Creative Control
Episodes
“Get greater later”: Hit-Boy on growth, boundaries, and building beyond music
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Going Solo: Tracee Ellis Ross on the future of unscripted storytelling
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since its debut, Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross has become Roku’s most-watched unscripted original (show?) ever—igniting global conversatio...
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHASE FOR BUSINESS - The Small Business Surge: Why Entrepreneurial Growth Is Defying Economic Noise
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Small business owners are staying optimistic — three-quarters expect revenue gains despite ongoing labor shortages, inflation pressures, and economi...
How Elvira Built a Brand to Die For
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cassandra Peterson, better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, has spent nearly 25 years turning horror, humor, and high camp into an art form—an...
From the Werkroom to the MCU: Shea Couleé on where drag is heading next
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Shea Couleé has become an undeniable force in drag, rising from Chicago’s local scene to snatching crowns on RuPaul’s Drag Race to breaking new g...
WNBA Star Jewell Loyd Is on the Road to a New Black Wall Street
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Las Vegas Aces star Jewell Loyd has amassed a stack of staggering accolades: garnering two WNBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, and six WNBA A...
Fast Company's Innovation Festival Returns to NYC
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this bonus episode, executive director of editorial programming, Kc Ifeanyi, chats with editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan about Fast Company's Innova...
Risk, Reward, Repeat: Why Neon CEO Tom Quinn Bets Big on Bold Films
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Neon couldn't burn any brighter than it is now. The film production and distribution company acquired the rights to six consecutive Palme d'Or winner...
How Joy Reid Bounced Back into her Second Act
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For 11 years, Joy Reid was one of the most prominent journalists at MSNBC, spearheading three shows for the network, including The Reid Report, A.M. J...
Why Moby keeps giving music away for free
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moby’s prolific music career spans 35 years, most notably helping to bring electronic music to the mainstream—and perhaps less notably, but still ...
Creative Control is Back!
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Creative Control series roundup!
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How Watcher Entertainment is changing the rules of content creation
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Lim used to work at Buzzfeed, cohosting the wildly popular show ‘Worth It.’ But a few years ago, he left to start his own digital studio, W...
How TikTok’s Medical Mythbuster exposes racism in healthcare
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we took a trip to VidCon in Anaheim, California, to meet up with some of the top creators in the industry. Joel Bervell, a fourth-year medi...
How SuperOrdinary links brands and creators to international markets
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
SuperOrdinary launched in 2017 as a way for U.S. brands to reach consumers in China. The company has since expanded to working with creators in other ...
What if an AI Elvis sent you a birthday Cameo?
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Founded in 2017, Cameo is a platform that allows people to buy custom messages from celebrities to send to their family and friends. The company has e...
Is AI art innovation or infringement?
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
AI art generators such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and Craiyon have gained noticeable attention in the past months. But like so much of what AI touches, th...
The thin line between borrowing and stealing in fandom
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the third of our special series about fandom. To start from the beginning, listen to our episodes from the past two weeks! When it comes to fa...
The dark side of fandom
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the second of our special series about fandom. To start from the beginning, listen to last week’s episode!Being part of an active fandom cre...
Welcome to the (fandom) dance party!
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
‘The Witcher’ TV show might not seem like the most natural inspiration for enthusiastically queer romance writing, but for some fanfic authors, it...
Coming soon: A deep dive into the world of fandom
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Next week, we’ll be back with a special series of episodes about fandom—covering fanfic, fan art, cosplay, and all the passion that goes into buil...
Is banning Tiktok “un-American?”
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since the last time we discussed the efforts to ban Tiktok, we’ve been hearing more about future legal challenges to these restrictions and the inte...
How AI could shape the next 50 years of hip-hop
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, a genre that’s gone from a niche art form to a cultural and financial powerhouse across the world. ...
What do politicians not understand about TikTok?
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Montana becomes the first state to pass a bill banning TikTok on all personal devices, discussions about why and how to restrict the Chinese-owned ...
Navigating the creator economy 2.0
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To jumpstart season 3 with an overview of the creator economy, we’re featuring a roundtable conversation with some experts, recorded a few weeks ago...
Announcing Season 3 of Creative Control!
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Next week, Creative Control is back with Season 3! Some of the topics we’re unpacking this season include the push to ban TikTok, how hip-hop has ...
CC Flashback: Brittany Broski live from Fast Company’s Innovation Festival!
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While we’re on break, working on the next season of Creative Control, we’re revisiting this live episode from Fast Company’s Innovation Festiva...
CC Flashback: Emma Chamberlain on taking a coffee break from YouTube
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In between seasons, we’re taking another listen to this interview with Emma Chamberlain, one of YouTube’s undisputed royalty. Since starting her c...
CC Flashback: Should your doctor be an influencer?
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re working on the next season of Creative Control. In the meantime, we’re revisiting this still-relevant topic: doctors on platforms like TikTo...
CC Flashback: Why copyright law is out of step with choreographers in the digital age
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While we’re on break, working on the next season of Creative Control, we wanted to revisit this throwback episode about copyright law and dance, an...
