Choose to be Curious

Healthcare ethicist Dr. Ellen Fox takes on the question "What truly matters?", using curiosity to help others reach good decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas. A remarkably thoughtful and humane conversation about healthcare. Join us next time when "Styrofoam Mom" Miriam Gennari brings curiosity to our environmental impact -- just in time for Earth Day!

A dual celebration: the 50th episode of Choose to be Curious and a lovely return to our first anniversary show with Scott Nycum on a theme that comes up a lot here: trust. In five fast minutes we make the case for slowing down and savoring what we find when we choose to be curious....

This is my 50th episode of Choose to be Curious and it's dedicated to walking the curiosity talk. In honor of the occasion, I dedicated a weekend -- 50 hours -- to being actively, consistently, and persistently curious. Who knew it would involve tornadoes, grave diggers, affinity groups with names like BURP, and Chinese belly dancers? I hope you'll join me next time when Dr. Ellen Fox and I explor...

Naren Ramakrishnan, director of Virginia Tech's Discovery Analytics Center (DAC), joins me to talk about how he and his colleagues use big data to do things like predict flu epidemics using decidedly non-medical information like Tweets and restaurant reservations. Curiosity + big data = fascinating results! Join us next time when we celebrate our 50th episode: a whole weekend of walking the choose...

A tantalizing idea: answers to all our challenges are hiding in plain sight, if only we can determine where and how to look for them. If only we are curious about how to find them. Naren Ramakrishnan, director of Virginia Tech's Discovery Analytics Center (DAC) and Arlington County Police Department Detective Sarah Bertollini on sleuthing out the facts in some unexpected places - in five minutes!...

J.R.R.Tolkien wrote "Still round the corner there may wait / A new road or a secret gate" He was writing about an exotic land far from here, but the same sense of adventure can inform our local explorations. Elliot Carter, DC Chief Explorer for Atlas Obscura, joins me to talk about choosing to be curious about the the world's hidden wonders in our own backyards. Join me next time when Naren Ramakr...

With spring coming, we're all about the wandering around with our eyes open this week. Elliot Carter, DC Chief Explorer for Atlas Obscura, pays attention the to the "little-known facts about the well-known places" and Karen Ward, founder of Curiosity Global, invites us to share how we discover the world through our curious eyes. Seeing the world anew, in just five minutes! As always, thanks to Sea...

This week, we choose to be curious about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Georgetown professor Caetlin Benson-Allott joins us to reflect on the "transformative power of attention" -- the idea that the more attention we pay to something, the more interesting it becomes. Case in point: she wrote a whole book about remote controls. Join us next time when Atlas Obscura's DC Chief Explorer Elliot C...

This week it's all about the thrill of the chase - searching out the hidden histories of ordinary things and wriggling down rabbit holes after fascinating new facts. Georgetown professor and author Caetlin Benson-Allott talks about object lessons and the transformative power of attention, and librarian Jennifer Rothschild reminds us why we might have been in love with the librarians of our childho...

Two very different stories with one common theme: searching for truth about who we are and how family fits. Sondra Kolker's search for the father she never knew, and Evie and Sarah Priestman's gender identity journey. As one storyteller puts it, "you can't help but want to know." All that in just over 6 minutes!

"It's just an intense curiosity - that desire to know your roots." This is a story about not having a choice in one's curiosity. About the burning need some of us have to learn even the most basic things about our origins and ourselves. One woman's search for her father, two women's discovery of family; a story told in four voices. "You can't help but want to know."

Internationally-known astrophysicist and author Dr. Mario Livio joins me to talk about what makes us curious, why we want kids to ask lots of questions and why a "curiosity epidemic" would be a good thing. Dr. Livio is the author of several books, including "Why? What Makes Us Curious" (2017) and "Brilliant Blunders" (2013, one of WaPo's "Best Books of the Year"). You can see why I wanted to talk...

It's a celebration of "willing, proud and eager confessions of ignorance" with astrophysicist and author Dr. Mario Livio and Arlington teacher, Micaela Pond. Why we love kids who ask lots of questions and how a curiosity epidemic might help. As always, thanks to Sean Balick for his music. All that in 5 minutes!

Second City's own Felonious Munk, Odinaka Ezeokoli and Calvin Evans talk comedy, curiosity and the power of just paying attention. Their comedy is wickedly smart, their powers of observation practically supernatural. We explore what's funny, what's not, and why it's never just about the jokes. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be more observant for ever after... Join us next time when astrophysicis...

It's comedy and trauma this morning as we go from the observations of stand-up to the consequences of lock-up. Curiosity as observation and life skill, all in five minutes with Felonious Munk of Second City and Elizabeth Jones of OAR (Offender Aid and Restoration).

The full, unedited, uncut conversation with Felonious Munk, Calvin Evans and Odinaka Ezeokoli - including a riotous few minutes improvising station ID promos for WERA. #comedy #curiosity #truth #woollychains (12/29/2017) "Nothing to Lose (But Our Chains)" is showing at Woolly Mammoth Theater through December 31. Visit woollymammoth.net for more information.

Urban planner Valeria Gelman is about to launch "The Local Shop" on WERA, featuring oral histories from legacy businesses in Arlington - but before she airs there, she sat down with me. Why being curious about others' stories matters, and what we can learn from the past as we plan for the future. Join us next time when astrophysicist and national best selling author Dr. Mario Livio talks about wha...

R.E.M. puts it best : "Now stand in the place where you work / Now face west / Think about the place where you live / Wonder why you haven't before." Being attentive to the stories around us is central to Choose to be Curious. Graham Coreil-Allen, a social practice artist and self-described "radical pedestrianist" in Baltimore, leads tours that encourage us to dig into the stories of people, struc...

A tribute to analogies and revisiting the conversation with professor of language and literature Tonya Howe. All the many ways we express and explain curiosity -- with a little radio drama just for fun -- all in five fast minutes. Special thanks to Sean Balick for his original compositions.

We depart from our usual format to pay tribute to the wonderful world of analogies. Did you know the best business strategists rely on them? Thanks to Sean Balick for permission to use his original composition, None. Your Love Is Like Clean Water by SongAboutYourPost2 is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The World Is Like An Apple... (a mix for Test / Radio Nova March 2001) by Ewan Pearso...

Are you curious, or skeptical? What's the difference and does it matter? Keris Myrick and I feel our way around the edges and into the depths of two essentials of science and learning. Join us next time when Valeria Gelman shares her work in collecting oral histories from local legacy businesses. You're going to love the stories!

"Curious, but cautious" was one definition I found for skepticism -- which seemed about right. Keris Myrick helps me unpack some of the finer distinctions between curiosity and skepticism, and then Carlisle Levine expands on the concept by bringing her approach to evaluation and evaluative thinking to the mix. All that, and some smooth Sean Balick original tunes in just 5 minutes!

Montreal artist, entrepreneur and curiosity aficionado Karen Ward takes us inside the inspiration for #mycuriouseyes. What happens when we take curiosity to the streets... Join us next time when Keris Myrick and I try to disentangle curiosity and skepticism. Is one complete without the other?

Two artists come at what inspires them from different directions - but both driven by their own curiosity. Artist/entrepreneur Karen Ward and musician AJ Smith explore the creative process and the power of asking great questions. So much insight in 5 minutes!

Executive Coach Dana Theus helps us reframe networking as a "quest" fueled by curiosity. "As a coach," she says, "Curiosity *is* my technique." Tips and strategies for making the whole thing fun and effective. Join us next time when Karen Ward shares the inspiration for her worldwide initiative #mycuriouseyes.