Choose to be Curious

With science under attack, researcher Anthony Zador joins me to make the case for its value, especially of curiosity-driven basic science. We explore the charms of curiosity as a research motivator, what distinguishes curiosity-driven research from all the rest, federal investment in science -- and recent disruptions thereto and the gutting of American research, the "curse of knowledge", showcasing practical applications, debate in the lab, and what's to love about Gila monster venom and Yellowstone's thermal pools. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Waterbourne” by Algea Fields, via Blue Dot Sessions.

In the first of what I hope is a periodic series, Rabbi Nancy Flam joined me to explore curiosity in the Jewish tradition. It's a lovely discussion of everything from Moses' response to the burning bush and the Jewish value sakranut, to creative betrayal and the importance of not getting kicked out for our questions. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Patched In" by Studio J, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Here it is: the story of how this whole curiosity enterprise came to be and some of the many insights I've picked up along the way -- with a little timely bias for all things peace and conflict-transformation related. For those of you who are new, this is how it all began! For those who have been around a while, here's the origin story, plus some of the challenges and glory of which you've been such an important part. I'm hoping there's something here for everyone. Theme music by Sean Balick; other music by One Such Village, via via Blue Dot Sessions.

How might choosing to be curious help us keep the conversation open, hold onto history that's being erased, and find moments for celebration, even still? Monique "Moe" Bryant was my teacher and guide when I took a course called Challenging Racism back in 2015-2016. I had her on the show twice then, once before and once after I'd taken the eye-opening, humble-making, nonetheless-empowering program. Given where conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion are now, I thought it was time to have her back. Challenging Racism: https://www.challengingracism.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Turning to You” by Landsman Duets, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I think of choosing to be curious as acting on the idea that there is opportunity in the unknown -- a very optimistic enterprise. Kevin Kelly, a man of many passions and pursuits, is a self-described radical optimist. So, what's to be found at the intersection of curiosity and choosing to be optimistic? We explore how radical (and not utopian) this approach is; our moral obligation to create opportunity; embracing an abundance mindset; "lighthouse" parenting; being curious about the things we're not interested in; just how persuasive curiosity can be; and why we're all so very dependent on one another -- in a good way! Kevin Kelly: https://kk.org Theme music by Sean Balick; ”One Little Triumph" by Piano Mover, via Blue Dot Sessions. Kevin Kelly photo by Chris Michel, used with permission.

Educator Patty Gómez used a question formulation technique to cultivate a collaborative culture of curiosity at work. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Entrance Shaft 11” by The Depot, via Blue Dot Sessions.

The World Peace Game is the brainchild of educator John Hunter. He describes it as “learning to live and work comfortably in the unknown.” It's hard to imagine a more curiosity-centric undertaking. A three-dimensional, hands-on political simulation, the World Peace Game explores the interconnectedness of the global community through economic, social, and environmental crises and the imminent threat of war. The goal is to extricate all the countries from those dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity, with the least amount of military intervention. And it's played by 4th graders. World Peace Game: https://worldpeacegame.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “UpUpUp and Over" by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Today we dive into a tantalizing “kinesthetic framework for curiosity” a way of understanding how we move between ideas and bits of information. Researcher Dale Zhou thinks of our curiosity as our search process in specific conditions. His research shows we've each got our own style — and that architecture can be mapped using knowledge networks. Dale Zhou: https://www.dalezhou.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Step In Step Out” by Crab Shack, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I see clear curiosity overtones in the ways we think about wisdom -- the meta-cognition processes of wisdom -- including intellectual humility, openness to others' ideas and insights, even the search for constructive conflict resolution. So I wondered: is anyone thinking about wisdom through a curiosity lens? Igor Grossmann, Ph.D. leads the Wisdom and Culture Lab at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario. He's passionate about how people make sense of the world -- and how cultural forces shape behavior and societal change.  We talk about those meta-cognitive characteristics of wisdom, how our idea of "curiosity" influences how it might contribute to wisdom, situational adaptations, how wisdom is expressed across cultures -- and embracing intellectual humility when our assumptions about those presumed cultural differences prove to be all wrong. Igor Grossmann: https://igorgrossmann.com Theme music by Sean Balick; "The Envelope" by Aeronaut, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Menka Sanghvi and I feel our ways around noticing as the first step to caring, taking responsibility for where and how we direct our attention, attention activism and artistry, not accepting default settings, the essence of parenting, and why looking at the sky first thing in the morning is such a good idea. Menka is a mindfulness and digital habits expert based in London. Her writing, speaking and many projects explore the relationship between attention, technology and society. She is the founder of Just Looking --- a community project that champions more curiosity and wonder in the everyday --- and co-author of the newly released book Your Best Digital Life: Use Your Mind to Tame Your Tech. Menka Sanghvi: https://menkasanghvi.com Theme music by Sean Balick; ”Mind Body Mind”, by Bodytonic , via Blue Dot Sessions.