CC Flashback: How NCAA athletes are navigating the Wild West of NIL deals
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re taking a little break right now while we work on the next season. We’ll be back soon with new conversations and stories about what’s chang...
Why celebrities are choosing equity over endorsements
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few years, it seems that celebrities and influencers are increasingly choosing to have their own brand instead of simply endorsing a pro...
Making Sh*t Up: Improvisation and the Art of Making Something out of Nothing
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re taking a little break while we work on the next season. In the meantime, we’re sharing an improv workshop from Fast Company’s Innovation F...
Monetizing your brand in the creator economy
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re taking a little break right now while we work on the next season. But we’ll be back soon with new conversations and stories about what’s c...
How brands should elevate (not exploit) Black creators
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we talked to some creators about how they’re approaching Black History Month this year. If you haven’t already listened to that episode,...
How Black creators are navigating Black History Month
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Black History Month is almost upon us. It’s a time meant to celebrate Black culture, but as we’ve seen year after year, it’s also a time for rac...
Where are we now after the Facebook Papers?
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the fall of 2021, a whistleblower named Frances Haugen dropped a bombshell. She released what would become known as the Facebook Papers, a mas...
Is the creator economy dead?
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve discussed where the creator economy is headed this year. And there are general trends that I do think will be important to keep in mind in the...
How jazz powerhouse Samara Joy went from a viral video to Grammy nominee
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you haven’t heard of Samara Joy, I’m about to put you on. Samara is a jazz singer whose buttery vocals have earned her some of the top accolade...
The Fast Company podcast team looks back on 2022
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate Davis, KC Ifeanyi, and Amelia Hemphill discuss the biggest stories at Fast Company this past year and share their favorite moments from Fast C...
Top predictions for the creator economy in 2023
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been another destabilizing year across the board. But the creator economy has surprisingly held strong—despite a looming recession, increasin...
Unpacking the ‘Black Internet Effect’ with Shavone Charles
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This interview has been a long time coming because Shavone Charles is someone I’ve known for quite a few years now. When I met her, she was the head...
How social media companies should think about paid subscriptions
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You might have noticed that more and more social media platforms are offering paid versions of their services, like Twitter Blue, Snapchat Plus, and D...
What Tumblr’s new rules on adult content means for creators
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2018, Tumblr banned all nudity, which, unsurprisingly, led to a massive dip in page views as well as adult creators being forced off the platf...
Coming up after Thanksgiving . . .
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking a break this week and wishing everyone a warm holiday! When we come back, we'll be talking about what's changing in content policies at T...
If Elon Musk resurrects Vine, can it compete with TikTok?
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A few weeks ago, Elon Musk, Twitter’s new CEO, tweeted a poll asking if he should bring back Vine, the short-form video app Twitter purchased in 201...
Will changes at Twitch help or hurt creators' pockets?
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Most creators know they won’t reach the level of getting insanely lucrative brand deals or tens of millions of followers—and that’s perfectly fi...
How much do you spend on the creators you love?
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think about what you’re already shelling out for on-demand entertainment with Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Apple Music, HBO Max, how do conte...
Decoding what algospeak means for creators
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve explored how algorithms and content moderation can make some creators feel targeted on social platforms. One way creators are getting around b...
Want 52 million followers on TikTok? Adapt and experiment like Michael Le
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re on TikTok, Michael Le has undoubtedly landed on your For You page at some point with his dance videos, which have earned him 52 million fo...
FROM AWS AND FAST CO WORKS: At the Edge of Innovation: A Conversation with AWS’s Jan Hofmeyr
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this special podcast episode, hear the latest on what’s taking place in edge computing and hybrid cloud from a top industry executive at AWS. Als...
Welcome to the hilariously bizarre world of Tony Talks
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You think you know where a skit from Antonio Baldwin (aka Tony Talks) is headed until the punchlines start hitting you in the most unexpected places...
Why marginalized creators are feeling invisible online
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of people say success in the creator economy is democratized: You put in the work, stay consistent, and you’ll find your audience and revenue....
Brittany Broski live from Fast Company's Innovation Festival!
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brittany "Broski" Tomlinson turned her 15 seconds of fame as "the Kombucha girl" meme into a full-fledged career. In this live episode of Fast Company...
What's On The Horizon For Season 2 of Creative Control
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here is a sneak peek of Season 2! Creative Control premieres next week, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss new episodes every...
CC Throwback: How Soman Chainani darker lens creates fairytales
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Author Jenny Han on the double-edged sword of representation
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Unpacking composer Nicholas Britell’s unusual creative process
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
FROM FRESHWORKS AND FAST CO. WORKS: What is the future of the employee experience?
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every company’s success is tied to its talent - recruiting and retaining the employees needed to deliver high-level customer experiences that suppor...
