"I don't need much/I never needed much/All I need is something good to read/I'm all alone here/I'm in my home here/Deep in my infinite library..." Season 1 finale. A father besieged in his videogame-obsessed son's bedroom. Graphic novelist Jerry Craft on race, class, and middle school. And a genre-defying barn-burner of a rock tune.

Clever Creature with Jason Gots

8. SIEGE (w/Jerry Craft)

"I built a mountain out of/Cardboard and string/And I sat inside it/And I called myself the Mountain King..." Could this be the most uplifting episode yet? A dung beetle risks everything for a life beyond drudgery. Actress and writer Mary-Louise Parker on risking failure and ignoring ridicule for those perfect moments when everything works. And a pop-rock tune to get you through tough times. You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook Group?And hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

7. FAIL (w/Mary-Louise Parker)

"Even as you're crossing them/Some bridges turn to smoke behind you . . ." David Sedaris joins Jason from lockdown to talk about creative risks that might get him cancelled. In this week's fiction story, a tuba zealot begs his brother not to go electric. And an acoustic tune about brunch inside the neutral zone, with ennui and avocado toast. (psst—stick around for the "bonus track" guided meditation at the end...). . .You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook Group?And hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

6. PRECEDENT (w/David Sedaris)

"You're a convict/on a convicted ship/and you're never coming home again..."Mushrooms, love, and anarchy on an alien prison colony. Etgar Keret on why capitalism and ethics don't mix, and how the great American novel is the enemy of creativity. And a beat-driven tribal-futurist tune about life in the substrate. And a "bonus track" guided meditation at the end!. . .You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook GroupAnd hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

5. CONVICT (w/Etgar Keret)

"What if faith is paradoxically what we need the most/in these Facebook days when everything is giving up the ghost?" The random word of the episode—"Lace"—plants a seed that grows into a trip-hop tune about cognitive biases, an existential weird-fiction detective story, and a deep dive with Consciousness Medicine author Françoise Bourzat on psychedelics and psychological healing. Stick around for a "bonus track" guided meditation at the end!. . .You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook Group?And hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

4. LACE (w/Françoise Bourzat)

“A garden full of spiders and a spider for each pomegranate tree/Inside its web of gold...”Three episodes in, the word 'rally' sends Jason spinning off into an imaginary city with a feral pig problem, a dreamlike acoustic tune to rally the spirit, and musings with Radiolab's Shima Oliaee, co-producer of "Dolly Parton's America", about rallying yourself through the twists and turns of a creative career. And a "bonus track" guided meditation at the end!. . .You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook GroupAnd hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

3. RALLY (w/Shima Oliaee)

"I peel back the layers 'til the baby shines through/And I see a different aspect than I ever knew/I never really knew you at all..."Deeper and darker. A Northwestern Gothic coming-of-age tale. An elemental steampunk blues. Novelist and thinker Gish Jen on losing religion, finding art, and taking creative risks. And a bonus guided meditation at the end!. . .You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook GroupAnd hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

2. CHURCH (w/Gish Jen)

The Moleskine is open, the page is staring back accusingly,Like "come on, Punk, what makes you think you possibly could fill the likes of me?"Reflections on a big creative leap of faith: the making of this podcast. A staples manufacturer on the brink of death, taking solace in his gut flora and the memory of his daughter's love for LOL Surprise dolls. A song about deserts, real and figurative. A conversation with Jason's son Emre about the Ice Cream Desert and music-making as a doorway. And a "bonus track" 7 minute guided meditation at the end.. . .You can learn more and join my mailing list at my website.Or maybe you want to join our Facebook GroupAnd hey—I'm making this first season all on my own—it's a blast, but it takes a lot of time! Please consider supporting the show by joining our creative community on Himalaya Premium. Just download the Himalaya app for any smartphone, search for the show, and click "join membership" at the bottom.. . .Episode art by Nathan GelgudTheme song by Emre Gots

1. DESERT (w/Emre Gots)

The cuttlefish, our avatar, is a marvelous shapeshifter. Hear some of the shapes we'll shift into and out of in actual episodes from Season One.

Trailer #2, now with genuine ShowBits (TM)

Hey there, this is Jason Gots. You know that scene in the Matrix where Neo plugs his brain into a computer and learns martial arts in like 5 seconds? The past five years have been  sort of like that for me. I’ve read about a book a week, and I’m not a fast reader. And I’ve sat down with many of my intellectual and creative heroes to talk about pretty much everything. It’s been an education in how to listen and so much more.But now it’s time for something new.  a real creative leap of faith.On May 12th I’ll be launching my new podcast: Clever Creature. For each episode I’ll write a song and a short story, both inspired by a random word picked out by an algorithm. Could that word be “buttocks”? Absolutely. Could it be “transcendence”? It could! Whatever it is, I gotta roll with it. There’s no place to hide.I have so much more to share with you—special guests, audience participation... But for now, All you clever creatures and closet creatives out there, please subscribe to Clever Creature, wherever you get your podcasts. 

coming 5/12/2020: Clever Creature with Jason Gots

A creative leap of faith from Jason Gots, producer and host of Think Again – a Big Think Podcast. For anyone who’s ever made something strange and beautiful that never saw the light of day, Clever Creature is the end to all our good excuses. Each episode starts with an algorithmically picked random word. And Jason has just one day to write short story and a song inspired by it. Could that word be "buttock?" Absolutely it could. Whatever it is, Jason has to roll with it. There's nowhere to hide. About the host: From 2015-2020, Jason hosted Think Again – a Big Think Podcast, spontaneous, down-to-earth conversations on surprise topics with thinkers and creatives including Neil Gaiman, Jaqueline Woodson, Terry Gilliam, Margaret Atwood, David Sedaris, Marlon James, and over 200 more. The show was an iTunes Best of 2015 pick and won praise from Salon, Inc. and The Huffington Post. Jason’s also the author of a memoir coming in 2021 from Hanover Square Press.

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Clever Creature with Jason Gots

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