Curated Questions: Conversations Celebrating the Power of Questions!

"Every unasked question has an expiration date." - Ken Woodward Ken tries to say goodbye to a shipmate before leaving the submarine. The man goes on emergency leave, and the goodbye has already happened without him noticing it. He had the calendar, the date, the list of names. The last one got past him anyway. That is the shape of this episode. We do not know which time is the last time, and preparation does not change that. Ken walks through Tim Urban's arithmetic on parents, a return to his hometown that was supposed to be final and wasn't, and an upcoming lunch with his ninety-three-year-old aunt, who is the last door into a generation that has already closed. In Ambiguous Loss, Pauline Boss offers a useful frame: closure is largely a myth, and the real skill is holding something open without needing it to shut. The question idea underneath it: every unasked question has an expiration date you cannot see. Some are saving for a better moment. Some you can't ask because you don't yet know you will want the answer. Ken is recording before he flies, without a resolution, because the not knowing is the point. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"There is just a slightly smaller life that you experience as a completely normal one." - Ken Woodward Seven experiments. Ten thousand people. Half learned a topic from an AI summary, half from ordinary web links. Same facts. The AI group came away with shallower knowledge, and when researchers propped the door open, placing live source links right beside the summary, almost nobody walked through. Sixty-eight percent of Google searches now end without a click. With an AI Overview on the page, eighty-three percent. This episode is about what that costs. Not wrong answers, wrong answers get caught. It's the second question that never gets asked, which leaves no error message and no gap in the record. Just a slightly smaller life that you experience as a completely normal one. Then: a man on a corner in Northeast D.C. who gave me a name that wasn't his, and what it took to get the real one. One more thing, I need your help naming something. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

" This aporia, this state of confusion and bafflement, is actually a fantastically exciting, liberating, intellectually stimulating place to be because you're really facing something that you don't know that you thought you did." - Lani Watson Dr. Lani Watson has spent her career on a question most of us never stop to ask. What is a question, and why does it hold such power? Known online as The Questions Doctor, Lani is a philosopher and the author of Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers. In this episode, we sit with the idea that questions are a kind of everyday magic. A power we all carry and rarely notice. They change our brains. They change our relationships. They shape the very answers we receive. We talk about Socrates and the gift of not knowing. We talk about a world racing toward answers, and what we lose when we rush past the question. We talk about who gets to ask, and who does not. Come sit with the questions a while. There is power in the asking, and it belongs to all of us. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"Listening is not real until the listener makes a sound back." - Ken Woodward A sound-powered telephone runs on nothing but the sound of your own voice. No battery. No amplifier. I served on submarines, and I never forgot the joke we played on every new sailor: we sent him hunting the whole ship for batteries that do not exist. The power was in him the entire time. He only had to speak. This is a solo episode about listening. About the repeat-back, the discipline of saying a message back until it lands correctly. About a 2025 study that found the follow-up question is the clearest sign that real listening is happening. About what Dr. Haru Yamada taught me, that to ask and to listen are one motion. And it is about one officer I served with, a question I never asked him, and why I let it go unasked. The circuit is always live. Who is the station you have never called? This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"Nothing in us reports on an absence. No creature ever needed a sense for the path it did not walk." - Ken Woodward More than sixty percent of Google searches now end without a single click. We type the question, read the summary, and leave. The trip is gone. Neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff argues that curiosity needs a gap to switch on, and that learning deepens while the question stays open. The answer closes the window. But the reaching is not our failure. Wanting the missing piece is old equipment, and it worked well for a very long time, because you used to have to walk over the ridge to find out. What changed is the hit rate. We catch every time now, in three seconds, and the machinery on the other side never gets to run. This week we look at which gaps are worth keeping open, why resistance is the mechanism rather than the toll, and what ten years of a daily question taught me about the limits of my own idea. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

" Show what you know by the questions you ask." - Robert Doore Robert Doore carries two names, Robert Doore and Rides at the Door, and a journey most maps don't draw: from Big Red football on the Blackfeet Reservation to becoming the highest-ranking Native American in the NFL since Jim Thorpe. Now the President and CEO of Chief Mountain Sports and Consulting, he tells Ken he didn't learn the power of questions early on. He learned it at 21, in a Washington, D.C. room full of generals and cabinet officials, when he found the courage to ask a mentor, "How did you get to be so smart?" The answer, be well read, ask lots of questions, became his Jedi training. The conversation moves through Maslow's summer with the Blackfeet, teaching "Indian 101" to policymakers, representation as a door-opener, and fear as the cousin of failure. Robert's right now question: What does success look like? His answer isn't money. It's impact. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"That is what a patriot is. Someone who loves the country enough to trade the myth for the question." - Ken Woodward We took a single question to two places: the garden of the Heurich House in Washington, DC, and a town-center street in Rockville. What are you asking, right now, about America at two hundred and fifty? We did not coach anyone. We asked, and we listened. What came back was not one mood. It was several, sitting side by side. A civility one immigrant was taught here and watched thin. A fear for the vote. An institution lost and a resolve to become one. The next two hundred and fifty years held in one hand and tonight's parking in the other. A whole country found again in a crowd at a pool. Underneath all five runs one thread: the fear lives at a distance, and the hope lives within reach. Agency far away arrives as something done to us. Agency close enough to touch arrives as hope. The episode follows that thread back to the founding, to Frederick Douglass, and to what the word patriot is supposed to mean. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"When someone asks us about now, many of us answer with next." - Ken Woodward We took the mic into Union Market and asked strangers one question. What is your Right Now Question? Their answers, and the quiet trend running underneath them. On a warm June afternoon in Washington, DC, we stood in Union Market and asked the people passing through a single thing. Not what they do. Not where they are headed. Just this. What is your Right Now Question? What came back was a market full of strangers, each one carrying something. A job. A move. A book they could not choose. A neighborhood changing faster than anyone can hold. Listen for the trend running underneath the answers, then meet us on the other side for what we noticed. A few of the Right Now Questions we heard: Am I going to get this job? What does peace look like? Do I stay, or do I go? Do the new neighbors know what this used to be? Where will these protests lead us? What is so hard about being kind? This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"The avoided question and the awaited question. Same person. Two sides of one ache." - Ken Woodward Nearly all of the research on curiosity studies the person asking. A new study out of New York University, led by Dr. Niobe Way and Rachel Taffe, turned the lens around and asked the receiver instead. They gave 641 young people a single written prompt: what is the question you most wish someone would ask you, and why. More than ninety-seven out of every hundred had an answer ready. In this solo episode, Ken sits in that other chair. He walks the eight kinds of questions people long to receive and the six reasons underneath them, and finds that almost none of them are about information. People want to be seen, to be cared for, to be given permission to say the loving thing they have been holding back. Drawing on more than thirteen hundred conversations from his two years walking every street in Washington, D.C., Ken offers the lived proof: the woman undone by "good to see you," the friend he carries, the questions strangers had been waiting years for someone to ask. He closes on two pillars of the same practice. The question you are avoiding, and the question you are awaiting. A meditation on the plainest question in the language, and what it costs to drive around for years with one sitting unasked in the seat beside us. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"Ian thought a question was a way to find out who was above him and who was below him. The fire taught him it was a way to find out who was beside him." - Ken Woodward Ian told me he had gotten better at asking questions, and then said the thing that caught my attention. He used to be afraid to ask. Partially fear of looking nosy. Mostly afraid that asking one question would open him up to being asked one back. I knew that fear from the inside, so the two of us got on a call to dig in. This episode follows what we found. The scarcity in the house that raised him, and how a stretched mind cannot afford a question. The old wiring that treats being pushed out of the group as a threat to survival. Why his fear was not timidity but an accurate read of how people actually work. And the small weekly circle, built on one plain question, that changed the physics until the thing he feared was simply no longer true. With a debt to Brian Fretwell and Finding Good, a nod to Seth Godin and Polly Wiessner, and a question at the end I do not have the answer to. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"The question was not broken. It was unfinished." - Ken Woodward Buried in the introduction of the twentieth century's most famously unread book is the most precise dissection of a question ever written. In this solo episode, we open Martin Heidegger's Being and Time and recover his anatomy of inquiry: every question has a subject, a source, and an intent, and most questions fail not from bad wording but from missing parts. We test the anatomy against the streets of Washington, D.C., including a backyard in Marshall Heights where a five-hour-and-forty-five-minute conversation revealed what sixty-one years of an unasked question feels like. Then the reckoning. The man who drew the map of questioning joined the Nazi Party, deleted his Jewish teacher's name from his own dedication page, and spent forty-three years refusing the one question that came addressed to him. Knowing the anatomy is not the asking. This episode is about the difference, and the drive home. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Martin Heidegger Being and Time by Martin Heidegger Soul Boom Podcast Amanda Ripley Arthur C. Brooks Edmund Husserl Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"The smallest act of authorship is a question." - Ken Woodward Nine months ago, Naomi Campbell of the Right Question Institute said one word that gave me a word I had been searching for: agency. I felt it land in my body before I understood it in my head. I promised my listeners I would come back with an answer. This episode is that answer. Agency is the authorship of our own lives. Not control, which none of us has. Authorship is something smaller and more stubborn. It is the refusal to be only what the world wrote about us. And the smallest act of authorship, it turns out, is a question. The moment we ask, we stop receiving the world and start writing on it. I carry two stories from my walk across Washington. A man I call Doc, raised by a mother who would not let him absorb anything without questioning it first. A woman I call Pearl, who answered the worst day of her life by building a neighborhood for the children coming up behind her. Agency is inherent. It can be suppressed, but never removed. The whole question is whether we pick up the pen. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

