What does play mean to you? A musician will give a different answer than an athlete, just as a lawyer will interpret the question differently than a monk. Somehow, all of their diverse definitions can be true at once. Play can be a performance factor, a relationship accelerator, a spiritual practice, an explosion, or a whisper. Age is just one of many variables.
Define Play explores playfulness through conversations with fascinating people sharing what play means to them. Join Michael Mirza and his guests on a mission for meaning, and maybe you’ll discover your own definition of play along the way, too.
Publisher
Michael Mirza & Roberto Flores
Category
health & fitness · religion & spirituality · society & culture
Perfume, Playfulness, and the Creative Process | Russell Weiss
Play requires room to fail, and creativity is fostered through trial and error. These insights from Russell Weiss, a self-taught perfumer and multimedia artist, offer direction toward the risks & rewards of the creative process. Russell is the owner of Deep Field Aromatics, a Chicago-based perfume studio specializing in botanical-forward fragrances. In this interview, Michael and Russell discuss perfume-making, philosophy, and the power of playfulness in creating art and teaching others.
18 Nov 2025
My Own Definition of Play | Michael Mirza
Seven months ago (I say six in the video, oops), I started asking fascinating people what "play" means to them, with the help of my friend and videographer, Roberto Flores. After learning a lot, both on and off camera, I'm sharing my own definition. Stick around for a preview of where this show is going in the future. Thank you for joining us on the journey!
30 Sept 2025
Six Takes on Play from a Summer Camp for Grown-Ups | Camp Rewind
More than a decade ago, Michael spent a few weeks of a few summers volunteering at a summer camp on the foggy coast of Oregon. Fast-forward to 2025, when multiple generations of former staff and campers from that camp gathered for a reunion called Camp Rewind. The goal was to recreate the most nostalgic aspects of the classic summer camp experience, but in a more inclusive and accessible way. The weekend included outdoor games, hobbyist workshops, reflection experiences, and a spirit of adventure that felt simultaneously youthful and wise. In this unique episode of Define Play, Michael Mirza interviews six Camp Rewind attendees from diverse backgrounds to learn what play means to each of them.
Interviewees (listed by order of appearance): Renée Erez, Josh Reid, Erin Craig, Eli Craig, Sarah Katreen Hoggatt, and Gil George. Multiple guests reference and identify as Quakers, and more specifically are part of a regional group called the Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends: https://www.scymfriends.org
10 Sept 2025
Upgrading Recess to Maximize the Power of Play | Phasha Spencer
Recess time at school should be carefree and fun... but it isn't always that easy. For many children, navigating social dynamics and physical activity during recess can be daunting. That's where Playworks comes in. In this interview, Michael Mirza and Phasha Spencer discuss how smart structure during recess can help kids access play in new ways, as well as develop leadership skills and healthy interpersonal boundaries. Phasha also shares her personal definition of play, which combines joy, dance, community, and moonlighting as a professional voiceover actress.
26 Aug 2025
How to Make an Album (from a Porta-Potty) | Micah Boyce & Chase Carson of White Lucy
When inspiration strikes and you have the opportunity to catch creative lightning in a bottle, you have to act on it. Even if you're sitting on the toilet at a construction site. This is just one of many secrets of the creativity of @whitelucymusic , who recently released their second album, "The Paradise." In this interview, the band's founding members share their approach to creative collaboration in three stages of making music: inspiration, experimentation, and execution. Michael, Micah, and Chase also discuss writing lyrics, swapping ideas, the concepts behind the album, and how playfulness shows up throughout the writing and recording process.
12 Aug 2025
Play Abroad: Teaching, Climbing, and Living Internationally | Josh & Dana Penley
It’s one thing to visit another country. It’s another thing to move there! Discover the surprises, laughter, and life lessons that come from swapping comfort zones for new time zones. Hear how embracing the unknown can change your career, your relationships, and your entire perspective. In this interview, Josh, Dana, and Michael delve into cultural differences surrounding playfulness, education, and community. They also discuss the joy of paper maps, the exhilaration of rock climbing, and the potential pedagogy hidden in Dungeons & Dragons.
