Discovering Beauty with Orbit Deen

About Discovering Beauty with Orbit Deen

Join Orbit Deen for inspiring conversations about creativity, personal growth, disability, relationships, and finding beauty in unexpected places. orbitdeen.substack.com (https://orbitdeen.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

A Journey of Self-Discovery and Celebration

Category

arts · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Oct 2025

Latest episode

8 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Sept 2026

   From the Bay to the Stars: Iwalani on Zeenox, Creativity & Cerebral Palsy - Discovering Beauty Ep.14

   In the Season 1 finale of Discovering Beauty, Orbit Deen sits down with musician, educator, multi-instrumentalist and creative force Iwalani Music (https://iwalanimusic.bandcamp.com/) for a deeply personal conversation about music, family, creativity, disability and the unexpected connection that brought them together through the song “Zeenox (https://mistacookiejar.bandcamp.com/track/zeenox-ft-iwalani-music-orbit-deen).” When Mista Cookie Jar (https://callmemistacookiejar.com/) first invited Iwalani to lend her voice to Zeenox, she had never met Orbit. But when she learned the story behind the song—a child alone in a hospital room who finds friendship with a visitor from the stars—it immediately hit home. Iwalani grew up alongside her older brother, who has cerebral palsy, and knew firsthand the isolation, challenges and resilience that can come with disability—not only for the person living it, but for an entire family. Iwalani shares how those experiences shaped what she ultimately brought to Zeenox: the simple but powerful idea of seeing another person, asking how they are, and letting them know they aren’t alone. The conversation also travels back to Iwalani’s childhood in the Bay Area, where music, writing and creativity became ways of expressing what she couldn’t always say out loud. She talks about growing up in a musical family, her father’s Oakland soul and funk roots, discovering her own creative voice, becoming an educator, and eventually bringing music into classrooms and children’s hospitals. It’s a conversation about the people who make us who we are, creativity as a way through adversity, and how something as simple as saying “Hello, how are you?” can make another human being feel seen. From the Bay to the stars, this is Iwalani on Zeenox, Creativity & Cerebral Palsy—and the final episode of Season 1 of Discovering Beauty with Orbit Deen. Thank you to everyone who watched, listened, shared, and joined us for this first season. Stay tuned—there’s much more Discovering Beauty to come. #DiscoveringBeauty #IwalaniMusic #Zeenox #CerebralPalsy #DisabilityAwareness #Creativity #MusicEducation #DisabilityRepresentation #MusicAndHealing #MistaCookieJar #OrbitDeen #ChildrensMusic #CreativeJourney #BayAreaMusic #SeasonFinale This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit orbitdeen.substack.com (https://orbitdeen.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Call Me Zeenox, From Hospital Rooms to Outer Space - Discovering Beauty Ep. 13

   In Episode 13 of Discovering Beauty, Orbit Deen and Mista Cookie Jar (https://callmemistacookiejar.com/) tell the story behind “Zeenox (https://mistacookiejar.bandcamp.com/track/zeenox-ft-iwalani-music-orbit-deen),” a deeply personal song inspired by Orbit’s childhood experiences with disability, long hospital stays, surgeries, and the imagination that helped him make sense of it all. As a young child, Orbit rarely saw anyone who looked or moved like him. So he created another explanation: he wasn’t from here. His real name was Zeenox, an alien who had fallen from outer space, crashed to Earth, injured himself in the fall—and might just have a few secret alien powers. Years later, that childhood mythology became the inspiration for a song. Orbit and Cookie talk about transforming memories of isolation into something joyful, danceable and ultimately about friendship, creativity and connection. They also share how artist Iwalani Music (https://iwalanimusic.bandcamp.com/) joined the project, bringing another voice and perspective to Zeenox’s world. What began as a childhood story eventually became a song—and also a (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZEyVJhFXJk)short film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZEyVJhFXJk), expanding Zeenox into a larger creative world that Orbit and Cookie hope to continue exploring. It’s a conversation about using imagination to survive difficult moments, finding connection when you feel different, and turning the stories we create about ourselves into art. Because sometimes feeling like you’re from another planet is the beginning of discovering exactly who you are. Call Me Zeenox. And this is only the beginning of his story. Next week, we continue the story with Iwalani Music herself. We’ll talk with Iwalani about her connection to Call Me Zeenox, what she brought to the song, and her own creative journey. It’s a fitting conversation to bring everything full circle as we conclude Season 1 of Discovering Beauty. #DiscoveringBeauty #CallMeZeenox #Disability #Creativity #MistaCookieJar This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit orbitdeen.substack.com (https://orbitdeen.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   25 Aug 2026

   Music as Resistance | Fyutch on Art, Advocacy & Liberation | Discovering Beauty Ep. 12

   In Episode 12 of Discovering Beauty, Orbit Deen sits down with Grammy-winning artist, educator, activist, and longtime creative collaborator Fyütch (https://www.fyutch.com/) for a powerful conversation about music as resistance, creativity as connection, and art as a force for change. Fyütch shares how 15 years of teaching music, poetry, songwriting, and production shaped not only the artist he became, but the person he became — and why he approaches his work with a mission to educate, entertain, and empower. Together, Orbit and Fyütch talk about the ability of music to express what we sometimes can’t put into ordinary words, the responsibility artists carry when their words have weight, and the incredible moment when a young person discovers that they have something meaningful to say. They also tell the story behind “Beautiful You (https://mistacookiejar.bandcamp.com/track/beautiful-you-ft-fy-tch-genevieve-goings-orbit-deen),” the collaboration with Mista Cookie Jar, (https://callmemistacookiejar.com/) Fyütch, and Genevieve Goings (https://www.genevievegoings.com/) that became the signature song of Discovering Beauty — and discuss disability, inclusion, self-worth, faith, creativity, and the importance of helping people recognize the value that already exists within themselves. And there’s a pretty amazing postscript to this conversation. When we recorded this episode, Fyütch and his daughter Aura V had just been nominated for a Grammy for their album Harmony. Since then... they WON. 🏆 So we’re especially proud to share this conversation with Grammy Award winner Fyütch, recorded at a remarkable moment just before that win. This is a conversation about finding your voice, using it with purpose, and discovering how creativity can connect us to ourselves — and to one another. 🎙️ Discovering Beauty with Orbit Deen — conversations about disability, creativity, identity, humor, and finding beauty in the unexpected. #DiscoveringBeauty #Fyutch #MusicAsResistance #BeautifulYou #GrammyWinner This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit orbitdeen.substack.com (https://orbitdeen.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.