The Science of Creativity
Welcome to THE SCIENCE OF CREATIVITY, your home for insights and inspiration about art, design, and invention. Your host is Dr. Keith Sawyer, one of the world's leading experts on creativity, art, and design. Dr. Sawyer is a tenured university professor who has published 20 books about the science of creativity, including his new book LEARNING TO SEE: INSIDE THE WORLD'S LEADING ART AND DESIGN SCHOOLS. Our goal is to inspire you with stories of brilliant creators and world-changing inventions. You’ll learn about the latest psychological research and gain insights about creativity that will help you reach your full creative potential. In addition to LEARNING TO SEE, Dr. Sawyer is the author of the award-winning books GROUP GENIUS and ZIG ZAG. He is the author of EXPLAINING CREATIVITY, known as "the creativity bible." His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and he gives keynote talks about creativity around the world. He even has his own creativity card deck, the ZIG ZAG Creativity Cards (available on Amazon). THE SCIENCE OF CREATIVITY is published every other Tuesday.
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John Kounios: The Neuroscience of Creativity
02/10/2026
John Kounios: The Neuroscience of Creativity
In this episode of The Science of Creativity, Dr. Keith Sawyer interviews cognitive neuroscientist Dr. John Kounios, one of the world’s leading researchers on insight, the “aha moment,” and the neuroscience of creativity. Kounios—coauthor of The Eureka Factor—has spent decades studying how sudden breakthroughs emerge, what’s happening in the brain when insight strikes, and how we can increase the odds of having more creative ideas. Together, Keith and John unpack the mysteries of insight, from Archimedes’ bathtub to shower thoughts, jazz improvisation, and why some kinds of creativity flourish only when we’re relaxed, a little fuzzy, and not trying too hard. You’ll learn what brain areas activate during an aha moment, how EEG and fMRI reveal the timing and location of insight, and why creativity requires both hard analytical work and moments of letting go. This wide-ranging conversation covers the neuroscience of insight, the psychology of mind-wandering, the power of sleep, the secrets of flow states, improvisation, ADHD and creativity, and practical techniques anyone can use to boost creative thinking. In This Episode What the “Eureka effect” really is—and what makes an insight different from everyday thinking Why most people have many small insights they never notice How researchers trigger and measure insights in the lab The brain signature of an aha moment (and why it’s like a sudden electrical “pop”) Why insight and analytical thinking rely on different brain systems How positive mood, low pressure, and “psychological safety” expand thought Why we get ideas in the shower—and why Thomas Edison napped with steel balls How sleep reorganizes memory and produces breakthrough ideas Why creativity is a “strong spice”—powerful, but only useful at the right moment The surprising connection between ADHD symptoms and insight-based problem solving The neuroscience of flow and why expertise makes effortless creativity possible What jazz improvisation teaches us about creative brain states Practical steps for becoming more creative this week Five Key Takeaways Insight is sudden, non-obvious, and comes with a burst of neural activity. It’s a different cognitive process than deliberate problem-solving, and each mode has strengths. Positive mood, reduced pressure, and mind-wandering increase insight. Psychological safety and relaxation widen the scope of thought, allowing remote associations to surface. You can’t have insights without preparation. Expertise and hard work load the mind with the building blocks that insights rearrange in new ways. Sleep is one of the most powerful creativity boosters. It consolidates memory, breaks fixation, and often produces solutions you couldn’t find the day before. Flow emerges from expertise and reduced frontal-lobe control. In high-skill improvisation (like jazz), creativity becomes automatic, effortless, and deeply absorbing. Practical Advice from John Kounios Get more sleep. It improves mood, reorganizes memory, removes fixation, and dramatically increases insight. Make time for creativity. Insights won’t happen if you never give yourself space to think, wander, or play. Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2026 Keith Sawyer
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Inside the Creative Brain: How Your Mind Changes When You Create
01/27/2026
Inside the Creative Brain: How Your Mind Changes When You Create
In this episode, Keith Sawyer speaks with cognitive scientist Liane Gabora. Her work spans creativity research, artificial intelligence, cultural evolution, and complex systems. Dr. Gabora has spent decades developing computational and mathematical models to understand how ideas emerge, evolve, and spread—both within individual minds and across societies. The conversation centers on Gabora’s research showing that creativity is a self-organizing process in the mind that reshapes a person’s entire worldview. Rather than seeing creativity as confined to specific domains, her "honing theory" explains how creative thinking draws on experiences across a person’s life. When you're thinking creatively, you are transforming ideas, and your mindset is one of openness and potentiality. She also talks about why creativity is deeply therapeutic, how cultural change depends on a balance between novelty and continuity, and what recent advances in AI reveal about the human mind. Five Key Takeaways 1. Creativity reorganizes the mind. It's not just about having ideas. Creative work helps resolve internal tensions and brings greater coherence to how we understand ourselves and the world. 