Frequently asked questions
Everything about the show.
Quick, direct answers about Escape Velocity: what it is, who makes it, and how to listen.
What is the Escape Velocity podcast?
Escape Velocity is a podcast hosted by artist and agency leader Tracey Halvorsen. Each episode is an unscripted conversation with someone doing ambitious creative work: agency founders, designers, writers, filmmakers, marketers, coaches and executives. There is no set format and no prepared framework, because the premise of the show is that conversation itself is a creative act, and the most useful ideas usually turn up in the exchange rather than in anyone’s notes.
Who hosts Escape Velocity?
Tracey Halvorsen, CEO & President of Digital at adeo, a Baltimore-based creative agency. She is also a contemporary painter with multiple solo exhibitions, collected throughout the U.S. She previously co-founded the agency Fastspot, which she led for two decades as Chief Visionary Officer.
Where can I listen to Escape Velocity?
Escape Velocity is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Search “Escape Velocity Tracey Halvorsen” on any podcast app, or use the links on this site’s Subscribe page.
How often do new episodes come out?
New episodes come out roughly twice a month. Some months bring more conversations, and occasionally there’s a longer stretch between them. Subscribe on any platform and new episodes will find you when they land.
What topics does Escape Velocity cover?
Brand strategy, creative leadership, agency life, higher education marketing, AI and creativity, and career reinvention, alongside the parts of a creative life that rarely make the conference stage: burnout, grief, money, illness, doubt, and figuring out what comes next. Because episodes are unscripted, the subject often turns out to be something neither person planned to discuss.
What makes Escape Velocity different from other creative or marketing podcasts?
There is no agenda and no framework. Tracey does not send questions in advance or work from a format, because the show is built on the belief that the interesting thing is the exchange itself, not a prepared list. Guests are people she is genuinely curious about, and episodes regularly end up somewhere neither person expected, which is the point.
Who is Escape Velocity for?
People doing creative work inside complicated organizations, and anyone at a transition point in their work or life who is wondering what comes next. Tracey has described the show as a response to how separated people have felt in recent years, and to a widely shared hunger for more connection, more honesty, and more of a sense of awe and discovery.
Why is the podcast called Escape Velocity?
In astrophysics, escape velocity is the speed an object must reach to break free from a planet’s gravitational pull and move into wider, limitless space. The show borrows the metaphor: every creative breakthrough requires reaching the point where old ideas lose their grip and you begin operating in new territory.
Who have been notable guests on Escape Velocity?
Guests include Nancy Lyons (CEO, Clockwork), Traci Schubert Barrett (founding member of HGTV), Diane Querey (VP Digital Platforms, World Wildlife Fund), Jen Dary (founder of Plucky), Dayana Kibilds (VP Strategy, Ologie), Richard Banfield, and dozens of other agency founders, creative directors, and strategists.
How do I pitch a guest for the show?
Email halvorsen@createvelocity.com with a short note about the person, what they’ve built or broken free from, and why the conversation would be interesting. Tracey reads every pitch.