Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
When was the last time you played? Not just playing a video game or a sport, where the goal is to win, but just playing for play's sake?
This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Cas Holman. Cas is a world-renowned toy designer who's been featured on Netflix's award-winning series Abstract: The Art of Design. She's also the author of Playful (out today!), which reveals how play can boost creativity and collaboration, help us connect and recharge, and show us how to find fulfilment at work. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love) calls it "a radiant and essential book for our anxious age."
In this episode, you'll learn:
- What free play is and why it's fundamentally different from structured activities or games
- The scientific reasons play directly impacts problem-solving abilities and creativity
- Why play is so necessary for innovation (and why a focus on efficiency and productivity might be killing it)
- How to integrate play into everyday adult life without making it feel forced
In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Cas answers these questions and more:
- What is free play vs. structured play?
- How does play affect brain development in adults?
- How does play relate to productivity?
- How to make more innovative corporate cultures?
- How to make meetings more productive?
- How can we live together better?
- Why is play important for children?
- How to reconnect children with unstructured play?
Learn more about Cas or book her as a keynote speaker: thelavinagency.com/speakers/cas-holman/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=cas+holman+lavin+voices
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency
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Credits:
Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney
Host: Charles Yao
Guest: Cas Holman
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Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open
0:32 Intro to Cas Holman
1:31 What Is Free Play?
4:07 Play and the Brain
7:09 The Power of a Playful Mindset
8:04 Play for Adults
12:37 Adult vs Child Play
13:12 Learning Through Doing
17:06 Play and Productivity
19:33 Redefining Productivity
22:11 Play at Work
27:43 Building a Playful Culture
28:37 Embracing Bad Ideas
35:19 Name by Function
38:10 Why Play Matters
42:20 The Basketball Lesson
45:20 Teaching Boredom and Creativity
49:02 Outro
When was the last time you played? Not just playing a video game or a sport, where the goal is to win, but just playing for play's sake?
This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Cas Holman. Cas is a world-renowned toy designer who's been featured on Netflix's award-winning series Abstract: The Art of Design. She's also the author of Playful (out today!), which reveals how play can boost creativity and collaboration, help us connect and recharge, and show us how to find fulfilment at work. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love) calls it "a radiant and essential book for our anxious age."
In this episode, you'll learn:
- What free play is and why it's fundamentally different from structured activities or games
- The scientific reasons play directly impacts problem-solving abilities and creativity
- Why play is so necessary for innovation (and why a focus on efficiency and productivity might be killing it)
- How to integrate play into everyday adult life without making it feel forced
In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Cas answers these questions and more:
- What is free play vs. structured play?
- How does play affect brain development in adults?
- How does play relate to productivity?
- How to make more innovative corporate cultures?
- How to make meetings more productive?
- How can we live together better?
- Why is play important for children?
- How to reconnect children with unstructured play?
Learn more about Cas or book her as a keynote speaker: thelavinagency.com/speakers/cas-holman/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=cas+holman+lavin+voices
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency
------
Credits:
Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney
Host: Charles Yao
Guest: Cas Holman
------
Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open
0:32 Intro to Cas Holman
1:31 What Is Free Play?
4:07 Play and the Brain
7:09 The Power of a Playful Mindset
8:04 Play for Adults
12:37 Adult vs Child Play
13:12 Learning Through Doing
17:06 Play and Productivity
19:33 Redefining Productivity
22:11 Play at Work
27:43 Building a Playful Culture
28:37 Embracing Bad Ideas
35:19 Name by Function
38:10 Why Play Matters
42:20 The Basketball Lesson
45:20 Teaching Boredom and Creativity
49:02 Outro