2. Creative inspiration is cross-domain. The sources that fuel creative ideas usually come from many areas of life, even when the final output appears in a single domain. 3. Creative thinking depends on potentiality. Creativity involves holding ideas in flexible, unfinished states where meanings can shift depending on context. 4. Cultural evolution mirrors creative processes. Human culture advances through cycles of invention and imitation, with the same process as individual creativity. 5. Transformational creativity is "problem finding." The most powerful creative ideas come from stepping outside the choices we’re given and redefining the problem itself. For additional information Web site: Her research group is called “Art and Science of Creative Change” Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2026 Keith Sawyer
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Exploring the Essence of Creativity in Science and Art: A Conversation with Arthur Miller
01/13/2026
Exploring the Essence of Creativity in Science and Art: A Conversation with Arthur Miller
In this conversation, Professor Arthur I. Miller discusses artificial intelligence and creativity, including his book The Artist in the Machine. We discuss the essence of creativity, exploring its interdisciplinary nature and the connections between art and science. Dr. Miller emphasizes the importance of visual imagery in both science and art, and he identifies the key characteristics of highly creative individuals. We talk about the role of AI in creativity, the future of human-machine collaboration, and we end with practical advice for enhancing your own creativity. Takeaways Breakthrough creativity comes from interdisciplinary connections. Visual imagery underlies creativity in both art and science. The future of creativity will be in the collaboration between humans and machines. Creativity can be cultivated through practice and new experiences. For further information: Professor Miller’s book Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2026 Keith Sawyer
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The True Story of New Year's Resolutions: Babylon, Ancient Rome, Benjamin Franklin, and the Science of Resolutions that Work
12/30/2025
The True Story of New Year's Resolutions: Babylon, Ancient Rome, Benjamin Franklin, and the Science of Resolutions that Work
Every January, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions—and just as many abandon them weeks later. But where did this ritual come from? In this episode, Dr. Keith Sawyer traces the surprising 4,000-year history of New Year’s resolutions, from ancient Babylonian vows to Roman civic promises, Christian moral reflection, early American self-engineering, and modern consumer culture. Along the way, he shows that resolutions were never inevitable or instinctive. They're a powerful example of collective creativity: a social tradition that slowly emerged as each generation added something new. Even when resolutions fail, we still grow from reflecting on our past and thinking about the future. Five Key Takeaways New Year’s resolutions are a tradition that emerged over thousands of years. The earliest resolutions were about social trust, not self-improvement. In ancient Babylon, people made public vows to repay debts and keep promises to maintain social order. Christianity turned resolutions inward. Over time, public civic vows evolved into private moral commitments focused on personal character and self-examination. Modern resolutions were shaped by early American self-tracking--a science of the self. Figures like Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin treated the self as something that could be systematically improved through intention and measurement. Failure doesn’t mean resolutions are pointless. Even when resolutions aren’t fully kept, the act of reflection helps people clarify values, imagine future selves, and move toward personal growth. Chapters Intro Why do we make resolutions? Reflection and self-improvement. The First Resolutions: Babylon, 2000 BCE. Vows to the gods as public tools for social trust and stability. Rome Invents January 1. How Julius Caesar, Janus, and Roman vota reshaped the calendar and the meaning of promises. Christianity Turns Resolutions Inward. From public ritual to private moral self-examination. Jonathan Edwards Invents the Modern Resolution. Seventy intense resolutions and the birth of systematic self-engineering. Benjamin Franklin Tracks His Failures. Virtue charts, black dots, and the idea that character can be optimized. Newspapers Start Making Fun of Resolutions. By the 1800s, some people were already making fun of how often they failed. Radio and Psychology Take Over. How 20th-century media transformed resolutions into intimate self-help. Advertising Discovers Resolutions. When self-improvement became a January sales strategy for gym memberships and Weight Watchers. How to Make Resolutions that Stick. Research on resolutions: when they fail and what you can do to be more likely to succeed. Collective Creativity. Resolutions are a social innovation that emerged over the centuries. Outro Closer Music by license from SoundStripe: "Sparkling Eyes" by AFTERNOONZ "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Velvet" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "Blue Molasses" by Renderings "Corner Trio" by Renderings "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Inventing the iPhone: Myths, Mistakes, and Group Genius
