What does it mean to bear the spark of the Creator in a fractured world?
Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s classic work, Letters to a Young Poet, this podcast offers a quiet porch hang for emerging artists to sit with the burning questions and creative unrest that can shape the artistic life. In each episode, a young artist brings their vulnerable questions to a seasoned creative mentor a bit further down the road. Grounded in the deep roots of the Christian faith and the rich lineage of great minds who came before us, these conversations dive into what it actually takes to make good work, find your people, and stay faithful.
Brought to you by Inkwell and Christianity Today's Young Storytellers Fellowship.
How Do I Create in the Margins of a Busy Life? Leslie Leyland Fields and Rosa Lía Gilbert
ln this third episode of Letters to a Young Creative, wife, mom, and poet, Rosa Lia Gilbert meets with author Leslie Leyland Fields to discuss the challenges of finding space to create in the very thin margins of a busy life. What does it look like to be an aspiring writer when it’s not your full time job? Leslie shares profound insights from her 40+ years working as an author and professor, while helping her husband with their commercial fishing business in Alaska. Listen in as they share their stories, what has formed them as creatives, and their desires for the future.
Surviving the Island of Grace by Leslie Leyland Fields
Under the Saman Tree by Rosa Lia Gilbert
Find the full video interview on our YouTube channel.
Connect with the Inkwell community on Substack and Instagram.
Letters to a Young Creative is a production of Christianity Today in collaboration with Inkwell.
This show is hosted by Sho Baraka
It’s written and produced by Jess Ray
Associate Producer is Crystal Dady
Editing and mixing by Kyle Langdon
Video episodes filmed by Seth Dady and edited by Kyle Langdon
Music by Jess Ray and Kyle Langdon
Podcast art designed by Dakota Fiebranz
Matt Stevens is our Executive Producer
If you enjoyed this episode, rate it, review it, share it! We would love to find our way to more listeners like you.
Letters to A Young Creative is part of Inkwell, an initiative to raise up and resource the next generation of artists and storytellers.
Go to christianitytoday.com/Inkwell to learn more!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
1 Oct 2026
How Can I Be a Successful Artist and Keep My Soul? Jon Guerra and Alejo Cala Lara
As artists and makers in this current context, there’s an unfortunate tension we find ourselves holding: How do we approach the “necessary evil” of social media, without being superficial or obsessed with our follower count and likes? What does it look like to create just for the joy of creating, without needing to exhibit every single work?
In this episode of Letters to a Young Creative, singer-songwriter Alejo Cala Lara sits with established artist and musician Jon Guerra to chat through this complex cultural moment we find ourselves in.
Letters to a Young Creative is a production of Christianity Today in collaboration with Inkwell.
This show is hosted by Sho Baraka
It’s written and produced by Jess Ray
Associate Producer is Crystal Dady
Editing and mixing by Kyle Langdon
Video episodes filmed by Seth Dady and edited by Kyle Langdon
Music by Jess Ray and Kyle Langdon
Podcast art designed by Dakota Fiebranz
Matt Stevens is our Executive Producer
If you enjoyed this episode, rate it, review it, share it! We would love to find our way to more listeners like you.
Letters to A Young Creative is part of Inkwell, an initiative to raise up and resource the next generation of artists and storytellers.
Go to christianitytoday.com/Inkwell to learn more!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17 Sept 2026
Do I Have to Pick Just One Creative Path? Josh Nadeau and Madison Zuniga
When you’re young, exploring and enjoying multiple creative interests comes quite naturally. But, as you enter adulthood, the pressure to settle on a single, practical career starts closing in.
In this first episode of Inkwell’s Letters to a Young Creative podcast, writer + illustrator, Josh Nadeau of Sword and Pencil, joins writer + sculptor Madison Zuniga for an honest conversation about feeling the need to pick just one definitive lane as an artist. The two also discuss the value of failure, remaining curious, and honoring your calling long before an audience arrives.
See the full episode on Inkwell's YouTube channel.
If you enjoyed this episode, rate it, review it, share it! We would love to find our way to more listeners like you.
Letters to a Young Creative is a production of Christianity Today in collaboration with Inkwell, an initiative to raise up and resource the next generation of artists and storytellers.
Join us on Substack
Go to christianitytoday.com/Inkwell to learn more!
This show is hosted by Sho Baraka
It’s written and produced by Jess Ray
Associate Producer is Crystal Dady
Editing and mixing by Kyle Langdon
Video episodes filmed by Seth Dady and edited by Kyle Langdon
Music by Jess Ray and Kyle Langdon
Podcast art designed by Dakota Fiebranz
Executive Production by Matt Stevens
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2 Sept 2026
Letters to a Young Creative Trailer
Welcome to Letters to a Young Creative, a limited series, seasonal podcast geared specifically to the emerging artist with a burning question in mind when it comes to their chosen craft. In each episode, a young creative is thoughtfully paired with a mentor that aids in guiding them at a singular point in time in their artistic journey. Each episode offers a glimpse into their very first conversation as mentor and mentee. We hope you enjoy sitting in on these rich conversations.
Letters to a Young Creative is a production of Christianity Today in collaboration with Inkwell
Host: Sho Baraka
Producer: Jess Ray
Associate Producer: Crystal Dady
Editing and mix: Kyle Langdon
Podcast art: Dakota Fiebranz
Executive Producer: Matt Stevens
Video episodes filmed by Seth Dady and edited by Kyle Langdon
Music by Jess Ray and Kyle Langdon
If you enjoyed this episode, rate it, review it, share it! We would love to find our way to more listeners like you.
Letters to A Young Creative is part of Inkwell, an initiative to raise up and resource the next generation of artists and storytellers.
Go to christianitytoday.com/Inkwell to learn more!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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