" The more you play around with it, and the more you see the power in a question, the more you realize that it actually is the cure for the uncertainty that ails many of us." - Larry Robertson Larry Robertson has spent three decades advising leaders on growth, innovation, and strategy. He is also a US Fulbright Scholar, a columnist, and the author of four award-winning books. His newest, Great Question: The Art of the Ask and Getting More of What You Really Want, draws on more than 140 interviews spanning neuroscience, psychology, business, and the arts. Larry believes we are not a storytelling species. We are a questioning species. He arrived at that conviction book by book, pattern by pattern, over two decades of research. In this conversation, we explore the power of questions as a form of agency. We examine intellectual humility and what happens when you stop performing certainty. We discuss leadership, polarization, and the Braver Angels framework. We also unpack Larry's five-element Art of the Ask. Questions are not a technique. They are a behavior. They are something you already know how to do. This conversation is a reminder to start practicing again. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned  Great Question: The Art of the Ask and Getting More of What You Really Want  Sara Lawrence Lightfoot  Audre Lorde  Rebel Leadership by Larry Robertson  VUCA Ernest  Hemingway  Mark Leary  Fulbright Scholarships  Braver Angels  I Never Thought Of It That Way by Monica Guzman  David Whyte  David Pearl  Peter Drucker  A Deliberate Pause by Larry Robertson Larry Roberson on LinkedIn Larry's Website Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"The invitation is not to be right. It is to be willing." - Ken Woodward The small decisions we make without examination carry consequences we never see coming. Ken calls this the long tail. It does not stay inside us. It speaks, votes, stays silent when silence enables harm, and over time shapes the people and institutions around us in ways no single decision can account for. Drawing on Roald Dahl's collapse, a question posed by author Jason Pargin about what we would actually do in someone else's position, and a personal story from a church lobby that still lands hard years later, this episode explores the difference between a foundation and a position. A foundation is what you would sacrifice almost everything to protect. A position is a conclusion you have built on top of lived experience that you have likely never examined. The invitation is not to abandon what you stand on. It is to know what you are standing on. And to have the courage to look when something challenges it. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Roald Dahl  John Lithgow Giant  James and the Giant Peach Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Jason Pargin Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"A good answer can close a loop. A good question opens one." - Ken Woodward What if the quality of your questions has less to do with how curious you are and more to do with how much you know? A recent study from the Technion in Israel tracked 68 students over a semester of Introduction to Psychology. Researchers measured not just what students learned, but how their question-asking changed. The findings are worth sitting with. Domain-specific questions got sharper, more original, more complex. General questions did not improve. In some cases, they declined. Knowledge doesn't flatten curiosity. It sharpens it. This episode traces that finding through 32 years of Navy acquisition, through 1,300 conversations on a 2,085-mile walk through Washington DC, and through a conversation with Seth Godin about tension, rubber bands, and the question that only becomes possible after the preparation is done. The argument is simple. You don't become a better questioner by wanting to ask better questions. You become one by learning more about what you're walking into. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Raz, T. & Kenett, Y.N. (2026). Knowledge reshapes inquiry by changing question asking ability and impacting academic assessment. *npj Science of Learning*, 11, 19. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00402-0 Seth Godin Ryan Holiday Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"My tree was planted in a metal bucket." - Ken Woodward Some mornings, the ordinary holds the weight of everything. A walk to the garage. An attempt to correct a gait. A drift back to comfort. Ken opens this solo episode with that image and asks why returning to comfort is the default setting of an adult life. Drawing on the work of Nigerian-born British photographer and activist Misan Harriman, Ken investigates the mourning that accompanies genuine personal growth. The mourning for the world you thought you believed in. The mourning for the person you were sure was good enough. Ken traces his own reckoning through the identities that once added up to a clean equation. Each one a nutrient in the soil he was given. Each one another layer of metal on the bucket his tree was planted in. Growing. Just with no room to expand. This episode is about noticing the bucket. Cracking it open. And dragging your roots toward soil that can actually hold them. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Misan Harriman Harriman Instagram Post Heraclitus Producer Ben

"Some questions need eye contact. Some questions need silence. Some questions need the telltale crack in our own voice that tells you, you've finally said something true." - Ken Woodward We live in a moment when almost any question can be answered instantly, eloquently, and for free. That is a remarkable thing. It is also worth examining carefully. In this episode, Ken Woodward draws a distinction between two kinds of questions: tool questions, which AI handles brilliantly, and threshold questions, which require something the machine cannot provide. Time. Risk. The sound of your own voice saying something true for the first time. This is not an episode about the dangers of AI. It is an episode about the quiet cost of convenience, what we give up when we trade a live, risky question for a fast, polished answer. And what it looks like to protect the capacity for wonder in an age that makes outsourcing almost everything feel like efficiency. Three practices. A few guardrails. And one question to carry with you when you close the machine. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Claire Brown The Art Engager Podcast Cole Arthur Riley Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Claiming your agency to question is a renegade step into your full humanity." - Ken Woodward April 12, 2016, marked the first public demonstration of Kenneth Woodward's obsession with questions. A decade, 80 episodes, and 140,000 downloads later, he returns to the shoreline to share what a decade of study, conversation, and lived experience has washed up at his feet. From a daily inquiry blog that cost him sleep, to 1,300 conversations across 2,085 miles of Washington D.C. streets, to podcast conversations with some of the world's deepest thinkers, questions have been the through line. In this milestone solo episode, Kenneth offers ten honest observations about questions, how they create space, signal desire for change, exercise agency, and reveal what we most need to face. Not conclusions from a master, but mile markers from a fellow pilgrim still very much on the road. The practice continues. So does the asking. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"It is easier simply to tell the truth, even if you've made a mistake, because what it does is build credibility over time." - Andrew Caulk What happens when the questions leaders most need to ask are the ones they're most afraid to voice? Andrew Caulk spent two decades in the Air Force as an information strategist, and he's seen how institutions, military, political, and personal, manage their narratives by avoiding the hardest inquiries. In this conversation, Andrew and Ken explore how misinformation and disinformation actually work, why truth is more strategically sustainable than deception, and how the attention economy is quietly rewiring our ability to think slowly. Andrew shares what senior leaders refused to ask aloud in military war games, what the casualty projections for a Taiwan conflict actually look like, and why American will to fight may be the most underexamined variable in geopolitical strategy. The conversation also turns to children, curiosity, and how the questions we allow, or suppress, in our homes shape the next generation's capacity to navigate a noisy world. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned  Cognitive Strategy Group  Right to Forget Law Helio Fred Garcia Inside The  Manosphere documentary  Battlefield Three  Ad Fontis Media Bias Chart  Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday Anchorman 2  Bloomberg Wall Street Journal Associated Press (AP) Reuters The Economist  SCOTUSblog  Freakonomics Ground News  Planet Word Museum  cognitive strategy group.com  Being Human Church  Dr. Kori Schake Jim Mattis Andrew Caulk on LinkedIn Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Those scripts are not wisdom. They are load-bearing walls for other people's power." - Ken Woodward Every room has a question nobody asks. Sometimes that's a failure of courage. Sometimes it's something else entirely, a hierarchy so explicit it pre-sorts who is permitted to speak before anyone opens their mouth. In this episode, Ken reflects on a $100M federal acquisition program derailed by a senior stakeholder who wielded disruption as a weapon. The question that could have changed the outcome existed. It just never reached the person who needed to hear it. Drawing on that experience, a chance conversation with a Vietnamese businessman named Kien, and the current civic moment, Ken explores why we swallow necessary questions, and what it costs us when we do. He offers a ladder of micro-courage for asking harder questions at every level of power, from the private to the public square. One braver question. That's the practice. That's where it starts. Fellow pilgrims, this one's for the rooms we've all been in. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning!

