Choose to be Curious

Having seen thousands of crows roosting right nearby, how could I not do a show about these curious creatures that use tools, are self-aware and (be still, my heart!) appreciate analogies? And who better to talk with than Colleen and John Marzluff, corvid experts extraordinaire? Our theme music is by Sean Balick. “The Cast and Favor” by Bayou Birds, via Blue Dot Sessions. Show originally aired Nov...

Pop quiz: what were the last five articles you read from a news source? And how many of them had to do with science? Climate change, perhaps? The chase for a COVID vaccine? Migratory paths of the monarch butterfly? We depend, perhaps now more than ever, on the fierce curiosity of science journalists like Kim O'Connell. A celebration of all things science writing. Theme music by Sean Balick. “Water...

The pandemic has forced many of us into isolation, perhaps even solitude. In this lovely, contemplative conversation, poet David Keplinger reflects on the power and importance of the sacred pause -- and the curiosity it enables and empowers. Theme music by Sean Balick. “Hickory Interlude” by OneSuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

With so much coming at us, how are we to tell fact from fiction, truth from fabrication? The News Literacy Project has tips, tools and techniques to help. Ebonee Rice, VP for NLP's Educator Network, joins me to share the wealth and engage our curiosity in cultivating good information hygiene. Theme music by Sean Balick, “Three Stories”, by Skittle, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Ayanna Spencer joins guest host Julie Williams-Reyes to explore protest as a radical form of curiosity and how that has unfolded in Ms. Spencer's journey to, and work with, Black feminist theory. This is the second in a collaborative series of interviews hosted by graduate and undergraduate students who were enrolled in the fall 2019 class Topics in Philosophy at American University. Theme music i...

What’s a wanderer to do in a pandemic? How can we get away while we stay close to home? Where can we go when so much is closed? Demian Perry's passion project TownCalendar.org has answers. He makes the case for choosing to be curious about the places right around us... You need this conversation! Our theme music is by Sean Balick. “Lakeside Path" by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Ryoko Reed founded Bringing Student Equity to Education Now (B-SEEN). She joins me this week for a timely and telling conversation about how we -- parents, teachers, the whole community -- might use curiosity to support equity in education. Theme music by Sean Balick. “Cirrus Transit" by CloudBreaker, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Musician and self-described sound alchemist Yoko Sen and Tammy Beaulieu, a registered nurse with more than 20 years of expertise, teamed up to ask healthcare workers on the front lines of COVID how they are feeling. Just asking the question was important. The answers will move you... You can watch, listen to, or download Sounds of Caring at soundsofcaring.com

CuriosityConnects.us founder Philippa Hughes is a social sculptor and creative strategist. Whether persuading ends of the political spectrum to dine together, or crisscrossing the country "Looking for America", Philippa believes curiosity connects us. I think she's right! Theme and other music by Sean Balick.

Founder of Vote. Lead. Impact: Creating a Legacy of Political Influence, Krysta Jones is empowering women & people of color who are passionate about changing the world through politics. I wanted to know how curiosity might show up in those important efforts. Theme music by Sean Balick. “Pull Beyond Pull” by K2, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Guest host Matt Ferguson and K.J. Rawson, project director for the Digital Transgender Archive, explore marginalized communities’ lack of knowledge about their histories as a form of epistemic injustice – an injustice of limited access to and production of knowledge. A conversation about how curiosity and archives might help change that... I'm thrilled to share the first in a collaborative series...

Boredom: we've all felt it -- and chances are pretty good we don't really understand it. James Danckert Ph. D., professor and head of the cognitive neuroscience research area at the University of Waterloo, will persuade you boredom serves a purpose, and its interface with curiosity is especially intriguing. Boredom turns out to be really interesting! Our theme music is by Sean Balick. “Jat Poure”...

Appreciative Intelligence rests in the ability to "see the mighty oak in the acorn." George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government professor Tojo Thatchenkery believes such intelligence is especially important right now. Finding generative potential in the here and now. Theme music is by Sean Balick, "Partly Sage" by Bodytonic, via Blue Dot Sessions.

