"Everyone is a story" (Paula Zuccotti bonus episode)

Summary

Daring Creativity. Daring Forever.

Bonus Episode: “Everyone is a Story” (Paula Zuccotti)

Host: Radim Malinic
Date: August 21, 2025

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this bonus episode, Radim Malinic dives deeper into his recent conversation with multi-disciplinary creative Paula Zuccotti, best known for her global project “Everything We Touch.” Using Zuccotti’s work as a lens, the episode explores how everyday objects can reveal authentic portraits of ordinary lives, leading to powerful reflections about creativity, identity, and what it means to really “see” ourselves and others. Radim highlights key moments from his interview with Paula and draws out extra meaning for listeners seeking to embrace creativity in honest, human ways.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “X-Ray of Our Lives”: What We Touch Defines Us

• Objects as Unfiltered Storytellers

  • Paula’s project asks: “Can we tell someone's life by just looking at all the objects that they touch in one day?”
  • The collection of daily objects creates an “X-ray” of life—raw and unfiltered, unlike curated social media identities.
  • Quote:

    “Everything we touch is like an X-ray of your life because it is everything you do in 24 hours... while you may have your favorite T-shirt on, you also touch Tupperware and cling film and house keys and medicine and a bottle of wine.”
    — Paula Zuccotti, [00:42]

• Contrasting Curated and Reality

  • Social media and digital profiles encourage us to present curated versions of ourselves, but daily habits—phones, coffee cups, tissues—don’t lie.
  • Paula documents objects of necessity and habit, not just “identity” objects: “the crumpled tissues, the anxiety medications, the third cup of coffee, the Netflix remote used for four hours straight.”
  • Quote:

    "She's found a way to photograph our actual lives instead of aspirational ones. And that's the X-ray of our lives."
    — Radim Malinic, [01:50]

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2. “Dream Objects” and the Gap Between Who We Are and Who We Hope to Become

• The Objects of Aspiration

  • Paula observes that people surround themselves with “dream objects”: aspirational items representing the version of themselves they wish to be.
  • Examples include unread books, unused guitars, or cameras never picked up.
  • Quote:

    "We project that idea that we have of ourselves... it could be the books that we haven't read, or the guitar that we haven't learned to play... things that you think that one day you'll use them."
    — Paula Zuccotti, [03:50]

• Fundamental Humanity, Not Judgment

  • Radim reflects that Paula’s work doesn’t judge these objects; rather, it acknowledges their role as symbols of hope.
  • “We need dream objects because they represent hope and possibility... she’s recognizing that it’s fundamentally human.”
  • In her images, only what’s actually used day-to-day gets included. The “dream” items are rarely present, reminding us of the distinction between who we are and who we imagine we could be.

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3. The Power of Observation: Shyness as a Creative Superpower

• Being Shy and Observant

  • Paula’s personal journey—from Argentina to London—was marked by a tendency to be quietly observant in new environments.
  • This “strategic curiosity” allowed her to listen deeply, notice details, and absorb what others might miss.
  • Quote:

    "I’m always like, having a start at places where I’m like, shy and observant and I try to figure out my voice in that new place. And I don’t walk into a new place loud, if you know what I mean."
    — Paula Zuccotti, [06:08]

• Cultural Reflections

  • Radim mirrors Paula’s experience, emphasizing that observing before acting provides powerful creative insights.
  • Quote:

    "Being shy and observant can also give you the power of actually observing the situation. She's describing her secret superpower of genuinely curious people."
    — Radim Malinic, [06:38]

• Critique of Loudness Culture

  • The discussion critiques society’s emphasis on being loud, arguing for the value of “the quiet observer” in creative fields.

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4. “Everyone is a Story”: Radical Humility in Life and Work

• Equality Through Observation

  • Paula insists on an egalitarian approach: every life is complete, every person a story worth telling.
  • She finds joy in discovering unexpected narratives within the everyday, treating each participant as a teacher rather than a specimen.
  • Quote:

    "Everyone is a story and just to see, just to find stories in the everyday, in people’s lives... What surprised me is like when I look at a photo and I find new narratives, new ways of looking at it."
    — Paula Zuccotti, [08:39]

• A Radical Perspective

  • In a world obsessed with “the right way to live,” Paula’s project suggests that every way is valid.
  • Radim summarizes, “There are as many valid ones [ways to live] as there are people living. And maybe that’s exactly what we need to hear right now.”
  • The episode closes with Radim’s invitation for listeners to reflect on their own “everyday objects” and what stories they might tell about their lives.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Everything we touch is like an X-ray of your life because it is everything you do in 24 hours… while you may have your favorite T-shirt on, you also touch Tupperware and cling film and house keys and medicine and a bottle of wine.”
  — Paula Zuccotti, [00:42]

