Referencing The Matrix as a symbol for everyday life definitely feels trite at this point. However, the prevalence of that does continue to feel appropriate, especially when describing scenarios that shake us at our core. In 2025, that could be as simple as a person sharing an experience where they weren’t their best selves, a time in their life when they weren’t ok. That’s the case with what you’ll be hearing on today’s episode with Corinne Cumming, a wildly successful photographer who’s worked with the BBC, Drag Race, any band you can think of, and is also the leader of Eurovision’s photography team.

Corinne is the kind of creative who lives and breathes the craft, but what happens when doing that isn’t the answer, and what lessons can you learn from dealing with those questions head-on? Thankfully, Corinne was willing to share her story and how she’s become a better creative for it.

Be sure to check out Corrine’s stunning work on Instagram @capturedbycorinne. Also, remember to follow @creativemainpod on Instagram for more updates on the pod! (intro song is Cassette Player by Rebecca Mardal).

None of us would be profound for stating how the word “hustle” is synonymous with creativity. For years, this has felt like a default setting: where if you “want to make it,” then you need to also be willing to throw your all into it. But what happens when the unsustainable aspect of that becomes crystal clear to us? Well, that’s when a person like Desirée Dawson comes in. A supremely talented singer-songwriter from Vancouver, Desirée has experienced firsthand how soul-draining the chase of music industry success can be. A field that demands that artists to think about their work as “content” above….well, pretty much everything.

For the last several years, Desirée has been asking herself, “But what if?” And that “what if” has led her on a journey of choosing herself, her health, and being present for the people she cares about the most. We chat about all this and more on today’s episode, along with how Desirée’s path can be an actionable one.

Remember to follow @creativemainpod on ⁠Instagram⁠ for more updates on the pod! (intro song is Cassette Player by Rebecca Mardal).

It’s actually trippy when you stop to think about it, how the pandemic lockdowns are something we all went through, and while trying to make sense of it all, we’re also trying to act like it never happened. And who can blame any of us, right? For diving headfirst into the return of normalcy (lol) in everyday life. But this is where art, the very function of art, is so vital. It can drive us to reach some form of understanding towards what we’ve gone through, and inadvertently, that’s what my friend Shura has done with her latest album, I Got Too Sad For My Friends.

Beyond having the most relatable title of 2025, it’s also one of the year's most ambitious albums. You can hear the love of sonic textures from the ’60s and '80s while also hearing Shura’s obsession with crafting unique melodies. There’s a beautiful juxtaposition across this album, where there’s a sense of modernity you can feel across the songs that’s being projected by so many of the things we’ve felt but rarely say out loud. How we can all relate to significant moments of feeling isolated, heartbroken, lonely, and confused at what the world has hurled at us. Somehow, we chat about all this and more, along with how Shura acquired that sick armor for the album artwork.