Claim OwnershipChoose to be Curious
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Choose to be Curious is a show all about curiosity. We talk about research and theory, but mostly it's conversations about how curiosity shows up in work and life.
Now syndicated and available via Pacifica RadioNetwork.
Now syndicated and available via Pacifica RadioNetwork.
367 Episodes
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What if there were a mechanism – a format – that kept novelty high, provided some assurance that the information being imparted was important (at least to someone), and that might tap into things we know perhaps a bit about?
Wouldn’t that seem like a pretty great curiosity vehicle?
I give you PechaKucha!
PechaKucha Night Knoxville: https://www.pechakucha.com/communities/knoxville
Theme music by Sean Balick. “Turning on the Lights” by Speakeasy, via Blue Dot Sessions.
I've been thinking about being more curious about what accessibility around curiosity really means and entails. I was delighted to sit down with accessibility advocate and Birdablity executive director, Cat Fribley to explore the curiosity lessons to be learned from the organization -- and from Birdability Week, a week full of events dedicated to making birding accessible and inclusive for everyone --- especially those with disabilities and other health concerns.
Birdability: https://www.birdability.org
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Wingspan” by Bayou Birds, via Blue Dot Sessions.
“Kiku” is a Japanese word for listen. It is comprised of smaller characters that together, as my guest Haru Yamada puts it, “generate the secret alchemy of listening: an ear 耳 on the left and fourteen 十四 hearts 心 on the right …conjuring a person listening with the energy of fourteen hearts.”
Think for a moment what it means to listen with the energy of fourteen hearts…
Haru Yamada is a self-described global nomad and sociolinguist who loves thinking and writing about how people talk and listen across cultures. Her book, 聴くKIKU The Japanese Art of Good Listening was released in the UK in March 2025, and in the US in October 2025. You can find her Sounds Good writing on Substack at @haruyamada.
Theme music by Sean Balick. ”Wahre” by Cloud Harbor via Blue Dot Sessions.
Sam Furness says nothing gives him greater joy than being an architect of spaces and moments where people really feel they can express themselves creatively.
In that spirit, he founded Creative Quests, a worldwide community and creative playground for people fueled by curiosity.
Sam Furness/Creative Quests: https://www.creativequests.world
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Valantis” by Cauldron, via Blue Dot Sessions.
We all have a curiosity origin story. What’s yours? CEO, author and marketing exec Tyler Chisholm’s happens to involve a pool cue.
Enriched by his experience in strategic growth-oriented marketing and as host of not one but two podcasts, Tyler polishes that first little nugget into robust guidance for leaders everywhere in his new book Curious as Hell,
We focused on the wonderfulness of rapport, self-curious leadership, mirroring and matching in podcasting as in life, the feeling of active listening and expansive questions, framing challenges as collaborative adventures, the power of story & metaphor — and why we should all be keeping curiosity journals on our bedside tables.
Tyler Chisholm: https://tylerchisholm.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; “The Summit” by K2, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Mónica Quesada Cordero and her colleagues at el Colectivo 506 have learned a lot in their five years of bringing solutions journalism to Costa Rica. These are curiosity lessons for journalism, and for life itself.
el Colectivo 506: https://elcolectivo506.com/?lang=en
Theme music by Sean Balick; “A Burst of Light" by Delray, via Blue Dot Sessions.
"We think there's a little more of a selective process going on with curiosity." ~ Mary Whatley
No surprise: curiosity changes over the lifespan.
Yes surprise: not in the way you might imagine. There are some advantages to aging...
Mary Whatley, PhD, studies motivated memory, aging and curiosity. She joins me to explore trait versus state curiosity; her recent research on increasing state curiosity as we age; the role of motivation and value of reflection; our own curiosity cost/benefit analyses; and why a good reviewer is a great thing.
Mary Whatley: https://memorylabwcu.weebly.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; “A Certain Lightness” by Migration, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Creativity strategist Natalie Nixon has a fresh take on productivity and our ideas about time.
She makes the case for leaning into joyful movement, deep thinking and the pause of a "strategic speed bump" to tap into -- and cultivate -- our creativity and curiosity.
Natalie Nixon: https://www.figure8thinking.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Mind Body Mind” by Bodytonic, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Dating coach Tim Molnar blends social science and statistical scholarship with both personal experience and practical suggestions in hopes of transforming how people approach modern dating.
