Shows
The Qreative LifeTQL Podcast - S3E21 - Jo HunterIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Q chats with her friend and fellow creative, Jo Hunter. They discuss Jo's unique use of both creativity and engineering in her work, and her lifelong passion for aircraft.More about Jo Hunter:Jo has always had one foot in each of the two camps of art and science. She grew up in the UK and emigrated to Texas in 2006 with her husband Alan. They lived in Austin for 15 years before moving to Kerrville in 2022, where Jo now uses a combination of digital artwork, laser cutter and 3...2025-07-1452 minThe Qreative LifeTQL S3E20 - Virginia HernandezIn this episode, Q talks with her friend and former co-worker, photographer Virginia Hernandez. They discuss Virginia’s new venture, striking out as a full-time working creative, her latest creative partnership, the value of a creative community, and the importance of having space to figure out who you are as an artist.More about Virginia:Virginia Hernandez is an award-winning photographer and video producer with a lifelong passion for visual storytelling. Her journey began at the age of eight when she received her first film camera—a bright red Vivitar that quickly became her prized poss...2025-06-231h 01The Qreative LifeTQL S3E19 - Rita ToikkaIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Q reconnects with Rita Toikka, an artist who has followed an unconventional path - first as a frontwoman of an L.A.-based rock band, then as a visual artist and educator. Toikka shares the story of her life, with all its successes and challenges, in this fascinating and heartfelt conversation.About Rita Toikka:Exquisite lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, and experimentation inspire my creations. I abstract my subconscious experience into more concrete forms to explore my connection to the spaces I occupy physically and existentially. It simultaneously...2025-04-281h 42The Qreative LifeTQL S3E18 - Curtis RoushIn this episode, Q fangirls over guest Curtis Roush, a guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and recording engineer for 25 years, and founder of The Bright Light Social Hour. They discuss the challenges of being a full-time indie rock band, and Roush's creative process for composing and producing music.Find Curtis online:Instagram (@curtisroush)Spotify Find The Bright Light Social Hour online:Website (thebrightlightsocialhour.com)Bandcamp (thebrightlightsocialhour.bandcamp.com)SpotifyInstagram (@tblsh)2025-03-3053 minThe Qreative LifeS3E17 - Rabbi Ruth Abusch-MagderIn this episode, Q interviews Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder – a community connector, an artist, and a mom with a PhD. in Religious studies from Yale University and rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College. Originally from Canada, she now lives in Atlanta, GA, where she and her husband do pottery at the Spruill Arts Center. Ruth loves cooking and especially baking challah. Please help us reach new listeners by rating our show and subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.2025-03-061h 11The Qreative LifeS2E16 - Love is for Evermore (Jena Kirkpatrick, Jackie O'Brien, Erin Walter)In this episode, Q talks to Jena Kirkpatrick of Evermore.org, Jackie O’Brien of The Bright Light Social Hour, and Erin Walter of Parker Woodland about grief, and the role art plays in processing after monumental loss.
Buy tickets for Love is Evermore benefit show on 11/17/24: https://evermore.org/love-is-for-evermore
Find Evermore online:
Website: https://evermore.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EvermoreforAll
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvermoreForAll
Find Jackie O’Brien online:
tblsh Website: https://www.thebri...2024-10-0959 minThe Qreative LifeTQL - S2E15 - Tarik TradIn this episode, Q talks to her friend Tarik Trad, founder of Focus Relief Photography for Charity. They discuss Tarik's lifelong love of photography, a chance encounter that led him to Antarctica, and his passion for service that resulted in founding Focus Relief.
Tarik is a wildlife photographer, digital strategist, storyteller and author who’s photography has led him to explore and capture distant and not-so-distant destinations, such as the Antarctic Peninsula; the Galapagos Islands; Havana, Cuba; Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska; the Na Pali Coast of Hawaii; the Lacandon Jungle of Mexico; the backcountry of Yosemite and Pa...2024-09-1055 minThe Qreative LifeTQL - S2E14 - Erin Walter & Andrew Solin of Parker WoodlandIn this episode Q hangs out with Erin Walter and Andrew Solin of the indie rock trio, Parker Woodland. The three of them discuss the evolution of Parker Woodland, their respective creative histories and processes, and their new album “There’s No Such Thing as Time” due out in September 2024.