"The most powerful questions aren't really the ones that demand an answer, but really demand a presence." - Jenny Chan Jenny Chan founded Pacific Atrocities Education after her grandmother's death surfaced a box of wartime relics of military yen, rice rationing coupons, and decades of unexplained anger toward Japanese culture. That inheritance of unasked questions launched Jenny into the hidden history of the Pacific Asian War: comfort women, Unit 731's biological experimentation program, and the postwar immunity deals that let war criminals become CEOs and prime ministers. Jenny's research method centers on presence before inquiry. Sitting with survivors long enough to earn the right to ask hard questions. She sees historical memory not as a burden but as an essential context for understanding today's geopolitical decisions. Her work with survivors, students, and Japanese citizens seeking truth suggests that healing begins when forgotten stories are finally allowed to be told. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning!

"The harm was architectural. It was not a matter of intention. It was a matter of never checking the blueprint before I opened my mouth." - Ken Woodward The Questions You're Living Inside: How to Stop Answering Questions You Never Chose is the premise of this week's solo episode. Every question builds a room. Most of us never notice the construction. In this solo episode, Ken Woodward explores what he calls the architecture of questions, the load-bearing assumptions embedded in every question we ask, answer, or inherit. Using a morning commute observation about a flatbed truck carrying prefabricated wall panels, Ken unpacks why the questions shaping our lives were often built by someone else, for someone else's benefit. Through two anchor stories, a painful misheard exchange during his 2,085-mile walk through Washington D.C., and an emotional moment from his conversation with Naomi Campbell of the Right Question Institute, Ken traces the difference between a question's skeleton and its resonance. The invitation is not demolition. It is something prior to answering. Read the blueprint first. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning!

"It's not having the answers I teach people — it's having the questions. And that just upsets the entire architecture of safe thinking." - Phil Liebman Phil Liebman spent years being mentored by one of the most relentless questioners he'd ever encountered. It changed everything about how he leads and coaches. In this conversation, Phil unpacks the difference between knowing mode and learning mode, why most of us were systematically educated out of curiosity, and what it actually takes to form a powerful question. He introduces his cycle of curiosity and certainty, a four-quadrant framework that explains why three-quarters of the best thinking happens before any action is taken. Phil shares hard-won lessons from decades of executive coaching, traces his intellectual foundation back to mentor Dr. Lee Thayer, and makes the case that leadership is a performing art, not a management science. The episode closes with a personal health scare that became an unexpected masterclass in what curiosity can do when fear shows up uninvited. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned ALPS Leadership (https://alpsleadership.com/) Dr. Lee Thayer (https://thethayerinstitute.org/about-us/) Vistage (https://www.vistage.com/) Lynn Borton - Choose to Be Curious podcast (https://lynnborton.com/) Stony Brook University (https://www.stonybrook.edu/) Elon Musk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk) John Cleese (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleese) Grace Hopper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper) Leonardo da Vinci quote: "It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." Pablo Picasso (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso) Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center (https://www.msmc.com/comprehensive-cancer-center/) Phil Liebman on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/philiprliebman) Producer Ben Ford (https://www.producerbenford.com/) Beauty Pill (https://www.beautypill.com/)

"Lean into courage and see what happens." - Eila Park Robertson Former ABC News journalist, award‑winning filmmaker, and crisis communications strategist Eila Park Robertson joins Curated Questions to explore what happens “when listening saves democracy.” Drawing from a childhood navigating violence, immigration, and loneliness, Eila shares how asking genuine questions became her superpower for building trust with people who would never normally talk to the media. She explains why Western culture has forgotten how to listen, how that loss feeds polarization, and what it really takes to build bridges across political and ideological divides, starting with presence, curiosity, and courage. Eila and Ken dive into introverts as secret leaders of the room, why outrage‑only politics is burning us out, and how personal relationships can transform deeply held beliefs. They also explore climate storytelling, South Korea’s fight against authoritarianism, and practical ways to resist despair and rebuild community in an age of fractured attention. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions?)) Keep questioning! *Resources Mentioned* ABC News (https://abcnews.com/) Anecdotia (https://www.anecdotia.com/) Vogue Magazine Wedding Article (https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/elopement-wedding-beneath-the-largest-maple-tree-in-canada) Diane Sawyers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Sawyer) Barbara Walters (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Walters) Muammar* *Gaddafi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi) Mel Gibson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Gibson) Ziwe Fumudoh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziwe_Fumudoh) Dr. Jane Goodall (https://janegoodall.org/) International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) (https://www.ifaw.org/) Azzedine Downes, CEO IFAW (https://www.ifaw.org/people/staff/azzedine-downes) United Nations (https://www.un.org/en/) Kelly Boesch (https://www.kellyboesch.com/) Eila on Instagram (eila2.2)(https://www.instagram.com/eila2.2) Producer Ben Ford (https://www.producerbenford.com/) Beauty Pill (https://www.beautypill.com/)

"There's a difference between avoidance and stewardship of our own attention." - Ken Woodward When life grinds us down, something essential is revealed. In this solo episode, Ken Woodward explores why questions are the fundamental technology humans use to make sense of a world that has broken wide open. Drawing from a personal essay about growing up in rural Arizona and the disorienting experience of having a lifelong worldview bubble pop, Ken examines the overwhelming flood of inputs modern life delivers and why not every question in that flood is yours to carry. He contrasts two kinds of wisdom, the certainty-hardened and the question-exhausted, and makes the case that the most meaningful conversations happen with people who have crossed a difficult threshold and been changed by it. The grinding of life, like a mortar and pestle, doesn't destroy us. It reveals us. The fragrance was always there, waiting. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning!

"Every deflection is a small tax." - Ken Woodward In this solo episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward explores the hidden cost of defended answers and the quiet exhaustion that comes from maintaining stories that no longer fit. Drawing on conversations with Kevin Kelly and Phil Liebman, he examines the difference between exploitation and exploration, and why deep questioning is inherently inefficient. Through metaphors of strip mining, sinkholes, and live wires, Ken shows how cultures and individuals enforce authorized stopping points that keep conversations at the surface. A personal story about a pivotal career decision illustrates how a single honest answer can release stored energy and create unexpected freedom. The alchemy of questions is not about uncovering better information. It is about creating conditions where truth costs less than performance. When we stay past discomfort and refuse to stop too soon, something shifts. The energy returns. That return is liberation. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Kevin Kelly Wired Magazine Condé Nast Phil Liebman Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"The only cost of liberation is the decision to pay attention." - Ken Woodward In this solo episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward reflects on wonder, not as a luxury, but as a necessary practice for resilience. Drawing from his experience aboard a U.S. Navy submarine in the gray winters of Connecticut, Ken recounts how weeks without color prepared him to recognize wonder the moment it returned. This memory becomes a lens for the present day, where constant crisis, scrolling, and AI-generated spectacle quietly dull our capacity to be moved. Ken weaves research, poetry, and personal practice to argue that real wonder has a cost: attention, specificity, and presence. From nature journaling prompts to insights from trauma research, he shows how precise noticing can interrupt numbness and restore resilience. Wonder, he suggests, doesn’t require mountaintops or submarines. Only the decision to stop, look again, and lower the threshold. The invitation is simple and demanding: reclaim reverence by paying attention to what’s already here. Wonder is not gone. It’s waiting to be noticed. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Groton, Connecticut Cole Arthur Riley Lynn Borton Choose To Be Curious - John Muir Laws episode John Muir Laws Deleting Instagram Angus Fletcher John O'Donohue Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections On Our Yearning To Belong by John O'Donohue Romanesco Broccoli This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

