Acclaimed artist and actor Lyrics Born speaks about finding a new identity beyond hip-hop, what he’s learned in 30 years as a recording artist, and the importance of saying yes when unexpected gifts come your way.

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Acclaimed songwriter Joan Osborne says the artist will never stop pushing against the Resistance, but the doubts that arise will take on different forms.

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With 3 Grammy wins, 16 million albums sold, and 30 years of experience, the members of Hanson have learned a thing or two about creativity and resistance. In this episode, they emphasize the importance of being present and the difficulties of differentiating oneself from one's work. 

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Life doesn't get in the way, so to speak, for Colin West. As an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter, West has instead learned to embrace the mundane and routine for the substance it provides the stories he tells, including his latest film, Linoleum, a New York Times Critics Pick starring Jim Gaffigan, Tony Shalhoub, and Rhea Seehorn.

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After nine full-length albums, numerous global tours, multiple Brit Awards, and four Platinum releases, you'd think Fran Healy and his bandmates in Travis would be a bit more confident in their ability to write a great song. But Healy says it was never about talent. It's just about a willingness to dig and nothing more.

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In nearly 20 years as frontman of The Wood Brothers, Oliver Wood has built an incredible catalog of Grammy-nominated, genre-defying music. The key to such longevity is his career-long fight to stay distracted—yes, distracted—in his creative processes.

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As a teenager, acclaimed vocalist Liz Vice lived with a severe autoimmune disease that could have killed her. On this episode, Liz tells us about the creative fears that still have a hold on her, even as her gospel/R&B fusion has made her an NPR darling and given her a considerable platform.

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Joshua Henry, fresh off his appearance in the film Tick, Tick...Boom!, is a three-time Tony nominee known for his work in Carousel, The Scottsboro Boys, Hamilton, and Waitress who also recently released his debut album, Grow. The secret to so much success? Henry says he tries to listen to "the voice before the voice" as a daily practice. Check out our latest conversation on The Resistance.

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Conor O'Brien is trying his best to avoid "the algorithm blues." As the songwriter and central figure in the Mercury Prize nominated band Villagers, Conor knows a thing or two about the wrestling required with and the shadow side of social media. As a recording artist, there's an inherent need to stay in front of listeners—to create content, to stay connected, to fan the flames of fandom. As an actual person, however, it's not the healthiest way to spend one's time. 

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On this episode of The Resistance, screenwriter Tony Tost (Longmire, Damnation, The Terror) describes the (lack of) mental issues with writing in his career and why he believes that to be the case. He also opens up about his uncommon path toward a career in the arts and how that's given him such a different perspective on creativity and fear.

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Josh Radnor has found success on the screen and stage and, most recently, as a songwriter, but despite his experience and expansive platform, he still wrestles with the same basic fears, voices, and pressures that plagued him when he was first starting out. We recently spoke with Josh to hear more about his creative drive and the lessons learned in a career in the arts.

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Natashia Deón wears many, many creative hats, including that of acclaimed author (for her celebrated novel, Grace). On this episode of The Resistance, Natashia speaks openly about the power of her faith to fuel her activities and what she’s learned about balance and self-care in the midst of so many demands.

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Land of Talk's Lizzie Powell talks about spurned opportunities, lessons learned to protect the work, and the upsides of being a slow burn of a band—all of which has made them one of Canada’s most respected artists of the last 20 years.

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Oscar-nominated composer Emile Mosseri speaks about the devastating beauty of Minari, his journey to becoming a composer, and the tension of working toward someone else's creative vision versus his own.

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From his multi-Tony Award musical Spring Awakening to penning hit singles like "Barely Breathing", Duncan Sheik has experienced considerable success on multiple fronts as a songwriter. However, he says nothing is more important than making art that is, first and foremost, interesting to him. The marketplace will make its demands, but that all-too-often comes at a cost to the artist. On this episode of The Resistance, Duncan Sheik speaks about grappling with his identity as an artist in the face of it all.

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After 15 years in the music biz, Mat Kearney says the only healthy rudder when it comes to his work is whether or not he's personally interested. It's a hard lesson to learn, to wall off the surrounding influences and pressures, but he's done so once again on his captivating new album, January Flower.

