Yo-Yo & Friends

In Conversation on Living Creatively

By: Yo-Yo Ma

Narrated by: Yo-Yo Ma, Samin Nosrat, Jeremy Dutcher, Jony Ive, Fabiola Gianotti, Maria Popova, Jacob Collier

Yo-Yo Ma was in his late forties when he decided he was truly happy being a musician. It was then he realized that he could use the cello to explore the world, to ask what it means to be human and how we can navigate the future together. Now, he has invited six friends to join him in answering these questions, to explore how they came to understand who they are, how they learned to love what they do in life, and how they would like to live in the world.

• Musician Jeremy Dutcher, a tenor, anthropologist, and Wolastoqiyik member of the Tobique First Nation in Canada, shares how he listens to the past and sings for the future, carrying cultural wisdom and identity across generations.
• Chef and author Samin Nosrat discusses finding joy and authenticity in everyday moments and building meaningful community.
• Designer Jony Ive reflects on how we can bridge the concrete and the abstract, technique and intuition, to create work rooted in care for humanity.
• Reader and writer Maria Popova talks about the search for meaning, the power of poetry, and the majesty of art and science.
• Physicist Fabiola Gianotti, the director of CERN, home to the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, discusses how to build trust and collaboration in pursuit of the unknown.
• Musician Jacob Collier explores how we can transcend technique to create remarkable human connection.

Join Yo-Yo in intimate conversation with friends; revel in his boundless curiosity; explore essential questions about purpose, wisdom, and our future in a world full of wonder and trial, terrible destruction and extraordinary creativity. With intellectual depth and emotional resonance, this series offers a rare glimpse into the minds of seven unique thinkers, helping us to imagine better ways of living and working together.

©2025 Yo-Yo Ma (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC.

Beautiful Connections

This was the best book I could have read to close out my year. The music took me to places in my imagination (and soul) I haven't been in a while. The conversations with friends rejuvenated my heart and inspired me to reconnect with myself. As a woman who teaches math and art, each conversation affirmed my belief that science, poetry, art, music, and math are all connected in a beautiful way. I will carry this one with me for a very long time.

Great conversation!

I enjoyed each point of view from creativity, existence and art. And of course pieces of music played by Yo Yo Ma

The creative conversations

Loved it all The joy and questioning openness of each individual was inspired and inspiring. It joins us all

Phenomenal!

I have long been a fan of Yo-Yo Ma, so I was delighted to see the offering of this Audible Original. Little did I know that he would be interviewing six fascinating people with whom I was not aware. Since listening, I have downloaded music by Jeremy Dutcher and subscribed to Maria Popova's website, The Marginalian -- which I adore. I've even done additional reading about Jony Ive and Fabiola Gianotti because these interviews piqued my desire to know more about the design of several Apple devices and the CERN project, respectively. This is a fabulous listen for curious folks, whether or not they identify themselves as "creatives."

(An added bonus is that, in between interviews, Yo-Yo plays some favorites.)

Lifelong Learning!

I love Yo-Yo Ma. This collection of dialogues is a brief return to the classroom AND the successful being of “a fly on the wall” to gain insight into what creative genius folks think about. Plus each segment ends with beautiful music. Yo-Yo allows us to see harmony between people from different cultures, different academic disciplines, and different age groups. I love it!!