“Why We Tell Stories” is a discussion between Greg Hurwitz & Jonathan Pageau which took place on January 31, 2025. In this exchange, two prominent professionals in creative fields discuss the place of passion, productivity, and integrity in the context of their careers, and offer insights which range from guiding, general principles to concrete, practical advice.

Over the course of their discussion with each other and with the students, they field questions about the artistic process; about the public attention they’ve received for their work; about the lessons they’ve learned; and about their impression of Ralston College and its place in a broader context of cultural and educational renewal. 

This event was part of Ralston College’s Career and Life conversations, a series of informal Friday-afternoon discussions for students enrolled in the MA in the Humanities. To apply to this program, please visit our website: www.ralston.ac/apply.

Authors and Works Mentioned in this Episode:

• Aristotle

• Dante Alighieri

• DC Comics’ Batman series

• The Book of Genesis

• Jordan B. Peterson

• Stephen King

• William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (1929)

• Rashomon (1950; dir. Akira Kurosawa)

• Marcel Duchamp, “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2” (1912) 

• Sigmund Freud

• Carl Rogers

• Jackson Pollock

• Pablo Picasso

• Lucile Ball

• Groucho Marx

• Sammy Davis Jr.

• James Patterson

• John Grisham 

• Dr James Orr

• Dr Douglas Hedley

• Douglas Murray

• Ben Shapiro

• William Shakespeare

• Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code

• Hamilton: An American Musical 

• Harry Potter series 

• William Goldman