• “She’s found a way to photograph our actual lives instead of aspirational ones. And that’s the X-ray of our lives.”
  — Radim Malinic, [01:50]

• "We project that idea that we have of ourselves... it could be the books that we haven’t read, or the guitar that we haven’t learned to play..."
  — Paula Zuccotti, [03:50]

• “Being shy and observant can also give you the power of actually observing the situation. She’s describing her secret superpower of genuinely curious people.”
  — Radim Malinic, [06:38]

• “Everyone is a story and just to see, just to find stories in the everyday, in people’s lives… What surprised me is like when I look at a photo and I find new narratives, new ways of looking at it.”
  — Paula Zuccotti, [08:39]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:42] — Paula on the idea that objects we touch daily create an unfiltered “X-ray” of life.
• [01:50] — Radim expands on the difference between real and aspirational selves.
• [03:50] — Paula explains “dream objects” and self-projection.
• [06:08] — Paula shares the value of shyness and observation.
• [08:39] — Paula discusses humility, equality in storytelling, and the hidden narratives in daily life.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Daring Creativity is a heartfelt meditation on the stories hidden in our everyday lives, the bravery it takes to be both observer and participant, and the beauty of authentic creative expression. Through Paula Zuccotti’s lens, listeners are invited to look at their own lives—and the objects within them—with new eyes, honoring the ordinary as extraordinary, and remembering: everyone is a story.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, welcome to this bonus episode of the Daring Creativity podcast. This is where I revisit the interview published earlier in the week, giving me an opportunity to zoom in on a few standout moments for extra value and meaning, taking time to digest the goodness my guests share with me every single week. And this week I released a conversation with Paula Zagoti, a multi hyphenated creative known for her project Everything We Touch. And in this bonus episode, I'll pick out a few moments to talk about a project which is utterly fascinating. So let's talk about a fact that what she describes is that everything we touch is like an X ray of our life.

[B]

So the idea is, can we tell, you know, can we tell someone's life by just looking at all the objects that they touch in one day? And what will that picture tell me about them and, and about us and about our society? And it is so revealing. And because in this world where we associate ourselves to a selfie or a curated side of our personality, where you may say, oh, Paola, what are your favorite five things? And I will come with my best T shirt, record player, my best book, and my jewelry, I don't know. But everything we touch is like an X ray of your life because. Because it is everything you do in 24 hours. So while you may have your favorite T shirt on, you also touch Tupperware and cling film and house keys and medicine and a bottle of wine. And it's kind of like everything that you need in a day to live, survive, have fun, express yourself, cope, work out. It's just really good unit, if I may say. I had to come up with a unit in order to tell these life experiences.

[A]

I wanted to know through our conversations a lot more about this project because it's fascinating. Paula spent the last more than 10 years photographing people around the world with objects she collects from their one day I really wanted to know how does it work? And it's interesting that as we see they, they select a day in life and then collect all the items that the person touches from the morning to the evening. And in a way, when we think about how we curate our social media presence or our digital presence, our digital footprints, our LinkedIn profile, sometimes we actually curate conversations when you think about it, because we want to come across in a certain way. You don't always curate what you touch in every single day because we got our habits right, we wake up, we reach for our phone. If you got the common phone addiction that potentially it's water, it's breakfast, it's coffee or a coffee grinder, car keys. These are not necessarily identity choices. They are pure necessity, pure habits, pure life happenings. So when someone asks you to describe yourself, you might say it's that you reader, an athlete. But Paula captures the crumpled tissues, the anxiety medications, the third cup of coffee, the Netflix remote used for four hours straight. She's found a way to photograph our actual lives instead of aspirational ones. And that's the X ray of our lives. So it's kind of revolutionary because the gap between who we think we are and who we actually are has never been wider. We present ourselves on the outside, but who we are is actually someone different. So there's no filters. It's just a human truth. In the second quote, Paula talks about dream object.

[B]

Time to surround ourselves with dream objects. Objects where we project that idea that we have of ourselves. It could be the books that we haven't read, or the guitar that we haven't learned to play, or the photo camera that we haven't picked, or things that you think that one day you'll use them. And sometimes we create an image in our minds of who we are. And sometimes when you have to limit that to actually what you really use. It's like when people say you are what you eat or you are what you do. So it brings a. It projects a mirror back to you of what is it that you actually really do. So I think, like, by. By having that as a framework. If you are not a guitar player, it's rare that your guitar will be there unless you are the type of person that in the evening, just, you know, wraps the guitar and plays a little bit.

