Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert -- the author of Eat Pray Love and Big Magic -- created something beautiful and unusual with Magic Lessons. Across two seasons and 22 episodes, Gilbert works directly with aspiring artists who are stuck, afraid, or unsure how to take their creative lives seriously. Each episode pairs a real person facing a creative block with both Gilbert's coaching and advice from an expert guest. The guest list alone is worth the listen: Neil Gaiman, Martha Beck, Amy Purdy, Gary Shteyngart, and others show up to share hard-won wisdom. The format feels like creative therapy you get to eavesdrop on. Gilbert listens to each person's specific struggle -- a writer paralyzed by perfectionism, a dancer who abandoned her art for a stable career, a photographer unsure if her work matters -- and responds with the kind of direct, compassionate honesty that made Big Magic resonate with millions. She doesn't sugarcoat things, but she also never makes anyone feel small. This is a concluded series, with the last episode airing in September 2016, but it hasn't aged a day. The fears and doubts these guests describe are timeless, and Gilbert's insights hold up completely. The show has 1,400-plus ratings and a 4.6 average. If you've ever felt like you need permission to take your creative impulses seriously, these 22 episodes might be the most important listening you do all year.