CC Throwback: Lessons on leveling up with Danielle Brooks
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Monet X Change on the power of Blackness in drag
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Minding your mental health with Dr. Jess Clemons
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Ellen Pompeo broke her creative rut and you can too
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Using brainstorming and improv to boost your creativity
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: John Cho’s childlike approach to creativity
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: Janet Mock on trusting other voices in the room
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
CC Throwback: How uncertainty and negativity can fuel creativity
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re hard at work developing season 2 of Creative Control coming this fall. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback episode to keep your creative jui...
Creative Control's season one finale
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past 15 episodes, we covered a lot of ground within the creator economy. For the season one finale, we're revisiting some of these topics wit...
How one woman is getting BIPOC creators a seat at the table
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we profiled a talent agency working specifically with deaf and disabled creators. This week, we're going even further into the space of mar...
This talent agency is making room for deaf and disabled creators
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
According to the World Health Organization, 1 billion people around the world are living with a disability. However, it's safe to say that the majorit...
Why inventor Simone Giertz is making products that actually work now
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One would think an inventor's job should be identifying a problem and building an innovative solution to fix it. Simone Giertz has been great about th...
Social media regulation needs to happen—but how?
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rounding out this 3-episode arc of the current state of social media platforms is the question of government regulation. We know social media companie...
Inside the push to make social media less addictive
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Does this sound familiar? You open Instagram or TikTok to kill some time, and the next thing you know, your eyes are dried out and your thumb feels li...
What we know (and don't) about social media algorithms
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It feels strange to think back to a time when we weren’t so concerned with social media algorithms. For years, we accepted this idea that algorithms...
Lilly Singh wants you to be a triangle
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Lilly Singh started her YouTube channel in 2010, she was all about the hustle, which led to a number of opportunities including acting roles and ...
How a Silicon Valley engineer-turned-creator is pushing back against hustle culture
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week I discussed burnout with therapist Kati Morton and got into the nuts and bolts of what happens in our brains when we experience burnout and ...
Burnout is getting worse—but recovery won't take as long as you think
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before the World Health Organization officially recognized burnout as a syndrome in 2019, there was already a mounting wave of high-profile creators s...
Emma Chamberlain on taking a coffee break from YouTube
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since starting her channel in 2017, Emma Chamberlain has amassed more than 11 million YouTube subscribers, in large part because of her wry comedic to...
Should your doctor be an influencer?
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Doctors are taking to platforms like TikTok and Twitter to make medicine less of a mystery for people—and becoming celebrities along the way. But th...
Patreon CEO Jack Conte on the creative middle class
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the cofounder and CEO of Patreon (and a creator himself), Jack Conte’s whole mission has been helping creators make a stable living. Patreon allo...
This company is investing $1 billion in your favorite YouTube creators
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Spotter buys YouTubers’s back catalogs in exchange for capital to grow their businesses—and the company recently announced plans to invest $1 bill...
Why copyright law is out of step with dancers in the digital age
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think about things having a copyright, what probably comes to mind are movies, music, and books—but what about dance moves? Historically, c...
How NCAA athletes are navigating the Wild West of "NIL" deals
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of Fast Company's new podcast Creative Control, host KC Ifeanyi dives into the tangled history of the NCAA and collegiate athle...
Introducing Creative Control
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fast Company's new podcast Creative Control is taking a deep dive into the forces shaping the creator economy, and what it means for its future. Creat...
CC Flashback: Jackie Aina
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our very first season of Cre...
CC Flashback: Wayne Brady
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our forth season of Creative...
CC Flashback: Saweetie
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our first season of Creative...
CC Flashback: Paul Scheer
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our first season of Creative...
CC Flashback: Carrie Coon
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our first season of Creative...
CC Flashback: David Sedaris
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our first season of Creative...
CC Flashback: Regina Hall
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re gearing up for a brand new podcast on the creator economy! So in the meantime, check out this past interview from our first season of Creative...
A message on what's to come in the new year.
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A message on what's to come in the new year.
New Year's Special - Reflecting on 2021
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have a special holiday episode where KC chatted with World Changing Ideas Host Talib Visram and The New Way We Work Host Kate Davis to reflec...
How do you define creativity? (Part 3)
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We have another roundup of the best answers to that all-important question: How do you define creativity? Enjoy!
Tracy Oliver's recipe for comedy gold: Big, brash, and Black
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy Oliver has made it a point in her career as a film and TV producer and writer to center her work around Black women—but, most importantly, Bla...
Adam McKay on creating comedy in chaos
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can you make satire of reality when reality itself is stranger than fiction? And when reality feels flat-out depressing, is anyone in the mood to ...
Kenny G's creativity starts with trust (and a lot of practice)
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kenny G is one of those artists you love, hate, or just allow to quietly exist in the background of your life, like so much of his smooth jazz has don...
How do you define creativity? (Part 2)
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We have another roundup of the best answers to that all-important question: How do you define creativity? Enjoy!
John Cho is simplifying his creativity—and you should too
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
John Cho is at a point in his career where he can be intentional with what projects he chooses. And his intention for his latest project was to push ...
How to deal with negative emotions in your creative process
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's little you can do about the inherent stressors in the creative process. But what you can do is learn how to better manage the negative emotion...