The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast

For the longest time, market research has been focused on understanding why people behave the way they do. But what happens after the insight is delivered? In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly sit down with Will Leach, founder and CEO of Mindstate Group, to explore why researchers need to move beyond insights and recommendations and become behavioral designers who can help...

Data quality isn’t just about better fraud detection or securing individual surveys. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Jonathan sit down with Karine Pepin to explore what’s actually broken in the research ecosystem and why fixing one survey at a time can only go so far. Karine shares how researchers can establish their own “ground truth,” interpret conflicting fraud sig...

Turning research insights into action requires more than delivering good data. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, strategic foresight practitioner Mina McBride explores how researchers can build credibility, understand the political and emotional realities of their clients, and prepare stakeholders to act on uncomfortable insights. She also shares how foresight can help researchers distingu...

Researching products that do not yet exist requires looking beyond the technology itself. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, UX Research Leader and Product Strategy Advisor, Preeti Talwai, discusses how researchers can anchor early-stage work in enduring human needs, separate the experience from the technology enabling it, and measure impact even when a product never launches. She also shar...

AI can accelerate research, but it can also make flawed conclusions sound convincing. In this episode, Sasha Mitts, an independent researcher, joins Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño to explore how researchers can use AI without surrendering their judgment. They discuss validating AI outputs, breaking analysis into smaller tasks, documenting assumptions, and preserving the human perspective...

Retail media has become a powerful tool for brands to connect digital communication with physical purchases. In this episode, David Glaza, founder and CEO of Digits Agency, discusses the rapid rise of retail media networks and how first party data is removing the guesswork from advertising. David shares insights on the challenges of network fragmentation and why the best strategies prioritize rele...

Technology is changing the pace of research but the core of understanding people remains a human task. Tom Rich shares his perspective as a self-described carbon-based qualitative researcher. He explains why artificial intelligence serves as a sophisticated probability calculator rather than a source of wisdom. He also reveals how moral frameworks and techniques borrowed from the world of psychics...

Andrew Embry of Eli Lilly explains how to innovate when the walls feel small. He shares how his team uses synthetic respondents to move faster and why regulatory boundaries actually fuel creativity. The importance of change management and the need for researchers to get in the mud with the business comes out through this conversation. Andrew highlights why human judgment remains the most valuable...

Examine the tension between AI automation and the need for human closeness in consumer insights. Martin and Katie, Managing Partners at Basis Research, share why businesses return to custom models for strategic decisions and how brands can deal with a growing culture of consumer distrust. They address the potential gap in junior researcher development as technology absorbs entry-level tasks and wh...

Sarah Kling from Amazon explains how her team uses generative AI to scale global insights without losing the human touch. She highlights how she went from initial skepticism to using internal tools for massive data sets. The conversation covers the necessity of human rigor to prevent hallucinations and explains why the thinking cave is essential for quality. Sarah also details the evolving nature...

Data quality is often treated as a checkbox, but the impact of bad data reaches far across an organization. Insights teams must move from accepting claims to demanding proof. The hosts discuss the hidden costs of poor quality, including the erosion of stakeholder trust and slowed decision velocity. By explaining a framework centered on prevention and proof, they show how the industry can move towa...

Data can inform decisions, but people make them. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Molly Strawn-Carreño and Stephanie Vance talk with Bill Salokar, Director of Business Development at Gazelle Global. They explore the critical role of human relationships and trust within the research ecosystem. Bill shares his journey from statistician to relationship builder, discussing how to maintain the...

Market research is evolving as AI automates traditional tasks. In this episode of the Curiosity Current, Elle Park from Arcutis Biotherapeutics discusses why a broad background in data and strategy provides a unique advantage in a world favoring specialization. She explains the critical difference between being a human in the loop and being a human in the decision loop. The conversation explores h...

Social media has transformed from an entertainment platform into a sophisticated decision engine. In this episode, explore how the linear consumer journey has collapsed into a dynamic loop where discovery, validation, and conversion happen simultaneously. Vladimer Botsvadze explains why brands must shift from broadcasting to listening, the importance of human-centric marketing, and how high-growth...

Understanding human behavior requires embracing complexity. In this episode, Byron Reeves who is a pioneering Stanford researcher and has spent decades studying how humans interact with technology. They discuss why traditional research methods struggle to keep pace with fragmented digital lives. The conversation explores how AI simulations might help predict consumer behavior and what remains irre...

Market research is often focused on the present, but staying ahead requires a shift toward the future. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, hosts Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño speak with Kerry-Ellen Schwartz, Global Senior Director, Consumer Insights for Food Ventures at PepsiCo. They discuss the critical difference between insights and foresights. Kerry-Ellen explains why human em...

The research profession is transitioning from hands-on execution to strategic orchestration, yet many organizations struggle with adoption. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Zontziry Johnson, Head of Learning and Research at the Insights Career Network, explains why new tools often fail to deliver promised results. She discusses the gap between tool adoption and process transformation, the...

Alec Levin discusses the evolution of professional learning and explains why structured curriculums are failing modern researchers. He shares how his community, Learners, fosters a more effective and chaotic ecosystem for growth. The conversation examines the impact of ai on the research field and uses the cheese factory analogy to distinguish between artisanal work and automated insights. Alec ex...

Deborah Mendez joins The Curiosity Current to discuss why discrepancies between consumer claims and actual behavior are signals for market innovation. Drawing on her leadership experience at major brands like Kraft Heinz and Mars, she explains how agile research allows teams to identify patterns rather than isolated data points. The conversation explores how to maintain high research quality under...

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, host Stephanie Vance is joined by Marin Mrsa, Founder and CEO of Peakator, to discuss the evolving landscape of research technology. Marin shares his journey of entering the insights industry from the outside and how that perspective shaped his vision for a more efficient research process. The conversation explores why surveys remain a vital communication...

Breaking into market research is getting harder, and it has long term consequences for the industry. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly speak with Brooke Reavey, Professor of Marketing at Dominican University, about the shrinking talent pipeline in insights. Brooke shares why internships and entry level roles are disappearing, how AI is reshaping both learning and work,...

AI is transforming market research, but regulation and ethics are struggling to keep pace. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly speak with Howard Fienberg, Senior Vice President of Advocacy at the Insights Association, about how researchers can navigate growing complexity around AI, privacy laws, and participant trust. Howard shares guidance on staying responsible while th...

Cleaning is no longer just about hygiene. New research shows consumers increasingly see it as a source of control, satisfaction, and emotional reset. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Lev Mazin speak with Oksana Sobol, Vice President of Consumer Insights at The Clorox Company. They discuss how people’s relationships with their homes are evolving. Drawing from the Home C...

Consumers often behave very differently from what they say in surveys, creating a critical gap in how decisions are made. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Kate O’Keeffe, CEO and co-founder of Heatseeker, explains why traditional research methods struggle to predict real-world behavior. She explores how live market experiments help teams identify true buying drivers, validate decisions bef...

Research defines and informs food and beverage decisions. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly speak with Gloria Reardon, a brand marketing leader with deep roots in the food and beverage industry, about how consumer insights shape brand strategy, drive product innovation, and help marketers connect with consumers in meaningful ways. Gloria draws on her experience at Taco...