"Reading curiously for opacity may be a scholarly practice of humility that students...seldom get afforded in their lives." Princeton professor Christina León will get you thinking about the ethics and implications of transparency and flattening difference. A rich and relevant perspective right now... The last in my "Curiosity Studies" series. Check out the whole series at choosetobecurious.com/cu...

How we say anything, how we punctuate our statements grammatically and verbally, all have tremendous impact on how we are heard and understood. So how do we say something in such a way that others hear curiosity? Actor, director, educator and executive coach Carol Cadby joins me to explore voicing curiosity. Theme music by Sean Balick. "Great Great Lengths" by The Balloonist via Blue Dot Sessions.

Together with his co-editor Arjun Shankar, American University philosophy professor Perry Zurn has compiled a cross-discipline anthology on curiosity that seeks nothing less than to launch a whole new area of study --or, as he would put it, a "new ecology of knowledge." Check out the whole Curiosity Studies series at choosetobecurious.com/curiosity-studies Theme music by Sean Balick. "Town Market"...

Brain scientist, neuroanatomist, author and public inspiration Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor says we're wired to be resilient and brave. It's a reassuring message for our times. Spoiler alert: curiosity helps. Theme music by Sean Balick. "Are We Loose Yet" by BodyTonic via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time when Prof. Perry Zurn talks about the new anthology "Curiosity Studies: A New Ecology of Knowledg...

How does a community use curiosity to create -- or re-create -- itself and its relationships? Arlington Presbyterian Church pastor Ashley Goff joins me to explore the power of humble inquiry. Theme music by Sean Balick. ”Turning to You” by Landsmen Duets via BlueDot Sessions. Photo by Aimee Custis Photography. Join us next time when brain scientist, author and public speaking inspiration Dr. Jill...

It takes a certain amount of courage and curiosity to travel around the world to study for a year. Four NOVA students in the State Department's Community College Initiative talk about how curiosity has contributed to their year. A delightful, insightful conversation with Mercy Adhaya, Oscar Iván Barrera, Willy-Jefferson Y. Kouakou and Aninda Nurul Hadijah. Theme music by Sean Balick. "Peacetime" b...

Danielle Bassett is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where they study biological, physical, and social systems by using and developing tools from network science and complex systems theory. They work at the intersection of basic science, engineering, and clinical medicine -- and now they are taking on curiosity itself. How do we connect our curiosity dots? Network theory will out! Th...

More than 25 years ago Bob Mitchell founded a leadership program in Michigan to train diverse cohorts of would-be political candidates in campaigning and governing in a bipartisan way. Now he's bringing the Bipartisan Leadership Project to Virginia. A timely curiosity conversation about the power of listening well and seeking opportunities instead of obstacles. Vote for curiosity! Theme music by S...

How often are we faced with health questions and concerns, but feel ill-equipped to ask the right questions, understand the answers we get -- or even know whom to ask? Dr. Nicole Rochester, a health advocate and founder of Your GPS Doc LLC, reveals the power of curiosity as a health care strategy. Theme music by Sean Balick. “Mind Body Mind” by BodyTonic, via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time w...

Many folks have interviewed Arlington Magazine founder and publisher Greg Hamilton about his community leadership and business and communications savvy. You won't get that here. Greg has a wonderful story to share -- and far be it from me to stand in the way of a heartwarming tale of curiosity rewarded. Theme music by Sean Balick. "City Limits" by Albany, via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time w...

Educator and anthropologist Arjun Shankar worries that the "campus is sick". Values collide and curiosity pays the price. Does it have to be this way? The latest in our Curiosity Studies series! Theme and other music by Sean Balick. Join us next time when Arlington Magazine founder and publisher Greg Hamilton explains why he "just wanted to know stuff" -- a conversation about curiosity in life, ev...

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door" -- And what if you build a better shoe? OESH Shoes founder Casey Kerrigan got curious about everything wrong with women's shoes and decided to do something about it. You just never know where curiosity will take you: a data nerd unleashed! Theme music by Sean Balick. "Discovery Harbor" by Cloud Harbor at BlueDot Sessions. Join...