Podcast
At Sea with Justin McRoberts
Hosted by Justin McRoberts · EN
A weekly interview show with culture makers and shakers. In each installment, host Justin McRoberts talks with artists, creatives, policymakers, and theologians that are striving and pushing for humanity to reach new heights.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
When Everything Falls Apart: Jess Janz on Hope, Creativity & Beginning Again
3w ago00:53:43Tap to summarizeStarting with the surprisingly complicated question, “Does a book ever actually feel finished?”, they wander into the deeper realities of creativity, friendship, identity, vulnerability, and hope. Together they explore: Why is releasing creative work emotionally complicated? The people who quietly shape our work behind the scenes. How trusted relationships help us become better artists and better humans. Why uncertainty is an essential part of every creative process. Living as a “border walker” between certainty and mystery. The importance of staying curious instead of rushing toward resolution. Why does making art ultimately become a way of making a life? Whether you’re writing a book, starting a business, raising a family, or simply trying to become more fully yourself, this conversation offers an invitation to embrace the unfinished nature of the creative life. Pick up Jess's new book, "The Table Where we Meet," here - https://www.jessjanz.com/book Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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What’s Really Holding You Back? (And 5 Other Questions I Can’t Stop Thinking About)
4w ago00:22:52Tap to summarizeThis episode is a listener Q&A covering some surprisingly connected themes: ambition, gratitude, creativity, faith, neurodivergence, and artificial intelligence. Justin explores: Why “being held back” isn’t always something to overcome. How gratitude changes our relationship with ambition. What to do when your faith feels like it’s falling apart. ADHD, executive functioning, and practical ways to get unstuck. Why creativity begins with play rather than performance. Whether AI can actually participate in the creative process. Why the tools we use ultimately shape the people we become. Referenced: Austin Kleon – Don’t Call It Art C.S. Lewis on beauty The Atlantic AI Search Database Spiritual direction as a practice of discernment Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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Design Your Good Life: Why Purpose Matters More Than Productivity with Charles Lee
May 1900:48:42Tap to summarizeJustin sits down with Charles Lee for a deep conversation around meaning, implementation, purpose, and the future of human fulfillment. Drawing from Charles’ new book framework, the conversation moves beyond surface-level productivity into the deeper questions most people avoid: Why are you doing what you’re doing? What kind of life are you actually building? What happens when achievement no longer satisfies? Together they explore: Why implementation builds confidence The emotional cost of unfinished ideas Community as an intentional practice Contribution vs self-platforming Creativity, meaning, and human flourishing Why the modern world is making it easier to avoid purpose The growing existential crisis hiding underneath productivity culture This episode challenges the idea that success alone leads to fulfillment and argues for a more intentional, deeply human way of living. Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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AI Can’t Replace the Part That Makes Art Matter
May 600:12:41Tap to summarizeJustin reflects on a recent interview with Diplo about AI replacing singers and uses it as a doorway into a deeper conversation about art, product, beauty, and human value. He argues that art is not valuable because it sells or because it reaches technical perfection. Art matters because it comes from a human being in process. Drawing on examples from Diplo’s collaborations, Billy Corgan’s resistance to AI songwriting, CS Lewis on beauty, and Justin’s own work coaching artists, this episode invites creators to resist the machine’s value system and remember that the work is not the point. The human becoming through the work is. Links For Justin: Read Justin's Substack Order In The Low - NEW Book with Scott Erickson Coaching with Justin Order In Rest - New Book of Poems Order Sacred Strides JustinMcRoberts.com Support this podcast NEW Single - Let Go NEW Music - Sliver of Hope NEW Music - The Dood and The Bird The Book - It Is What You Make it Hearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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How to See Invisible Things With Stephen Roach
Feb 1100:45:59Tap to summarizeBreath and Clay as a “house of refuge” from cultural noiseCommunity as collaboration, not organizationWhy the event works: clarity plus mysteryMakers show up with projects, not just opinionsReal-world outcomes: collaborations that keep growing after the weekendLetting fruit scatter without controlling the pipelineThe 2026 theme: Making Space https://www.thebreathandtheclay.comThe icon: the chairStephen’s new book: How to See Invisible ThingsInner life and outer life of the artist“Border-walker” artists and the liminal, unresolved middleArt as a way of seeing, not a utilitarian productScarcity vs abundance as a spiritual and creative postureMary “treasuring” as a model for creation and formationBook excerpt: John Cage 4’33, Quaker silence, sacramental visionCall to action: make the investment, ditch something else, come to Winston-Salemhttps://www.thebreathandtheclay.com Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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Why Healing Can’t Be Rushed (or Automated) with Jamie Lee Finch
Jan 1301:06:11Tap to summarizeWhy “home” is a somatic experience, not just a locationPersona vs personhood — and why the difference mattersThe danger of self-awareness without relationshipWhy stewardship is a better metaphor than ownershipHow shame becomes the most familiar somatic stateWhy healing must be titrated, not rushedThe cost of progress-driven spirituality and productivity cultureReintegrating younger selves instead of rejecting themVisibility, integrity, and the courage to expand again—carefully Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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Stop Calling Yourself Broken: A Conversation About Sobriety and Wholeness with Laura McKowen
Dec 1101:14:28Tap to summarizeThis week, Justin sits down with bestselling author Laura McKowen for an honest, layered conversation about sobriety, identity, creative calling, and the slow, often painful work of becoming whole. Together they explore:• Why “place” matters for emotional and spiritual grounding• The strange internal pull that guides creative people long before they have language for it• How early snippets of desire can act as breadcrumbs into a future self• The difference between writing for yourself and writing for publication• Why AA saved Laura’s life—and where its framing can unintentionally keep people small• How relapse, repeated “Day Ones,” and imperfect recovery are part of the human journey• The relationship between money, creativity, and integrity• Why the long work of sobriety is ultimately a long work of identityThe episode closes with a reading from In the Low and a reflection on why wholeness—not speed, not perfection—is the actual goal.Laura's Website - https://www.lauramckowen.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/laura_mckowen Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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Why We Stopped Waiting (and What It’s Costing Us)
Dec 500:04:09Tap to summarize• Why “waiting” feels harder now than it did a decade ago• What Arcade Fire’s “We Used to Wait” reveals about our relationship to speed• The spiritual value of slowness—especially during Advent• How desire clarifies identity rather than feeding consumption• A practical invitation: choose something you want, pause before getting it, and explore the desire beneath the desire• Reading from In the Low on longing, disappointment, and hope Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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The Hidden Danger of Shortcuts
Nov 600:16:29Tap to summarizeThe false promise of “instant clarity” and “quick fixes.”Why bypassing struggle stunts real growth.How to use AI and psilocybin responsibly—without losing your humanity.The value of failure, pain, and disillusionment.Reflections from In the Low by Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson on living fully in difficult seasons. Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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Imagination, Work, and What Really Matters
Sep 1800:14:05Tap to summarizeEncouraging imagination in children: why participation beats restriction.Work transitions: how to discern whether to push harder where you are or look for something new.Why Justin doesn’t comment on celebrity-centered current events, and what’s at stake when we confuse spectacle with real importance.Closing with a prayer from In the Low (October 2025 release with Scott Erickson). Links For Justin:Read Justin's SubstackOrder In The Low - NEW Book with Scott EricksonCoaching with JustinOrder In Rest - New Book of PoemsOrder Sacred StridesJustinMcRoberts.comSupport this podcastNEW Single - Let GoNEW Music - Sliver of HopeNEW Music - The Dood and The BirdThe Book - It Is What You Make itHearts and Minds Amazon Barnes and Noble
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