The Natural Curiosity Project

From my work in the world of emerging tech, I offer this very human, non-technical exploration of artificial intelligence, sometimes called AI, and robotics. Together, they are poised to change many things—but not quite yet. Enjoy!

A nice, relaxing soundscape of blackbirds and frogs in the marsh at the bottom of my neighborhood. Thanks to my friend Roger Boughton, who helped me bring down the occasional traffic sounds with his magical parametric equalizer.

Sandy Hughes works with individuals to help them get the most from their ideas, products and services. She calls them 'Solopreneurs'--and has had great success in this unique and fast-moving space. In this episode, I chat with Sandy and explore her philosophy of the Solopreneur. Great insights for business leaders in this program!

I caught up once again with my friend and colleague Gary Kessler to talk about current issues in cybersecurity, and the things that organizations and individuals should do to protect themselves against an increasingly complex threat horizon.

We catch up with Scott Luria on his one-year, 15,000-mile bicycle trip across the USA.

Steve Shepard's newest novel, The Nation We Knew, is a hot seller right now, because of its theme: What would the United States look like—what would it represent—if leadership suddenly put country before party, possibility before dogma, and created a vision of a better future and then executed against that vision? In this thought-provoking book, a new president takes the country to task—and reinve...

One of the things that makes this Podcast so much fun to produce is the opportunity I have to meet talented people who do interesting things. In this episode we meet Mary Sullivan, whom you have most likely never heard of. She works with Mike Rowe, whom you have most certainly heard of. Mary is the President of mikeroweWORKS, a foundation that donates tens of thousands of scholarship dollars to pe...

Amazing what you can hear when you place the right microphone in just the right place--in this case, right in the middle of a major battle between competing ant colonies. Never mind the fact that these ants are less than two millimeters long...

The Gillespie Farm in southern Illinois is more than 800 acres of agricultural fields; it also includes carefully managed prairies, wetlands, and woodlands. Jim and Patty Gillespie run the family farm, but the whole family is involved in caring for the natural world that surrounds them and provides them with their livelihood. Daughter Sarah is a nature-inspired artist; son Bob is a biologist and t...

In this third episode with Scott Luria, we catch up to him on his 15,000-mile, one-year journey across the United States.

Want to make your business, product, or service better? Set up a competitor. In this episode we explore the idea of competing with yourself as a way to make yourself or your organization better--with zero risk. Experimentation as self-c competition--what a concept!

In this episode, Steve’s cousin Michael tells the story of a life-threatening challenge that affects four billion people on this planet: that’s half of the human population. But it’s also the story of one very simple thing that, if implemented, will change every one of their lives. And you can be part of it.

In this episode I interview Chris Boyer, Executive Director of the National Association for Search and Rescue, an all-volunteer organization that provides education, training and support services for search-and-rescue organizations all over the world. Chris' stories are extraordinary. Please check out NASAR at www. NASAR.org.

In this first leg of Scott's journey, we catch up to him in upstate New York, and hear about his adventures so far.

In this first of a series, Steve interviews his friend and neighbor Scott Luria, who has just departed Vermont on a one-year, 15,000-mile trip by bicycle. Steve will interview Scott along the way, hearing his stories from the road about the people he's met, the food he's eaten, and what he's learned.

In this episode, frequent guest Pete Mulvihill turns the tables and interviews Steve Shepard about his newest book, "The Nation We Knew."

In 1863, Byron Hot Springs opened its doors as a health spa in eastern Contra Costa County in northern California. In 1941, it was taken over by the US Army, for a very different purpose--to serve as a secret POW interrogation center for Japanese and German soldiers during WWII. Bob Morton, my guest on this episode, grew up at the resort--and tells us what it was like.

Natural Curiosity Project host Steve Shepard, Doug Standley of nioLabs, and Glen Almendinger of Harbor Research have a far-ranging conversation about the interplay among some of the most important technologies of our time, and the societal impacts they will undoubtedly lead to. There's a touch--just a touch--of Sheldon Cooper in this episode, but just enough to make the case about the importance o...

My friend Tim Washer is a pretty technical guy who has worked for some of the leading tech firms in the world, including Xerox, IBM and Cisco, helping them develop their stories for the market. But he has another skill—a superpower, if you will. He’s a comedy writer who has written for David Letterman, John Oliver, Conan O’Brian, and Saturday Night Live. These days, when he’s not on stage, he spen...

The Federal Government recently released its National Maritime Cybersecurity Plan, a step in the right direction for securing a crucial but vulnerable element of the global supply chain. In this episode, Cyber expert Gary Kessler talks about what the plan means and how we make the most of its proposed actions.

It's time for a newfound appreciation of the trades, because they are every bit as important as college degrees--and in some cases, even more so. In this episode we explore the relationship between Knowledge, Skill, Wisdom, Insight, and Understanding, and how to make the most of all of them in our lives.

Birders are a funny lot: They will go out of their way to help novice birders learn, without reservation. Wouldn't it be nice if business leaders and managers developed their people as effectively? In this episode, Steve recounts an recent experience where his lack of knowledge was on sharp display--but he was rescued by a fellow birder with far more knowledge.

Sometimes the best language to learn when you're traveling is food. In this episode, I discuss some of the exotic and strange foods I've eaten during my long career as a traveler and storyteller, and the incredible gifts of friendship that people have bestowed on me--through food.

More often the not, we're more alike than we are different, but the labels we glue on each other's foreheads get in the way of seeing that. Here are the results of a little experiment I did.

Think the tech industry is geeky? Maybe. But what has come out of the telecom world may surprise you. Mobile phones are one tiny slice of their creative output. In fact, some of the things that were created at Bell Laboratories will surprise you.