12/16/2025
Inventing the iPhone: Myths, Mistakes, and Group Genius
You've heard about Steve Jobs, the Wizard of Cupertino. They say he invented the iPhone. Some people called him the iGod. But the iPhone was not created by a single genius, not Jobs and not anyone else. The real story is more surprising, and more interesting, than a myth about a single man. In this episode, Dr. Keith Sawyer reveals the true history behind Apple’s groundbreaking invention. It was years of secret teams, failed prototypes, competing visions, and the collective creativity of hundreds of people. Before the iPhone, cutting-edge techies carried all sorts of devices--phones, PDAs, and music players. If your device had a screen, it was tiny. If you could touch that screen, you had to use a plastic pointer. Touching on glass with your finger seemed impossible. Top executives in the business thought that a phone without a keyboard was a ridiculous idea. In 2007, Apple introduced a device that changed everything. It was more than a technological innovation; it changed entertainment, travel, and social life. Steve Jobs stood on stage at MacWorld, and said "We are calling it iPhone," but he wasn't the inventor. You'll hear that clip in this episode--he didn't say the iPhone, he said simply "iPhone." This is the creation story of the iPhone. Not the myth, but what really happened. It's a wonderful example of group genius. Five Key Takeaways The iPhone wasn’t invented by one person—its creation emerged from years of ideas, prototypes, failures, and contributions from thousands of people. The breakthrough wasn’t the hardware—it was the ecosystem: multitouch, iTunes, the App Store, cloud services, and developers all working together. Apple’s first attempt at a phone, the Motorola ROKR, was a failure—and that failure was essential fuel for the true iPhone project. Cultural impact matters as much as technological innovation—smartphones fundamentally changed how humans navigate, create, communicate, and even remember. The iPhone is one of the most powerful examples of social innovation: a collective, emergent creation shaped by engineers, designers, users, markets, and culture. Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Where Did Santa Claus Come From? The Secret History of Christmas
12/09/2025
Where Did Santa Claus Come From? The Secret History of Christmas
This is a special Christmas episode of The Science of Creativity. The creation of Christmas is an example of social innovation, a kind of collective creativity where everyone plays a role. Five hundred years ago, Christmas was a wild party, where young men got drunk and roamed in packs around town. Children didn’t start getting gifts until about 200 years ago. The Santa Claus myth was invented, along with the elves and the workshop at the North Pole, in the late 1800s. This episode gives you the history of the secular, non-religious traditions that we celebrate at Christmas. It started two thousand years ago, in Ancient Rome, it picked up steam in the 1800s, and we’re still creating new Christmas traditions today. The creation of Christmas is a story of social innovation and group genius. This is a special encore of one of my favorite episodes, originally published as season 1, episode 15, on December 1, 2024 Chapters Intro Traditions and Change Wassailing and Twelfth Night Toys and Gift-Giving Santa Claus and the Elves The War on Christmas The Holiday for Everyone Outro Music by license from Soundstripe Blues for Oliver - Cast of Characters Christmas Tree Jazz Trio Silent Night – Cast of Characters Just Walkin’ – Ryan Saranich Uptown Lovers - What’s the Big Deal References Wikipedia on “The war on Christmas” and “Wassailing” and “Syncretism” - ChatGPT Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Dark Creativity: How People Get Good Ideas to Do Bad Things
11/25/2025
Dark Creativity: How People Get Good Ideas to Do Bad Things
In this episode of , Keith Sawyer talks with Dr. Hansika Kapoor about the psychology of dark creativity — how the same cognitive processes that generate brilliant ideas can also lead to deception, manipulation, or harm. Kapoor explains that creativity itself is amoral: it can be directed toward good or bad outcomes depending on intent and context. Their conversation spans the neuroscience of lying, the overlap between moral and creative cognition, and the role of cultural factors in shaping creative expression. They also discuss recent findings on the “art bias,” on using creativity tests in college admissions, and about the cultural practice of jugard in Indian culture. Dr. Kapoor has been a Research Author at the Department of Psychology, Monk Prayogshala, Mumbai since July 2011. is an independent not-for-profit academic research institute, striving to improve the academic research environment in India, starting with the social sciences. She is also an Affiliate at the Neag School of Education at the . Her work has been published in several international peer-reviewed academic journals, such as Creativity Research Journal, Thinking Skills and Creativity, and Personality and Individual Differences (). She also regularly contribute to popular media publications, including Psychology Today, Mint, and The Wire (). Key topics include: • The concept of dark creativity and its ethical implications • Creativity, deception, and moral reasoning in the brain • Cultural perspectives on creativity in India and the idea of jugard • Creativity as a predictor of educational success • The “art bias” and everyday creativity For additional information: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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The Art of Motion: Capturing Life on Paper an Interview with Carol Fabricatore
