Ep. #203: When You Are Curious, with Veronika Darwell

09/06/23 • 28 min

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As the new school year gets started, I’ve been thinking a lot about the important teachers in my life, the ones who left an indelible impression. Those special educators helped me see and, as importantly, they made me feel seen. They gave me tools with which to engage the world around me, exciting me about it — and me in it. No surprise: Slovakian educator and author Veronika Darwell caught my eye when she popped up with When You Are Curious, a children’s picture book with delightful illustrations by Johnny Plasil. What I didn’t expect was that our conversation would take us to how teaching finds us, the magic of learning multiple languages, and the importance of representation and inclusive design. Veronika maintains a robust and joyful social media presence on Instagram at @BooksWithMeaning. Theme music by Sean Balick. “UpUpUp and Over” by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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Ep. #202: On Open-Earedness, with Tim McKenry

"Open-earedness" describes our willingness to explore new music. I’ve come to think of it as the auditory equivalent of open-mindedness. Good news: there's delightfully compelling evidence that choosing to be curious about music is good for our health and well-being! Tim McKenry, professor of music at Australian Catholic University, is a spirited advocate for reclaiming our tolerance of the unfamiliar and making music an intentional and expanding part of our lives. Go ahead, open those ears! Tim McKenry at theconversation.com: https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-stop-exploring-new-music-as-we-get-older-200080 Theme music by Sean Balick. “Pxl Htra” by The Fence, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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Ep. #204: Curiosity, Analogies & the Power of Less, with Leidy Klotz

What if the best answer to a curious, generative question like, "What are all the ways we could...?" is "Do less"? UVA Engineering professor Leidy Klotz, author of Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less makes the case to consider subtraction as a viable, reliable, and all-too-often overlooked strategy in a world that is biased to always add more. And in a twist I definitely didn't see coming, Leidy takes analogous thinking to a whole new level of subtraction. "Analogies," he says, "are one of the only ways to remove wrong ideas." Leidy Klotz: https://www.leidyklotz.com Theme music by Sean Balick. “Hash Out” by Sunday at Slims, via Blue Dot Sessions.