September 3, 2025 • 8 mins
Today’s episode is extra special — Hannah is joined by actor and President Tim Daly and Robin Bronk, CEO, both of the Creative Coalition. Together, they dive into why the arts matter, not just in Hollywood, but in our everyday lives, our schools, and our communities. It’s a conversation about creativity, advocacy, and the power of storytelling to shape who we are.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to That's rad with Hannah Tyler. Hey, it's Hannah
in on today's episode. I am so lucky to have
Tim Daly and Robin Bronc on now. Tim you may
know from his roles on Leanne Wing's Madame Secretary and
Private Practice, but he's also President of the Creative Coalition.
And Robin Bronc is the genius CEO of the Creative Coalition,
(00:21):
which is an organization that's all about the advocacy of
entertainment in the arts and really fostering and creating creative communities.
And today we're going to be talking about the importance
of arts in communities, whether you live in the city
the size of New York City, or a small town
like I'm from in central Minnesota, or even a community
right here in North Carolina. So please welcome on Tim
(00:41):
Daly and Robin Bronc. Hi, Tim and Robin, thanks for
joining me this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Here.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Robin, let's start with you, what is the Creative Coalition
for people who might not be aware of your work?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Sure, and I will say I'm a native of the South.
I grew up in Clemson, South Carolina, Love, which is
not far from.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Greensboro't you for a way at all.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Creative Coalition is the national nonprofit organization of artists and
entertainers that care about arts for the next generation. We're
based in New York, we have presidence in Washington and
Los Angeles, and our job is to use our megaphones
through the arts through entertainment, to preserve and advocate for
(01:23):
arts in the schools, arts and the communities. Right now,
the National Endowment for the Arts is being threatened by
current White House. Congress is voting on it. It has
a what we call the drop in the bucket, funding
two hundred and seven million dollars to go to every
(01:44):
single congressional district, including Greensboro, to help seed the money
for arts programs that bring in. This is the statistic
that blows my mind. For every dollar that a community
spends on the arts, nine dollars comes back. Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
That's an insane number.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
It's insane, and that the fact that it's in question
is cuckoo to me. So we need your listeners to
call Congress this week, and it's a very cool and
easy thing. Just call two zero two two two four
three one two one, ask to speak to your representative.
Call back two other times. Asked to speak to your
(02:26):
senators and just ask please support funding for the National
Endowment for the Arts. Greensboro needs it now.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Tim, I'd love to hear your kind of perspective on this,
because when people see, Okay, the Creative Coalition and some
of the big name actors, including yourself, I mean, you're
on a pretty hot Netflix show right now, they kind
of go, oh, Hollywood, what they have all the money.
But this isn't the case for the Creative Coalition. You
guys are really doing work in communities just like Greensboro
and small towns all across the country.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Absolutely. I mean the mistake being made is that our
members are trying to do something to feather their own
nest to you know, and frankly, Hollywood and you know,
big cities around the country aren't in as much need
of any A grants as other places, more rural communities,
smaller communities around the country. And the National Endowment for
(03:19):
the Arts provides grants to every single congressional district. And
what that is it's like a good housekeeping stamp of approval.
So once any A grant is given, whoever whatever theater
company or orchestra or children's program or veterans program is
there can go to the community and say, we have
(03:41):
the stamp of approval, please donate money so that we
can build this out and make it up an important
part of the community. And once it is, as Robin said,
the return on that investment is nine to one, which,
as I like to say, are odds that you would
take to Wall Street or Vegas any day of the week.
But please, you know, I would honess your listeners to
(04:01):
realize that this is not a bunch of Hollywood people
trying to feather their own nest. This is only about arts,
education and arts in communities all over the United States.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Robin, I want to bring it back to you. With
all of everything happening in the world right now and
in Washington, it can get overwhelming and sometimes the thought
crosses your mind of what's the point of calling my senators?
Anything really going to be done. So what would you
say to someone who's hesitating right now to actually reach
out to their elected officials.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
It's not our first time at the rodeo. This has
happened before with other White Houses, with other Congresses, and
it is it's the right and the privilege that we
do still have and at the end of the day,
making these calls and community coming out, I can almost
(04:55):
guarantee you it's going to make a difference. Each voice counts.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
This idea of kind of throwing in the talent saying
it doesn't make a difference, The truth is that we
do have power in numbers. So if enough people make
those calls and stand up and make their voice heard,
then change is possible. So we need to galvanize people
around important issues like this, and you get people to
(05:21):
pick up the phone and make that call because if
enough people do it, minds will be changed.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
When you think about the arts, think about locally. Here
we have the Tanker Center that brings some amazing Broadway communities,
your child's community theater that they go to after school.
