Elizabeth Ito on Anxiety, Art, and Things You Can’t Control

You really should watch City of Ghosts. It’s on Netflix, six episodes long, and it’s a delightful and important exploration of Los Angeles, cultures, and how we manage history. City of Ghosts also happens to be, at least at first glance, a show for children. It’s animated and features a group of kid characters who fan out across L.A. to interview and record the ghosts that live there. It’s guileless and smart and often very funny.

Elizabeth Ito created the show. She wanted to create something less intense and anxious for her son, who often got overwhelmed by children’s shows. She also wanted to pay tribute to her hometown and the people and cultures that have been there. You can tell City of Ghosts comes from the heart.

Unfortunately, the show was canceled after just one season. Then it won the prestigious Peabody Award. And all of this made for a tremendous emotional roller coaster for Elizabeth, who is prone to anxiety and depression. 

She joins us to talk about the need to create and the wringer that being an artist in the practical world puts her through.

Watch City of Ghosts on Netflix. Watch Mall Stories, Welcome to My Life, and Elizabeth's Peabody victory dance video at her website, ElizabethIto.com. Follow Elizabeth on Twitter @kikutowne and on Instagram @ottersnaps.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

The Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/

John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/

Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.

John is on Twitter @johnmoe.