78 Stephen Nachmanovitch on free play and chivalry

Stephen Nachmanovitch is a musician celebrated for his free improvisations, and an educator whose books Free Play and The Art of Is have become classics on the creative process. With his training as an ecologist and his PhD in the history of consciousness, Stephen brings a unique philosophical view on art, science, and life to the podcast. In our discussion, Stephen reflects on how creativity is not a thing but a living process: the art of IS. He draws connections between artistic and scientific practice, emphasizing how both depend on careful attention to the world, openness to mistakes , and dialogue across perspectives . We discuss how fear of error inhibits creativity, and how improvisation can free us from perfectionism. We also touch upon the importance of chivalry in dialogue, the art of advancing each other’s ideas rather than blocking them. The Night Science Podcast is produced by the Night Science Institute. For more information on Night Science, visit night-science.org .

You can listen to 78 Stephen Nachmanovitch on free play and chivalry online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

78 Stephen Nachmanovitch on free play and chivalry is an episode from Night Science by Itai Yanai & Martin Lercher.

This episode is 38:53 long.

This episode was published on Nov 10, 2025.

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