Choose to be Curious

I’ve been thinking that foraging – going from place to place looking for things one can eat – is a lot like the sampling and prioritizing of information gathering that neuroscientists are studying, just applied to things many of us readily dismiss as "weeds". Tama Matsuoka Wong is a finance lawyer turned professional forager. She got curious about the “weeds” around her when she moved to a fixer-u...

Today’s conversation with Ben Rein, PhD is a Choose to be Curious trifecta: a neuroscientist, who studies empathy, has devoted himself to science communication, and willingly stands in the chaotic swirl where curiosity can go weirdly very awry. Ben is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Robert Malenka's lab at Stanford University and a science communicator on social media.  You might know him as @Dr....

Author, journalist, sailor and community radio host Katya Gordon says radio pulls together everything she believes in: a shared purpose, old fashioned connection to one another, a vast array of differing ideas and priorities, and plain old hard work and commitment.  We had a lovely and candid conversation about curiosity, spirituality, our many media biases, and the power in choosing to trust. Get...

Business and popular magazines are riddled with assurances that the best leaders are curious. That where curiosity goes, success will follow.  I blithely encourage people to “choose to be curious.” But the truth is: it isn’t that simple. There is some skill involved. And, not surprisingly, more than a few social constructs. So, today we’re digging into the social side of curiosity at work with Phi...

Do you have things you do, with any regularity, that feed your curious soul? Things that you just know will energize and enliven your day, your week, your whole month? You should. They make a difference. Allow me to introduce you to CreativeMorning, a global network of monthly breakfast gatherings "for the creative community" -- meaning: for you, me, and anyone else who is interested. Check out Cr...

What might the rest of us learn from someone whose job it is to observe places really closely? I met movie location scout Aaron Hurvitz at a wedding last summer and immediately thought (1) cool suit, and (2) interesting job – seems like  a curiosity enterprise to me!  Aaron’s location scouting credits include Joker, West Side Story, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Killers of the Flower Moon...

Addie Bracy is a professional ultra trail runner, coach, and sport psychology consultant. She helps athletes of all ages and abilities to prepare for the mental demands of competing. She says curiosity is key. Check out Addie Bracy here: https://www.strivementalperformance.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Glass Runner" by Marble Run, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Matt Rogers is a political strategist by profession and nature. I wondered what insights he might have about how curiosity shows up in politics. More than anything else, this ended up being a conversation about the risks of incuriosity. Matt sees the dangers for his beloved Eagles, in his experience as a political candidate, and in personal relationships. Matt Rogers is a busy guy. Find him on Lin...

The folks at The Center of Brain Health at the University of Texas, Dallas, want to empower people to be the architects of their own brains. At the heart of the the Center's work is the science of neuroplasticity – that our brains are works in progress, capable of remarkable continuous growth and strengthening. How might curiosity contribute?  Dr. Julie Fratantoni is a cognitive neuroscientist, wi...

Rob Lawless has set himself the goal of having one-on-one, hour-long conversations with ten thousand people. He has four conversations a day, which he carefully documents on Instagram. I was #6041. If ever there were a curiosity enterprise, this is it. You, too, can be one of Rob's Ten Thousand Friends. Reach him at @robs10kfriends on Instagram. Tell him Lynn sent you! Theme music by Sean Balick;...

Ep. #216: Curiosity & Aging, with Michiko Sakaki by Lynn Borton

Soren Meibom, scientist turned visual artist, situates himself at the intersection of curiosity, creativity, art and science. His work blends the techniques of visual arts with the tools of science: data, formulae, charts, and graphs. His unique combination – what he calls “SciArt” – seeks to trigger our curiosity and ignite our joy of discovery. Check out Soren Meibom: sorenmeibom.com Theme music...

Journalist and genealogist Jennifer Mendelsohn helps rediscover and tell stories that might otherwise be lost. She specializes in helping Eastern European Jewish families shattered by the Holocaust reclaim their history. In 2022, she co-founded the DNA Reunion Project at the Center for Jewish History, which seeks to promote DNA testing as a tool for helping Holocaust survivors find family. Her cur...