[A]

I love how Paula talks about new narratives found in the photos. Because, yes, she's right. She calls it dream objects, but I guess it still goes back to curated objects. Because, yes, we've got guitars at home, but we not always play. We got books at home we've never read, and we've got objects in home that we would love to have, but they are not necessarily part of our identity because we buy the version of ourselves we want to become, but we're not there yet. We are living with artifacts that are best intentions. You know, that guitar is gathering dust. Those ambitious books are still on the shelf. But what's beautiful about Paula's observation, she's not judging this. She's recognizing that it's fundamentally human. We need dream objects because they represent hope and possibility. And what's brilliant about her project is how it distinguishes between objects we want to be versus who we actually are. And that goes back to the previous quote about this is not curated. Life is a necessity. In her images, you can only include what you touch in one day. And Dream Guitar doesn't often make the cut, but the coffee machine does. Paul has shown us that our relationship with objects is deeply emotional.

[B]

We.

[A]

You don't just use things, we project onto them. We hope for them. We tell our stories about who we might become. The third standout moment is about being shy and observant.

[B]

When I came to England, I came to the master's degree and again I was like, from another world. I've always felt. And I'm always like, having a start at places where I'm like, shy and observant and I try to figure out my voice in that new place. And I don't walk into a new place loud, if you know what I mean. I'm kind of like trying to find how do I and my views and myself connect to that? What's the best intersection between myself and.

[A]

That place Me and Paul have in common? The fact that we both came to England around the same time about 25 years ago, and there is something really exciting to have that lens of an outsider looking in because you want to integrate, you don't want to diminish your uniqueness, your personality, but you also don't want to stand out too much. And I like that. Paula says that she was shy and observant because that's a way of my personal experience. Because being shy and observant can also give you the power of actually observe the situation. She's describing her secret superpower of genuinely curious people. They don't rush to be heard. Let's think about it. We live in a culture that rewards the loudest voice in a room. If you follow my Instagram stories, I talked about a quote I had recently, which is, has the dumb got dumber as the dumb got louder? And I think we can be safe to say there's a truth in both. But the louder has been definitely projected through the social media channels. Through media and not needing to be loudest voice in the room actually gives us time to listen. In Paula's moment, she talks about the incredible power of being the quiet observer. First, she moved from Argentina to London, moved from industrial design to ethnography, from being an employee to entrepreneur. Each time, instead of charging in to prove herself, she watched, listened, and absorbed. And this isn't shyness as weakness. It's a strategic curiosity. Paula's entire career is built on observation. None of that would have been possible if she had been too busy talking to notice what was actually happening, if you're paying attention. And that leads us to the last standout moment. Talks about everyone being a story.

[B]

I don't know if it's one thing, but I it's everything. It's just seeing how other people live and not in a nosy way, in a kind of humble way that no life is better than others. Everyone is a story and just to see, just to find stories in the everyday, in people's lives. And what surprised me is like when I look at a photo and I find new narratives, new ways of looking at it. So I run filters in my head and I may find that objects connect or that there is a pattern or I get excited by those things. I get excited by playing, saying, oh, what happens if I remove the middle line? Will that person still be showing their story or not? I get fascinated by asking questions that I'm not allowed to ask in any other way.

[A]

Paul has found something that makes us equal. We all live a life and every life is complete. It's a fascinating story and the key word is humbling. Paula's not studying people like specimen and let's be honest, she's studying their lives and stories, but she's approaching each person's life as a student would approach a teacher. The geisha, the cowboy, the two year old, they all know something about being human that Paula didn't know about them before she met them. They figured out their own way of moving through the world, their own system of making meaning. This perspective can be seen as radical because we obsess with optimization, finding the right way to live. But as Paula's work suggests, something different. There are as many valid ones ways to live as there are people living. And maybe that's exactly what we need to hear right now. My conversation with Paula was full of interesting insights and I think we managed to join a few dots that she didn't think about before or haven't thought them for a while. But as she quite beautifully said in the Stand that moment, everyone is a story. And I invite you to listen to my conversation with Paula because it's back to the brim with amazing insights about human stories. And have a think. What is it that everything you touch every day. Thanks for listening to this bonus episode and I'll see you next week. On the next one. Cheers.