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The Unmistakable Creative Podcast
Evan Nierman | The Dangers of Cancel Culture: Protecting Everyday Citizens from Permanent Damage
In this episode, Srini Rao interviews Evan Nierman, the author of "The Cancel Culture Curse," to discuss the rise of cancel culture and its impact on individuals and society. They delve into the dynamics of cancel culture in high school environments, the evolution of crisis in the media landscape, and the role of social media influencers. Evan shares insights from his research and firsthand experience in crisis PR, highlighting the dangers of cancel culture and the importance of understanding the nuances of each situation. They also touch on the influence of prominent figures like Donald Trump and the need for empathy and mutual respect in our society.
- Cancel culture has evolved with the rise of the internet, making it easier for individuals to be publicly shamed and their reputations destroyed.
- While public figures are more vulnerable to cancel culture due to their visibility, everyday citizens without resources or support are often the most affected.
- The Me Too movement and Black Lives Matter have brought important issues to light, but they have also been susceptible to abuse and false accusations.
- Influencers on social media have a significant impact on public opinion, but their expertise and credibility should be questioned, as they may not have the necessary knowledge or qualifications.
- It is crucial to teach children the importance of discerning credible information and treating others with respect, regardless of their beliefs or opinions.
- "We really have to be careful and have to be cognizant that within the purse or the pocket of everyone around us, there's a cell phone with a camera and everybody is a reporter." - Evan Nierman
- "We've got to get back in this country to a level of sanity, which we've been lacking for quite some time." - Evan Nierman
- "We shouldn't expect influencers to be well-versed in every topic. We shouldn't expect celebrities to have all the answers." - Evan Nierman
- Red Banyan
- Evan Nierman on LinkedIn
- Evan Nierman on Instagram
- Evan Nierman on TikTok
- Evan Nierman on YouTube
Don't miss this thought-provoking conversation with Evan Nierman as he sheds light on the dangers of cancel culture and the importance of empathy and understanding in our society. Listen to the full episode for more insights and stay tuned for future episodes of the Unmistakable Creative podcast.
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Vanessa Van Edwards: From Student Council Nerd to Decoding Human Behavior
53:33|Vanessa Van Edwards, behavioral researcher and author, traces her expertise in human behavior back to being a highly neurotic student council nerd with few friends in high school. That discomfort zone became her comfort zone—teaching, conferences, and analyzing how people communicate. Van Edwards breaks down nonverbal communication patterns, micro-expressions, charisma signals, and what research reveals about likability versus respect. She explains how to read rooms, why authenticity beats performance in social settings, and the science behind first impressions. Her work transforms awkward interactions into learnable skills by treating social dynamics as data rather than mystery.
Tiago Forte: Building a Second Brain After Five Schools Taught Him to Be a Chameleon
56:07|Tiago Forte, creator of the Second Brain methodology, shares how attending five different schools in five consecutive years obliterated his social circles and forced him to become a chameleon—crossing between student government, cross country, French club, and chess nerds. This adaptability became the foundation for his work on knowledge management and building systems that work across contexts. Forte explains the CODE method for organizing information, why traditional note-taking fails, how to capture and connect ideas across projects, and why your brain is for having ideas, not storing them. His system helps knowledge workers think better by externalizing memory into a trusted digital system.
Susan Magsamen: Your Brain on Art and the Neuroscience of Creativity
46:56|Susan Magsamen, author of Your Brain on Art, explores creativity through neuroscience rather than philosophy or technique. Born to working-class parents who never attended college—her father worked his way up from nurseries to insurance executive—Magsamen learned management and relentless work ethic early. She explains how art and creative engagement physically change brain structure, why aesthetic experiences matter for wellbeing beyond productivity, and what neuroscience reveals about how humans process creative work. Her research-backed approach bridges the gap between artistic practice and biological reality, showing that creativity isn't mystical—it's measurable, trainable, and essential for cognitive health.
Robin Dellabough: From Supporting Others' Creativity to Claiming Your Own
01:13:08|Robin Dellabough, writer and editor, shares her unconventional journey from growing up in a bohemian Greenwich Village household to spending decades supporting other people's creativity. Raised by beatnik parents who gave her the confidence to try anything, she hitchhiked Europe at 17, lived in a Hawaiian treehouse, worked as a theater stage manager, and ghostwrote books—all while her own creative voice remained underground. Dellabough explains the pattern of talented people who facilitate others' success while neglecting their own work, how she eventually claimed her creative life through poetry and writing, and why direct feedback without sugarcoating serves creative growth better than false encouragement.
Rob Bloom: How Stuttering Forced Creative Problem-Solving and Authenticity
51:02|Rob Bloom, creative director for Universal theme parks, shares his journey living with a stutter that shaped his entire life and career. He reveals how hiding his stutter for 30 years meant ordering food he didn't want, watching movies he didn't choose, and avoiding authentic self-expression. Paradoxically, stuttering forced him to become creative early—making videos for school presentations instead of speaking. Bloom explains the three coping strategies for stutterers (openly stuttering, blocking, or hiding), why hiding leads to inauthenticity, and how he eventually embraced his stutter. His story demonstrates how perceived limitations can become creative advantages and why vulnerability is essential for genuine connection.
Rich Karlgaard: Why Late Bloomers Win in a Culture Obsessed with Early Achievement
01:02:18|Rich Karlgaard, author of Late Bloomers, dismantles the toxic narrative that success must come early. Drawing from his father's reinvention in his 30s and his own struggles after college, he explains why our obsession with early achievement is detrimental to people who develop at different paces. Karlgaard analyzes the college admissions scandal as a symptom of parental pressure, explores how comparison culture on platforms like Medium fuels inadequacy, and offers a research-backed case for why patience and diverse developmental timelines produce more fulfilled, successful individuals. He argues that being fired, struggling, and blooming late often leads to greater work than following the traditional fast-track path.
Rebecca Beltran: Redefining Intimacy Through Sex-Positive Courtesanship
51:09|Rebecca Beltran shares her unconventional journey from polyamory to becoming a courtesan, challenging cultural stigma around sex work and intimacy. She reveals that her work is primarily about connection and being truly seen—not just physical encounters. Rebecca explains how religious Puritanism shapes American attitudes toward sexuality, why younger men in their 20s and 30s are now seeking her services post-Me Too movement, and how open communication about desire can shift sex from something dangerous to something empowering. She also discusses navigating relationships with partners outside her work and why pleasure rooted in fulfillment matters more than hedonistic thrills.
Jenny Blake: Free Time, Time-to-Revenue Ratios, and Rejecting the "Time Is Money" Myth
01:04:41|Jenny Blake, author of "Free Time," reveals how her father—an architect who gives ruthless editorial feedback with his "WKIYB" abbreviation (we know it’s your book)—taught her to eliminate unnecessary qualifiers and strengthen her writing. Drawing from her experience creating a paid family newsletter at age 11 with 50 subscribers, Blake has always been entrepreneurial, guided by her mother’s lesson: "you should always know how to support yourself." As the breadwinner in her marriage who rejects traditional domestic roles, Blake challenges societal pressures on both men and women around earning and gender expectations. She introduces the "time-to-revenue ratio"—a missing P&L metric that measures how much time it takes to generate revenue—arguing that revenue, ease, and joy aren’t mutually exclusive. Blake dismantles Benjamin Franklin’s "time is money" myth, explaining that business owners aren’t rewarded for butt-in-seat time and that working less actually requires more sophistication through systems, automation, and delegation. Her three-part framework—align, design, assign—helps entrepreneurs optimize what’s now, not just navigate what’s next.