Phil Cousineau, Author, Filmmaker, Scholar, Lecturer

Today, my guest is Phil Cousineau, a writer, documentary filmmaker, independent scholar, worldwide lecturer, storyteller, and creativity consultant. He grew up just outside of Detroit, once known as the “Paris of the Midwest,” where he moonlighted in a steel factory for four years while studying journalism and photography at the University of Detroit. His life-long fascination with the art, literature, and the history of culture has taken him on myriad journeys around the world.

Phil lectures frequently on a wide range of topics from mythology, film, and writing, to beauty, travel, sports, and creativity. His forty-plus published works include several bestsellers, including The Art of Pilgrimage, The Hero’s Journey: The Life and Work of Joseph Campbell, Stoking the Creative Fires, and Once and Future Myths. His most recent books include The Oldest Story in the World, Beyond Forgiveness: Reflections on Atonement and Reconciliation, The Book of Roads, and Burning the Midnight Oil. which was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. Phil also has over twenty-five documentary film credits include The Hero’s Journey: The Life and Work of Joseph Campbell, Ecological Design: Inventing the Future, Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey, and Forever Activists: Stories from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, which was nominated, in 1991, for an Academy Award. 

Hsu Untied interview with Phil Cousineau