More about Parker Woodland:
Fast-rising indie rock trio Parker Woodland began as neighbors jamming in a small church in Austin, TX, and soon evolved into a powerful, sweat-soaked live experience. At the center is joyfully expressive frontwoman Erin Walter, a justice activist from the Girls Rock Ca...2024-08-1358 minThe Qreative LifeTQL - S2E13 - Roanna FlowersIn this episode, Q talks with Austin-based writer and author Roanna Flowers about Roanna's lifelong obsession with the written word, how she 'found her voice', and the benefits of breaking your own rules to overcome creative resistance.
About Roanna:
Roanna Flowers is a writer based in Austin, Texas. Her short story "The Bitches of Eastwick" was recently published in the anthology, Mixed Bag of Tricks. She is the writer of three award-winning short films, one of which played in over 30 festivals world-wide including the Cannes Short Film Corner. Roanna is the former editor of Treatment...2024-07-141h 05The Qreative LifeTQL - S2E12 - Debra HaasIn this episode of TQL podcast, Q talks with her friend Debra Haas about making jewelry and why its so important to her as a creative act. They discuss the difference between an art and a craft; how important it is to listen to practice self-care as an artist; and the value of having creative community.
About Debra Haas:
After 30+ years as a parent and policy wonk, Deb started taking introductory metal-smithing classes when she became an empty nester. The pandemic forced a premature hiatus, but now she's back at the bench living he best...2024-06-2955 minThe Qreative LifeS2E11 - Nelson Valente AguilarIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Q is joined by musician and frontman Nelson Valente Aguilar, founder of the nuevo cumbia band Como Las Movies. Listen as Aguilar describes the origins of his musical career, starting when he was five-years-old, and listen as he overcomes social, economic and creative obstacles to lead one of the most exciting emerging American-based Latin acts of the past decade.
Nelson Valente Aguilar, an Austinite by way of the border town McAllen Texas, is chief composer for his indie-cumbia-pop project, Como Las Movies. He combines his pan-Latin and contemporary influences...2024-06-161h 27The Qreative LifeTQL S2E10 - Geoff MarslettGeoff Marslett is a director, writer, producer, animator and actor. His career started with the punk rock animated short Monkey vs. Robot before directing three narrative films Quantum Cowboys, MARS and Loves Her Gun, as well as producing on and acting in the experimental feature documentary Yakona and the upcoming film Before I Fade Away Into Nothing. He has appeared onscreen in films like Thou Wast Mild and Lovely and Tombstone Rashomon and even a TV guest starring role as the unibomber.
He currently resides in Tucson, Austin and Boulder, splitting his time between filmmaking and teaching. His work...2024-05-311h 43The Qreative LifeTQL S2E9 - Tanzila "Taz" AhmedTanzila “Taz” Ahmed is a political strategist, storyteller, and artist based in Los Angeles. She creates at the intersection of counternarratives and culture-shifting as a South Asian American Muslim 2nd-gen woman. She’s turned out over 500,000 Asian American voters, recorded five years of the award winning Good Muslim Bad Muslim podcast and made #MuslimVDay cards for a decade.
Her essays are published in the anthologies, New Moons, Pretty Bitches, Whiter, Good Girls Marry Doctors, Love Inshallah, and in numerous online publications.
She’s published poetry collections Emdash and Ellipses (2016) & The Day The Moon Split in Two (202...2024-05-151h 00The Qreative LifeTQL - S1E8 - Ericka SimoneIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Q sits down with LA-based PR and marketing expert Ericka Simone who has been working for decades in the music industry. They discuss what it takes to “make it” in the music business, and why Simone chose to follow her own particular path helping to launch and promote artists.
About Ericka:
Website: https://www.espr.media
Social Media:
instagram.com/_erickasimone_
https://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/659257075609224914
2024-03-111h 07The Qreative LifeTQL S1E7 - Zaki HasanIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, listen in as host Amanda Quraishi (aka Q) chats up journalist and film critic Zaki Hasan. The two of them discuss what makes for great storytelling, and what we can expect from the next generation of filmmakers.