11/11/2025
The Art of Motion: Capturing Life on Paper an Interview with Carol Fabricatore
Based in New York City, Carol prefers to leave the studio and seek out the immediacy of city life, whether sidewalks, parks, boxing studios, or Coney Island. In this conversation, Carol Fabricatore shares her extensive experience as a professional illustrator and how she teaches advanced MFA students to advance on their creative journey. She talks about the mystery of capturing motion and energy in drawing, the role of fearlessness in artistic practice, and the transformative journey of students in MFA programs. She emphasizes the value of leaving the computer and drawing by hand, the necessity of experimenting and taking risks, and the significance of narrative and storytelling in art. Carol encourages even experienced artists to explore beyond their comfort zones, leave their existing style behind, and pursue a creative journey toward new ways of seeing and working. Carol began her career in editorial and book illustration, with work appearing in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Chicago Tribune. Over the years, her practice has expanded into fine art, where she combines acrylic and gouache to capture both the complexity and vulnerability of human experience. With a BFA from Parsons School of Design and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, Carol has spent more than two decades teaching narrative drawing. For additional information: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2026 Keith Sawyer
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How AI Hinders Creativity in Education: Matt Worwood on The Convenience Trap
10/28/2025
How AI Hinders Creativity in Education: Matt Worwood on The Convenience Trap
Matthew Worwood is a full-time Digital Media Design faculty member at the University of Connecticut. He has research interests in Creativity, Design Thinking, and Co-Creativity using Generative AI tools and Digital Media. Outside of his research, Matthew is an experienced learning experience designer who works closely with K-12 educators on professional growth and teacher creativity. He is co-host of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast and has produced two low-budget documentary films that explore topics related to creativity in education. For further information: Teacher Roundtables: Worwood Classroom web site: Learning to think inside the box with Teacher Creativity: with online tutorial videos Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Art, Design, and the Creative Process with Lorne Buchman
10/14/2025
Art, Design, and the Creative Process with Lorne Buchman
In this conversation, Lorne Buchman discusses his book . It’s based on interviews he did with creators in a range of fields. These interviews connect with the same themes in my book --powerful features of creativity like iteration, uncertainty, engaging with materials, and an improvisational dialogue with the unfolding work. He shares his personal journey in discovering creativity, emphasizing the importance of engaging with uncertainty and the role of improvisation in art and life. Buchman highlights how constraints can stimulate creativity, and the significance of fostering a dialogue with materials in the creative process. For 13 years, Lorne Buchman was the president of one of the top art and design schools, ArtCenter College of Design, and he's now the President Emeritus. He's been a theater director, a dramatic literature professor, and the author of a book on filmic adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. He hosts the podcast Change Lab. For more information: Lorne Buchman's web site: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Kara Rooney: Finding Your Voice as an Artist
09/30/2025
Kara Rooney: Finding Your Voice as an Artist
Kara Rooney is a successful New York multidisciplinary artist who creates installation performances and videos, as well as sculpture, painting, and photography. She's had numerous solo and group shows and performances, with many in New York City but also in Mexico, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. She's a published critic with articles in the New York Times and catalog essays, and she's curated many exhibitions. In this conversation, we talk about the complexities of being an artist. Kara talks about the challenge of finding one's voice and the importance of discipline and studio time. With her experience teaching at the School of Visual Arts, she tells us how she designs assignments in studio classes, and in particular, the value of constraints in fostering creativity. For further information: Kara's web site: The book Learning to See, about art and design education: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Steve DeFrank: Unlocking Creativity in Art Education
09/16/2025
Steve DeFrank: Unlocking Creativity in Art Education
