Episodes

  • Hot Toddies, Endings and Beginnings
    Jan 3 2024

    Join us, your hosts Tony and Bill, in this final episode of the year and for the foreseeable future as we drink hot toddies, discuss the importance of graceful transitions and take a break from the show.

    We explore the importance of acknowledging the end of things, whether a project, a relationship, or a phase of life, to move forward. We reflect on lessons learned over the past three years from our guests in their art and careers.

    We also share insights from our experiences with change and what qualities helped us navigate them. Finally, we send out a big thank you to our audience for listening and to all our great guests for sharing their stories!

    If you haven't checked out the past episodes, please do, as we had some wonderful conversations.

    Mentions in this show

    Introducing Bill Robertazzi & Tony Tran

    John Mohr interview: Indie Rock Star to IT Rock Star

    Sunil Garg Talks With Us About Science, Art, Law and the Cosmos!

    Howard Robot interview: F.I.R.E., Flaming Phalluses and Feelings

    Bill's Coaching Practice

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    23 mins
  • JBV Creative interview: Playing with Engineering
    Oct 14 2023

    Our guest today is Jay Vogler, founder of JBV Creative.

    Jay designs and creates projects to showcase his passion for mechanical engineering and creative expression via "Rube Goldberg" like kinetic sculptures. He is also a prolific content creator with a significant presence on both YouTube and Instagram. (go check out his creations!)

    We discuss his transition from corporate engineering at a toy manufacturer to working solely for himself, the effort it took to build his social presence, how he picks his projects, and who his audience is.

    Lastly, Jay shares lessons he learned building JBV Creative for those also wanting to pursue content creation and other creative ventures.

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe to this podcast.

    JBV Creative on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jbvcreative/

    JBV Creative on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JBVCreative

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    25 mins
  • ChatGPT interview: Do You Mind If I Call You Chat?
    Mar 3 2023

    Our guest on this episode is "ChatGPT", a cutting-edge natural language Artificial Intelligence designed by OpenAI. ChatGPT's remarkable language abilities and versatility in performing various tasks have garnered high acclaim.

    During this interview, we put ChatGPT's conversational AI to the test to explore its capabilities and limitations. Moreover, we delve into how conversational AI has the potential to revolutionize the way artists and engineers create and share their work.

    Additionally, we address the ethical and societal implications of engaging in discussions with a seemingly "life-like" AI persona. To avoid unintentionally personifying ChatGPT, we incorporated different fictional AI-generated voices to make it clear it wasn't one of our usual human guests, such as HAL from 2001: Space Odyssey and Rick from Rick and Morty, in addition to a generic voice for clarity and a pleasant listening experience.

    For a thought-provoking conversation on the topic of unintentional personification of technology, we recommend checking out our February 2021 episode featuring Alice Wroe, the Augmented and Virtual Realities Lead at the Atlantic Institute. (link below)

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe

    Find ChatGPT here:www.openai.com

    AI Voices Supplied by: https://uberduck.ai/

    Listen to the Alice Wroe episode here: https://www.theartistengineer.com/e/alice-wroe-interview-augmented-and-virtual-realities-lead-at-the-atlantic-institute/

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    33 mins
  • Hot Toddies: Getting, Giving and Asking for Feedback
    Dec 31 2022

    Join your hosts, Tony and Bill, on our annual end of year "hot toddies" episode.

    Before diving into the topic, we ask you, our listeners, for a favor. We truly appreciate hearing from you all and would love feedback about the show. So please email us below and let us know: What you like? Or don't like. What you want more of? What you want less of? Suggestions for future guests or new directions to pursue. And anything else on your mind.

    You can email us at podcast@theartistengineer.com

    Now that that's out of the way, listen in as Tony and Bill sip hot toddies and explore the topic of feedback, in both professional and personal situations. Why it's valuable, how to give it, how to receive it, when it's appropriate, when it's not, and the big roles intention and competence play in these interactions.