Deep canvassing is built on listening, building rapport, staying in conversation -- sharing stories. I don't know when I first became aware of deep canvassing as an organizing tool, but I was immediately taken with it as a curiosity enterprise. Sulma Arias, executive director of People's Action and People's Action Institute, joins me to explore just what it is about this model that proves so transformative for everyone involved. Learn about People's Action Deep Canvass Institute: https://deepcanvass.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Turning on the Lights" by Speakeasy, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I have the good fortune of living in a place that values public art -- art that anyone can see at any time of night or day-- and that, with its very presence, invites just a little curiosity in a way that you might imagine would appeal to me. So I was delighted when Tomora Wright Swann, Public Art Projects Manager of Arlington County (Va.) reached out -- and propelled me to connect with contributing artist Aurora Robson. When I visit other cities, one of the things I look for is iconic walking tours – the cisterns of Istanbul, the passages couverts of Paris, the murals of Philadelphia, New Orleans' Garden District. What a pleasure to talk with two people behind Arlington County's own art walking tours! Aurora Robson: https://www.aurorarobson.com Check out Arlington public art: https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Public-Art/About/Self-Guided-Public-Art-Tours Theme music by Sean Balick. Hickory Interlude, Lemon and Melon, Sunday Lights, Town Market and Tuck and Point by Onesuch Village via Blue Dot Sessions.

I believe journalist, photographer and all-around producer Andy Isaacson has found ways to lean into his own curiosity, creating vehicles for the rest us to come along for the ride – in one case, literally. For him a good day sparks his curiosity -- a thought that came to him for the first time in this conversation. (Hurrah for asking about what makes for a good days!) We talk about why it's so important to meet people where they are; the intersections of respect, fairness, empathy and rigorous investigation; resourcefulness; and why stories are a form of currency. Andy Isaacson: https://www.andyisaacson.net Theme music by Sean Balick;“Union Hall Melody" by Union Hall via Blue Dot Sessions.

A family trip to the Pacific Northwest and the Salish Sea inspired my own curiosity about orca whales -- and that led, inevitably, to my curiosity about the orcas' own curiosity. Lucky for me, I found my way to Sara Shimazu & Jeff Friedman, orca fans, whale watch captains, and co-hosts of After the Breach Podcast. Theme music by Sean Balick; "Discovery Harbor" by Cloud Harbor, via Blue Dot Sessions.

XuanJun Gong is interested in media selection, computational modeling, communication networks, and information diffusion. He's looked at how we choose media to manage our moods, how the sequence of our choices matters, and what draws us to that next book. All of this is one version or another of the old curiosity conundrum: explore or exploit? Do we seek novelty or leverage what we already know? Why? Does it get us what we want?  How do we even know….? XuanJun Gong: https://www.xuanjungong.com Theme music by Sean Balick; "Zig Zag Heart" by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.

According to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and its sister sites, people spent an estimated 2.9 billion hours reading English Wikipedia in 2024. I wondered: What does it take to be a trustworthy repository for all that curiosity? Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight has been a Wikipedia editor since 2007, and an administrator since 2009. With 100,000+ edits to her credit, she has created more than 4,000 new articles, with concentrations in geography, architecture, and women's biographies. In 2015, she co-founded a volunteer project intended to address the current gender bias in Wikipedia content and in 2021 she was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation. Who better to talk with? Wikimedia Foundation: https://wikimediafoundation.org Theme music by Sean Balick; "Great Is the Contessa" by Contessa, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Deanne Fitzpatrick is a virtuous rug hooker. Her art looks like the love child of wool and Vincent Van Gogh. She looks for--and sees--fresh and beautiful things in the world around her, and she supports others in doing the same.  Deanne encourages the rest of us to lean into creating--beauty, community, and time for ourselves. And she has thoughts about how curiosity can help. Find Deanne Fitzpatrick at: http://www.hookingrugs.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Discovery Harbor” by CloudHarbor via Blue Dot Sessions.

Psychologist Kimberley Wilson says we habitually consume a diet that is depriving our brains of nutrients -- and that has all sorts of consequences for our health and well-being. She focuses on "psychology, mental health, food, and everything in between" and I wanted to know how curiosity might fit into that mix. Find Kimberley Wilson: https://www.kimberleywilson.co Theme music by Sean Balick; “Mind Body Mind" by Bodytonic, via Blue Dot Sessions.

An experienced multi-lingual education specialist and organization leader, Loretta Goodwin is passionate about creating innovative, “anywhere/anytime” learning environments for young people, especially underserved youth.  She's also very curious about what AI offers her field -- and what it implies for all of us. So she undertook a 100-day learning journey. Lucky for us, she's got wonderful insights to share. It's a fascinating conversation about curiosity, productive struggle, creativity, bias, agency, inequity, and the joy of being a newbie. Find Loretta Goodwin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loretta-goodwin/ Theme music by Sean Balick; “Setting Up” by Studio J, via Blue Dot Sessions.

If you came across something that promises to offer students "evidence-driven, rigorously tested ideas that consider alternative perspectives" wouldn't you be interested? Research shows that high school policy debate teaches students how to analyze, explore and understand the world around them, while it hones additional skills like research, critical thinking, and communication. Sounds like a curiosity enterprise to me! Delighted to have David Trigaux of Washington Urban Debate League join me to discuss. Washington Urban Debate League: http://wudl.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Turning on the Lights" by Speakeasy, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Six years ago I sat down with Jacqueline Gottlieb, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience and Principal Investigator at Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute, the very first neuroscientist I'd ever interviewed.  It was a delightful and far-ranging conversation. At some point she made a bold and quite tantalizing statement. “Curiosity," she said, "is going to take neuroscience to the next frontier.”  Today we check in on that assertion. We talked about visual systems, value systems, motivation, cognition, personality psychology, stress tolerance, introversion, extroversion and why it's a good idea for scientists to talk to one another. Jacqueline Gottlieb: https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/jacqueline-gottlieb-phd Theme music by Sean Balick; “Cicle Veroni” by Cicle Kadde, via Blue Dot Sessions.

How do you like to learn? We all do it differently. Argha Manna uses comics. Argha is a cancer researcher turned comics artist. He specializes in documenting the history of science and explores how knowledge is generated. Find Argha Manna here: https://drawinghistoryofscience.wordpress.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Purple Light", Marble Run via Blue Dot Sessions.

How does choosing to be curious about the people and places around us help us discover, elevate and amplify history that's perhaps less well-known? In this third episode of the "Mile in Their Shoes" series, we use the Mount Vernon Trail as a vehicle for tracing our shared history, with the help of a local museum, a local government, and an independent journalist. Photo: "On the Point – ‘Buddies,' May 30, 1897” Alexandria Black History Museum, used with permission. Visit Black Heritage Museum of Arlington: https://arlingtonblackheritage.org Visit Alexandria African American Heritage Trails: https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic-sites/african-american-heritage-trails Check out Kim O'Connell's work: https://www.kimaoconnell.com Theme music by Sean Balick; music by Onesuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Jason Logan is an artist and ink maker. But he doesn't just make ink. He concocts magical potions from found ingredients. He forages, often in urban environments, everything from the berries you might expect, to scrap metal, cigarette butts and dry wall. It's as if he looks at the world with one big “What if…?” Check out Jason Logan at: http://www.jasonslogan.com and https://torontoinkcompany.com Photo of Jason Logan credit to Sian Richards, used with permission. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Come As you Are” by Cauldron, via Blue Dot Sessions.

New Year, Timeless Wisdom! John L. Jackson, Jr., Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, Valoria Walker and Jack Zhang drop some serious wisdom. I've pulled segments from four conversations to carry us into the new year. Forget new resolutions, try returning to things you know have worked for you already! Theme and other music by Sean Balick.

BONUS: Innovation advisor Larry Robertson and I talked much longer and more widely than I could accommodate in one episode. I can't bear for you to miss out on his insights, so here's a little bonus pack, with lessons gleaned from Naomi Osaka and others, in honor of rebel leadership everywhere. My original interview with Larry was 3 years ago (July 2021). One unexpected benefit of some digital housekeeping I'm doing right now is that I discovered this BONUS never made it to Soundcloud and the RSS feed. So, here you go! Find Episode #147 here: https://soundcloud.com/choosetobecurious/ep-147-rebel-leadership-with-larry-robertson Find Larry Robertson here: https://lrspeaks.com

I'm taking a little break in December. I'm calling it Curiosity R&R -- Curiosity Respite & ReAirs, so this is a quickie... It's been a packed 8 1/2 years of production and I need a rest. Radio audiences will have uninterrupted programming -- and you can get a peek here. Links on my website. I also provide a sneak preview of what's coming in 2025. :) But mostly I just want to say thank you for listening! Theme music by Sean Balick; "The Green Room" by Warmbody, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Birds seem like a delightful lens through which to view curiosity: Here's a species that lives among us, is literally part of the scenery, but to which many of us are almost entirely blind. But when we choose to be curious about birds, suddenly it's like a whole new universe emerges in our own backyards.  We see things we didn't see before.  We hear things we didn't hear before.  We learn things we didn't know before. You can imagine my delight when I stumbled on María-Elena Montero, president of the DC Bird Alliance. She leapt at the chance to talk about birds--as well as some of the curiosity practices and life lessons to be learned from observing our avian friends. Check out DC Bird Alliance: https://dcbirdalliance.org Theme music by Sean Balick, "Wingspan" by Bayou Birds, via Blue Dot Sessions.

On the 20th anniversary of his thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, Adam Segel-Moss left home, family, and work for a little over two months to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. He's home now, reflecting — as one would — on what it meant to walk and wonder through all that time and space. Adam Segel-Moss on the Pacific Crest Trail: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=86930750 Theme music by Sean Balick; Trail sounds used with permission from Adam Segel-Moss; “Temporal Slip” by Cloud Breaker, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I don't subscribe to the idea that some people are curious eaters while others just aren't. I think we may have a baseline of food curiosity, but I also think that baseline can shift. And I imagine that's what caught my attention when I spotted The 2024 Consumer Curiosity Report – findings from a survey of 850+ early food adopters, conducted by Curious Plot, a marketing, communications and consulting agency. It seemed like the curiosity intersection of our appetites, opportunities and influences, and I wanted to know more. Curious Plot: https://curiousplot.agency Theme music by Sean Balick; “Fig Tree” by Desert Orchard, via Blue Dot Sessions.

It may be hard to think about "uncertainty" as a good things right now, but hear me out. Certain words keep coming up in this curiosity context: exploration, innovation, creativity, trust-building, learning -- and uncertainty. Not the "uncertainty" of the world today--which feels very heavy right now--but the "uncertainty" of allowing room for new thoughts... And along comes Maggie Jackson, award-winning author and journalist, with a best-selling, thought-provoking and profoundly timely book on the power and potential of our own uncertainty. Maggie wrote in a New York Times guest essay earlier this year, “We should rethink our outdated notions of not-knowing as weakness, and instead discover this mindset as a strength.” So, of course, my mind goes to choosing to be curious. Discover more about Maggie Jackson: https://www.maggie-jackson.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Uncertain Ground” by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Leland Ko came on my radar when he was one of four gifted young cellists selected by Yo-Yo Ma to participate in a program called Music-Art-Life in 2023.  It was, for me, a chance to luxuriate in curiosity. I wondered: Did their knowledge, skill, and feel for the music mean their curiosity about it was qualitatively different than my own? If so, how? Find Leland Ko online: https://www.lelandko.com Recording of Leland Ko performing Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 — III. Allegro molto vivace used with permission. Photo of Leland Ko by Tam Lan Truong used with permission.

Periodically I set myself a curiosity scavenger hunt theme with a fixed duration – 77 days of feet, a long hot summer of art, a month of biophilia, a week in the kitchen – and then I just keep my eyes open and my camera handy. It's a joy. The thrill of the hunt; the challenge and delight in finding something new in the very familiar; the excuse to get outdoors, whatever the weather; the visual puns; the surprisingly sentimental moments -- all culled from the everyday world around me. It is very much in the spirit of what journalist and author Rob Walker would call “The Art of Noticing.” Find Rob Walker on Substack: https://robwalker.substack.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Inessential” by Bayou Birds, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I found myself thinking about the exquisite agony of a Hitchcock suspense when I came upon an article in Scientific American, "Why Curiosity Makes Us Patient." Abby Hsuing & Alison Adcock assert curiosity makes us hungry for knowledge, but not necessarily in a hurry to get it. It's a finding that runs in the face of a whole lot of curiosity theory that supposes curiosity is an urgent desire to know, now. But here is research saying: slow down -- it's more interesting than that. Read the Scientific American essay here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-spoilers-please-why-curiosity-makes-us-patient/ Theme music by Sean Balick; “Turning on the Lights" by Speakeasy, via Blue Dot Sessions.

The Ig Nobel Prizes recognize research efforts that make you laugh...and then think. They celebrate the unusual and honor the imaginative. They are, in my mind, a delightful and very deliberate celebration of curiosity. Ig Nobel Prize founder and editor of the magazine Annals of Improbable Research Marc Abrahams joins me to talk about the origins and contributions of this quirky prize. The awards gala is a mix of circus, opera and real Nobel Laureates, orchestrated to cheer on people who have devoted their time and talent to studying things the rest of us...have not... Check out Improbable Research: https://improbable.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Rabbit Hole" by Love and Weasel, via Blue Dot Sessions.

What if museums were sticky, stinky, noisy places? What if they were sensational? Psychologist Alison Eardley is on a mission to make museums more accessible and inclusive -- physically and conceptually -- for all audiences. Her work draws on all of our senses, engaging us far more deeply with what's before us. What if museums helped us tap our collective curiosity to co-create our visits? More about The Sensational Museum here: https://sensationalmuseum.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Micolai” by Wax Museum, via Blue Dot Sessions.

...In today's conversation, Todd Kashdan and I touched on evolving understandings about curiosity across the life span, the challenges inherent in certain kinds of curiosity, and a more nuanced way to think about "the curiosity zone". But I couldn't fit the whole conversation in 28 short minutes, so here's a little bonus -- a peek behind the production curtain, and some of the rich conversation that I didn't want you to miss.

For the 250th episode of this brave little enterprise, I invited psychologist and curiosity researcher Todd Kashdan to join me to rethink some of the old curiosity standards. The research has evolved and we're going with it. What better way to keep the curiosity alive than by questioning what we think we know? More about Todd Kashdan: https://toddkashdan.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Shift of Currents” by Aeronaut, via Blue Dot Sessions.

From the moment I set foot on campus, it was clear that Olin College of Engineering has a special and very intentional relationship with curiosity.   Olin embodies a willingness to try something new, make mistakes, and learn from those experiences. Gilda A. Barabino, Ph.D., is president of Olin and sets that curiosity tone. More about Olin College of Engineering at https://www.olin.edu Theme music by Sean Balick;“Come As You Are” by Cauldron, via Blue Dot Sessions.

The big questions of astrophysicist Mario Livio's new book Is Earth Exceptional? The Quest for Cosmic Life are as close as we get to an ultimate curiosity -- questions about the origin of life, the universe, and where and how those two intersect. Dr. Livio worked with the Hubble Space Telescope and is a bestselling author of seven books. Together with Jack Szostak, a biochemist and Nobel laureate, he's written a kind of cosmic “what-dunnit” that shifts between the many and various disciplines that may someday provide the answers they seek about life's origins. Learn more about Mario Livio: https://www.mario-livio.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Great Great Lengths" by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

In 2007-2008, Chris Kolenda led an 800-paratrooper task force in eastern Afghanistan. While there, he motivated a large insurgent group to switch sides, the only example of such success in the 20-year history of the war. We can learn a lot from his stories. Find Chris Kolenda here: https://chriskolenda.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Turning to You" by Landsmen Duet, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Once you know it, you see it everywhere. Ever since Gregg Potter put collaboration on my curiosity radar, I'm seeing it in everything. Gregg is a collaboration coach and founder and executive director of the International Institute on Collaboration. He knows a thing or two about how people work together toward shared objectives -- whether they think of it that way or not. Five skills work together as building blocks of collaboration --and curiosity just keeps coming up. Check out the International Institute on Collaboration: https://internationalinstituteoncollaboration.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Spins and Never Falls” by Tiny Tiny Trio, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Curiosity, biodiversity, rewilding -- these are the exciting places Carolin Sommer-Trembo Ph.D. takes us today. Carolin is an evolutionary biologist. Her big goal is to focus attention on animal behavior as it effects evolution and biodiversity. To get there, she has studied curiosity in cichlid fish in Africa's Lake Tanganyika, combining some good old-fashioned field work with exciting new investigative tools, including AI and genetic scissors. I came to the conversation interested in the curiosity angle, but Carolin's impassioned case for the importance of this basic research to eventually rebuilding vanishing biodiversity -- and the aforementioned "rewilding" -- puts the discussion on another level entirely. Curiosity doesn't only promote biodiversity, it might just save us all. Find Carolin Sommer-Trembo here: http://www.salzburgerlab.org/team/carolin_sommer-trembo/ Theme music by Sean Balick; “Lakeside Path” by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions. Photo Credit: Eleni Kougionis and the University of Basel.

I could listen to peace-builder and story-teller Kiran Singh Sirah all day. Not because he's a gifted and generous story-teller -- he most certainly is -- but because his world view is so encompassing, so uplifting, so empowering. So beautiful. Our conversation about curiosity, stories and belonging gets to the heart of who we are as humans, and what we can be as a society. Pull up a comfy chair, pour a cozy cuppa, and sit with me. Better still: bring a friend. Kiran Singh Sirah is an award-winning storytelling industry leader, folklorist, arts & culture strategist, creative thought leader, and past president of the International Storytelling Center. Learn more here: https://www.kiransinghsirah.net/ Theme music by Sean Balick; “Home, Home at Last" by Warmbody, via Blue Dot Sessions.

We all want to understand the world around us, but sometimes our curiosity can lead us down some strange paths. Dr. Joe Stubbersfield is a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Winchester in the UK. He's curious about how our various stories and narratives might shape -- and are shaped by -- our curiosity. Joe has researched how morbid curiosity can lead people to conspiracy theories –  an intersection that feels, frankly, important to understand in this day and age. More about Joe Stubbersfield's work: https://www.winchester.ac.uk/about-us/leadership-and-governance/staff-directory/staff-profiles/stubbersfield.php Theme music by Sean Balick; “Rough Hewn" by Castle Danger, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I'm intrigued by the concept of social enterprises -- businesses with a sense of purpose larger than themselves. Timothy D. Craggette is founder and Chief Education Officer of NAASBI, The National Association for the Advancement of Small Business Innovation.  He trains business owners and supports small business innovation through the association and his radio show/podcast The Swift Kick Show. Timothy is a man with a purpose. I wanted to know how curiosity shows up in his line of work. Turns out, for this businessman, it's all about the people. Learn more about Timothy and NASSBI at https://www.naasbi.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Partly Sage” by Bodytonic, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a Choose to Be Curious trifecta: researcher, theoretician -- and practitioner. A neuroscientist and deep thinker about the personal and social implications of our curiosity, she conducts tiny experiments to focus closely on how we use our time and energy to best effect. Anne-Laure is the founder of Ness Labs, a collective platform for curious people, where “ambitious knowledge workers come together to achieve their goals without sacrificing their mental health.” Ness Labs offers content, coaching, courses and--perhaps most importantly--a community for learning in public together. I am excited to see how her vibrant and collective study-and-practice culture shapes how we think about curiosity in the years ahead. More about Anne-Laure Le Cunff: https://anne-laure.net Theme music by Sean Balick; “Discovery Harbor” by Cloud Harbor, via Blue Dot Sessions.

What do people who know and appreciate a place deeply see that I might not? The Mount Vernon Trail winds its way along the river, a combination national park and major commuter artery. It's a place I find myself frequently and I wondered: what am I not seeing in this place that is so familiar? The Trail is there because the Potomac River is there, an always-scenic but often-silent companion. What might I be missing? This is the second in a periodic series of shows in which we "walk a mile" in someone else's shoes, seeing the world through others' eyes. Guests: Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper: https://www.potomacriverkeepernetwork.org/our-history/ Amy Zang, Washington Sailing Marina: https://boatingindc.com/washington-sailing-marina/ Ryan Miller, meteorologist & science educator: https://www.instagram.com/miller_weather/ Music by Bayou Birds, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Annabelle Tometich -- writer, editor, former food critic and now author -- joins me to explore the tricky, high-traffic intersection of identity and curiosity. Who gets to decide identity? How do we determine our own, let alone someone else's, identity? How might we allow ourselves and others a little grace to figure these things out? Find Annabelle Tometich at https://annabelletometich.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Lemon & Melon” by Onesuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

"Curiosity is fundamental to writing and to everything that I treasure," said writer Rachel Kadish as we opened our conversation. Hard to imagine, but it just kept getting better from there... Inspired by her New York Times opinion essay on teaching writers to seek "unflinching empathy", I invited her to join me for a conversation about putting our trust in the curiosity. Discover the delight that is Rachel Kadish: https://rachelkadish.com Theme music by Sean Balick; "Feathered" by The Cabinetmaker, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Peder Söderlind describes himself as a Swedish author, researcher and entrepreneur, but I believes he's an important emerging curiosity theorist. His writing and thinking on the topic are rich in all the best ways -- evocative, provocative, constructive. Our conversation moved from "local, difficult, and meaningful" problems for keeping our minds curious and framing problems as opportunities, to the paradox of fatigue and the importance of seeing. Find Peder Söderlind online at: https://curiousorganization.se Theme music by Sean Balick; "Rush of Clear Water" by Glacier Quartet Araby, via Blue Dot Sessions.