Episode Summary "They’re literally allowing their past to define them, not refine them. And refinement is an active process, and you have to be prepared to do the work if you’re gonna grow." - Dr. John A. King In this powerful and unflinching conversation, Ken Woodward is in conversation with Dr. John A. King, author, speaker, and PTSD recovery expert, whose life journey moves from profound trauma to purposeful advocacy. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse and trafficking, John transformed personal devastation into a mission to help others move from surviving to thriving through his foundation and mental wellness work. King reflects on how questions have guided his healing, challenging the tendency to live “from the outside in” and instead pursuing happiness through intentional inner work, and living "inside out." He shares the discipline behind lasting change, emphasizing the incremental progress of 1% shifts that compound over time, and the daily choice to let hardship refine rather than define us. Together, they explore resilience, identity, and the courage to rewrite one’s story. This episode is a candid reminder that recovery is not instantaneous but forged through persistence, self-honesty, and the relentless decision to keep moving forward. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Dr. John A. King's website Vilfredo Pareto Napoleonic War Civil War World War I World War II Five Whys Jesuit priest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)  Los Alamos National Laboratories Till It's Done (pending release) by John King Stopping Traffic documentary Stopping Traffic Trailer Sisu (Finnish) Taken film John Wick Braveheart Gladiator 300 film Rats and Rain (book) by John King Sisu film Warumungu People The Phoenix Collective The Phoenix Collective Program Dr. John A. King on Instagram Dr. John A. King on LinkedIn Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Sometimes my parents say ask three questions and then you can play." - Addy Graff In this delightful episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward sits down with eight-year-old explorer Addy Graff to discover how curiosity takes root early in life. A seasoned traveler who has visited roughly 40 countries and every neighborhood in Washington, DC, Addy shares how asking questions helps her learn about people, cultures, and new experiences. From sampling adventurous foods like snails to practicing French in local shops, she demonstrates a fearless approach to discovery. Addy reflects on lessons from school about thoughtful versus superficial questions and explains why the best ones invite stories rather than one-word answers. Encouraged by her parents to ask meaningful questions at the dinner table, she is already developing the habits of a lifelong learner. Whether researching travel for the book she is writing or choosing the most interesting path while wandering a new city, Addy reminds us that curiosity is less about age and more about posture. One that keeps the world expansive, welcoming, and full of possibility. Follow along on her adventures through her Dad's Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/austinkgraff/ This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction To Curated Questions 01:52 Meet Addy Graff: The Young Explorer 03:16 The Power of Asking Questions 05:13 Adventurous Travels and Tasting New Foods 08:44 Learning About Questions in School 11:37 Curiosity and Learning New Skills 13:52 Family Traditions and Encouraging Questions 16:17 Favorite Questions and Multilingual Curiosity 17:12 Discussing Language and Travel 17:51 Exploring Washington, DC 18:12 Neighborhoods and Landmarks 19:19 Wandering and Discovering 20:09 Culinary Adventures 23:11 Writing and Researching Travel 26:33 Travel Stories and Experiences 31:14 Reflections on Questions   Resources Mentioned Austin K Graff: Dad who chronicles Addy's adventures Austin K Graff on Instagram Ms. Watts Addy's Teacher S'mores N'more Santa Rosa Taqueria 50 Maps of the World Nutcracker Princess Jasmine outfit Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

