Clever Creature

Clever Creature

Jason Gots

"A perfectly weird zine for your ears" - Boing Boing. "A case study in artistic drive" - Indiewire. A single surprise word seeds a piece of short fiction, a song, a reflection, and (part of) a conversation. Guests including Resmaa Menakem, Neil Gaiman, Mary-Louise Parker, and more. Until 2020, Jason hosted Think Again, with thinkers and creatives including Terry Gilliam, Margaret Atwood, 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 memoir HUMANITY IS TRYING: coming in 2021 from HarperCollins.

DEVOLUTION (w/Tim Minchin)

DEVOLUTION (w/Tim Minchin)

Descend a few rungs on the old evolutionary ladder with us in this, the season 2 finale of Clever Creature. Mordant, multitalented Australian songwriter and actor Tim Minchin, the lyricist of the musicals MATILDA and GROUNDHOG DAY, talks with Jason about creative evolution, cultural devolution, and not taking yourself too seriously. There's short fiction by Jason that takes us to the outer limits of optimism. And a song by the one and only Jerm Boor, a deep soul with a deep voice. Special

Sep 1, 2021 • 1:11:16

AUTOTOMY (w/Andre Gregory)

AUTOTOMY (w/Andre Gregory)

“If your castle’s made of sugar, don’t blame the rain when it melts.” Sometimes, you’ve just got to kill your darlings. You're a cuttlefish, say, and something’s got your arm in its jaws? No worries. Just eject it! It’ll grow back later . . . In biology, that’s called “autotomy”. In this episode, legendary theater director Andre Gregory talks to Jason about acts of self-reinvention and past selves left behind. There's short fiction about a utopian Christian community that keeps its peace a

Aug 18, 2021 • 1:22:27

GERMINATE (w/Ross Gay)

GERMINATE (w/Ross Gay)

“He will come back with scars and with stories to tell…” This episode is about new beginnings that lead to surprising outcomes. Poet and essayist Ross Gay talks to Jason about precious things beheld and forgotten. There’s a twisted fairytale about weed farming, big box stores, and grand designs. And Jason goes solo with a tune of prayer and self-forgiveness. From warm, dark places, something new is born. Special thanks to Jamie Mayberry for the word of the episode. To Emre Gots for the theme son

Aug 4, 2021 • 1:14:39

EMERGENCE (w/Merlin Sheldrake)

EMERGENCE (w/Merlin Sheldrake)

Word by word, a story emerges. Neuron by neuron, consciousness emerges. The story, song, and conversation of this episode are about that mysterious process whereby things become bigger than the sum of their parts. Cambridge mycologist Merlin Sheldrake talks with Jason about how fungal networks solve complex problems, and how LSD and polyphonic music have helped him understand them. There's fiction by Jason about an unhappy man who finds freedom from the outside in. And a hypnotic instrumental bl

Jul 21, 2021 • 1:12:34

RHYTHM (w/Bia Labate)

RHYTHM (w/Bia Labate)

From the reassuring sound of our mother's heartbeat to our last breath, our lives are bounded by rhythm. In music, poetry, meditation, and prayer, rhythm is the trance that lets the spirit fly. In grounding us, it can free us. And it can sometimes become a dangerous drug, lulling us to sleep. In this episode Jason talks with anthropologist Bia Labate of Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines about the rhythms of ancient indigenous life and of life in the global north as they re

Jul 7, 2021 • 1:03:04

TRANSITION (w/Ajahn Amaro)

TRANSITION (w/Ajahn Amaro)

At first glance, the word of this episode is impossibly, mind-bogglingly big. "Transition" applies to everything. There's nothing in the known universe (or anywhere else, for that matter, I'd bet) that isn't, at some level, in a state of change. But as always, god, the devil, and everything in between is in the details . . . This week, Ajahn Amaro, a Buddhist monk of 45 years in the Thai Forest tradition talks to Jason about his transition from skeptical rebel to rule-bound monk. There's a story

