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Creative Control

Creative Control

Hosted by Fast Company

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Episodes

194

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN

About the show

The days of celebrities, athletes, and creators relying solely on their talent to build their brands is over. Today, it’s all about partnering with brands, investing in companies, or even launching a business of your own. Join host KC Ifeanyi each episode as he talks to one of the world’s most creative people about how their business endeavors intersect with, and grow, their creativity. 

Listen to episodes

60 recent
August 11, 202652 min

Inside the Curious World of Lucy Darling

Carisa Hendrix never set out to be in show business, and yet she's created one of the most unique entertainment personas working today. Lucy Darling is a character Hendrix created who's part magician, part comedian, and wholly original. Lucy's quick-witted crowd work regularly goes viral online. But there's so much more to Lucy aside from her sharp tongue, old Hollywood glamour, and sleight of hand. What Hendrix is building through Lucy is an inclusive community and a thriving business that operates from a place of intention and values. In this episode of Creative Control, Hendrix unpacks her rather colorful start in showbiz, the origins of Lucy Darling, and how she's growing this very unlikely venture at her own pace.  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

July 14, 202635 min

Inside Bob's Burgers Creator's Recipe for Creative Longevity

According to Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, you can either go the formal route of establishing a creative career—or just make shit. Both have their merits, to be sure. But to Bouchard, the latter is a true superpower.   Over the course of its 15-year run, Bob's Burgers has become one of the most beloved animated series on TV, following the misadventures of the working-class Belcher family as they try to keep their small business alive. But Bouchard will be the first to tell you that as a high school dropout with no formal training in animation, his path to creating a modern classic like Bob's Burgers was anything but conventional.   In this episode of Creative Control, we unpack Bouchard's unlikely journey to becoming one of animation's top showrunners, what it really takes to build work that lasts, and what keeps his creative passion burning for a project that's lasted a decade and a half. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

June 9, 202645 min

How Kerry Washington’s Simpson Street Thrives Through Disruption

Over the past decade, Hollywood has been upended by streaming wars, labor strikes, AI anxiety, and a rapidly shifting business model. Amid the turbulence, Kerry Washington and Pilar Savone have built Simpson Street, a production company with projects that have been both commercially successful and culturally resonant. In this episode of Creative Control, Washington and Savone explain what it takes to make a project undeniable in today's market and how they’re redefining what creative control means when every corner of Hollywood is being reinvented in real time. You’ll also hear lessons in creative collaboration from behind the scenes of Simpson Street’s latest hit, Imperfect Women, on Apple TV, as well as what it takes to actually work for Kerry Washington—questionnaires may be involved. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

May 12, 202638 min

Aleshea Harris on the Power of Creating Your Own Worlds

Playwright and director Aleshea Harris knew early on she wouldn’t be satisfied playing a role in someone else’s story—she wanted to create her own. Harris initially set out to be an actor, but quickly realized the limits of waiting for permission to tell more expansive stories centered on the Black experience. So began her career as one of the most fearless playwrights in contemporary theater, with works including What to Send Up When It Goes Down, On Sugarland, and Is God Is, the latter of which has been adapted into a film. But Harris didn’t hand the reins to another director—she took on the challenge of extending her vision from stage to screen on her own terms. In this episode, Harris explores transforming Is God Is into a film, what new muscles she’s developed as a first-time director, and how she thinks about white audiences consuming her very Black art. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

April 14, 202652 min

Spill's CEO on becoming more than 'Black Twitter'

In 2022, Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell was the global head of social and editorial at Twitter until he was part of the mass layoffs following Elon Musk's acquisition of the company. Terrell and his fellow Twitter alum DeVaris Brown immediately pivoted to create their own social media platform, Spill. After years of seeing how harmful and exploitative social media apps can be to Black and queer folks in particular, they were determined to design a space to serve and safeguard the communities that actually drive online culture.    It's easy to think of Spill as Black Twitter getting its own platform. And while Terrell is devoted to maintaining the trust of its users and building more equity for them, what he really sees Spill becoming is an operating system for fandom.   In this episode of Creative Control, Terrell explains how being a "failed" musician set his career in motion, what the future of fandom looks like, how he's navigating brand partnerships with community trust, and what growth opportunities he sees for Spill in a very chaotic social landscape. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