Episode Summary "I don’t want hope as a primary strategy for living well." - Ken Woodward In this solo episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward explores hope not as a feeling or slogan, but as a muscle, something built, weakened, and strengthened through use. Prompted by Alex Honnold’s free-solo climb and his own season of uncertainty, Ken reflects on the collapse of trust in institutions and the fragility of inherited forms of hope. Drawing on psychological and neuroscientific research, he reframes hope as a cognitive skill set rooted in agency and pathways, the belief that we can act and imagine multiple routes forward, even without certainty. Ken examines how rumination, paralysis, and outsourced responsibility erode hope, and how well-chosen questions can interrupt despair and reengage possibility. Moving from individual to collective hope, he invites listeners to consider where their own “hope muscles” have atrophied and what small, concrete actions might rebuild them. This episode is not a lesson on hope, but a vulnerable, out-loud search for it, grounded in questions, courage, and shared responsibility. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 A Taste Of What Is To Come 02:02 The Story of Alex Honnold 02:45 Personal Reflections on Hope 03:49 Current State of the World 05:34 The Concept of Hope 08:41 The Neuroscience of Hope 12:03 Practical Questions for Hope 15:55 Collective Hope and Action 19:09  Poem: Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Murdered by I.C.E, January 24th, 2026 by Amanda Gorman 20:58 Closing Remarks Resources Mentioned Alex Honnold Tiapei 101 Tower Amanda Gorman Poem: Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Murdered by I.C.E, January 24th, 2026 by Amanda Gorman Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"You can only live with so much cognitive dissonance in your life." - Matthew Pridgen Matthew Pridgen joins Ken Woodward for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about how questions can crack open denial and move us toward truth, repentance, and reconciliation. Matthew shares his dramatic journey from addiction and a near-fatal suicide attempt to a decades-long pursuit of faith, justice, and historical honesty. His pivotal moment was when an eight-year-old girl asked, “Why did you take my church down?” after a tent revival in Charleston’s historically Black East Side, which became the question that launched his racial awakening. Together, they explore how American “mythology” hides the realities of slavery, Jim Crow, and modern dog whistles, and how the Black church has sustained a prophetic witness against oppression. The episode highlights the personal cost of cognitive dissonance, the freedom of living without lies, and a central challenge for today: are Christians willing to abandon Christian nationalism and follow Jesus’ actual teachings? Check out Matthew's documentary The Sins of Our Fathers: Race, Religion, and the Rise of Trump on Amazon Prime, and his new Sins of Our Fathers podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts. (https://www.amazon.com/Sins-our-Fathers-Religion-Trump/dp/B0G1XD7TQT) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction to Curated Questions 02:05 Meet Matthew Pridgen: A Story of Redemption 03:38 Matthew's Tent Revival and Racial Awakening 05:02 Confronting Myths and Realities of American History 05:57 The Impact of Systemic Racism 07:19 The Power of Film in Social Change 08:41 Charleston's Unique Racial History 09:13 The Great Migration and Segregation 11:01 The Role of White Supremacy in American History 11:37 Theological Justifications for Racism 17:16 Matthew's Higher Call to Christians 21:37 Matthew's Personal Journey to Faith 25:06 Homeless Ministry and Community Engagement 27:12 Understanding Institutional Poverty 30:29 The Prophetic Witness of the Black Church 34:28 Cognitive Dissonance and Historical Awareness 37:20 The Need for National Reconciliation 42:28 The Uncomfortable Work of Facing Truth 48:56 The Role of Motivation in National Policy 50:23 Soft Power and Global Influence 50:55 The Motivation Behind Our Actions 52:25 Impact of USAID and Trump's Policies 53:13 The Harm of White Supremacy 53:46 Christianity and Political Disillusionment 54:58 The Hypocrisy in Evangelical Christianity 56:25 The Existential Crisis of Faith 57:07 False Prophets and Historical Atrocities 58:12 Embracing the Black Church Tradition 59:18 The Prophetic Witness of Black Women 01:02:12 The Legacy of Slavery and Black Women's Burden 01:04:21 The George Floyd Protests and Aftermath 01:05:50 The Need for National Conversation on Race 01:08:38 The Role of Individual Awakening 01:09:32 The Importance of Historical Awareness 01:12:56 Taking Action and Refusing to Be Complicit 01:16:37 The Influence of Barbara 01:22:34 The Freedom of Honesty and Repentance 01:28:25 Increased Sensitivity of Raised Defenses 01:31:28 The Challenge of National Pride 01:32:32 The Role of Humility in Overcoming Bias 01:33:41 Final Thoughts and Call to Action Resources Mentioned Sins of Our Fathers From Folly by Matthew Pridgen America Street by Matthew Pridgen South of Broad neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove George Floyd Emancipation Reconstruction Jim Crow Laws Civil Rights Era Tower of Babel Day of Pentecost Martin Luther King, Jr. Tulsa Race Massacre Donald Trump DEI CRT Antifa The Great Party Switch Southern Strategy Dr. Bernard Powers College of Charleston Center for the Study of Slavery at the College of Charleston Jemar Tisby Duke University Rev. Dr. Dallas Wilson, Jr. Emancipation Proclamation Reverent William Barber II Poor People's Campaign The Naked Truth Art Project by Ephraim Urevbu The Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry Ann Caldwell Gospel singer The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone Caste by Isabel Wilkerson The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby (https://jemartisby.com/the-color-of-compromise/) How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby Resmaa Menakem The New Deal Joe Biden Jeffrey Epstein Files Instagram Facebook TikTok YouTube The Sins of Our Fathers on Amazon Prime Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Questions are not neutral; they're interventions." - Ken Woodward What actually happens inside us when a question is asked? In this solo episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward explores the neurological, emotional, and psychological impact of being asked a question. Moving beyond techniques or tactics, Ken examines how questions hijack attention, trigger chemical responses in the brain, open unresolved mental loops, and sometimes activate fear or defensiveness. Drawing from neuroscience and a powerful encounter during his Washington, D.C. walking project, he reflects on a question that has remained open for years: What real difference are you making? This episode reveals why some questions feel like relief before they’re answered, why others linger long after they’re asked, and how certain questions don’t just reveal who we are, but actively shape who we become. Questions, Ken argues, are not neutral requests for information. They are interventions. And understanding their power changes how we ask, how we answer, and how we live with them. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction: The Power of Smell and Memory 01:09 Welcome to Curated Questions 02:21 Part One: The Hijack 04:07 Questions in Everyday Life 06:39 Part Two: The Chemical Cascade 11:13 Part Three: The Open Loop 14:57 Part Four: The Threat Response 17:15 Part Five: The Self In Question 18:52 Part Six: Putting It Together 20:43 Conclusion Resources Mentioned Brain Rules: We Are Not Wired For True Multitasking by John Medina Neuromodulatory Systems UC Davis Bluma Zeigarnik Washington Post Article about Ken's walk through Washington D.C. by Teresa Vargas Default Mode Network Rainer Maria Rilke Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Literally everything in life is hard. The question is, what cost are you willing to pay? And you pay that willingly and happily because you value it." - Mitchell Osmond In this episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward sits down with Mitchell Osmond, founder of Dad Nation Co., and host of the Dad Nation Podcast (Top 5% globally), to explore a hard but liberating truth: everything in life is difficult; the question is which difficulty we choose. Mitchell shares the moment a single question at a funeral, “Are you living a life worthy of imitation?” forced him to confront his health, marriage, finances, and legacy. From that reckoning emerged a framework for growth rooted in discomfort, integrity, and honest self-inquiry. Together, Ken and Mitchell examine why confidence is built through keeping promises, how avoiding hard questions quietly shapes our futures, and why legacy is forged at home as much as at work. The conversation challenges the myth of ease, reframes struggle as a signal of alignment, and invites listeners to define success on their own terms. Ultimately, this episode is a call to stop outsourcing meaning, and to choose the hard that leads to a life worth living. Mitchell is launching a new group coaching program, the High Performance Husband Accelerator! All the details can be found at https://www.dadnationco.com/accelerator Mitchell is offering The Connection Code as a gift. 50 questions to spark the fun and get the fire back is available at https://www.dadnationco.com/code  Sign up for the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter at https://curatedquestions.substack.com/ This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Dad Nation Co website The Dad Nation Podcast Dad Nation Co Instagram Mitchell Osmond on LinkedIn Josh Waitzkin Tim Ferriss Albert Einstein Seth Godin Virginia Satir The Gap in the Gain by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan Ed Mylett John Gray author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus The High Performance Husband Raymond Coates Spark Starter Kit Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"What are the questions you will be carrying into the year, such that it will be a celebration of your becoming?" - Ken Woodward This year-end Curated Questions episode is a reflective curation of the questions that shaped several conversations throughout 2025. Rather than offering a rapid recap of every episode, Ken highlights a handful of moments that reveal how intentional questioning can clarify purpose, interrupt unhelpful patterns, and guide meaningful becoming. Across stories from entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and personal reflection, the episode explores questions that ask us to define the change we seek to make, consider who we are becoming, and choose where to place our attention. Along the way, listeners are reminded that good questions often emerge only after many imperfect ones, that perspective shapes dignity and connection, and that small mental reframes can act as powerful resets. As the year closes, the episode becomes an invitation: to name the questions that mattered most in 2025, to carry one forward with intention into 2026, and to trust that a better world is built by those willing to keep questioning. Sign up for the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter at https://curatedquestions.substack.com/ This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Ensure to subscribe to the Curated Questions Dispatch weekly newsletter on Substack. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Highlight 01:56 Introduction and Welcome 02:51 Overview of 2025 Episodes 04:09 Curated Questions Dispatch Newsletter 05:10 Highlighting Seth Godin's Insights 07:31 A Helpful Practice 08:46 Lisa Wimberger on Neurosculpting 09:25 Tim Molnar's Strategic Dating Guide 10:14 Kevin Kelly on Questioning and AI 11:30 Robert Sturman's Unique Perspective 12:23 Conclusion and Call to Action Resources Mentioned Flightcast Steven Bartlett, host of Diary of a CEO Curated Questions Dispatch on Substack Seth Godin Ask the Dust by John Fante Hannah Fry Lisa Wimberger Neurosculpting Tim Molnar Date Smarter: A Strategic Guide for Navigating Modern Romance by Tim Molnar Kevin Kelly Robert Sturman San Quentin Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Direction often emerges not from knowing what you want, but from finally admitting what you don’t." - Ken Woodward The Inquisitive Almanack: 2026 Edition closes the year with something Curated Questions has never quite done before—an affectionate, slightly irreverent, and deeply thoughtful almanack for the inner life. Inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack, this episode blends dry wit, invented bureaucracy, and hard-won wisdom to offer forecasts not for the weather, but for the heart, mind, and questions we carry. You’ll hear interior weather reports, proverbs for the asking class, arbitrary rules of inquiry, lunar phases of curiosity, and predictions for the questions most likely to surface in 2026—across leadership, relationships, parenting, teams, and personal life. Released intentionally as the final episode of the year, this Almanack isn’t a recap or a resolution guide. It’s a pause. A breath. A lighter place to rest before the calendar turns and begins asking new things of us. Come curious. Leave rested. And carry one good question forward. Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (LINK) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Poor Richard's Almanack Benjamin Franklin Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"Not being a hundred percent sure all the time is a weird strength." - Haru Yamada In this episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward is in conversation with Dr. Haru Yamada, a sociolinguist, intercultural communication scholar, and author of Kiku: The Japanese Art of Good Listening, to explore what it really means to listen. Haru traces her early understanding of questions back to age four, when she moved from Tokyo to New York and had to use questions as a tool for language, belonging, and survival. Together, they unpack how culture shapes communication: English often rewards “flashlight” questioning, the precise, content-driven clarity, while Japanese culture tends to favor a “lantern” approach that illuminates context, relationship, and what isn’t said. Haru also shares the harrowing accident that reshaped her understanding of listening as a health practice, linking felt-heard experiences to relational, mental, and even physical well-being. In a noisy, multitasking world, this conversation reframes listening as an active, life-giving skill, and a compass for navigating each other with empathy. Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction: Embracing Uncertainty 01:57 Introducing Dr. Haru Yamada 02:23 The Art of Listening: Kiku 03:12 A Life-Altering Accident 03:37 Welcoming Dr. Yamada 04:02 Early Experiences with Questions 04:57 Navigating Cultural Differences 07:28 The Journey of a Third Culture Kid 08:19 Academic Pursuits in Linguistics 10:32 The Strength in Uncertainty 16:04 Questioning Anti-Fragility As A Goal 23:02 Flashlight vs. Lantern: Different Approaches to Questions 26:57 Cultural Context in Business Meetings 28:16 Interpersonal Communication Challenges 32:12 The Importance of Listening 39:51 Personal Anecdotes and Reflections 44:11 The Healing Power of Being Heard 47:42 Reflecting on Past Medical Experiences 48:16 The Evolution of Listening Post-COVID 49:41 Remote Work and Multitasking 52:24 The Impact of Isolation on Communication 54:02 Curated Interactions in the Digital Age 55:34 The Shift in Media Consumption 57:48 The Importance of Visual and Auditory Listening 59:04 Personal Experiences with Hearing Loss 01:00:58 Advancements in Hearing Aid Technology 01:03:20 The Value of Ambiguous Questions 01:04:23 The Fear of Uncertainty in Listening 01:05:05 The Role of Multitasking in Communication 01:07:24 Learning from Students' Unique Needs 01:11:29 The Changing Nature of Academic Inquiry 01:19:23 Better Understanding The Lantern View 01:22:35 Cultural Differences in Language Learning 01:24:52 The Complexity of Bilingualism 01:26:48 The Challenges of Cross-Cultural Communication 01:31:07 Final Reflections and Takeaways Resources Mentioned KIKU: The Japanese Art of Good Listening by Dr. Haru Yamada Lynn Borton at Choose To Be Curious Jeff Wetzler Austin K Graff Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb The Power of Introverts TED Talk by Susan Cain Stanford Interpersonal Dynamics Class Dr. Haru Yamada on LinkedIn Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

