Bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert returns for the second season of her hit podcast MAGIC LESSONS, ready to help another batch of aspiring artists overcome their fears and create more joyfully. This year’s guest experts include Neil Gaiman, Gary Shteyngart, Amy Purdy, Michael Ian Black, Brandon Stanton, Martha Beck, and Glennon Doyle Melton. MAGIC LESSONS art courtesy of Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Latest episodes

Magic Lessons Ep. 209: “Show Up Before You’re Ready” featuring Glennon Doyle Melton

September 23, 2016 · 56 min

This week, on the season finale of Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert takes a deep dive into the some of the season’s themes with writer and activist Glennon Doyle Melton. They talk about Melton’s trajectory from blogger to best-selling…
Magic Lessons Ep. 208: “Leap Into the Fire” featuring Martha Beck

September 16, 2016 · 1 hr 20 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Hope, a spoken-word poet in Ohio. A self-described introvert, Hope wants to take her poetry to the next level, but she's scared to submit her work to journals and enter poetry slams…
Magic Lessons Ep. 207: “Living the Dream and Facing the Nightmare” featuring Neil Gaiman

September 9, 2016 · 1 hr 18 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Britta, a former lawyer-turned- writer in Amsterdam struggling to make progress on her second book. After success with her first novel, Britta made several failed attempts to start her…
Magic Lessons Ep. 206: "Dancing From the Heart" featuring Amy Purdy

September 2, 2016 · 1 hr 17 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Penelope, a dance teacher in New Jersey, who wants to create a dance performance to mark her 60th birthday. Even though she’s been dancing her whole life, she’s having trouble finding…
Magic Lessons Ep. 205: “Call Your Real Life By Its True Name” featuring Gary Shteyngart

August 26, 2016 · 1 hr 19 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Colleen, an advertising executive in New York City, who dreams of being a storyteller but fears it's a frivolous pursuit. Colleen hopes to create a one-woman show, mining stories from…
Magic Lessons Ep. 204: “Who Gets To Decide Whether You're A Legitimate Artist?" featuring Mark Nepo

August 19, 2016 · 1 hr 16 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert talks with Cecilia, a young poet in Florida. Cecilia fell in love with poetry in college and applied to a dozen MFA programs. She got rejected from every one. Devastated by the rejection she…
Magic Lessons Ep 203: "Know the Taste of Failure" featuring Michael Ian Black

August 12, 2016 · 1 hr 15 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert enlists the comedian Michael Ian Black to help coach Keith, an improv comedy performer in Baltimore. A few years ago Keith fell hard for improv. He took every improv class in Baltimore and but…
Magic Lessons Ep. 202: "Make the Brutal Into the Beautiful" Featuring Brandon Stanton

August 5, 2016 · 1 hr 12 min

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Anne, a photographer in Pennsylvania. For the last few years Anne has been documenting her brother's life. He's a veteran with PTSD and a recovering drug addict. She imagines turning…