Steve DeFrank is a top New York painter with numerous one-person exhibitions and group exhibitions. His solo exhibitions include Clementine Gallery in New York, and the Clifford Smith Gallery in Boston. His group shows include the Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery and The National Arts Club in New York, and many others. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, in The New Yorker, and many others. He’s been a Visiting Artist at Cornell University, the Massachusetts College of Art, and he currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he's taught sculpture, new media art, painting, drawing, and other courses. In this conversation, DeFrank shares his insights on teaching creativity and the artistic process. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the journey of creativity rather than the end product, encouraging students to embrace uncertainty and anxiety as part of their artistic growth. DeFrank discusses the significance of developing an "artistic eye" and the challenges students face in learning to see and interpret the world around them. He reflects on the transformative experience of the foundation year for art students and the ongoing dialogue between the artist's hand and eye. This is a brilliant inside view of a process-oriented approach to art that values exploration and personal expression. For additional information: Steve's web site: The book Learning to See, with many quotations from Steve and from other SVA artists and designers: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Scott Barry Kaufman: Inspiring Creativity
09/02/2025
Scott Barry Kaufman: Inspiring Creativity
Scott Barry Kaufman is an influential psychologist, creativity researcher, podcaster, and best-selling book author. In this episode, we explore themes such as the messy nature of creative minds, the importance of incubation, and the role of daydreaming. We discuss the brain's imagination network and the balance between conscious and unconscious processes in fostering creativity. Scott emphasizes the significance of psychological flexibility and the ability to embrace uncertainty, while also highlighting the value of sensitivity in the creative process. Our discussion culminates in practical advice for enhancing creativity through openness to experience and reflective practices. For more information: Scott's book Scott's new book Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Kelly Leonard: Improv Comedy at The Second City
08/19/2025
Kelly Leonard: Improv Comedy at The Second City
Kelly Leonard has been involved with improv comedy for almost 40 years. He's worked with actors and comedians including Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Keegan Michael Key, Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler. He started working at the Second City Theater in Chicago in 1988, eventually becoming producer in 1992, and later, taking on roles and titles including Executive Director, Executive Vice President, and Creative Adviser. Since 2016, he’s been Vice President of Creative Strategy, Innovation, and Business Development. He’s produced hundreds of original revues. His 2015 book Yes, And received rave reviews in Vanity Fair and the Washington Post. He co-leads a new partnership with Booth School at the University of Chicago that studies behavioral science through the lens of improvisation. He is a popular speaker, appearing at Aspen Ideas Festival, Chicago Ideas Week and TEDxBroadway and hosts the Second City Works/WGN Podcast “Getting to Yes, And.” For additional information: The book Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Adam Green: The Neuroscience and Neurostimulation of Creativity
08/05/2025
Adam Green: The Neuroscience and Neurostimulation of Creativity
Dr. Adam Green is an expert in brain research and neurostimulation of creativity. He also studies how the use of AI influences creativity in the user. Spoiler alert: Using AI often reduces creativity. He’s the Director of the , a founder and former president of , and Editor-In-Chief at the Creativity Research Journal. His main interest is in human creative intelligence and especially in understanding how neural processes constitute our best ideas. Adam’s work includes research into endogenous neural mechanisms and exogenous neurostimulation that support creative relational reasoning, as well as research on the neuroscience of teaching and learning in real-world educational contexts. His research has been reported on NBC, CNN, BBC, NPR, and in print in the Times of London, Scientific American, Wired, Fast Company, and many others. For More Information: Keith's book Dr. Adam Green at Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Scott Thorp: Creative Thinking Strategies in Art and Design
07/22/2025
Scott Thorp: Creative Thinking Strategies in Art and Design
Scott Thorp is an artist, writer and educator specializing in creativity. He’s a professor at Augusta University, and is the Chair of the Department of Art and Design and the Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research. Scott earned his MFA in multi-disciplinary art from the Maryland Institute College of Art. In addition to his artistic practice, he was a regular contributor to the international art magazine, , where he wrote about technology-based, contemporary artists. Before Augusta University, he was a professor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) from 2005 to 2015, where he was the Design Coordinator and he designed and taught the course “Creative Thinking Strategies.” Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Zorana Ivcevic Pringle: The Creativity Choice
06/23/2025
Zorana Ivcevic Pringle: The Creativity Choice
Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle is a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Her work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, US News, Science Daily, and others, and she is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and Creativity Post. Zorana studies many aspects of the creative process, including idea generation but also creative mindsets, creative self-efficacy, and the role of emotions in creativity. Her new book is called The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions to Turn Ideas into Action. She argues that creativity is a choice--not only choosing in some abstract general way, but she gives advice about how to make creative choices throughout the creative process, from the first idea to the development of the idea. In this interview, she talks about creative mindsets, creative self-efficacy, and harnessing and managing your emotions to maximize creativity. For more information: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer
