I don’t talk about politics on my show. I talk about creativity and I interview guests who can help all of us step into our creative selves. But then J.D. Vance started talking about “childless cat ladies,” and as a woman without children, I have a problem with that. So I thought it was important to air a story I told on the StoryCollider stage some years ago about my ambivalence towards motherhood and my call to become an artist. The story is part of a larger piece I’ve been working on called “Be Fruitful and Multiply.”  If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it. You can reach out to me at podcast@triciaroseburt.com.

R. Eric Thomas is a creative powerhouse. First, he’s masterful on stage not only as a storyteller, but also as the long running host of The Moth StorySlams in Philadelphia. Second, he writes for every possible medium — he’s a television writer for shows airing on Apple TV and FX; an award-winning playwright; and the author of  several books, including the national bestsellers Here For It, or How to Save Your Soul in America and his latest book, Congratulations, The Best is Over! 

Many people first learned about Eric from his daily humor column on Elle.com “Eric Reads the News.” And as of July 1, he’s writing the nationally syndicated advice column “Asking Eric.”

Here’s the thing: Eric’s incredible career journey started with a Facebook post that went viral. But he’s no overnight success. He was able to capitalize on that opportunity because he’d been preparing for years. 

My neighbors, the NYTimes bestselling author Sy Montgomery and acclaimed author Howard Mansfield, have been married for 37 years. In that time, they’ve built and sustained a writing life that’s produced about 40 books between them. And even though they’re a unit, they’ve dedicated their lives to separate creative interests. Sy writes on behalf of animals — she’s best known for her books The Good, Good Pig and The National Book Award Finalist, The Soul of an Octopus — and Howard writes about architecture, preservation, and history in his quest to understand the soul of American places.

And while they live in the same home, they usually don’t know what project the other one is working on.That’s because they give each other the space, support, and feedback that each other needs to do their best work. In a rare combined media appearance, Sy and Howard share how we can treat the artists in our lives and model how to pursue our own creative efforts.