There's a force at work that keeps you from being you. We feel it, too. It's the reason we avoid making the call, the reason we put off the diet. It's why we've done nothing about that entrepreneurial idea, that creative endeavor, that new relationship. In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield defines this universal force as Resistance. Welcome to The Resistance, a new podcast featuring honest interviews with creative persons about this force and the forms it takes.
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.
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 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.
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 your own terms comes with a heavy cost.
You can listen to The Resistance in many places: right here on our site, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and on Spotify.
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