Choose to be Curious

Ep. #115: Curiosity Studies with Perry Zurn PhD

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Together with his co-editor Arjun Shankar, American University philosophy professor Perry Zurn has compiled a cross-discipline anthology on curiosity ...

Ep. #114: Resilient & Brave, with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brain scientist, neuroanatomist, author and public inspiration Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor says we're wired to be resilient and brave. It's a reassuring mes...

Ep. #113: (Re)Creating Community, with Ashley Goff

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How does a community use curiosity to create -- or re-create -- itself and its relationships? Arlington Presbyterian Church pastor Ashley Goff joins ...

Ep. #112: A Curious Crew: Curiosity & the Community College Initiative

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It takes a certain amount of courage and curiosity to travel around the world to study for a year. Four NOVA students in the State Department's Commu...

Ep. #111: Network Systems: Connecting the Dots with Dani Bassett

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Danielle Bassett is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where they study biological, physical, and social systems by using and developing t...

Ep. #110: Bipartisanship & Curiosity with Bob Mitchell

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

More than 25 years ago Bob Mitchell founded a leadership program in Michigan to train diverse cohorts of would-be political candidates in campaigning ...

Ep. #109: Curiosity & Health Advocacy with Nicole Rochester, M.D.

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How often are we faced with health questions and concerns, but feel ill-equipped to ask the right questions, understand the answers we get -- or even ...

Ep. #108: Greg Hamilton Just Wanted to Know Stuff

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many folks have interviewed Arlington Magazine founder and publisher Greg Hamilton about his community leadership and business and communications savv...

Ep. #107: Capitalist Curiosity & Student Mental Health, with Arjun Shankar

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Educator and anthropologist Arjun Shankar worries that the "campus is sick". Values collide and curiosity pays the price. Does it have to be this way?...

Ep. #106: Build a Better Shoe, with Casey Kerrigan, M.D.

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door" -- And what if you build a better shoe? OESH Shoes founder Casey Kerrigan got c...

Ep. #105: Dance & Embodied Curiosity with Erin Foreman-Murray

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Dance is how I practice curiosity. It is the vehicle through which I'm asking questions about the world -- and investigating questions about the w...

Ep. #104: Curiosity and Non-Obvious Thinking with Rohit Bhargava

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Trend curator, marketing expert and best selling author Rohit Bhargava declares: "Learning to use non-obvious thinking has a valuable side effect: It ...

Ep. #103: Why Should This Be So? with Susan Engel

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Susan Engel, professor of psychology at Williams College, has made a career of studying the ebb and flow of curiosity in our lives. "There is no curio...

Ep. #102: Reflections-Not-Resolutions, with Kristine Wood

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rather than guilt ourselves with the pressure of New Years' Resolutions, how might we enter 2020 with questions and reflections instead? Kristine Wood...

Ep. #101: Curiosity, Trust & Homebuying, with Realtor Christine Hopkins

25 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine it’s your job to establish a relationship and build trust at the very moment people are going through what is proven to be one of the most s...

Ep. #100: Everyday Curiosity, with David Lydon-Staley

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get with this show. We celebrate 100 episodes of choosing to be curious with Univers...

Ep. #99: Neurodiverse Curiosity, with Kristy Johnson

10 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kristy Johnson, now a post doc at MIT Media Lab, believes we're thinking about curiosity all wrong -- and leaving out a huge swath of the human experi...

Ep. #98: Cultivating Cultural Intelligence, with Asma Ahmad

26 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever noticed how some people can sit at the table (literal or figurative) with others and interpret unfamiliar or even ambiguous gestures or ...

Ep. #97: Curiosity, Values & Financial Planning, with Rebecca Borton

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How might choosing to be curious about our values and long term goals help with financial planning? Rebecca Borton, Associate Client Advisor at Concen...