    Finally, we wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe

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    28 mins
  • Kenji Larsen interview: Skunkworks, Beavers and Androids!
    Dec 21 2022

    Our guest is Kenji Larsen, a technologist, entrepreneur, and artist.

    He is the CEO at Alpha Reactor Corporation, a consulting firm working with startups and Fortune 500 skunkworks (experimental laboratories or departments inside companies), specializing in bringing engineering prototypes from initial concept to scale.

    We discuss visionary thinking vs. execution thinking, and the differences that define the components of S.T.E.A.M. - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. He shares advice on preparing young people to go into a career and previews his upcoming book meant to inspire future generations of innovators.

    As well, we wander off into the forest to compare beavers to technologists. And discuss the deeper meanings of life explored in Blade Runner, his favorite science fiction film.

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe

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    33 mins
  • LEGO Bros Zack and Wayne Talk Willpower and Waypower
    Nov 23 2022

    Our guests this episode are Zack and Wayne from LEGO Masters Season 2!

    Zack and Wayne Macasaet share behind the scenes stories, including the "ugly fish" principle that got them accepted to the show. We discuss how they combine artistic vision, engineering techniques, and storytelling in their builds and how the two strengths of "willpower" and "waypower" work in their collaborations, as builders and brothers.

    The two share how fun, competition, and parenthood drive their many pursuits.

    You can find out more about Zack and Wayne below:

    https://www.instagram.com/matthias.mac/

    https://www.instagram.com/zackhariahm/

    https://www.oasisarchery.com/

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe

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    29 mins
  • Dr. Samuel West interview: The Museum of Failure
    Sep 15 2022

    Our guest is Dr. Samuel West, a licensed psychologist with a PhD in Organizational Psychology and the founder of The Museum of Failure.

    The Museum of Failure is a traveling collection of failed products and services from around the world - it serves as a fascinating learning experience which provides unique insight into the risky business of innovation.

    We discuss how innovation and progress require an acceptance of failure, and how being open to failure and the lessons learned from it, can inspire us to take more meaningful risks.

    We explore the fear of failure, both on the organizational scale and the personal level, and how there’s an increasing interest in spaces that allow for productive conversations on this topic.

    And finally, we dive into ways to measure creativity and the difference between good and bad failure.

    Enjoy!

    Please do take a virtual tour of the Museum of Failure below:

    https://museumoffailure.com/

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe

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    39 mins
  • I Got 99 Problems (But Inspiration Ain’t One)
    Jun 30 2022

    Thomas Edison thought deeply about what drives invention or, as we call it today, innovation. One of his famous sayings, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” stresses that innovation involves more than just great ideas.

    Or to paraphrase Jay-Z, “I got 99 problems, but inspiration ain’t one.”

    In this special quarterly episode, your hosts Tony and Bill explore the topic of creativity (we could have called it innovation as well). We explore some common hurdles to creativity and suggest ways to overcome them. We discuss the challenge of how to maintain one’s imagination and open-mindedness over many years in pursuit of creativity. And throughout, we share some insights learned from our conversations with past guests.

    Past episodes mentioned in this conversation you might enjoy:

    Ron Diorio interview: Imagination + Productivity = Creativity (Nov 2020)

    https://www.theartistengineer.com/e/ron-diorio-interview/

    Grind+Eat+Pray - Ethan Richards interview (Nov 2020)

    https://www.theartistengineer.com/e/grindeatpray-ethan-richards-interview/

    Sunil Garg Talks with us About Science, Art, Law and the Cosmos! (Dec 2020)

    https://www.theartistengineer.com/e/light-artist-sunil-garg/

    Fernanda Oyarzún interview: Sea Life and See Life (May 2022)

    https://www.theartistengineer.com/e/fernanda-oyarzun-interview/

    Please don't forget to share/rate/review/subscribe

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    29 mins