Choose to be Curious

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...

"Dance is how I practice curiosity. It is the vehicle through which I'm asking questions about the world -- and investigating questions about the world. " So says dancer, choreographer, educator and American University professor Erin Foreman-Murray in this lovely conversation about dance and embodied curiosity with C2BC intern Michela Dwyer. Theme and other music thanks to Sean Balick. Join us nex...

Trend curator, marketing expert and best selling author Rohit Bhargava declares: "Learning to use non-obvious thinking has a valuable side effect: It makes you more curious, observant, and understanding of the world around you.” He had me at "Be curious." Theme music by Sean Balick; “Turning on the Lights" by Speakeasy, via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time when dancer, choreographer, and educa...

Susan Engel, professor of psychology at Williams College, has made a career of studying the ebb and flow of curiosity in our lives. "There is no curiosity script," she says. and "it's almost impossible to cultivate curiosity in others without it in your own life." What's an educator -- or parent -- to do? The latest in our Curiosity Studies series! Theme music by Sean Balick; "Curious Case" by The...

Rather than guilt ourselves with the pressure of New Years' Resolutions, how might we enter 2020 with questions and reflections instead? Kristine Wood joins me in greeting the coming year with an open mind and heart. Here's to a great new year for us all! Theme music by Sean Balick. “UpUpUp and Over” by The Ballonist via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time for the latest in our Curiosity Studies...

Imagine it’s your job to establish a relationship and build trust at the very moment people are going through what is proven to be one of the most stressful life events: buying a house. How do you do that? Curiosity, of course! Realtor Christine Hopkins on trust and finding home. Theme music by Sean Balick. "Home Home At Last" by Warmbody via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time when Kristine Wood...

Like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get with this show. We celebrate 100 episodes of choosing to be curious with University of Pennsylvania post doc David Lydon-Staley, who researches curiosity in the every day ... including everything ever said on Choose to be Curious! Theme music by Sean Balick. "Silk and Silver” by Azalai via Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time wh...

Kristy Johnson, now a post doc at MIT Media Lab, believes we're thinking about curiosity all wrong -- and leaving out a huge swath of the human experience while we're at it. She offers an exciting alternative: define curiosity as the ways in which an individual excels in exploring, and then go from there. The latest in our Curiosity Studies series. More about Kristy here: https://www.media.mit.edu...

Have you ever noticed how some people can sit at the table (literal or figurative) with others and interpret unfamiliar or even ambiguous gestures or practices like a native? We call that "cultural intelligence." Asma Ahmad, founder of Zaha, wants us all to cultivate it. Zaha provides immersive cultural experiences to connect and engage with people from other cultures, through co-created food expe...

How might choosing to be curious about our values and long term goals help with financial planning? Rebecca Borton, Associate Client Advisor at Concentric Private Wealth, demystifies the financial services industry and explores how some well-placed questions can help us support the people and activities we hold dear. Theme music by Sean Balick. “One Little Triumph” by Piano Mover at Blue Dot Sessi...

Psychotherapist and clinical psychologist Narendra Keval observes "racism demands certainty" -- the opposite of curiosity. His is a thoughtful call for cultivating social spaces for curiosity and exercising our capacity to think under fire. Theme music by Sean Balick. Check out Sean's music here on SoundCloud. "Slow Lane Lover" by  Barstool, from Blue Dot Sessions.  This show originally aired on W...

Mark Twain wrote, “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” Nothing piques our curiosity like being told we can’t know something. Molly Roberts, professor of political science at UC San Diego, studies censorship in China. It's fascinating - and chilling. Theme music by Sean Balick. "Hammer and Damper" by Blue Nocturnal, at Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time when...

Georgia Tech professor HyunJoo Oh challenged her students to create fun and engaging exhibits for Children's Museum of Atlanta. Just how does one design for curiosity? Make people think! Theme music by Sean Balick. "Cradle Rock” by Nursery, at Blue Dot Sessions. Join us next time when Molly E. Roberts takes on censorship and curiosity curtailed.

Sometimes curiosity is badly misdirected, with consequences we might not have foreseen. Amy Marvin challenges us to consider the impact of "curiotizing" trans people. A conversation about what happens when people are reduced to curios -- and what we might do to push back. Special feature: a taste of Arlie Adlington's award-winning work. Theme music by Sean Balick. Join us next time when Georgia Te...

"How might I? ... What are all the ways I could? ... Why not?" and other lessons in maker curiosity with Henry Dunbar. It's a curiously creative upcycle, trashion, plogging celebration! Thanks to The Shop at Arlington Public Library for allowing me to visit and record. Theme and other music by Sean Balick. Join us next time when Amy Marvin takes on the problem of curiotization.