Ep. #96: Curiosity & Racist Mindsets, with Narendra Keval

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Psychotherapist and clinical psychologist Narendra Keval observes "racism demands certainty" -- the opposite of curiosity. His is a thoughtful call fo...

Ep. #95: Censorship: Curiosity Curtailed, with Molly E. Roberts

30 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Twain wrote, “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” Nothing piques our curiosity like being told we can...

Ep. #94: Designing for Curiosity, with HyunJoo Oh

23 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Georgia Tech professor HyunJoo Oh challenged her students to create fun and engaging exhibits for Children's Museum of Atlanta. Just how does one desi...

Ep. #93: Curios & Curiotizing, with Amy Marvin

16 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes curiosity is badly misdirected, with consequences we might not have foreseen. Amy Marvin challenges us to consider the impact of "curiotizin...

Ep. #92: Upcycling: On Being a Curious Maker, with Henry Dunbar

09 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"How might I? ... What are all the ways I could? ... Why not?" and other lessons in maker curiosity with Henry Dunbar. It's a curiously creative upcyc...

Ep. #91: Curiosity & Philanthropy, with Sonia Quiñónez

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Americans gave $427.71 billion to charities in 2018. That's a lot of philanthropy. Sonia Quiñónez, Northern Virginia Program Director at Eugene & Ag...

Ep. #90: Storytelling: A Curious Tale, with Ronald Young, Jr.

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What is it about stories that so captures our attention and bridges distances? And what role might curiosity play, for the teller of tales as well as ...

Ep. #89: In Praise of Distraction, with Tyson Lewis

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What if curiosity and learning are best fostered not with focusing our attention, but by distracting it? “There should be room in education for dayd...

Ep. #88: Why Count: Curiosity and Census 2020 with Elizabeth Hardy

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When the Arlington County 2019 Profile showed up in my inbox, I was curious about the people behind it. What are they curious about? And what's the "w...

Ep. #87: The Cost of Curiosity, with Seeta Sistla

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When I read Seeta Sistla’s confrontation to the environmental costs of curiosity - a list that is as thought-provoking as it is long - I sent myself...

Ep. #86: Leadership, Inclusion and Curiosity, with Karen Coltrane

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Karen Coltrane, president and CEO of Leadership Center for Excellence, sat down with me to talk about LCE's new DMV Diversity and Inclusion Institute ...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 58: Embody Attention

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What if we really look and listen differently, with a purpose -- or as my dad likes to say, "if we change our point of view" -- might we see something...

Ep. #85: Ethnography & Cultures of Curiosity with John L. Jackson, Jr.

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, John L. Jackson, Jr. is an ethnographer by training -- and by nature...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 57: A Matter of Choice

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

My choice of “choose” was not accidental in naming my show. I believe that we reveal our true selves through our choices -- and, as with exercise ...

Ep. #84: Can We Choose to Be Curious? with Asia Ferrin

09 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week we take a poke at the whole premise: CAN we choose to be curious? American University professor of philosophy Asia Ferrin and I try on vario...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 56: Stuff and Such

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're curious, we collect, we study. At some level it's all about luring others to share our curiosity, isn't it? Trinity College professor Barbara M....

Ep. #83: Curiosity & Collecting, with Barbara M. Benedict

23 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Trinity College professor Barbara M. Benedict delights in curiosity, curiosities and collecting in English literature. We cover everything from Gulliv...

Ep. #82: What Is a Question? with Lani Watson

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We've talked about better and more beautiful questions, but what about the foundational question: what IS a question? Edinburgh philosopher Lani Watso...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 55: Ah, There's a Question!

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lani Watson wants to know what makes a question a question - and Andrew Minigan wants to help us get better at asking them. It's all about questions t...

Ep. #81: Curiosity is the Gateway to Connection, with Mike Morales

01 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"What I love most about curiosity is sitting with someone I don't know, asking what makes them tick, what brought them to this day, just really leanin...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 54: Connect the Dots

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Think of all the ways we make and find connections. Think how important that is. Mike Morales and I talk about curiosity as a gateway to connection --...