Jun 23, 2021 • 1:22:25

CROWN SHYNESS (w/Aimee Nezhukumatathil)

CROWN SHYNESS (w/Aimee Nezhukumatathil)

“The higher up I go, the less I need to know…” “Crown shyness” is social distancing for treetops. It’s a botanical mystery, the fact that certain trees give each other space in the canopy. Are they sharing sunlight? Protecting each other from disease and infestation? Perhaps they just prefer to be alone… A story, a song, thoughts, and a conversation about growth and separation. The poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of WORLD OF WONDERS on love and the natural world. A short story fr

Jun 9, 2021 • 1:34:52

BODY (w/Resmaa Menakem)

BODY (w/Resmaa Menakem)

“I was so in love with images, I forgot the native art…” A story, a song, thoughts, and a conversation about what goes on underneath the words and the skin. Somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem, author of MY GRANDMOTHER’S HANDS, on racialized trauma in black, white, and police bodies. A short story from Jason about a birthday party gone so wrong, it’s almost right. And a love song to…can you guess it? Can you guess it? Special thanks to Eric Sanders for the word of the episode, to Helix Lamont for t

May 26, 2021 • 48:59

THAW (w/Neil Gaiman)

THAW (w/Neil Gaiman)

“I never saw a sun so bright as on that day…” Season Two of the podcast Indiewire calls "a case study in artistic drive" opens with a word of power, this spring especially, as the world anxiously, hopefully starts to open back up again. SANDMAN and AMERICAN GODS author Neil Gaiman on the on the strange comfort of scary (fictional) places and of having your whole year’s schedule cancelled by COVID. Short fiction by Jason Gots about finding Joy on the map and deciding not to stay there. And a fath

May 12, 2021 • 1:00:09

Trailer: Coming 5/12/21 — Clever Creature, Season Two

Trailer: Coming 5/12/21 — Clever Creature, Season Two

The show Indiewire called "a case study in artistic drive" is back with nine wild, open new episodes featuring short fiction, conversation, and original songs. Each is an "experimental variety show" based on a single world having something to do with the natural world. Writer and podcaster Jason Gots talks with fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Cambridge Mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem, singer-songwriter Tim Minchin, Buddhist monk

Apr 7, 2021 • 2:07

SIEGE (w/Jerry Craft)

SIEGE (w/Jerry Craft)

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.

Aug 18, 2020 • 1:11:12

FAIL (w/Mary-Louise Parker)

FAIL (w/Mary-Louise Parker)

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.

Aug 4, 2020 • 59:37

PRECEDENT (w/David Sedaris)

PRECEDENT (w/David Sedaris)

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.

Jul 21, 2020 • 50:51

CONVICT (w/Etgar Keret)

CONVICT (w/Etgar Keret)

Mushrooms, love, and anarchy on an alien prison colony. Etgar Keret on taking your art too seriously. And a beat-driven tribal-futurist tune about life in the substrate.

Jul 7, 2020 • 1:03:57

LACE (w/Françoise Bourzat)

LACE (w/Françoise Bourzat)

The 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.

Jun 23, 2020 • 1:07:37

RALLY (w/Shima Oliaee)

RALLY (w/Shima Oliaee)

An imaginary city with a feral pig problem. Radiolab's Shima Oliaee on rallying yourself through the twists and turns of a creative career.

Jun 9, 2020 • 59:19

CHURCH (w/Gish Jen)

CHURCH (w/Gish Jen)

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.

May 26, 2020 • 48:17

DESERT (w/Emre Gots)

DESERT (w/Emre Gots)

A lost man converses with his gut flora. A song about deserts real and imaginary. Jason and his son discuss the Ice Cream Desert and its denizens.

May 12, 2020 • 39:36

Season 1 trailer: a creative leap of faith

Season 1 trailer: a creative leap of faith

Coming 5/12/20, with David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, and other guests: a different kind of variety show: a story, a song, and a conversation, all inspired by one random word.

Feb 25, 2020 • 1:57

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