11:00 AM Pacific Time: Thursdays
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.
Hosted by Lynn Borton.
James Hatch spent 26 years in military service, 22 of them as a Navy SEAL. His military career ended in 2009 when he was severely injured, his life saved by his teammates and their working dog. That marked the beginning of a long and challenging recovery that included multiple surgeries and mental health struggles. In 2019, …
Kids are learning machines…but how do they do it? Cognitive scientist Elizabeth Bonawitz is helping us understand how children learn to learn and what role curiosity has to play in those processes. From dinner table placemats to trading stickers for science facts, she finds creative ways to get at the heart of this most human … Continued
How does an emergency department doctor manage the chaotic swirl of unknowns that show up at their door every day? What are they to make of the needs that emerge from the complex socioeconomic soup in which we all swim? Is curiosity a tool of choice? And are there lessons the rest of us might learn from … Continued
Malka Ranjana Kopell and Palma Joy Strand are co-founders of Civity, a national nonprofit organization that works with people to build the relational infrastructure necessary for communities in which everyone has what they need to thrive. Malka and Palma created this word — “civity” — to describe a culture of deliberately engaging in relationships of respect … Continued
Alicia Towns Franken embodies a tantalizing combination: wine — as another in my periodic series on curiosity and our senses — and an actual boots-on-the-ground effort to encourage and enable curiosity where barriers have long existed. Alicia is a sommelier and wine consultant who serves as executive director of Wine Unify, a nonprofit organization that … Continued
Curiosity gets a lot of credit for success. For me, that raises an interesting inverse question: what about curiosity and failure? Who better to invite into that conversation than Samuel West, creator of Museum of Failure, a collection of failed products and services from around the world? Theme music by Sean Balick. “The Rampart” by Castle … Continued
Research tells us that by leaning into externally-focused curiosity – “what do I notice that the world needs?” – and internally-focused curiosity – “How might I be able to contribute?” – we can find meaning and a sense of purpose in our lives. We can find what lights us up. Estee Levine did just that. A fun conversation about jumping in with … Continued
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 … Continued
“The unease of uncertainty is a gift because it’s good stress.” ~ Maggie Jackson It may be hard to think about “uncertainty” as a good thing right now, but hear me out. Maggie Jackson, award-winning author and journalist, has written a best-selling, thought-provoking and profoundly timely book on the power and potential of our own … Continued
“There is this nice jump from ‘I didn’t even notice it‘ to ‘At least I noticed it‘ to ‘Not only did I notice it, I took it to the next level,’” explains journalist and author Rob Walker. Rob Walker is a noticing artist — he takes the mundane and makes it magical, spots the otherwise-invisible … Continued
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. She is the founder of Ness Labs, a collective platform for curious people, where “ambitious knowledge … Continued