Ep. #80: The Right Question Institute, with Andrew Minigan

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Right Question Institute has pioneered an elegant and deceptively simple way to generate more and better questions, no matter who you are or what ...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 53: Raising Questions

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Learning to ask more and better questions, with The Right Question Institute's (RQI) Andrew Minigan and WERA's own Enlighten Me host, Andrea Cambron. ...

Ep. #79: Curiosity and Sex Ed, with Jacomina de Regt

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What could be more basic than curiosity about sex? And yet the topic makes lots of us squeamish. C2BC intern Caroline Kish sits down with Jacomina de...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 52: Awakenings

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jacomina de Regt speaks to validating our natural curiosity about sex and our sexuality, and Dr. Judson Brewer explores other forms of awakening in th...

Ep. #78: Putting Curiosity on the Map with Cartographer Alison Davis-Holland

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Artist-naturalist Ellen Meloy wrote, "A map, it is said, organizes wonder." Cartographer and story map author Alison Davis-Holland couldn't agree more...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 51: Know Where You Are

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Cartographer Alison Davis-Holland and Capital Naturalist founder Alonso Abugattas each help ground us where we are. We're all about being curious in t...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 50: Walkabout

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of National Walking Day, and every day that is made for walking, we take a stroll around Arlington -- and another around the farmers market. ...

Ep. #77: Taking Curiosity in Stride

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of National Walking Day, we take a stroll with Eileen and Allen, who've decided they're going to walk every street in the County. They neithe...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 49: Human Connections

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I'm delighted to introduce the radio debut of our Choose to be Curious/American University intern, Caroline Kish. She found a link between our convers...

Ep. #76: Curiosity on the Menu, with Noobtsaa Vang

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How many ways might curiosity serve in a social enterprise that partners with budding home-taught chefs from diverse immigrant communities and celebra...

Ep. #75: Curiosity and the Law, with Palma Strand

06 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lawyers ask a lot of questions, but are they curious? Is the law itself curious? Does it foster curiosity? Law professor and forward thinker Palma Str...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 48: Listen Like Our Lives Depend On It

06 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Palma Strand and Ellen Fox -- one a lawyer, the other a doctor -- make the case for curiosity and listening. Our lives and communities depend on it. ...

Ep. #74: Neuroscience Eyes Curiosity, with Jacqueline Gottlieb, PhD

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How do our thoughts shape our actions? How do our actions shape and focus our thoughts? Columbia University professor and neuroscientist Jacqueline Go...

Curiosity to Go, #47: Nothing is Lost

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Henry James wrote in The Art of Fiction, “Try to be one of those on whom nothing is lost.” Neuroscientist Jacqueline Gottlieb and executive coach ...

Ep. #73: Curiosity in Support of Equity, with Christian Dorsey

06 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Newly-elected Arlington County Board Chairman Christian Dorsey has called for a focus on equity in County policies. We explore what role curiosity mig...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 46: Anything Else?

06 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey and Virginia Tech's Discovery Analytics Center Director Naren Ramakrishnan consider the implications of ...

Ep. #72: Curious About Our Roots, with Wilma Jones

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Wilma Jones traced her family and community history in one of Arlington's historically Black neighborhoods and published those stories in "My Halls Hi...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 45: Stories Matter

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

So many stories to be shared and heard in Arlington, VA! Wilma Jones' "My Halls Hill Family" meets Valeria Gelman's "The Local Shop" in this celebrat...

Ep. #71: Point of View with Photographer Jason Horowitz

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"If you change your point of view, you will see something new," says my Dad. Fine art photographer Jason Horowitz walks that talk -- and takes us alon...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 44: Stop. Look. Listen.

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Photographer Jason Horowitz and journalist/sound artist Jocelyn Frank both take to heart my own father's favorite line, "If you change your point of v...