March 10, 202634 min

Your Creativity Needs a Good Stretch—and Riz Ahmed Is Here to Help

When Riz Ahmed feels lost in his creative endeavors, he asks two questions: Does it stretch me? Does it stretch culture? Those questions have guided Ahmed to an Oscar- and Emmy-winning acting career (The Long Goodbye and The Night Of, respectively), a boundary-pushing music catalog, and stories that have redefined who gets to be seen at the center of the frame. And now, in the latest chapter of his career as WePresent's guest curator, he’s posing those two questions to all creatives.    In this episode of Creative Control, we explore how Ahmed is utilizing his role as WePresent's guest curator (a role previously held by the likes of Marina Abramović, Solange Knowles, and Olafur Eliasson) and how his upcoming version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet ties directly into his vision of stretching culture—particularly at a time when it needs it most.  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

February 3, 202642 min

Inside ‘Half His Age’: Jennette McCurdy on female rage, desire, and control

In 2022, Jennette McCurdy shook the culture with I’m Glad My Mom Died, a brutally honest memoir that spent more than 80 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, sold more than 3 million copies, and is now being adapted as a series for Apple TV+. But more than anything, the book marked a turning point for McCurdy as she reclaimed writing—not acting—as her true creative home.   Now, she’s pushing her passion even further with her debut novel, Half His Age. The book follows Waldo, a 17-year-old student who enters an affair with her married English teacher. It’s an unsettling, razor-sharp examination of power, consent, female rage, class, and consumerism.   In this conversation, McCurdy unpacks her writing process (it’s a full-body endeavor), the discomfort she’s intentionally leaning into, and what it means to take full authorship—and creative control—of her career. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

December 16, 202534 min

“Get greater later”: Hit-Boy on growth, boundaries, and building beyond music

Grammy-winning producer Hit-Boy has shaped the sound of modern hip-hop—crafting timeless records for Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Nas, Kanye West, and more. But behind the hits is a deeper story about creative ownership, personal growth, and learning when to let go. Recorded live at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival, executive director of editorial programming KC Ifeanyi traces Hit-Boy’s evolution from a teenage producer chasing opportunity to a creative leader rewriting his own rules. He opens up about being locked into a restrictive publishing deal for nearly two decades, how mentorship from Jay-Z helped him regain control, and why he now sees that period as a necessary part of his growth. Hit-Boy also dives into his creative process—why he treats beat-making like a video game, how rejection is baked into the job, and what it really takes to make music that lasts. He shares his perspective on AI as a creative tool (not a threat), his journey with therapy and mental health, and why setting boundaries has been essential to protecting his energy. Now expanding into film, brand work, and building a creative hub for the next generation, Hit-Boy describes this chapter of his life as a “software update”—a full reset, creatively and personally. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to ⁠https://www.fastcompany.com/news⁠ To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:⁠https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

November 11, 202535 min

Going Solo: Tracee Ellis Ross on the future of unscripted storytelling

Since its debut, Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross has become Roku’s most-watched unscripted original (show?) ever—igniting global conversations about self-discovery, independence, and the freedom of traveling alone. At Fast Company's 11th annual Innovation Festival this past September, Tracee and Brian Tannenbaum, head of Roku Originals, took to the stage for a candid conversation about how the series redefines unscripted storytelling and authentically reaches a unique audience, as well as why this experience has forever changed Tracee's expectations of creative and business partnerships.  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To listen to the latest episodes of Creative Control on Fast Company:https://www.fastcompany.com/podcasts/creative-control

November 10, 202515 min

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHASE FOR BUSINESS - The Small Business Surge: Why Entrepreneurial Growth Is Defying Economic Noise

Small business owners are staying optimistic — three-quarters expect revenue gains despite ongoing labor shortages, inflation pressures, and economic uncertainty. Their confidence, fueled by strong demand and increased clarity around tax policy, is driving investment and innovation heading into 2026.

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