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Jonathan Feinstein: How Lives Unfold for Exceptional Creators
06/24/2025
Jonathan Feinstein: How Lives Unfold for Exceptional Creators
Dr. Jonathan Feinstein, a professor at Yale University, studies the developmental paths of creative individuals, including entrepreneurs, inventors, artists and scientists. His book Creativity in Large-Scale Contexts was published in 2023. He is also the author of The Nature of Creative Development (2006). His current work focuses on models of creative engagement, centering on guidance, learning, opportunities, and paths of development. What do we choose to learn and explore as we develop our creative interests and passions? What opportunities arise, which projects do we pursue? His approach emphasizes the rich diverse patterns of development, unfolding over a few years or a lifetime. On top of all this, he is an expert in the field of tax compliance and the analysis of audit and detection processes. At Yale, he teaches core statistics and runs the math book camp. For more information: , from Stanford University Press. , from Stanford University Press. Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer
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Charna Halpern: Improv Comedy at Chicago's iO Theater
06/10/2025
Charna Halpern: Improv Comedy at Chicago's iO Theater
Everyone who works in television and movie comedy knows Charna Halpern. She’s trained thousands of actors, writers, and producers at her Chicago theater, founded in 1981, called the iO theater. In this episode, Charna tells personal and funny stories about actors from Chris Farley and Neil Flynn to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Along with actor and director Del Close, Charna invented modern improvisational theater in the 1980s. The art form known as long form improvisation—a 20 or 30-minute fully improvised one-act play—was developed at the iO theater, and is still found on their stage at seven nights a week at 1501 N. Kingsbury Street in Chicago. Charna is one of the best-known and best-loved people in comedy because she developed a system for training actors how to improvise together. Her training takes a full year and it’s so effective that TV producers, like Lorne Michaels, regularly visit iO theater to audition the actors who’ve graduated from the program. Sometimes on Saturday Night Live, every actor was once at the iO theater. Charna created a family, a community, that she lovingly calls “my people.” Here are just a few of the famous actors and writers who we talk about in this episode (in order of mention): Lorne Michaels; Cecily Strong; Tina Fey; Amy Poehler; Mike Myers; Vanessa Bayer; Adam McKay; Brian Stack; Stephen Colbert; David Koechner; Rachel Dratch; Chris Farley; Sarah Silverman; Stephanie Ware; Neil Flynn; Larry David; Seth Myers; John Lutz; Matt Walsh; Tim Meadows. She even tells a story about how she let Adam McKay sleep on her couch before he was famous because he couldn’t afford to stay in Chicago. When I was doing my research on improvisation in the early 1990s, the theater was called “Improv Olympic” and only later renamed “iO.” Don’t tell anyone I said that. For more information: iO theater. . Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Howard Johnson. . Charna Halpern. Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Mark Runco: The Psychology of Creativity, Assessment, and Creative Potential
05/27/2025
Mark Runco: The Psychology of Creativity, Assessment, and Creative Potential
Dr. Mark Runco is a professor and is the Director of Creativity Research and Programming at Southern Oregon University. Over 35 years ago, he founded an influential scientific journal called The Creativity Research Journal and he was the editor of that journal until 2020. He’s published books that are widely read by creativity researchers such as his college textbook, Creativity: Research, Development, and Practice (three editions), The Creativity Research Handbook (1997, 2011, 2012), and the very first Encyclopedia of Creativity in 1999. He’s known for his studies of core topics in creativity research including problem finding, assessment, and divergent thinking. His recent writings are critical of the widespread claim that Gen AI is creative. He argues that creativity is unique to humans, and we’re going to talk about that today. Mark developed and still teaches seminars on creativity, including "Creativity: What It Is and What It Is Not," "The Assessment of Creativity," "Creative Cognition," and "Social Contexts for Creativity." He is past president of Division 10 (Psychology, Art, Creativity, and Aesthetics) of the American Psychological Association. Episodes 23 and 24 of this podcast are about the annual conference of Division 10. Additional information: , 1999 (with Steven Pritzer) , 2011 (with Steven Pritzker) (third edition, 2023) (third edition, 2012) Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Steve Heller: Teaching Graphic Design
05/13/2025
Steve Heller: Teaching Graphic Design
