You know when you meet someone you were destined to be friends with? That’s how I felt upon meeting Alexandra Hudson — Lexi to her friends. She’s got a creative spirit I vibe with and is a writer after my own heart, spending her days focused on the lost art of civility, conversation, discourse and more.

She’s writing a book on the subject, while at the same time writing and working for several other respectable places, landing plum fellowships and passing on her creative energy to anyone who crosses her path. Also, she’s published at places like The Wall Street Journal, the Hill, Quillette and many more. She went to the London School of Economics (wow!) and loves philosophy, the arts, world travel and jazz. She’s one of those people could talk with for hours about really important — or minute — topics and come away refreshed every time.

Lexi has been a huge encouragement to me in the past few months and I knew I had to get her on the podcast to talk with me about her book, her life mission and why she knew working for the federal government wasn’t life-giving for a creative spirit so invested in making a real difference in the world. Not that government doesn’t do good things — they do — but having been there myself, I can tell you it stifles a person who needs to write and breathe and express themselves creatively.

What we talked about:

* Lost in Translation* Better Angels* Chernobyl (her piece here)* Big Little Lies Season 2* Weave Project* The Fabric of Character by Anne Snyder* Podcast: The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps* EconTalk Podcast

Connect with Alexandra:

* Facebook* Twitter* Instagram

Recent Episodes:

* Spicy Taking and Baby Making with Bethany Mandel* The Rise of a CNN Superstar: S.E. Cupp is Unfiltered* Charlotte Pence on Living a Gracious Life