The Better Podcast with Joe Towne

Joe chats with actress, artist and author Rachel True about her time working alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest actors, directors and writers and her path to being a published author. They explore what growing up in New York’s East Village taught her about self-belief, the invitation to entertain ourselves while in isolation and the value in developing and honoring our intuition. Together they talk about her journey from standing in on the number one show on television to starring as...

Joe chats with Hall of Fame NBA Photographer, legendary sports podcaster, author, media producer and teacher Andrew Bernstein. They explore some of the most storied locker rooms (eleven times with Phil Jackson) team huddles (Pat Riley’s Showtime Lakers) and championship moments (MJ, Kobe, Dodgers and Kings) and how learning from greatness has impacted his own journey from lows to highs. Together they talk about protecting the light within, being mindful of who you put in charge of your own...

Joe chats with Emmy-nominated actor, seasoned director, Grammy Award winning spoken word artist and producer of TV and film, Malcolm-Jamal Warner. They explore what consistency can do for our happiness as well as taking the long view on our artistic journey towards cultivating and sustaining longevity in our career. Together they talk about the evolution of artistry, how it expresses through us and the influences we meet along the way both outside us and within us. Ultimately they speak...

Joe chats with Arnie Cardillo about his journey from youth baseball to sound engineer to becoming a three-time Grammy winning producer. Arnie shares insight into what he scans for when listening to his performers, what baseball taught him about failure and why going the extra mile is part of his greater vision. Arnie and Joe talk about the great philosophers, how important it was for them to struggle with life’s great questions and how they can be helpful for us in processing grief or...

Joe chats with Liza Katzer about her path to becoming an Emmy-winning producer of Ted Lasso: from the hustle of working at Management 360 and UTA, to making movies at Disney to making the leap into comedy and becoming VP of Development at Doozer (working with Bill Lawrence and Jeff Ingold) Liza shares insight into how Ted Lasso came into being, what it has taught her and why it is having the impact that it is having. Joe and Liza also talk about the intersection of sport and art: how...

Joe chats with Anthony Sparks about coming up in the theatre: at Williamstown, at the Public Theatre and for five years in the Off-Broadway smash hit Stomp! The lessons he learned, both on stage and auditioning out in the world, inspired him to take a more active role in the projects he would choose to be a part of and later create into existence. Anthony shares insight into the purpose of his art: whether it’s a solo show, show running and collaborating alongside Ava Duvernay for Oprah...

Joe chats with performance psychologist Noa Kageyama about his musical journey starting with training with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki as a young musician to learning how to practice as a teenager and getting his undergraduate degree from Juilliard. He shares what studying with an olympic sports psychologist taught him about navigating performance anxiety and the insight that prompted him to learn the secrets of peak performance while getting his Doctorate in Psychology. Ultimately, whether standing...

Joe chats with award winning author, chef and travel guide Pamela Sheldon Johns about her journey through kitchens and vineyards from Southern California to Tuscany. She shares what she learned from adventures working alongside Wolfgang Puck, cooking Italian Food for Julia Childs and being cooked for in the Italian countryside soaking in it’s rich history. We go on to explore what Italian Grandmothers, and artisanal food producers can teach us about our own relationships to food and very...

@mejoetowne @thewebbsisters Joe chats with the marvelously talented Webb Sisters about what they learned about collaborating with some of the world’s top musicians and producers and what it feels like being on stage with thousands of people watching night after night. They talk about cultivating excellence in and around performance, the relationships that can change the trajectory of our lives and internal struggles that emerge around the very dream jobs we work so hard to bring into being....

@mejoetowne @kckatalyst This week I’ll be chatting with the Katalyst of Creativity, the Philosopher of Play, the Instigator of Inspiration himself -Kevin Carroll. Aka KC. Kevin’s journey has led him from the playgrounds of Philadelphia to the soccer fields of Germany, across Nike’s campus and onto the floor of the United Nations. His ability to show humanity to itself with a wide open heart and a curiosity about our connection is one of the reasons that Ted has asked him onto their stage...

@mejoetowne @LinoD This week I am chatting with the ever-inspirational Lino DiSalvo. A creative artist across multiple disciplines with an overflowing optimism that is nothing less than infectious- we talk about how sometimes we are being prepared for a future that we can’t see just yet. And only upon reflection can we see how things may be guiding us towards something bigger. Who is Lino? Lino DiSalvo is an Italian American animator, film director, writer and producer. Born in...

@mejoetowne @yogiroth This week I’ll be talking with the always inspiring Yogi Roth. Yogi is a friend. A mentor. A storyteller above all. When we collaborate, I am better because of it. So who exactly is, Yogi? Yogi Roth is a storyteller: seeking and uncovering the humanity in sports around the globe. A Pac-12 Networks college football analyst, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Scholar, New York Times Best-Selling Author, accomplished Coach, Motivational Speaker, Media Personality, Host and...

Joe Towne invites you on an adventure to explore what Better means. It starts here, with a glimpse into the inspiration and motivation behind these conversations in a short message from our host Joe Towne. The journey of this show will be to chat with some of the world's best creatives and wise humans and apply it to our exploration of craft, daily routines, our closest relationships, health and wellness and the cultures we work and play in. Overall, the mission to help inspire us all to...