Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

My guest in this episode is Charlotte Wittenkamp. Her own experience relocating from Denmark to California led to her ongoing fascination with global differences in value systems and communication patterns. In short, why do we believe what we believe?

Many people mistakenly equate obituaries with death notices, but, as we'll hear in this episode, obituaries are not tales of death; they are tales of life. They are the CliffsNotes of someone's identity and relevance. And as much as we know we shouldn't, we are drawn to them as mirrors, which we figuratively stand in front of and ask, " How does my life compare to this individual's?" My guest toda...

I've written four screenplays as a hobby, one of which received an honorable mention at the 9th Annual Nantucket Film Festival. If I were thanking the Academy, it would be because I had an exceptional teacher who just happens to be my guest in this episode. I've asked her to clarify what and how screenwriters work to help inform your storytelling ability as a communicating leader. Debbie Danielpou...

I've asked several people to come on the show in this series to talk very briefly about an aspect of their life that makes them tilt their heads in curiosity and want to figure out how to satisfy it.  My guest in this episode is a master at looking at the familiar from a different angle. Dr. Christine Mason is a university professor, prolific author, workshop facilitator, yoga instructor, and pain...

My guests in this episode are Melissa Hughes Ph. D ., a neuroscience researcher, educator, keynote speaker, and author of Happier Hour with Einstein — Another Round, and Michael Appelgren PsyD , a licensed psychologist, private practice owner, and executive functioning and parent management coach. Together, we explore the roots of curiosity, some of the obstacles that stand in the way of actualizi...

My guest in this episode is Dennis Pitocco. Dennis is Chief Reimaginator of 360° Nation , an organization and approach to life that includes the award-winning BIZCATALYST 360°; Real Voices 360°, and GoodWorks 360°. Everything Dennis and his team do is "for good" versus for-profit and founded upon their quest to rediscover humanity at its very best.

My guest in this episode is Sarah Elkins . Sarah is a storyteller, the podcast host and author of "Your Stories Don't Define You. How You Tell Them Will," and a Gallup certified StrengthsFinder coach. In this episode, Sarah focuses on the role curiosity plays in informing our identity and how we define the relevance of our lives. And through that focus, Sarah has laid bare the bedrock of emotional...

In this episode, the first in the Curiosity series, I've asked a number of people to come on the show over the next few weeks to talk very briefly about an aspect of their life that makes them tilt their heads in curiosity and want to know more about how to satisfy it. My first guest is Pat McHugh. Pat is the Executive Vice President of Sales for the hand2mind school publishing company, which deve...

My guest in this episode is Mary Thomas-Vallens . Mary, a 40-year classroom teacher in the Irvine California Unified School District, currently serves as a moderator and in various other capacities for the Braver Angels organization, which works to depolarize "reds" and "blues," "conservatives" and "liberals" and help them become better listeners.

"It's really all about building relationships. Actually, that's what advocacy is about at its core." Sue Inches is an experienced environmental advocate, educator, and policy consultant. She is the author of the highly acclaimed Advocating for the Environment: How to Gather Your Power and Take Action .

When the supply chain works, it's a beautiful thing. But as the old saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and given the complexity of most supply chains today, any disruption can have a significant impact. Today's guest St. Claire L. Gerald , an Association of Supply Chain Management Certified Supply Chain Professional, helps us understand why the system is so delicate and ho...

My guest in this episode is Leanne Gordon , the principal of Leanne Gordon , a firm dedicated to helping individuals navigate what overwhelms them when considering change, their personal or their organization's false starts in change initiatives, and the inevitable resistance they'll encounter leading change.

Tania Marien is an independent environmental education professional and the Director of Talaterra — "Speak Earth" — a network of independent environmental education (EE) professionals who contribute to lifelong learning and environmental health in communities. OK, that's Tania's official bio. After talking with her for a couple of hours and studying what she does and how she works, I prefer to des...

My guest in this episode is Steve Ehrlich. Steve is semi-retired, but now applying his life-long experience in adult learning, psychology, and literature to a new chapter — bringing the transformative lessons and stories gleaned from the fly fishing environment to support personal and professional growth.  In this episode, we will wade into the literature of fly fishing — a contemplative, lyrical,...

My guest in this episode is Dr. Donna Curtin , a historian serving as the Executive Director of the Pilgrim Hall Museum. Pilgrim Hall is "the oldest continuously operating public museum in the country and America's museum of Pilgrim possessions. I wanted to talk to Dr. Curtin because as a former high school history teacher and developer of social studies classroom materials for more than 35 years,...

My guest in this episode is Bradley Wright , a professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut and host of the "School of Purpose" podcast . When I began to investigate curiosity, Bradley's focus on purpose was one of the first ideas that intrigued me because I don't ever remember saying to myself, "That's why I'm here! That's what I meant to do in life!" Instead, it was more like, "Well,...

How do you go about telling a very inviting and understandable story in film? My guest in this episode, Rita Grant, is an award-winning documentary film cinematographer, director, and producer, and the driving force behind Sweet Sage Pictures. In our conversation, she explains how she harnesses her technical skills, curiosity, instinct, and heart behind the camera.

Today I'm joined by Erica Nelson, a member of the Navaho Nation. Erica is a fly fishing guide, host of the "Awkward Angler" podcast, and a contributor to the "Awkward & Clueless Beginning Fly Fishing" show on YouTube. She is a Brown Folks Fishing ambassador, a community that cultivates the visibility, representation, and inclusion of people of color in fishing and its industry. She is also the pas...

Bill Whiteside is a sales and marketing executive turned software salesman turned writer of narrative non-fiction, specifically a forthcoming book about an incident in Winston Churchill's tenure as Britain's Prime Minister during World War II. Our conversation explores the incident, which we then use as an opportunity to examine what makes a great leader great, what constitutes the art of writing...

We rarely reveal our true self to others, and sometimes (very often?) we don't reveal it to ourselves. Sadly, we can't interact effectively with others if there are layers of our personal onion between us. Diane Wyzga , a self-described story doula works to help professionals pull back the curtain and get to the heart of their message — their authentic story.

What can we learn from non-traditional sources if we're willing to look at things differently? How can we break out of our often self-imposed boundaries to see what the universe is offering us? For example, this podcast is broadly about "K12 education," but it's really about thinking and doing things differently to get different results. And in the case of this episode, what can a fly fishing guid...

The "Trauma in Schools" podcast series focus primarily on the trauma that students carry with them into the classroom. But, many school faculty, staff and administrators are also experiencing trauma. COVID has dislocated relationships and put pressure on educators to quickly address "learning loss." There is a critical need for school leaders at any level to promote self-care through mindfulness t...

Those who work for substantial educational change, do so within the context of today's heated nation and world. Two thought leaders are adept at shining a light on those educators who are trying to lead their communities out of darkness. Dr. Michael Fullan and Dr. Mark Edwards have penned an argument for change that highlights how eight districts are combining the emotional and scientific basis fo...

If students are in a state of high stress or trauma, the part of the brain that facilitates learning is inaccessible. Thus, student academic achievement rests squarely on the shoulders of student wellness. Neuroscience researcher, Melissa Hughes, Ph. D., explains.

One of the goals of our series is to raise awareness and the level of discourse around student trauma and mental health in general. And if we're not bringing these subjects out into the open, kids keep all those emotions bottled up inside of them. Dr. Glenn Albright and Kim Weiland from Kognito, a firm that develops avatar-based simulations to help develop trauma-informed educators, explain.