
About this episode
Col discusses the impact of environment on human creativity and inspiration, comparing people to bacteria thriving in the right conditions.
Col thinks we're all basically bacteria. Put bacteria in a warm, nutrient-rich environment and it thrives. Put it in a cold, sterile Petri dish and it stagnates. Your conference in the beige hotel function room with polystyrene ceiling tiles sucks. You can’t put a bunch of humans into a Clifton's venue and ask them to feel inspired. There’s a reason every good house party ends up crammed in the hallway, the laundry, the kitchen. The tight spaces create an intimacy an expansive lounge room can’t. Right now a delightful bunch of solo pros are twinkling and shining at The Dale Loft in Redfern Sydney. We’d love to be masters of our own destiny, unaffected by trifling matters like the room we’re in. But the choice of Petri dish matters. Yesterday was inspiring. Today we ferment. P.S. For those wondering, Bluey is Col's homemade Catchbox mic. She's got a lav mic in her guts so the people online can hear things clearly. A side benefit is her role as "The Conch" to indicate who has the floor.
People in this episode
Hosts: Col, Cam
Topics covered
- bacteria
- environment
- inspiration
- intimacy
- conference
- creativity
Keywords
- bacteria
- environment
- inspiration
- conference
- intimacy
- creativity
- Redfern
- Catchbox mic
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Bluey
Books & works: Catchbox mic
Places: Redfern Sydney
More episodes of The Fink Tank
- Make more bad stuff · June 4, 2026 · 5 min
- Fifty years of stuff · May 21, 2026 · 6 min
- Hoarders delight · May 14, 2026 · 6 min
- Fink Tank Origins · May 7, 2026 · 2 min
- Break your own rules · April 30, 2026 · 5 min
- The Fink Tank Chair of Theseus · April 23, 2026 · 7 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Fink Tank podcast page.