If you think poetry isn't your thing, spend some time with David Keplinger. David is the author of eight books of poetry and a professor at American University. We got to know one another through a humanities workgroup that was looking at how curiosity might be more effectively woven into the fabric of life at AU. He was a warm and profoundly thoughtful participant in the group, one of my favorite...

Happy New Year, friends! I hope the new year is landing gently for you. I thought it would be nice to start 2024 not in overdrive, but in a conversation about taking our curiosity out for a leisurely ride, and I figured Justine Ickes was just the person for it. Justine is an instructional designer, facilitator, trainer, and ICF-certified coach. She has a special place in my heart because she’s bee...

Ask Andres Marquez-Lara what it takes to lead in the 21st century, and his answer will come swift and sure: facilitation. And facilitation? That’s nothing more — and nothing less— than putting curiosity to work in powerful ways personally, professionally, individually and collectively. Andres is founder and CEO of UFacilitate, a global platform for matching facilitators with folks who need them, i...

Yasmine Arrington Brooks was a teenager when she became the potential answer to a challenge. The child of incarcerated parents with a passion for making things happen, she founded ScholarCHIPS and hasn't looked back since. ScholarCHIPS provides college scholarships, mentoring, mental health supports, and a peer support network to college-bound young adults who have incarcerated parents, inspiring...

Ilya Monosov invites us to rethink our understanding of the brain -- and to wrestle with the implications of how we define "curiosity". Ilya studies neuronal circuits of motivation, emotion, and learning at the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. But this conversation about how one neuroscientist explores the world -- and why -- is much more nuanced...

Part two of a wonderful conversation with curiosity activist Scott Shigeoka. Scott has just released his new book SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life & Change the World. In this second episode, we focus on a few of his favorite practices, including "Quicksanding" -- how to survive those scary, suffocating moments by slowing down. We explore how we can honor the limits of our curiosity and...

I think it's fair to describe first-time author and long-time educator Scott Shigeoka as a curiosity activist. His debut book SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life & Change the World focuses on what Scott calls “deep curiosity” -- the search for understanding that leads to connection and transformation and, in so doing, makes people feel seen and heard...reminding them that they matter. That...

You wouldn’t know it, given her passion for research and accumulation of impressive academic credentials, but one thing artist and educator Rebecca Kamen doesn't do very well is read. Only as an adult did she come to understand that she lives with dyslexia – a challenge in making the connection between the letters on a page and their meaning and sound – a challenge in reading. As we come to unders...

Instagram and TikTok sensation chef Jack Zhang, aka @CookingForLevi, has some things to teach the rest of us about the adventure that is food and toddlers. His delightful videos are proof that bringing a little curiosity into the kitchen can make mealtime magic happen. Young Levi is a curious eater, eagerly joining his parents on the culinary journey they're offering. Jack and his wife Emmy have j...

Maybe it was the pandemic. Maybe curiosity is having a moment globally. I’m not sure what it is, but the thirst for learning and the attendant explosion of science communication efforts in India are noteworthy. I sat down with Ruchi Manglunia and Shweata N. Hegde, aka Jigyasa and Utsuka, the charming — and unapologetically curious — co-founders and hosts of India Asks Why, a “science podcast for y...

What if the best answer to a curious, generative question like, "What are all the ways we could...?" is "Do less"? UVA Engineering professor Leidy Klotz, author of Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less makes the case to consider subtraction as a viable, reliable, and all-too-often overlooked strategy in a world that is biased to always add more. And in a twist I definitely didn't see coming, Leid...

As the new school year gets started, I’ve been thinking a lot about the important teachers in my life, the ones who left an indelible impression. Those special educators helped me see and, as importantly, they made me feel seen. They gave me tools with which to engage the world around me, exciting me about it — and me in it. No surprise: Slovakian educator and author Veronika Darwell caught my eye...