Steve Heller is arguably the world’s best-known design educator, with over 200 books on graphic design, illustration, and political art. I interviewed him for my 2025 book . His books include ; ; and (with Marshall Arisman). He’s spent most of his career at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he’s now the Special Assistant to the President and the Co-Founder and Co-Chair Emeritus of the MFA Design Department. He’s won numerous awards including Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Mind Award; Smithsonian Design Museum; National Endowment for the Arts; AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement; and many others. For 33 years, he was an art director at the New York Times and the New York Times Book Review. In this interview, he gives amazing insights about how to teach graphic design and illustration. For more information: Book: Book: Sawyer's book Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Learning to See: Inside the World's Leading Art and Design Schools
04/29/2025
Learning to See: Inside the World's Leading Art and Design Schools
The much-anticipated art and design book was just published by MIT Press! In this episode, author Keith Sawyer talks with Amy Climer about his new book. Learning to See is an engaging and profound account of how professional artists and designers create and how they teach others to do it. Keith spent over ten years interviewing a hundred professors who’ve taught in 50 different colleges, universities, and institutes. He also interviewed students to learn about the personal transformation they go through as they learn to see and think like successful creative professionals. Learning to See describes project assignments and studio class sessions in over 20 different disciplines, revealing the shared essence of art and design. tells the stories of the professional artists and designers who teach in BFA and MFA programs throughout the U.S., including top schools in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. These articulate and experienced educators share their insights about how to guide younger artists and designers to realize their full creative potential. In the best BFA and MFA programs, students learn to see things they couldn’t see before, and they learn to think in new ways. In Learning to See, you meet professors and students in over 20 different art and design disciplines—from painting and sculpture to graphic design and architecture. By reading what they say in their conversations and their classrooms, you learn that becoming an artist or designer is not about learning to draw or sew or weld—it is about learning to see. This book is for anyone who wants to better understand how professional artists and designers see, think, and make. Notes Book web site: Keith Sawyer's web site: Amy Climer's web site: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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The 2025 Creativity Conference, episode 2: Cutting-Edge Research from Top Psychologists
04/15/2025
The 2025 Creativity Conference, episode 2: Cutting-Edge Research from Top Psychologists
We're going to leave the podcast studio and travel to Yale University for the 2025 creativity research conference! This is the second of two episodes bringing you cutting-edge research from the conference. This episode has five interviews with leading-edge creativity researchers. There were over two hundred researchers at Yale, from around the world, including Japan, India, Europe, and South America. This is the official American Psychological Association creativity research conference. In this episode, you'll hear about research that is SO NEW that it hasn't even been published yet. Top creativity researchers attend this conference each year so that they can find out about the latest research findings, and now you can hear about it, too. This episode takes you to the conference room floor. Listen to this episode and also the last one, because there is too much great research for just one episode! Dr. Sawyer invited five researchers to tell us about their latest research findings, and there are six more in the last episode. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:35 Paul Silvia - Co-organizer of the conference 8:04 Hansika Kapoor - Dark creativity 17:41 Takeshi Okada - Living with art 27:00 Interlude 27:51 Angie Miller - Strategic National Arts Alumni Program 36:48 Taylor Worley - Slow looking 51:45 Outro 55:58 Closer Resources Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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The 2025 Creativity Conference: Cutting-Edge Research from Top Psychologists
04/01/2025
The 2025 Creativity Conference: Cutting-Edge Research from Top Psychologists
We're going to leave the podcast studio and travel to Yale University for the 2025 creativity research conference! This episode has six interviews with leading-edge creativity researchers and the next episode has five more. There were over two hundred researchers at Yale, from around the world, including Japan, India, Europe, and South America. This is the official American Psychological Association creativity research conference. In this episode, you'll hear about research that is SO NEW that it hasn't even been published yet. Top creativity researchers attend this conference each year so that they can find out about the latest research findings, and now you can hear about it, too. This episode takes you to the conference room floor. Listen to this episode and the next one, because there is too much great research for just one episode! Dr. Sawyer invited six researchers to tell us about their latest research findings, and there are five more in the next episode. Chapters 1:49 Conference welcome from Roni Reiter-Palmon 2:49 Kristin Lamb: Imagination and Creativity 9:40 Ahmad Rahimi: Using Large Language Models to Assess Student Creativity with Games 13:43 Interlude 14:41 Shoshi Kesari: Improv Theater with Adults 20:34 Denis Dumas: Children and the balance between originality and appropriateness 31:15 Michael Mumford: Creativity research from the 1970s to today 42:11 Outro 43:19 Closer Resources Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Leidy Klotz: Creativity Through Subtraction