Ep. #70: Animal Curiosity at the National Zoo

26 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I didn't know much about animal curiosity when a student asked me about it, but a visit to the Smithsonian's National Zoo helped fix that problem. It'...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 43: Of Salamanders and Such

25 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It started with a philosophical question and took us to Amazonia and the Shenandoah Mountains as well. Animal curiosity, all in under five minutes! T...

Ep. #69: A Capital Naturalist, with Alonso Abugattas

12 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We get wrapped up in our busy city lives, but with a little help from Alonso Abugattas and his Capital Naturalist group you can bask in the glory of b...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 42: Pay Attention. Be Astonished. Tell About It.

12 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's a big world, get out and explore! Capital Naturalist founder Alonso Abugattas makes his case for delighting in the natural world around us and La...

Ep. #68: Courtesy and Curiosity, with Rebecca Czarniecki

28 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Czarniecki, maven of manners and founder of Tea With Mrs. B, teaches people of all ages a mix of traditional and modern etiquette over a cup o...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 41: Good Company and Good Discourse

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for the holidays: the intersection of courtesy, conflict and curiosity! Rebecca Czarniecki of Tea With Mrs. B and Megan Price of George M...

Ep. #67: Curiosity's Part in Theater Arts with Stan Kang

14 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On the eve of Educational Theatre Company's 20th anniversary, Stan Kang, executive director and founder, explores the role of curiosity in storytellin...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 40: All The World's a Stage

14 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Educational Theatre Company builds its work with school-aged kids around what it calls its “four Cs” corner stones: creativity, community, collabo...

Ep. #66: Current Affairs, Kids & Curiosity with Andrea Cambron

04 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Andrea Cambron, producer and host of "Enlighten Me", encourages our curiosity about current affairs -- and invites kids' attention there as well. So w...

Curiosity to Go, Ep 39: Teach the Children Well

04 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Film-maker Brian Grazer wrote: “Curiosity—asking questions—isn’t just a way of understanding the world. It’s a way of changing it.” In som...

Ep. #65: Capturing the Bandwidth of Curiosity with Todd Kashdan

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Todd B. Kashdan's work was one of the first places I encountered an explicit call for *choosing* to be curious. I'm fascinated by his latest research ...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 38: Bursting Bubbles

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Good conversation relies on good listening -- in other words, choosing to be curious about what others are thinking and feeling. This week George Maso...

Ep. #64: Bias, with filmmaker Robin Hauser

03 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ep. #64: Bias, with filmmaker Robin Hauser by Lynn Borton

Curiosity to Go Ep. 37: -isms R Us

03 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A filmmaker and a film critic weigh in on something else entirely. Robin Hauser (producer and director of the documentary Bias) and Kevin Sampson (of ...

Ep. #63: Curiosity Is Political, with Perry Zurn PhD

19 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

At some level I've been making this case for a while, but American University professor Perry Zurn makes it explicit: curiosity IS political. What que...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 36: Attending to What Is Passed Over

19 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professor of philosophy Perry Zurn asserts "curiosity is political" and asks us to attend to those whose stories we might otherwise overlook, whether ...

Ep. #62: Curiosity & A Big Book - #OhBoyTolstoy

05 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A team from Arlington Public Library navigated War & Peace as a summer Big Book Club -- and curiosity as a travel companion.  Alex Zealand, Jennifer ...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 35: Of Literature and Comedy

05 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What do librarians reading Russian literature and comedians talking about racism have in common? A lot, it turns out. Six fast minutes of insights on ...

Ep. #61: Student-led Research, with Shane McCarty PhD

22 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Shane McCarty, Ph.D. is devoting his life to helping students find ways to improve school climate -- and their own lives in the process. In four short...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 34: Back to School Special

21 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The wisdom of youth: two very different conversations in seven fast minutes. Shane McCarty of Cor Foundation and students from Yorktown High School on...