And can we just speak for a second, and I
open this up to Robin Antim, just how the arts
can impact a young person's life.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Listen. I grew up in Clemson, South Carolina, where Greensboro
was the big city and what gave me a life
was our community theater there that was funded by the
National Endowment for the Arts. I then went on to
graduate in high school, go to college, get a job,
(06:02):
and now lead a national Organization. I put it all
back to that community theater that was funded by.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
The NEA, and I started my career in the theater
in Providence, Rhode Island, at a theater called Trinity Rep
that was founded with a five thousand dollars a grant on,
started in a church basement and has now become one
of the cornerstones of Providence, Rhode Island, and of Rhode Island,
the state of Rhode Island. So it's you know, it's
(06:31):
very important. But I want to say that the other
thing to understand is that we are not advocating for
people to become professional artists. That's not our goal. But
what we do know is that arts will impact people's
lives in a positive way across the board. One statistic
that I like to talk about is the fact that
children that have a full curriculum and the arts are
three times more likely to graduate from high school, which
(06:54):
is an amazing statistic because if you graduate from high school,
you're more likely to go to college, You're going to
make more money, and whatever you do in life, you're
going to be a more productive person, and you know
the chances of you being you know, a member of
society a tax paying member of society are much much greater.
So forget about being, you know, a movie star or
(07:15):
rock star. This is about affecting people's lives in a
way that will help them be a more creative, more
imaginative radio host, politician, doctor, lawyer, whatever you do, having
your imagination and your creativity stay vital is crucial to
having a successful life.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Tim Daily, the President, and Robin Gronk, the CEO of
the Creative Coalition, thank you both for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Thanks guy.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
If you've listened to that and you feel so compelled
to reach out to your senator and your representatives, if
you head on over to Congress dot gov, you can
use the state search tool so wherever you are you
can find your elected official. Again, that's Congress dot gov.
Thanks for listening to another episode of That's rad with
Hannah Tyler
Welcome to That's rad with Hannah Tyler. Hey, it's Hannah
in on today's episode. I am so lucky to have
Tim Daly and Robin Bronc on now. Tim you may
know from his roles on Leanne Wing's Madame Secretary and
Private Practice, but he's also President of the Creative Coalition.
And Robin Bronc is the genius CEO of the Creative Coalition,
(00:21):
which is an organization that's all about the advocacy of
entertainment in the arts and really fostering and creating creative communities.
And today we're going to be talking about the importance
of arts in communities, whether you live in the city
the size of New York City, or a small town
like I'm from in central Minnesota, or even a community
right here in North Carolina. So please welcome on Tim
(00:41):
Daly and Robin Bronc. Hi, Tim and Robin, thanks for
joining me this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Here.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Robin, let's start with you, what is the Creative Coalition
for people who might not be aware of your work?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Sure, and I will say I'm a native of the South.
I grew up in Clemson, South Carolina, Love, which is
not far from.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Greensboro't you for a way at all.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Creative Coalition is the national nonprofit organization of artists and
entertainers that care about arts for the next generation. We're
based in New York, we have presidence in Washington and
Los Angeles, and our job is to use our megaphones
through the arts through entertainment, to preserve and advocate for
(01:23):
arts in the schools, arts and the communities. Right now,
the National Endowment for the Arts is being threatened by
current White House. Congress is voting on it. It has
a what we call the drop in the bucket, funding
two hundred and seven million dollars to go to every
(01:44):
single congressional district, including Greensboro, to help seed the money
for arts programs that bring in. This is the statistic
that blows my mind. For every dollar that a community
spends on the arts, nine dollars comes back. Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
That's an insane number.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
It's insane, and that the fact that it's in question
is cuckoo to me. So we need your listeners to
call Congress this week, and it's a very cool and
easy thing. Just call two zero two two two four
three one two one, ask to speak to your representative.