How can curiosity help in our dating lives? Tim has thoughts!
We explore research's origins in "me-search"; getting curious about what is -- or isn't -- actually working; second dates and old-school advantages of the exposure effect; running small experiments with our lives; rejection leading to success; curiosity practices to keep dating your partner; and why caring about green smoothies is so very, very attractive.
Tim Molnar: https://timothymolnar.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; ”Le Marais” by The Sweet Hots, via Blue Dot Sessions.
This was a wide-ranging and exciting conversation about neuroscientist Matthias Gruber's ongoing efforts to understand curiosity's role in learning and memory. There's a lot here. You may have to listen more than once -- I know I did!
Matthias Gruber: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/gruberm
Theme music by Sean Balick; “A Little Powder” by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Lisa Kristine is a humanitarian photographer and fine artist. She uses her photography to expose deeply human stories and make pictures that tap our curiosity about the people and lives she has documented.
"Curiosity calls us to be present." ~ Lisa Kristine
Lisa Kristine: https://lisakristine.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Sand Reverie” by Desert Orchard, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Lean into the language of smell with me: we sniff things out, we follow a scent. We’re nosey!
Is this not curiosity, enacted? Embodied!?
So what do we know about our sense of smell, and might studying it offer insights into the way our brains explore, learn and remember?
Venkatesh Murthy: https://vnmurthylab.org
Theme music by Sean Balick; “A Palace of Cedars” by Pine Barrens, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Much as I champion curiosity, sometimes it can take us down bad paths. Thank goodness there are excellent resources that help us lean into our curiosity, recognize misinformation -- and stop it in its tracks.
RumorGuard is an initiative of the News Literacy Project to do just that. It fact-checks viral rumors and offers concrete tips to help us build our news literacy chops.
News Literacy Project: https://newslit.org
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Heartland Flyer” by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.
How does a ghost writer get to the juiciest heart of their subject?
Laura Zigman is the author of six novels and has ghostwritten and/or collaborated on multiple memoirs and non-fiction books. We have fun talking about writing with someone -- not about them -- and getting their voice right; the line between curiosity and nosiness; compassion, empathy, trust and asking questions with kindness; respecting boundaries; and the honor of hearing another's stories.
Laura Zigman: https://www.laurazigman.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; "Step In, Step Out” by Crab Shack, via Blue Dot Sessions.
Photograph of Laura Zigman by Adrianne Mathiowetz, used with permission.
Mikel Herrington is a veteran of both AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps. We explore curiosity as the underpinning that brings people into civil service, reciprocal curiosity across cultural and experiential divides, humility, humor, how service allows room for listening, and why someone might carry a pecan for years...
Theme music by Sean Balick; "Home, Home at Last" by Warmbody, via Blue Dot Sessions.
For 15 years, Professor Shawkat Toorawa has offered "three things worth knowing" from literature, music and general knowledge, no strings attached.
Each week during the academic year, "Dr. T" delivers a curiosity booster shot for anyone who wants to partake. It's his gesture toward true liberal arts and an ever-expanding appreciation of the rich and diverse world around us.
A delightful discussion creating and connecting dots. Join us for a conversation all about why "should know" and "worth knowing" are so very different; cultural literacy and the fabricated division of "high" and "low" culture; the many gifts of sharing interests; and what's to be gained from a little constraint.
Shawkat Toorawa: https://shawkutis.weebly.com
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Rabbit Hole" by Love & Weasel, via Blue Dot Sessions.
What happens to intellectual freedom when libraries come under attack? What happens to curiosity?
Librarian and director of the Department of Libraries in Arlington, VA, Diane Kresh joins me to explore the long and storied history of bad-ass librarians, book bans and book sanctuaries, the "curiosity paradox" of such bans, what makes libraries a center for community, and how curiosity is like an insatiable puppy.
"The library can be a great refuge, if you will, for people who are questioning." ~ Diane Kresh
Theme music by Sean Balick; "4 Point Path" by The Bulwark, via Blue Dot Sessions.
This week’s conversation is about curiosity in translation and interpretation. Not just the literal, “how do you say this thing in that language?”– but how do we use our curiosity to communicate our ideas effectively, to investigate what’s really being said when we're quite literally not speaking one another's language.
Luckily, there are people like Silvia Villacampa who have a few things to teach the rest of us...
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Discovery Harbor” by Cloud Harbor,, via Blue Dot Sessions.
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.
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