Ep. #60 Celebrities with Dean Rogers

08 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is it about celebrities that so excites our curiosity - and might we learn anything from them, or about ourselves? Dean Rogers, entertainment new...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 33: Inquiring Minds

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The great American literary figure Lemony Snicket says, "Being curious is the most important part of being a journalist. It might be the most importan...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 32: Art and Craft

25 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Whether its in business, writing or life, honing ones craft takes work. And maybe a little curiosity. Management professor Matt Cronin and author Laur...

Ep. #59: The Craft of Creativity with Matt Cronin

23 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Are some people just born more creative than the rest of us? Absolutely not says George Mason University professor Matthew Cronin -- but true "creativ...

Ep. #58: Infidelity, with "Chump Lady" Tracy Schorn

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Infidelity is the antithesis of curiosity" says Tracy Schorn, whose blog "Chump Lady" has amassed 20M page views. We explore curiosity as a power too...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 31: Trust Me

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One word comes up a lot in our curiosity conversations: trust. "Chump Lady" Tracy Schorn and corporate culture & engagement guru Scott Nycum come at i...

Ep. #57: Listening Well with Jocelyn Frank

27 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Listen in, listen up: you might hear something that surprises you. Award-winning audio journalist, media consultant and audio artist Jocelyn Frank on ...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 30: All Eyes and Ears

27 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Look up, listen up! We're all about paying attention to the world around us in this short visit with audio journalist and artist Jocelyn Frank and Atl...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 29: Curiosity is Good Medicine

13 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two TED Talk superstars on the power of curiosity to beat bad habits and overcome fear. Drs. Judson Brewer and Mario Livio in a rich, fast five minute...

Ep. #56: Curiosity & the Craving Mind, with Dr. Judson Brewer

12 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You've seen his TED Talk on habit change, now Dr. Judson Brewer joins us to talk more about the central role curiosity plays in mindfulness and breaki...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 28: I Am Still Learning

30 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Michelangelo, the master artist, wrote, “I am still learning." We're all about the spirit of life-long learning in this week's segment, featuring Sh...

Ep. #55: Lessons Learned, with Sharon Shutler

30 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What might we learn by choosing to be curious about outcomes? Sharon Shutler spent the better part of 2017 supporting the effort to "flip Virginia blu...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 27: You(th) Can Change the World

16 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Teacher Seth Kolker thought, “If we’re not teaching kids how to change the world, then our education isn’t doing them very much good.” So he a...

Ep. #54: How to Change the World, with the Students of Central Falls High School

16 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sixteen students, seven days, one remarkable adventure in curiosity, courage and systems transformation. Students of Central Falls High School (RI) ca...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 26: A Great Impelling Force

02 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Change is hard," says historian Susan Strasser as she and poet Marcia E. Cole join me for A Double Take on Lynching. We choose to be curious about to...

Ep. #53: A Double Take on Lynching, with Susan Strasser & Marcia E. Cole

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A White historian and an African-American poet team up to view the history of lynching in the U.S. with fresh eyes. What do we discover when we become...

Ep. #52: Curiously Green with StyrofoamMom, Miriam Gennari

20 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's not going away and neither is she. We take a look at Miriam Gennari's journey from curiosity to concern to advocacy as she takes on expanded poly...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 25: We Are the World

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Paying attention to the world we call home - from our environmental footprints to our grasp of world affairs. Miriam Gennari and Bunmi Akinnusotu take...

Curiosity to Go, Ep. 24: What Truly Matters

04 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two conversations about what really matters: Dr. Ellen Fox on bringing curiosity to ethical dilemmas in healthcare and Dr. Raya Kheirbek on narrative ...

Ep. #51: Curiosity and Ethics Consultation, with Dr. Ellen Fox

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Healthcare ethicist Dr. Ellen Fox takes on the question "What truly matters?", using curiosity to help others reach good decisions when faced with eth...