03/15/2025
Leidy Klotz: Creativity Through Subtraction
Dr. Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, and the author of the book . In this episode, we talk about how his research contributes to our understanding of how to approach and solve problems and how to change and innovate. This is an insightful conversation between two psychologists who really love to study how people think and act! Dr. Klotz's research is about so much more than creativity, but his research is linked to a lot of creativity topics, including editing during the process, architectural design, and education. Please take a look at Dr. Leidy Klotz’s book, which is called , and visit his web site at . Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer
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Amy Climer: Deliberate Creative Teams
03/01/2025
Amy Climer: Deliberate Creative Teams
Dr. Amy Climer is a thought leader in creativity and innovation. She argues that creativity emerges from a deliberate process. Creativity can be learned, practiced, and repeated. Researchers have discovered a lot about how to teach this effectively, and this is the theme of her new book, . In Dr. Climer's view, creativity is an intentional, structured process. For over 20 years, she’s been facilitating creativity workshops with teams and organizations. She helps companies learn how to foster an innovative culture through her company . She’s the developer of the Deliberate CreativeⓇ Team Scale and the ClimerⓇ Cards, both powerful tools for enhancing team creativity. For more information: Amy’s company: Amy’s book: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer
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Yoed Kenett: The Associations of the Creative Mind
02/15/2025
Yoed Kenett: The Associations of the Creative Mind
Dr. Yoed Kenett studies the types of thinking and knowledge that support creativity. His research helps us understand the core mental processes of creativity, including associative thinking and question formulation. In this episode, we talk about the practical implications of his research and we show how that research can be used to enhance your creativity. He’s done research at the Hebrew University at Jerusalem; Bar-Ilan University; Brown University; and the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2020, he’s been a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the at The Technion: Israel Institute of Technology.
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Adam Galinsky: How to Be a Creative Leader
02/01/2025
Adam Galinsky: How to Be a Creative Leader
How can leaders foster creativity in their teams? How can you inspire people to reach their potential? Today's guest, Dr. Adam Galinsky, has spent decades studying these questions, doing research in social psychology, leadership, and organizational behavior. His latest book, , gives research-based advice for how to increase motivation, creativity, and collaboration. These are important skills for leaders but also for everyone in their daily lives. Adam is also the co-author of . Adam Galinsky is a professor at Columbia Business School. For more information: Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Dr. Robert Sternberg: The psychology of wisdom, love, and creativity
01/15/2025
Dr. Robert Sternberg: The psychology of wisdom, love, and creativity
Dr. Robert Sternberg, a professor of psychology at Cornell University, is one of the best-known psychologists in the United States. He’s done groundbreaking research on the most important issues in psychology, including scientific studies of wisdom, love, hate, leadership, and of course, creativity. Dr. Sternberg is known for reforming college admissions requirements to include measures of creativity, which he did while a dean at both Tufts University and at Oklahoma State University. He’s published literally thousands of books and scientific articles and his research has been cited by other scholars over 250,000 times. Dr. Sternberg’s research represents the best that we have in The Science of Creativity. For more information: Robert J. Sternberg, 2007. . Robert J. Sternberg, 2002. . Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
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Anna Abraham: Myths and Truths of the Creative Brain
01/01/2025
Anna Abraham: Myths and Truths of the Creative Brain
Dr. Anna Abraham is a neuroscientist, a leading creativity researcher, and a professor at the University of Georgia. In addition to her cutting-edge research, Professor Abraham is the Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, a research and outreach center at the University of Georgia. Dr. Abraham is doing cutting-edge research in some of the most important aspects of the human experience. She’s studied creativity, imagination, the reality-fiction distinction, and mental time travel. In this episode, we talk about her new book, The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths. The book helps us understand what science tells us about controversial topics. For example, is creativity connected to mental illness, psychedelic drugs, or autism? Listen to our interview to find out. For more information: Her book at the University of Georgia Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer
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