Episode Summary "If all you do is pay attention to what everyone else is paying attention to, then  by definition you're not likely to innovate anything or create anything very original or different or surprising." - Rob Walker Writer and cultural observer Rob Walker joins Ken to explore how questions and noticing reshape the way we move through the world. Rob traces his origin story back to discovering journalism at 18, a framework that gave a shy, introverted kid permission to ask questions on behalf of others. They dig into his book and newsletter The Art of Noticing, talking about everyday noticing assignments, why “what am I missing?” is a powerful self-question, and how small acts of attention can mark time and make life more memorable. Rob shares the story behind the Significant Objects project and why story, and not a price tag, creates real value in the objects we keep. From New Orleans as a “conversational city” to his teaching on point of view and manifestos, Rob reflects on questions as both agency and responsibility, in democracies, organizations, and personal life. Be sure to subscribe to Rob's Substack The Art of Noticing newsletter at https://robwalker.substack.com/ Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction to Overlooked Ideas 01:56 Introducing Rob Walker 03:19 Rob Walker's Early Life and Career 04:28 Discovering Journalism and the Power of Questions 05:54 Embracing Curiosity and Askew Perspectives 08:57 The Influence of Laurie Anderson 13:30 Living in New Orleans 14:56 The Unique Culture of New Orleans 21:21 The Art of Noticing 22:32 Personal Experiences with Noticing 27:50 The Impact of Noticing on Daily Life 33:21 Noticing and Questions 40:56 The Power of Asking Questions 42:39 Questions and Agency 44:26 The Importance of Questions in Organizations 45:14 Inspirations and Heroes in Questioning 46:11 The Art of Asking Questions 46:37 Early Lessons in Journalism 47:42 Challenges of Interviewing Law Firms 48:12 Curiosity-Driven Interviews 48:35 The Sharpie Story 50:15 Preparing for Interviews 50:51 The Flow of Conversation 52:58 Finding Unique Angles in Business Stories 55:09 The Power of Longevity and Community 56:39 Mindfulness and Creativity 59:21 Significant Objects Project 01:01:04 The Value of Story in Objects 01:06:23 The Gift of a Questioning Mindset 01:11:59 Teaching and Point of View 01:12:51 The Role of Questions in Design 01:14:20 Student Challenges with Questions 01:18:57 Personal Reflections on Questions 01:19:25 End of Year Reflections 01:22:48 Final Takeaways and Reflections Resources Mentioned Consumed column in the New York Times Magazine The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker (book) Buying It by Rob Walker (book) Significant Objects Project Lynn Borton of Choose to Be Curious Laurie Anderson United States Live (album) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Live) Pacifica radio station (Houston) Brooklyn Academy of Music / BAM Journey (band) Foreigner (band) University of Texas Hand Grenade (cocktail) Anne Rice Dave Isay Sound Portraits New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCA) The Art of Noticing (newsletter) The American Lawyer (publication) Am Law 100 Martindale-Hubbell (legal directory) Karen Dillon Sharpie Fast Company Starbucks Cracker Barrel Logo Controversy Austin Kleon Waking Up Meditation App Joshua Glenn Meg Cabot William Gibson Project Object Lost Objects Lost Objects Book by Rob Walker Ignorance by Stuart Firestein (book) Inconspicuous Consumption newsletter by Paul Lucas Jerry Colonna David Whyte School of Visual Arts in New York Point of View Class at SVA Products of Design Rob Walker Substack robwalker.net Hypothetical Development Organization Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"We vote with our labor for the world we want to create. If you don't reflect on what you're doing, how do you know you're casting the right vote?" - Radhika Dutt In this episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward engages entrepreneur and author Radhika Dutt in a profound exploration of how questions can transform organizations from goal-driven to puzzle-solving entities. Radhika is the author of "Radical Product Thinking" and shares her journey from MIT to becoming a serial entrepreneur to developing the puzzle-based leadership OHLA framework (Objectives, Hypotheses, Learnings, Adaptations). The conversation reveals how traditional goal-setting, rooted in 1940s assembly-line thinking, fails in today's complex environment, where creative problem-solving matters more than repetitive execution. Radhika demonstrates through a live experiment how "puzzles" energize while "goals" burden, explaining that puzzles tap into internal motivation rather than external pressure. She emphasizes the critical importance of reflection, a practice she credits with enabling better decision-making both personally and professionally. Drawing from her nine languages and global experience, including living in post-apartheid South Africa, Radhika offers insights on creating psychological safety for questions across cultures. The episode culminates with practical guidance on implementing puzzle-based thinking in organizations, showing how asking better questions leads to ownership, engagement, and transformative results. Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Resources Mentioned Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter by Radhika Dutt Lobby Seven MIT Avid Technology Monetary Authority of Singapore ChatGPT Sam Altman Gates Foundation What has the Gates Foundation done for Global Health? Muhammad Yunus Microloans Esther Duflo Abhijit Banerjee Frank Blake Adobe Apple Only The Paranoid Survive David Eagleman  Management by Objectives detailed in The Practice of Management by Peter Drucker General Motors Lean Startup Adidas Bryn Mawr College Monument Lab Albert Einstein Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller OHLA Framework Toolkit (Objectives, Hypotheses, Learnings, Adaptations) Radhika Dutt on LinkedIn RadicalProduct.com Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"The Insight Pause is sitting in the rubble of your shattered worldview before clearing a single stone." - Ken Woodward In this solo episode, Ken Woodward introduces The Insight Pause—a five-step framework for navigating the moments that crack open our worldview. Through his own story of confronting the hidden history behind the Indigenous names and artifacts that shaped his childhood landscape, Ken explores how insights arrive fully formed, unsettle our identities, and demand more than quick fixes or defensive reactions. He walks listeners through the foundational skills that prepare us for these moments, the instant of recognition, the sacred pause that follows, and the slow work of integrating unsettling truths into a new, liberated worldview. Whether you're rethinking long-held beliefs, noticing contradictions you can’t ignore, or sensing that something in your life no longer fits, this episode offers a practical and compassionate guide for holding discomfort without collapsing into denial or overreaction. Discover how the Insight Pause can transform the questions you carry—and the person you’re becoming. Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 01:55 Personal Story: Early Realizations 02:36 The Cracks in the Story 02:51 Framework Introduction 03:37 Manifest Destiny and Indigenous Names 04:29 A Shattered Worldview 05:37 The Moment of Insight 05:56 Step One: Foundation 07:38 Step Two: Insight 08:47 Step Three: Insight Pause 10:23 Step Four: Integration 12:04 Step Five: Liberation 13:28 Insight Pause Deep Dive 16:14 Practical Applications 17:11 Creating Your Own Pause Practice 19:36 Final Thoughts and Call to Action Resources Mentioned Yavapai County (https://www.yavapaiaz.gov/Home) Hopi (https://www.hopi-nsn.gov/) An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (https://a.co/d/8xO1EDb) Manifest Destiny (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny) Prescott, Arizona (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescott,_Arizona) Quinnipiac River (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinnipiac_River) Niantic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niantic_people) Montauk Point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Point_Light) Mashantucket Pequot (https://www.mptn-nsn.gov/) Mohegan (https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/) Bison herds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison) American exceptionalism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism) Founding Fathers of the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States) Piscataway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscataway_people) Narragansett (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narragansett_people) Producer Ben Ford (https://www.producerbenford.com/) Beauty Pill (https://www.beautypill.com/) Questions Asked What question are you avoiding that would change everything? What questions float at the edge of your consciousness? What contradictions do you live with daily? Even if 50% of the book was false, what do I do with the 50% that's true? What do I do with the 50% that's true? What truths are hiding in plain sight in your life? Why do our best people keep leaving? Why do I keep having the same fight? Why does this success feel empty? Why does this certainty require so much defending? What am I working hard not to see? Where do you feel the truth in your body? What truths are hiding in plain sight in your life? What feedback have you been deflecting? What patterns have you been rationalizing? What questions are you unwilling to ask? What costs are you refusing to calculate? ( What names are you driving past? What pottery shards are you collecting without asking whose hands shaped them? What “half-truth” would change everything if you faced the true half? What seedling of truth needs protection in your sacred uncertainty?