Call back two other times. Asked to speak to your
(02:26):
senators and just ask please support funding for the National
Endowment for the Arts. Greensboro needs it now.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Tim, I'd love to hear your kind of perspective on this,
because when people see, Okay, the Creative Coalition and some
of the big name actors, including yourself, I mean, you're
on a pretty hot Netflix show right now, they kind
of go, oh, Hollywood, what they have all the money.
But this isn't the case for the Creative Coalition. You
guys are really doing work in communities just like Greensboro
and small towns all across the country.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Absolutely. I mean the mistake being made is that our
members are trying to do something to feather their own
nest to you know, and frankly, Hollywood and you know,
big cities around the country aren't in as much need
of any A grants as other places, more rural communities,
smaller communities around the country. And the National Endowment for
(03:19):
the Arts provides grants to every single congressional district. And
what that is it's like a good housekeeping stamp of approval.
So once any A grant is given, whoever whatever theater
company or orchestra or children's program or veterans program is
there can go to the community and say, we have
(03:41):
the stamp of approval, please donate money so that we
can build this out and make it up an important
part of the community. And once it is, as Robin said,
the return on that investment is nine to one, which,
as I like to say, are odds that you would
take to Wall Street or Vegas any day of the week.
But please, you know, I would honess your listeners to
(04:01):
realize that this is not a bunch of Hollywood people
trying to feather their own nest. This is only about arts,
education and arts in communities all over the United States.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Robin, I want to bring it back to you. With
all of everything happening in the world right now and
in Washington, it can get overwhelming and sometimes the thought
crosses your mind of what's the point of calling my senators?
Anything really going to be done. So what would you
say to someone who's hesitating right now to actually reach
out to their elected officials.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
It's not our first time at the rodeo. This has
happened before with other White Houses, with other Congresses, and
it is it's the right and the privilege that we
do still have and at the end of the day,
making these calls and community coming out, I can almost
(04:55):
guarantee you it's going to make a difference. Each voice counts.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
This idea of kind of throwing in the talent saying
it doesn't make a difference, The truth is that we
do have power in numbers. So if enough people make
those calls and stand up and make their voice heard,
then change is possible. So we need to galvanize people
around important issues like this, and you get people to
(05:21):
pick up the phone and make that call because if
enough people do it, minds will be changed.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
When you think about the arts, think about locally. Here
we have the Tanker Center that brings some amazing Broadway communities,
your child's community theater that they go to after school.
And can we just speak for a second, and I
open this up to Robin Antim, just how the arts
can impact a young person's life.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Listen. I grew up in Clemson, South Carolina, where Greensboro
was the big city and what gave me a life
was our community theater there that was funded by the
National Endowment for the Arts. I then went on to
graduate in high school, go to college, get a job,
(06:02):
and now lead a national Organization. I put it all
back to that community theater that was funded by.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
The NEA, and I started my career in the theater
in Providence, Rhode Island, at a theater called Trinity Rep
that was founded with a five thousand dollars a grant on,
started in a church basement and has now become one
of the cornerstones of Providence, Rhode Island, and of Rhode Island,
the state of Rhode Island. So it's you know, it's
(06:31):
very important. But I want to say that the other
thing to understand is that we are not advocating for
people to become professional artists. That's not our goal. But
what we do know is that arts will impact people's
lives in a positive way across the board. One statistic
that I like to talk about is the fact that
children that have a full curriculum and the arts are
three times more likely to graduate from high school, which
(06:54):
is an amazing statistic because if you graduate from high school,
you're more likely to go to college, You're going to
make more money, and whatever you do in life, you're
going to be a more productive person, and you know
the chances of you being you know, a member of
society a tax paying member of society are much much greater.
So forget about being, you know, a movie star or
(07:15):
rock star. This is about affecting people's lives in a
way that will help them be a more creative, more
imaginative radio host, politician, doctor, lawyer, whatever you do, having
your imagination and your creativity stay vital is crucial to
having a successful life.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Tim Daily, the President, and Robin Gronk, the CEO of
the Creative Coalition, thank you both for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Thanks guy.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
If you've listened to that and you feel so compelled
to reach out to your senator and your representatives, if
you head on over to Congress dot gov, you can
use the state search tool so wherever you are you
can find your elected official. Again, that's Congress dot gov.
Thanks for listening to another episode of That's rad with
Hannah Tyler
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com