Generator

A Podcast About Creativity

Hosted by professional photographer and content creator Matt Stagliano

LATEST EPISODES

Hear from the Best Photographers and Creators Working Today

About Generator

I’m Matt Stagliano, and I’ve been podcasting and hosting interviews in some form since 1999. I know what makes a conversation work, and I know when someone’s just performing for the mic. 

I started Generator because working creatives needed a place to hear honest conversations about the parts of this work most people don’t talk about. The doubt. The comparison trap. The reality of doing everything yourself. 

I run a portrait studio in Maine, so I live this too: the editing, the marketing, the constant grind of being a one-person operation competing against people with teams. 

This show exists so you feel less alone in that struggle. 

I’m not here to give you tactics or tell you how to grow faster. I’m here to have the conversations that remind you your humanity is sufficient, and that showing up imperfect is enough.

The mission:

Generator exists to remind working creatives that they’re allowed to show up imperfect. Every episode is a conversation about the parts of creative work most people don’t talk about: the doubt, the comparison trap, the financial reality, and what it actually takes to keep going when you’re doing this alone. We’re here so you feel less isolated in the struggle and more willing to keep showing up as yourself.

The vision:

I want Generator to become the place where working artists and creators can hear honest conversations that reflect their reality, not some polished version of success that only exists on social media. If this show helps people stop comparing themselves to creators with teams and resources, and instead focus on their own work and their own pace, then it’s doing what it was built to do. The vision is simple: more honesty, less performance, and a community that values output over optics.

The history:

Generator started because I couldn’t find the conversations I needed to hear. I’d been running my portrait studio for over a decade, editing my own work, doing my own marketing, handling everything myself, and I kept looking for podcasts that talked about what that actually feels like. The unglamorous, in-between moments where you’re wondering if you’re doing it right. I couldn’t find it, so I built it. The show launched as a way to have the conversations I wished existed, with working creatives who were willing to talk about the hard parts without dressing them up. It’s grown into something bigger than I expected, but the core has stayed the same: real people, real struggles, real conversations.

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Recent Episodes

What the Listeners are Saying

“If you're tired of podcasts where everything is projected as being perfect then you will enjoy Matt's conversations with other artists. Here he discusses with other creatives the ups and downs of being an artist without any of the fluff”
Thomas Doggett Photographer
“Always excited when the next episode pops up in my listening queue. Always real conversations on what it's like being a working creative and Matt as well as his guests make you feel like you're part of the conversation”
Canon2021 Photographer
“I am loving the content on the last 3 podcasts from Matt. Listening to them feels like I've known his guests for years. They don't hold back and Matt's subtle guidance with his questioning pulls even more from them. Excited to catch up on older podcasts and can't wait for more to come. Keep it up!”
Studio6Photo Photographer
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