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We speak with musician/composer Saunder Jurriaans (Ozark, American Gods) about the anxiety and adventure of stepping out into something new—the resistance he faced when releasing music of his own making for no other reason than obedience to the impulses inside him.

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In this latest episode, singer-songwriter Josh Kelley details his journey toward personal betterment, a years-long battle against toxic voices of fear and deference. On the other side, he shares some valuable lessons learned and how they affect his creativity.

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To hear Mahogany L. Browne's story is to not only understand more about the substantive work of an acclaimed artist but also to unearth something deeper about the importance of claiming your own voice. Her courage to face her fears has gifted us with meaningful writing, a platform she's leveraged to encourage and elevate so many other voices. On the verge of releasing her new novel, Chlorine Sky, she sat with us to share the power of lighthouses in her own life and the light she's trying to shine for others.

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We're not sure how Alisa Xayalith or Thom Powers crafted something so meaningfully synthetic, but their new album is a heartening, even healing listen. This episode features an honest conversation with The Naked & Famous about how meaningful art can somehow emerge from a season of loss and confusion.

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There's no way to make this more palatable: friction is essential to creativity. This episode of The Resistance features an honest conversation with acclaimed singer-songwriter William Fitzsimmons, an artist who has learned the connective value from allowing friction to do its work.

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This episode of the Resistance features an honest conversation with acclaimed musician Brooke Waggoner about the tension of when to stop and start, when to move forward and how to let go. There are no right answers, but there are meaningful questions asked and Brooke has much to teach us based on the journey she's taken.

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Fortitude and fragility are strange bedfellows, but singer-songwriter Mindy Smith says both are essential to her craft as a songwriter. It's a mix we all need if we seek to do the work before us. To chase the dream, to bring about the imagined, to pin down the evasive—we must enter the fragility of the unknown and walk it out with an unfounded confidence.

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Lucero front man Ben Nichols talks about the acclaimed band's desire for boot camp experiences in the studio, the lessons learned over a quarter century of piling in a van for another tour run, and how/why he's so keen to face the resistance in the first place.

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Our conversation with award-winning poet Li-Young Lee opened our eyes to new layers of Resistance—a fearful proposition—even as we were also reminded of the maturation and growth possible when we face it.

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As one half of renowned electronic duo Thievery Corporation, Eric Hilton (along with his musical partner Rob Garza) is responsible for a massive catalog spanning the last quarter century. He's influenced an entire generation of producers and DJs and with three solo releases slated for 2020, he remains as busy as ever as an artist. It's all a result of his optimistic outlook—one he works hard to maintain.

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Sarah Siskind's vulnerability as a songwriter is also what makes for such meaningful conversation. As a parent, she struggles to manage family and career. As an artist, she's hungry for the time and space to create. As a single woman, she wrestles with being alone for the first time in her life. Her willingness to share from these wells allow her to connect and offer hope in ways that few artist can.

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Despite Rosi Golan's 12 years in the music industry, the Israeli-born singer-songwriter says some fears loom larger than ever before. From the vulnerability of releasing personal material, to the fear of getting lost in the shuffle, to the worries of living up to expectations, Rosi swims in the Resistance in several forms. Fortunately, she's mentally wired to push back against such doubts, a songstress always keen to try new things.

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How can you give away what you've lost? On this episode, singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan details the Resistance he faced during a 10-year descent into doubt and confusion while serving a fan base searching for answers and meaning.

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Our conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown is one about reward and resistance. It asks tough questions about how far the burning heart inside can carry a person. Is a sense of calling enough? What if the rewards aren't there when we believe we need them? Brown has earned his Pulitzer (and then some) but it required a long lean into lonely spaces.

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Zach Williams is worried about what you will think of him. Aren't most of us? The latest episode of The Resistance is all about this tension and how it affects the creative life of Zach Williams and his bandmates (Kanene Donehey Pipkin, Brian Elmquist) in The Lone Bellow. Even after several acclaimed albums, Zach says he's learning to set aside others' expectations in order to craft the art he's called to make.