"I'm gonna make an appointment with my curiosity." - Frank Sesno Emmy award-winning journalist Frank Sesno shares how curiosity and strategic questioning shaped his four-decade career covering presidents and world leaders as CNN's Washington Bureau Chief and White House correspondent. From a fourth-grade question about astronauts to interviewing five U.S. presidents, Frank reveals the power of deliberate curiosity and active listening. Frank breaks down his approach to preparing for high-stakes interviews, explaining how he blocks conversations into thematic acts while remaining flexible. He introduces the "echo question" technique, which is simply repeating a person's emotionally charged word back to them, that transforms surface answers into more profound truths. Frank emphasizes that the best questioners are the best listeners, focusing on what people say and what they don't say. In "Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change," Frank discusses why bridge-building questions are critical in our polarized moment. He explores how AI makes human curiosity more valuable and shares his practice of "making an appointment with curiosity" to create time to deliberately formulate meaningful questions. Be sure to check out the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions) This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 02:04 Meet Frank Sesno: A Legendary Journalist 03:05 Early Encounters with the Power of Questions 05:01 Curiosity Encouraged: School Days 05:54 The Art of Interviewing: Following Curiosity 08:37 Touchstone Moments in Journalism 09:35 Holding Power to Account 10:42 The Journey to Asking Tough Questions 12:48 Understanding Human Stories 18:25 Complexity of Human Experience 22:38 Listening: The Key to Great Questions 24:37 Echo Questions: A Powerful Technique 27:29 Preparing for Interviews: A Structured Approach 29:40 Structuring Interview Questions 30:27 The Importance of Flexibility in Interviews 31:16 The Power of Walking and Reflecting 32:01 Lessons from the Galapagos 34:13 Traveling with Curiosity 36:38 Fostering Curiosity in Students 40:46 Question Categories That Are Needed Today 47:04 The Role of AI in Questioning 50:39 The Human Touch in Questioning 52:21 Building Rapport with Interviewees 53:26 The Right Now Question 53:54 Finding Hope in Challenging Times 57:26 Connecting with Frank Sesno 58:51 Summary and Takeaways Resources Mentioned Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change by Frank Sesno The Sesno Series George Washington University Senator Mark Warner George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs Washington Post Shohei Otani Yoshinobu Yamamoto Los Angeles Dodgers Nancy Kanwisher Cal Fussman Plant Forward Storyfest Competition Galapagos Islands Lindblad Expeditions 1882 Morgan Silver Dollar Nancy Pelosi Frank Sesno on LinkedIn Frank Sesno website Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"When you have a trusting environment, it is exactly to hold each other accountable." - Jaimie Reese What does it take to build trust in one of the world’s largest bureaucracies? Former U.S. Navy Senior Executive (SES) Jaimie Reese joins Ken Woodward to explore how genuine curiosity and courageous questioning can reshape systems, teams, and lives. From the aftermath of 9/11 to boardrooms and the Pentagon, Reese shares hard-won lessons on leadership, timing, and the art of listening when stakes are high. Through stories that move from crisis to calm, she unpacks why trust isn’t granted by authority but earned through everyday inquiry—how slowing down, asking better questions, and truly hearing the answers can transform any organization. Jaimie traces the invisible threads between humility, communication, and change, revealing what happens when leaders replace certainty with curiosity. This episode challenges every listener to reimagine leadership as an ongoing dialogue. Because, as Jaimie reminds us, “Leadership is a conversation you have with the future—one question at a time.” This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 Building Trust and Accountability 01:07 Introduction to Curated Questions 01:51 Meet Jamie Reese 03:05 Jamie's Early Career and Learning the Power of Questions 05:36 The Importance of Prioritizing Questions 06:37 Building Relationships Through Questions 10:17 Navigating Requirements and Funding in the DOD 14:31 Engaging Stakeholders 22:16 The Role of Diverse Voices in Decision Making 28:29 Creating a Safe Space for Questions 36:44 The Importance of Time in Asking Questions 37:36 Reflections on Time Management 39:21 The Importance of Time Management 40:03 AI and the Art of Asking Questions 40:52 Balancing Speed and Quality 43:07 The Cost, Schedule, Performance Triangle 43:26 Applying Business Principles to Human Capital 45:38 Managing a Large Workforce 46:08 Strategic Workforce Development 52:38 Data-Driven Decision Making 55:10 The Role of Questions in Leadership 59:11 Navigating Organizational Change 01:02:42 Finding The Skeletons in The Closets 01:11:14 Building Trust and Accountability 01:12:50 The Value of Trust in the Workplace 01:14:09 Balancing Organizational Trust and Personal Sacrifice 01:15:04 The Decision to Leave the Federal Workforce 01:15:56 The Importance of Trust in Relationships 01:17:11 Facing Unhappiness and Making Changes 01:17:59 Reflecting on Career and Organizational Loyalty 01:19:49 The 9/11 Experience: A Day of Chaos and Leadership 01:21:13 Evacuation and Immediate Aftermath 01:23:07 Returning to Work Post-9/11 01:24:15 Leadership Lessons from Crisis 01:30:44 Navigating Healthcare for a Loved One 01:35:20 The Importance of Being Present in Healthcare 01:38:31 Final Thoughts and Ways to Connect Resources Mentioned The Pentagon DASN OSD NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command) Kevin Kelly – Wired magazine founder, author of The Inevitable Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ReeseReimagined.com Jaimie Reese on LinkedIn Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