ABOUT ZAKI:
Zaki Hasan is an award-winning journalist whose film reviews and analyses appear regularly in The San Francisco Chronicle, IGN, and The Wrap. He is also a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle and Hollywood Creative Alliance and co-host of the MovieFilm Podcast, a weekly...2024-02-2058 minThe Qreative LifeTQL S1E6 - Michael MalyIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Amanda Quraishi (Q) chats with Austin-based photojournalist Michael Maly. Maly began taking his photography seriously just five years ago, and since that time has earned a reputation for his work photographing musical acts in Austin’s robust live-music scene.
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About Michael Maly:
Wide-eyed, curious, and feeding an insatiable appetite for knowledge through relationships, conversations, exploration, and knowledge. Expressing my personal experiences with the people and the world through a lens and occasionally with words. Open to possibilities and encouraging change through understanding.
Eve...2024-02-0559 minThe Qreative LifeTQL S1E5 - Tom MyerIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Q talks with her longtime friend, Tom Myer. They dig into Myer’s creative past and his recent reclamation of painting as a medium; and they talk about the meaning and purpose of art. This episode was recorded on a Friday evening, so prepare yourself for a slightly unhinged, swear-word-filled conversation between two self-proclaimed assholes.
About Tom Myer:
Tom Myer is an artist, writer, hiker, flyfisherdude, showshoer, blues guitar player, gadfly, grumpy old sod, and dog dad. He’s what happens when you mix colonizer (German/Scottish/Span...2024-01-251h 46The Qreative LifeTQL S1E4 - Natalie DurkinIn this episode Q talks with textile artist and tai-chi instructor Natalie Durkin. They discuss what it took for Natalie to reclaim her creativity as an adult and make it her occupation; and they discuss the benefits of paying attention to our ‘drunken muses’ when they tell us to do random, interesting things.
About Natalie:
Natalie Durkin is an artist currently specializing in using repurposed and upcycled textiles to create fabric portraits and other functional and decorative textile creations.
After decades of being told it was unrealistic and irresponsible to earn a living from h...2024-01-181h 10The Qreative LifeTQL S1E3 - Laury SilversThis episode is a conversation with author Laury Silvers. She’s a retired academic and activist who took up fiction writing six years ago. Since then has published four books - a detective series set in 10th century Baghdad.
Listen along as Laury and I discuss the process of changing careers at midlife, how to take legitimate criticism; and the importance of being open to accepting help and helping others, as we live our creative lives.
About Laury:
Laury Silvers is a North American Muslim, raised in the United States but finally at...2024-01-061h 16The Qreative LifeTQL S1E2 - Aly CardinalliIn this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Amanda Quraishi (Q) talks with Aly Cardinalli, a professional dancer/dance teacher. Aly talks to Q about his early influences, creative challenges that he faced throughout his lifetime, and the differences between being an “artist” and a “performer.”As an adult, Aly developed his innate, latent psychic abilities and he now teaches traditional spiritual disciplines at the fastest growing school of witchcraft and psychic development in the United States which he founded in 2018. Aly and Q discuss the connection between spirituality and creativity, and the importance of continuously evolving in both...2023-12-211h 04The Qreative LifeTQL S1 E1 - Rabia ChaudryWelcome to The Creative Life Podcast!
In this inaugural episode, host Amanda Quraishi (Q) chats with longtime friend Rabia Chaudry, an immigration attorney, criminal justice activist, New York Times bestselling author, and produce/host of five podcasts including Undisclosed,
Q and Rabia discuss Rabia’s foray into the world of podcasting, her writing process, and how she’s adapted her lifestyle to accommodate her creative pursuits.
Learn all about Rabia Chaudry on her official website.
