GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter, producer, activist, and chef Ruby Amanfu. Known for her profound collaborations with H.E.R., Brandi Carlile, Alicia Keys, and Beyoncé, Ruby has navigated the highest peaks of the music industry while fiercely protecting her inner peace. In this episode, we explore the structural collisions that force us to speak our truth, the reality of reclaiming your identity outside of financial validation, and what happens when we finally release our death grip on how we thought our lives would look.
In This Episode:
Go Deeper:
The Hosts:
The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Producer/Mixer) and Michaela Anne (Songwriter/Creative Coach).
Credits:
Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Part of the Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network.
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