Human Fracking and the Design of Creative Freedom

Human Fracking and the Design of Creative Freedom

From Daily Creative with Todd Henry by Todd Henry

March 25, 2026 · 37 min · Season 1 · Episode 101

About this episode

This episode explores the invisible threats to creativity in organizations and society, featuring discussions on protecting creative space and the societal implications of attention fragmentation.

There’s a silent war being waged on our creative lives, but it’s not the obvious enemies we expect. In this episode, we dive deep into the invisible threats constraining our creativity—both inside organizations and in the culture at large. First, we speak with Cassie McDaniel, VP of Design at Medium, about the art of protecting creative space in a business world that increasingly values efficiency over deep thinking. She shares how real leadership involves building trust, creating the right constraints, and translating between the language of creativity and the demands of the organization. Cassie’s journey—nonlinear, multifaceted, and deeply intentional—reminds us that creativity thrives on diversity of experience and a strong sense of purpose. Next, we’re joined by Peter Schmidt, Program Director at the Struthers School of Radical Attention and co-editor of Attensity . Peter introduces the provocative metaphor of "human fracking" to describe how our attention is being mined, fragmented, and monetized by the platforms we use daily. He argues that protecting our attention is no longer a personal discipline issue but a societal one, requiring collective action and a movement to…

People in this episode

Host: Todd Henry

Guests: Cassie McDaniel, Peter Schmidt

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Medium, Struthers School of Radical Attention

Books & works: Attensity

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