Follow Rabia on social media:
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Listen to Rabia’s podcasts on Apple Podcasts...2023-12-0740 min
Rahma with RoseFinding Peace within the Ambiguity of Life and Spirituality: A Conversation with Amanda QuraishiSend us a textIn this episode, I speak with Amanda Quraishi, aka Q, about her life journey through numerous religious and spiritual communities. We walk through the sensitive territory of leaving a cult in her youth, exploring various spiritual paths, and becoming a Muslim interfaith activist in the post-9/11 United States. Q shares her candid struggles with mental health, the challenges of representing Islam for several decades, and how she endured and came out of intense burnout from community activism. Q discusses the complexities of navigating spirituality in a modern context, her struggles with s...2023-11-1758 minThe Qreative LifeThe Qreative Life Podcast - TEASERJoin me, Amanda Quraishi, as your host in a new podcast series featuring conversations with diverse artists and other creatives. I’ll speak to writers, poets, painters, musicians, photographers - both the professional and the passionately amateur - to learn how they have prioritized their creativity and are living their best creative lives.
The first episode launches this December of 2023. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.
Visit theqreativelife.com for more information.
2023-10-0901 min
Books and BobaSeptember 2022 Book NewsOn this episode, we highlight the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for our September 2022 mid-month check-in, this month we also check out some recent book awards updates and have a chat about the sad recent trends of book bans.New books and authors mentioned in our publishing news:Song of the Six Realms by Judy LinGood Fortune by C.K. ChauCovenant series by LySandra VuongOxherd Boy by Regina LinkeMy Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo HoangToto by Hyewon YumA Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic by Yi Shun LaiThe Spirit Mirror by...2022-09-2459 min
TASB TalksLege Update: May 25, 2021"This is the session of zombie bills." Sine die is Monday and legislators are working overtime (Dax, too). Get updates on: Virtual instruction HB 3 cleanup bill SB 10, transparency in lobbying And, we bid a special farewell to TASB Talks host Amanda Quraishi. Sign up for alerts from Texans for Strong Public Schools: https://bit.ly/39g1qS0 Sign up for the TASB Legislative Report email updates: https://bit.ly/31q1fyK 2021-05-2524 min
Be Still and GoAllow Yourself to Break Open (Amanda Quraishi)"Sorrow, pain, and loss will come to us but what we do with them and what we allow them to do with us is a choice. So surrender. Lament. Allow yourself to break open. Allow your heart to expand until it includes everyone. Erase the boundaries between you and the world. They are false boundaries anyway."When was the last time that you allowed yourself to break open?//Kindness by Naomi Shihab NyeBefore you know what kindness really isyou must lose things,feel the future dissolve in a...2021-03-1707 min
Interfaith-ishDistant But Not DisconnectedThis week is Interfaith-ish's second anniversary!!! 🥳.... BUT in the wake of coronavirus, Takoma Radio introduced new restrictions on our beloved studio. That means no live guests for the foreseeable future! 😢
Luckily, I was able to make a last minute change and got Amanda Quraishi of the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture on a Zoom call.
We discussed creating online community spaces, how to facilitate productive conflict, and why prayer and meditation can be a protection against the never ending news cycle. We also shared about challenges to being a religious convert and what it means to choose daily to be part...2020-03-201h 02
TASB TalksTASB Talks: Lege Update October 2019The legislative session may be over, but the action hasn’t stopped. Policymakers are busy implementing the laws passed during the last session. Dax Gonzalez of TASB Government Relations sits down with host Amanda Quraishi to discuss the status of all our favorite bills from the 86th. ©2019 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.2019-10-0414 min
#GoodMuslimBadMuslim015 - GMBM x SXSW LiveThe one where Taz rebels against patriarchy with subtle physical deconstruction, Zahra finally answers the question of "Where's the Rumi," and both of them get into a fierce competition with an Auntie Staredown.
Special thanks to Dropbox for inviting us to record at the South by Southwest Dropbox Podcast Studio as well as a special mashallah to Amanda Quraishi for guest judging the Auntie Stare Down. 2016-03-2853 min
Green Islam - Quando l'Islam è ecoGreen Islam -La blogger musulmana in difesa dell'ambienteDonatella Vincenti ci fa conoscere una recente intervista sull'eco-Islam pubblicata sul sito web "Eco-Chick". La persona intervistata è Amanda Quraishi, una giovane scrittrice,speaker ed eco-attivista musulmana americana impegnata in numerose iniziative religiose e interreligiose per la difesa dell'ambiente.2015-10-1502 min