Ben Folds Launches New Podcast

Ben Folds is once again expanding his ever-evolving creative resume with today's launch of a landmark new podcast series. Lightning Bugs: Conversations With Ben Folds sees the multi-talented musician/composer/photographer/author/activist interviewing an equally diverse range of special guests from the worlds of art, science, technology, public policy, and of course, music. As part of each episode, Folds will be collaborating with his guests to write and produce an original song from scratch for what he's calling his #LightningBugSongbook, with each new song reflecting the guest's own unique personality and creative perspective. Episode 1, featuring renowned anthropologist Agustín Fuentes, premieres today on Spotify and all podcast providers, with a special video simulcast streaming via YouTube; new episodes will follow each and every Thursday.

Inspired in part by Folds' New York Times best-selling 2019 memoir, A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life Of Music and Cheap Lessons, Lightning Bugs: Conversations With Ben Folds will explore the myriad ways creative people from different walks of life define, capture and share their own unique points of view. Folds has lined up a truly divergent line-up of guests, including fellow multi-disciplinary musical artists Sara Bareilles and Jon Batiste, Princeton anthropologist Agustin Fuentes, music therapist Meagan Morrow, Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Jeff Lawson, award-winning children's author/illustrator Mo Willems, Canadian poet laureate Alice Majors, and political activist/spiritual leader Marianne Williamson. In addition to the one-on-one conversation and original song, each episode will also feature a Q&A from the "Peanut Gallery," as well as "next week's resolutions" from each guest encouraging listeners and viewers to undertake a specific creative exercise of their own.

Lightning Bugs: Conversations With Ben Folds is produced in partnership with and distributed by Kast Media, a leader in the creation and representation of premium quality shows, both audio and video, reaching over 12.5M unique monthly listeners and viewers.

To herald the premier of Lightning Bugs: Conversations With Ben Folds, Folds will introduce the show with a live taping of the podcast streaming free at On Air Fest today, April 8. RSVP here.

Watch episode one here: