Advertise on podcast: Choose to be Curious

Biomimicry is “the conscious emulation of nature’s genius.” What might we learn by attending to nature's solutions? Sara Aly El Sayed, Director of the Biomimicry Center at Arizona State University, has thoughts! Biomimicry Center: https://globalfutures.asu.edu/biomimicry-center/ Theme music by Sean Balick; “A Palace of Cedar” by The Pine Barrens, via Blue Dot Sessions.

When I wanted to think about curiosity in communications and PR – in the professional work of finding effective ways to tell our stories to one another, under all sorts of circumstances – I knew Greg Abel was the guy to talk to. Greg Abel: https://www.abelcommunications.com Theme music by Sean Balick. “Town Market” by Onesuch Village, via via Blue Dot Sessions.

What might choosing to be curious about the unthinkable offer? Davyne Dial is general manager at WPVM radio in Asheville, NC. Hurricane Helene taught her we should all be more curious about the very things we don't want to think about. WPVM 103.7, Radio Asheville: https://wpvmfm.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Well Water" by The Bulwark, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Be honest: how often do you reflexively defer to AI? What if that same system told you it had some uncertainty about its answers? What would be different, and why? Author and journalist Maggie Jackson and I dig into what happens when we shuffle the certainty deck and reinsert unsureness in AI, our interactions with it, and our own thinking. Can we protect our future and own humanity by choosing to be curious -- by choosing to be uncertain? Maggie Jackson: https://www.maggie-jackson.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Jog to the Water" by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions.

The Yale Center for Civic Thought is dedicated to encouraging thoughtful public discourse and civically responsible intellectual life by helping students practice disagreement, curiosity, and thinking without the pressure to perform. Stephanie Almeida Nevin is executive director of the Center for Civic Thought: https://civicthought.yale.edu Theme music by Sean Balick; “Tuck and Point” by Onesuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Researcher Pierre-Yves Oudeyer and his team are studying autotelic curiosity, that marvelous ability to self-generate and self-select our own learning objectives, goals or games. They design robots to learn like babies... Pierre-Yves Oudeyer: https://www.pyoudeyer.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Cradle Rock" by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Sometimes we just get carried away with the Big Jar of Wannabe Analogies. And so it was this time: we were into it!

What do you think of when you think of "kindergarten"? What about the prospect of being a life-long kindergartner? Join me and Lakshmi as we lean into what makes that mindset so rich and why returning to those roots is wise and wonderful. Check out Lakshmi & NoomaLooma: https://www.noomalooma.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Zig Zag Heart" by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Philosopher Lani Watson’s new book "Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers" invites us to wrestle with unaskable and unanswerable questions to understand the real power of our questioning practices. Lani Watson: https://www.philosophyofquestions.com Theme music by Sean Balick; "The Basket" by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

O'Nell Agossa has a personal pact: curiosity is who he is. His first book is part memoir, part allegorical road trip buddy story, a thoughtful, slightly trippy, poignant tale of self-discovery. Curiosity & I: Let Curiosity Guide You is a novel about research and theory -- but mostly it's a conversation about how curiosity shows up in work and life between O’Nell's protagonist and a shape-shifting, golden-eyed cat named “Curiosity”. O'Nell Agossa: https://medium.com/@o.agossa/about Theme music by Sean Balick; “Discovery Harbor” by Cloud Harbor and “Skyway” by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

How does curiosity inform architecture? How do architects' designs elicit curiosity? And what stories do they leave behind for the future to unpack? Toronto-based architect Alexander Josephson sees curiosity at the center of anything done well. Alexander Josephson is founder of Toronto-based architecture firm Partisans: https://partisans.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “We Build with Rubber Bands” by Lemuel, via Blue Dot Sessions.

In her book I Believe in Everything: A Memoir of Illness, Motherhood and Magic, Jen Dary chronicles her experience with a brain tumor. It's a story of wonder, unknowing, uncertainty, belief -- and curiosity. Jen Dary: https://www.jendarywriter.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “The Big Ten” by Warmbody, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Larry Robertson makes the case: we aren’t just a “questioning species”, questions are the source of our flourishing. When we learn to use them well, we all benefit. Larry Robertson: https://lrspeaks.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Great Great Lengths” by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Happy Semiquincentennial! Washington DC-based social sculptor, speaker, and writer Philippa Pham Hughes and I luxuriate in curiosity, this crazy big milestone, and letting ourselves dream about the next 250 years. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Cradle Rocks” by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I know I'm relaxed when I'm barefoot in the grass. Something about the smell. The slightly damp, uneven texture under my feet. The associated breeze and bird song. It pulls me fully into the moment, settles me. So I'm putting my toes in the proverbial grass this month. Here are some great re-airs to enjoy! Featuring: Monica Quesada Cordero, Matthias Gruber, Laura Zigman & Shawkat Toorawa Theme music by Sean Balick. "Lull" by Ray Catcher, via Blue Dot Sessions.