The Creative Condition podcast

The Creative Condition podcast

Welcome to 'The Creative Condition' podcast: an ongoing exploration of human creativity to help you understand and maximise yours. The show is hosted by creativity coach, Founder of The Creative Condition, and The New York Times, Adidas, and Premier League illustrator Ben Tallon. Creativity is an often misunderstood pillar of human happiness, something far bigger than artistic talent and crucial for fulfilling lives and careers. Featuring exclusive interviews with experts and thought leaders, including illustrators, rock stars, artists, sensitivity experts, designers, emergency service workers, Olympic gold medal winners, comedians, microbiologists, photographers, fighters, and many others. Supported by founding sponsor illustrationx.com Also supported by the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Episodes

July 7, 2025 9 mins

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, join me as I interrogate the word creativity to see if it's doing my ambitions to see it better understood more harm than good.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP&a...

Mark as Played

Covered in this instalment of 'The Creativity Diary':

  • Outraged by outrage
  • The people on the roadside
  • A simple comment reminds me of something key about creativity

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-stop creativity foundational coaching session now at https://thecreativecondition.com

Access creativity resources, including bo...

Mark as Played

Was there ever a good time to start a business?

Jamhot and I both entered the creative industry during the financial crash of 2008. Do we now look back and make a distorted comparison to the insanity of today? Or do we recognise that there was never a good time to throw ourselves into this creative life?

We discuss:

  • Storytelling and surviving
  • Receiving reckless emails
  • Being open to change
  • Lunch clubs and the need for in-person commun...
Mark as Played

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, join me as I share my Eureka! moment as I recognised a big lacking part of my dream job puzzle, and ask you to assess yours.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one...

Mark as Played

Covered in this week's instalment of 'The Creativity Diary':

  • AI and the need for mental healthcare
  • A moment of connection under the station stairs 
  • Lessons from a doctor
  • The joys of getting lost

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-stop creativity foundational coaching session now at https://thecreativecondition.com

Acces...

Mark as Played

Reclaim the Throne is The Creative Condition’s campaign to recognise the need for a downtime revolution. 

The resistance to the big tech coup of our minds starts with our arses. 

From there, we will reclaim the bus stop, the park bench, the underground train, the taxi, waiting rooms, receptions, and the good old walk from A to B. 

These clutches of two, five, and ten-minute windows add up to a valuable, regular chunk of time to spend ...

Mark as Played

In 2025 the perception of creativity is still rooted in artistic talent. There are assumptions that our passions are already in us, waiting to be activated, and people continue to quit at the first hurdle when it comes to creating.

I'm joined by Zorana Pringle, the Yale University Centre for Emotional Intelligence Senior Research Scientist and author of The Creativity Choice in which she challenges these damaging misunderstandi...

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A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, join me as I explore shared themes between the Yellowstone cowboys and illustrators and challenge the productivity trap.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-sto...

Mark as Played

Covered in this week's instalment of 'The Creativity Diary':

  • Learnings from a lollipop lady
  • A burst basketball and productivity guilt as a learned behaviour
  • My beautiful cheap watch and proud identity
  • An unexpected meeting with the local council

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-stop creativity foundational coaching s...

Mark as Played

Personal. Work. Personal work. What does any of it mean, and is there a rule about how personal work needs to be, or whether work and personal are best separate? 

Of course not! In creativity, there are no rules.

I had the delight of chairing a conversation about all this between lettering artist and author Jessica Hische, and artist Timothy Goodman live at the inaugural Paradiso festival in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico, and you can hear ...

Mark as Played

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, join me as I reflect on something Timothy Goodman said to me in Mexico about emotion in our art and the trappings of disciplines.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP&apos...

Mark as Played

Covered in this week's instalment of 'The Creativity Diary':

  • Existential night panics
  • Reverting to beginner's fear
  • The joy of straight shooters
  • Reappraising my relationship with social media and people

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-stop creativity foundational coaching session now at https://thecreativecondit...

Mark as Played

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, join me as I listen into the soothing environment that is my neighbour's garden, and consider the importance of catharsis and our environments for creativity.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with ...

Mark as Played

Within minutes of meeting artist Tala Schlossberg ahead of our discussion panel with photographer Owen Harvey at the inaugural Paradiso in Mérida, Mexico, we were into the deep stuff.

Tala is a visual artist known primarily for her fantastic animation work, but a pure artist in every sense.

We covered human connection during the discussion panel, but there was so much more to be said. So, we caught up a few weeks later and got into t...

Mark as Played

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, thoughts on what's changed after two tough freelancing years and a slightly better start to this year. Talking creative self-efficacy, unpredictability, joy in the unknown, and the need to be out having conversations around passions, attun...

Mark as Played

Covered in this week's instalment of 'The Creativity Diary':

  • Designing a career
  • Little houses in Mérida, Mexico
  • My love of teaching creativity
  • Sharing a life through art

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-stop creativity foundational coaching session now at https://thecreativecondition.com

Access creativity resources, i...

Mark as Played

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, creative self-efficacy and enrichment for sustainable creativity.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with me through the 'PIT STOP' one-stop creativity foundational coaching session or my '...

Mark as Played

A moment with The Creative Condition founder Ben Tallon as he shares creativity-led thoughts, insights, lessons, feelings, and observations for the duration of one brew (hot beverage).

Today, deepfake Steveb Bartlett and the beginning of the end of the internet, Tala Rae Schlossberg, local wilding, council emails, and getting back to tribal enrichment.

As ever supported by Illustration X https://illustrationx.com

Work with m...

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Our cultures and societies are changing at a rate we were not designed to adapt to or comprehend. Our minds can rage from wild optimism to pessimism and nihilism 100s of times a day. 

What does this mean for creativity, art, and design?

I'm joined by the VP of Innovation and Strategy at Marks, Jennifer Murtell, fresh off the fantastic work with female healthcare brand MUSA, with an entirely female team. She recently wrote a piec...

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Simon Dixon, co-founder of DixonBaxi posted about the importance of designing your own career to avoid someone shaping it in an ill-fitting way. 

It blew my mind, succinctly capturing so many universal creativity truths and bringing about a personal revelation that through my coaching, this is exactly what I'm helping my clients to do.

But what does it mean, and why is it so vital to career and life fulfillment?

As ever supported...

Mark as Played

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