Almost a year ago I started having problems with my eye. The doctor's orders: warm compresses. At the beginning it was nice and relaxing, plus my cat was happy to have a nap buddy, but soon it got extreeeemely boring... And that's when I discovered podcasts.

After listening to some episodes of This American Life and finishing Serial in less than a week (loved it!), I looked for a creative type podcast so I'd feel less guilty about spending countless hours lying down on the couch. And that's when I discovered Your Dreams Are My Nightmares.

Hace casi un año empecé a tener problemas con un ojo. ¿La solución según el médico? Compresas calientes. Al principio fue una maravilla, yo me relajaba y mi gata estaba feliz teniendo a alguien cerca para echarse la siesta. Pero ya se sabe, lo poco gusta y lo mucho cansa... Y aburridísima estaba cuando descubrí los podcasts.

Después de escuchar algún episodio de This American Life y de terminar Serial en menos de una semana (¡me encantó!), decidí buscar por algún podcast de tipo creativo para no sentirme tan culpable por pasar media vida tumbada en el sofá. Y fue entonces cuando descubrí Your Dreams Are My Nightmares.

Your Dreams Are My Nightmares is presented by the illustrator Sam Weber. Sam meets up with different illustration-related professionals (sadly, very few children's book illustrators) and chats with them about life and work for about an hour. There haven't been new episodes in months, but since there wasn't an official goodbye, I'm still hopeful that there will be new recordings someday.

I really enjoy the show and I recommend it, but truth be told, some episodes are better than others. These are my absolute favorites:

Jessica Hische (typographer)
Alexandra Zigmond & Alicia DeSantis (Art Directors NY times)
Jennifer Heuer (book designer)
Jon Klassen (children's book author & illustrator)
Debbie Millman (writer, artist, educator and host of the radio show Design Matters)

And these are also great:

Melinda Beck (using style to communicate an idea, you love your career therefore we shouldn't have to pay you)
Scott C (I enjoyed the insight into his creative process for writing picture books)
Shadra Strickland (about race, relationships, and self-deprecation)
Ryan Sands (a publisher talking about compensating creators fairly... isn't that nice?)
Joel Kimmel (building a successful career takes time and patience)
Roxie Vizcarra & Abby Boeh (they said something I really agree with: be honest when you network)
Cali Ceismeier & Sam Bosma (it was funny to hear Sam describe his work process, it sounded similar to mine even though our style is completely different)
James Guilliver Hancock (I love this project he did in collaboration with his brother)
Tomer Hanuka (how we approach the image is more interesting that what the image is about, the god of illustration makes us sacrifice our best sketches)
Tim O'Brien (in it for the long run)
Jing Wei (it's hard enough as it is without you standing in your own way, don't hold yourself back)
Donato Giancola (thinking about the stories you tell with your work)
Marcos Chin (your portfolio should show consistent work that you want to do, not work that you think it will get you work)

Your Dreams Are My Nightmares es un programa presentado por el ilustrador Sam Weber. Sam se reúne con diferentes profesionales del mundo de la ilustración, y durante una hora habla con ellos sobre la vida y el trabajo. Es interesante, entretenido, y útil.

A mi me encanta este podcast y lo recomiendo mucho, pero dado que las conversaciones son en inglés, no voy a traducir al español cuales son mis episodios favoritos. Si hablas inglés, ¡espero que te animes a escucharlo algún día!.