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For the last two-plus decades, Alex Ebert has stayed the creative course, a prime example of an artist who does what he feels. That might sound like an enjoyable path, but as Alex shares his story, it's fraught with industry questions, critical backlash, and a general sense of loneliness. In short, a commitment to making art on one's own terms comes with a heavy cost.

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In the midst of a global pandemic and being quarantined with our own makeshift home studios, we thought it appropriate to process this greater reality of Resistance that we all face these days. It's hard to find the positive in such a negative situation, but if we're present, we can face the Resistance even in these darker days.

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What role does Resistance play for an artist who has achieved so much so early? To hear Sierra Hull tell her story, she's experienced as much Resistance as ever as she's released her latest album—the stunning masterwork known as 25 Trips. From industry hurdles to lessons learned about believing her own voice, Sierra's proof that the Resistance hits all of us equally. There's never a way around it, only through it.

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On this episode of the Resistance, acclaimed TV/film director Ron Underwood joined us for a meaningful conversation about the importance of fear and what it signals, the work of stewarding creativity in a team setting, and the throughline of a long career in Hollywood. 

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Film composer Nathan Johnson (Knives Out, Looper, Kill the Messenger) says he's always ready to jump. As a lover of creative challenge, Nathan says the key to being able to make that leap is a willingness to say yes to what you don't know how to do. It's that sort of "anything goes" approach that's allowed Johnson to craft such inspired and innovative compositions that bolster his cinematic projects in such rare, beautiful ways.

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After a several month break, The Resistance is back with some exciting changes to announce! Listen in to hear more about the program going forward and what's in store for this next step in the journey.

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It was immediately clear that Fantastic Negrito would close our first season of The Resistance once we began our conversation. Here was a man speaking—nay, preaching—from a lifetime of hard-fought battles with resistance. Record label woes. A car accident and ensuing coma. The inability to use his hand—to literally make music. Relearning it all after his supposed prime had passed him by.

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Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with Glen Phillips, solo artist and front man for Toad The Wet Sprocket.

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It's taken some time for Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) to realize the ebb and flow of popularity and the shifting sands of the music industry have nothing to do with his value as a person or his worth as a cultural voice. These days, he's "over" the idea of a career, he says. It's simply about obedience to the creative impulses that he feels.

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Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with Americana artist Drew Holcomb.

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In this episode of The Resistance, Drew Holcomb explains the posture needed to consistently create and how he's learned to protect the initial impulse that sparked his creative pursuits in the first place.

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This week, we have a special bonus episode that deviates from our typical interview format. Last week, Tokyo Police Club frontman Dave Monks sat down to discuss The Resistance, and in our conversation, he disclosed a list he keeps in his writing journal that lists rules he's picked up along the way as an artist. Aptly titled Rules For Artists, Monks graciously agreed to share those lessons learned with us in this special one-off episode.

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Even after a decade fronting one of Toronto's most successful bands in Tokyo Police Club and previous solo releases, Dave Monks still wrestles with a resistance that plagues us all: a need for permission. Our latest episode features a personal and revealing conversation with an experienced artist who still wonders whether or not he really has the permission to follow his creative impulses.

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Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with pop artist Sarah Jaffe.

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From his days fronting the indie rock band Hey, Rosetta! to his current run as a solo artist, Tim Baker's music has always had a way of connecting at a deeper level. On this episode, the Canadian songwriter opens up about creative friction and why it means everything to the process of making anything.

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Our conversation with pop artist Sarah Jaffe speaks directly to the shadow side of comparison and how destructive it can be if we let it rule our mindset. Sarah has learned the hard way to be very intentional with her time and efforts in her hopes to keep the "Dark Energy" away, as she sings so aptly on her latest single.

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Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with singer-songwriter Denison Witmer.

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It's been six years since we've heard from Denison Witmer. In that time, he's settled into normal life of work and play, friends and family. He's nurtured the relationships that mattered most without ever knowing if his passion and talent for music would ever come back around again. Maybe he would shy away from such comparisons, but the sacrifice feels a bit Abrahamic.

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Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with acoustic duo Lowland Hum. 

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