29 Jul 2025
Make Punishment Obsolete with Playful Parenting | Jon Fogel
It's possible to teach your kids discipline, boundaries, resilience, and grit without being harsh, and Jon Fogel wants every parent to know how. In this interview, Jon gives away a goldmine of knowledge about how to parent effectively without the use of traditional punishment, based on his studies of brain science and facilitating long-term learning. And of course, play is the secret ingredient in all of it.
Jon Fogel is the author of "Punishment-Free Parenting: The Brain-Based Way to Raise Kids Without Raising Your Voice." He's also a content creator, parenting coach, father, and the Senior Pastor of Hope Covenant Church in Chicago's south suburbs: https://www.orlandhope.org
Learn more about Jon and his many parenting resources: https://www.wholeparentacademy.com
8 Jul 2025
Curate Your Life to Follow Your Heart into Light | Abe Lopez
Everyone says to "follow your heart," but how many actually do it? In this interview, Michael and Abe discuss designing your systems and surroundings to make it easier to recognize what the heart is yearning for (and take action accordingly). They also explore the Enneagram framework, showing up fully with vulnerability and authenticity, making things that benefit both the audience and the creator, and how playfulness illuminates it all.
Abe Lopez is a managing partner of Lightward, tech and creative studio based in Chicago. He is also a mental health advocate for children, playing Guncle Abe on YouTube, teaching kids social-emotional learning through fun, dance, and thoughtfully engaging characters. In between all of that, Abe is a plus-size model, actor, motivational speaker, and creative entrepreneur.
24 Jun 2025
The Playful Power of Saying Yes to Uncertainty | Sarah Corley
What happens if something scares you, and you say yes anyway? In this episode, Sarah Corley offers a recipe for a playful life, using ingredients like curiosity, connection, courage, and a killer PB&J cookie. She discusses her record-breaking baking run with Nestlé Toll House, her new side hustle as an aquafit instructor, and her identity as a transracial, adopted Indian woman.
10 Jun 2025
How Behavior Tells a Story in Teaching & Parenting | Allie Szczecinski
No matter how "good" or "bad" a kid's behavior is, it all tells a story about what that kid may be feeling or coming from. In this episode of Define Play, Michael and Allie discuss proven methods of guiding students toward emotional intelligence. They also connect childhood to parenting and share experiences learned firsthand with their own children. All of this converges into Allie's empowering definition of play, and then closes with an important invitation related to her family.
27 May 2025
Hip-Hop and Showing Up: Intentionality in Relationships, Running, and Rhymes | Dr. Terence Gadsden
Dr. Terence Gadsden is the Campus Pastor & Athletic Chaplain at @northparku in Chicago, as well as a hip-hop DJ (DJ Rock On) and avid runner. In this episode of Define Play, Terence shares his deep connection to hip-hop, influenced by his DJ brother, and explains his approach to DJing, sampling, and music mixing. As an athletic chaplain turned Campus Pastor at North Park, his experiences as a collegiate runner and a former pastor at Lawndale Community Church come together powerfully in his new ministry context. Terence also discusses his passion for running, and how coaching connects to his parenting style and pursuits of play with his family.
13 May 2025
Find Your Stoke in Hard Work and Harder Play, from Consulting to Ice Climbing | David Hardin
What makes you feel alive? What makes you feel like a kid again? For David, the answer to both is "stoke," the secret ingredient to adventure. David embodies "work hard, play hard" in every area of his life, and invites others into the surprising joys of challenging play. His definition of play will motivate and mobilize you regardless of experience level.
29 Apr 2025
Beyoncé, Baseball, and Playful Communities | Rev. Meghan DeJong
What do Beyoncé and baseball have in common? Besides alliteration, both are beloved by Meghan DeJong, who finds meaning and connection in these realms and in many other communities she leads. Meghan offers wisdom about connecting with others and with ourselves through play, as well as a compelling definition of what play means to her.
15 Apr 2025
How to Balance Work and Play in Design, Strategy, and Life | Timm Bloem
How can work and play coexist, and perhaps even be integrated? Timm Bloem offers passionate wisdom about finding balance in work and play, speaking from experience in brand strategy, marketing, sports, music, architecture, and more.
8 Apr 2025
Introducing… Define Play
Define Play is a podcast and YouTube channel exploring playfulness in the lives of everyday people, with each guest offering their own definition of what play means to them. In this introductory episode, co-founders Michael Mirza (host) and Roberto Flores (producer) share their hopes for this project.
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