"The closer you become with these people while you're wearing that mask, the more distant you actually feel from the people around you." - Garrett Wood In this episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward engages in a deep conversation with Garrett Wood, a national board-certified health and wellness coach and certified clinical hypnotherapist. Garrett shares his insights on the hidden tolls of high achievement, addressing issues such as perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and burnout. He explores the power of questions and how they can transform our understanding of identity, worth, and achievement. The discussion dives into the paradox of wearing masks to gain social acceptance, the first signs of burnout manifesting as cynicism, and the importance of creating authentic connections. Garrett also discusses practical strategies, such as non-sleep deep rest, to enhance performance and creativity, as well as the role of self-compassion in maintaining mental health. This episode offers valuable perspectives on how to navigate and make sense of the world through the power of questioning. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes 00:00 The Mask of Perfectionism 01:11 Welcome to Curated Questions 01:55 Meet Garrett Wood 02:57 Garrett's Early Experiences with Questions 05:14 The Power and Danger of Questions 06:02 Socratic Method and Questioning Authority 08:50 Curiosity and Childhood 12:32 The Role of Questions in Executive Coaching 15:13 Creating a Safe Space for Growth 20:22 Helping Clients Trust The Process 32:02 The Therapeutic Relationship 34:22 Understanding Pain and Healing 38:17 Non-Sleep Deep Rest 46:55 The Mundane Tasks and Mind Wandering 47:39 Non-Sleep Deep Rest Explained 48:29 The Power of Journaling 51:25 Practical Applications of Non-Sleep Deep Rest 54:20 Recognizing and Addressing Burnout 56:08 The Importance of Biofeedback 56:58 Understanding and Identifying Cynicism 01:01:43 The Concept of Masking 01:06:36 Living Authentically 01:11:30 The Journey of Self-Discovery 01:13:56 The Role of Questions in Personal Growth 01:20:48 Exploring Identity and Attachment 01:29:31 Final Thoughts and Takeaways Resources Mentioned Gnosis Therapy Socrates Douglas Adams Immanuel Kant Amy Radin Explain Pain Theory by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley Nociception Thomas Edison Albert Einstein Carl Jung Five Levels of Attachment by Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. Garrett Wood on LinkedIn at Gnosis Therapy Gnosis Therapy on Instagram Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill

Episode Notes00:00 The Possibility Of Your Avoided Question01:21 Welcome to Curated Questions01:59 Tangled Wings' Impact04:31 The Question That Changes Questions07:43 When Your Brain Says "Nope" (A Friendly Science Tour)12:06 The Locked Door Model (Your Map to the Question)15:11 A Personal Interlude (When I Found My Door)16:10 From Boardroom to Living Room (How This Scales)19:45 When Giants Finally Ask (The Storm Before the Breakthrough)26:05 Integration Accelerators (Making It Stick)27:07 Why This Matters Now (The Gentle Urgency)28:22 Three Companion Questions (For Your Toolkit)29:32 Your Next 48 Hours32:01 Takeaways - Choose Your Own Adventure Resources MentionedSumner CrenshawJerry ColonnaDavid EaglemanLeonard MlodinowAntonio DamasioLeon FestingerSatya NadellaMary OliverProducer Ben FordBeauty Pill Questions AskedWhat question are you avoiding that would change everything?What topic made you slightly tense when I said “that decision you keep postponing”?Where does it hurt?What are you willing to give up that you love in order to change those conditions?How has it benefited you to maintain these conditions you say you don’t want?What am I avoiding right now, this week?What topic, if I brought it up right now, would make you want to skip ahead in this podcast?When will it be?How much is enough?What’s the cost of not asking?Is it above your integrity grade?What would our best competitor assume we’re too afraid to do?If my kid was watching me handle this, what would I want them to learn?Where are we optimizing for looking good instead of being good?What would be different if…?What does it look like to be a modern-day Freedom Rider?How does my embrace of the American myth change upon the discovery of the broken treaties and massacres enacted on Indigenous people?How do I hold dear to a faith when the church protected abusers and the powerful while endorsing slavery?Why is there no national memorial celebrating the resilience of those enslaved and holding to account those who perpetrated the evil in our American history?What if people don’t want to drive to a store?What if they didn’t have to?What if film is temporary?What if photos are social?What behavior does our incentive system actually reward?Are we helping our customers succeed, or just protecting Windows?What are we really afraid will happen if we plan for our own absence?What am I pretending not to know about what my partner needs?What question would my teenager ask if they felt truly safe?What story do I tell about why I can’t change this?What would I do if I knew I was already enough?What if the future isn’t about PCs?Are we a PC chip company, or are we a chip company that happens to make PC processors?What question am I avoiding?Are you? Or are you avoiding something more specific that might actually require change next Monday?What elephant do you see in my room that I keep walking around?Why do we keep this meeting?Why does the team need to be aligned?Why are we siloed?How would we design collaboration into our resource model?If we had zero history, zero sunk cost, and zero politics, what would we do?What would someone who loves our mission but sees our flaws say we’re avoiding?What question are we avoiding?What would change if we asked it?What is the smallest next step?Should I change jobs?Am I becoming who I want to be?Who do I want to be when I’m no longer afraid?Where have we stopped questioning?What are we pretending not to know?What would be different in 90 days if we faced this?What question am I avoiding this week that would change my next 90 days?What question am I avoiding today?What question do you think I’m avoiding?What question are we all thinking but no one’s saying?What assumption haven’t we tested since we wrote this?Where do our stated values and daily behaviors most diverge?What are we not discussing that our successors will wish we had?What would our most frustrated customer say we’re avoiding?What would we try if we knew we could iterate our way to success?

"The most fundamental relationship in any change process is the one that you have with yourself. It's the questions that you ask yourself first and foremost that are the game changers." - Jill Reilly In this episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward is in conversation with global citizen and author Jill Reilly to explore the power of questioning in navigating life’s complexities. Jill shares her journey from the Midwest to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and beyond, reflecting on her experiences as an aid worker and the lessons that shaped her understanding of change and personal agency. They discuss the importance of self-permission, processing grief, and the need to adapt amidst societal and technological upheaval. With insights from her new book The Ten Permissions: Redefining the Rules of Adulting in the 21st Century, Jill emphasizes the transformative potential of asking the right questions to unlock personal growth and resilience. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes00:00 Introduction: The Power of Self-Questioning00:49 Milestone Celebration: 100,000 Downloads03:13 Introduction to Jill Reilly05:23 Jill's Journey to South Africa07:37 Choosing a Different Path09:30 The Concept of Permission13:39 Exploring New Paths18:23 Jill's Work in Zimbabwe21:44 Engaging with Questions29:05 Political Uncertainty and Fear31:18 Grieving the Old Stories32:05 Reimagining Our Future35:36 Challenging Fixed Mental Models37:16 Questioning Traditions and Conventions38:54 Intentional Conversations Around Adaptation40:07 The End of Predictable Progress41:40 Exploring Personal Undoing43:18 The White Savior Complex45:49 The Importance of Self-Permission47:04 Engaging with Yourself for Change49:11 Navigating AI and Rapid Changes55:56 No Need To Blow Up Your Life59:09 The Value of Leisure Time01:02:31 Professional Adaptation and Evolution01:08:19 Right Now Question01:12:27 Final Reflections and Takeaways Resources MentionedShame: Confessions of an Aid Worker in Africa by Jill ReillyVain Aid TED Talk by Jill ReillyThe 10 Permissions: Redefining The Rules of Adulting in The 21st Century by Jill ReillyHughes Network SystemsRobert MugabeTen Permissions websiteJill Reilly on LinkedInJill Reilly email: [email protected] Ben FordBeauty Pill Questions AskedWhen did you first understand the power of questions?How is it that you chose to pursue going to South Africa?Were we allowed to question it?Were we allowed to create alternatives to it?What else did you do?What are the things that you could do?Do we even feel allowed to have those conversations?Am I defaulting to just take the next safest step, or am I allowing him and myself to consider that?Isn't it a good opportunity to begin to explore a variety of options?Are we preparing them for this evolving reality, or are we continuing to default to what worked in our day or what we've always done?How did things go when you got to South Africa?Who am I? How am I introducing myself? What am I about?What do you think were some of the modality, spirit, and heart posture as you use questions to engage this new world for you?Can you contract aids from a public toilet seat?What are good questions to use when wrestling with political uncertainty, upheaval, and the like?Am I gonna be the one to try and fill the void that's being created right now with something new, something better, or is our only option to try and patch together what once was and keep hobbling along?Why haven't we done any more amendments? Why haven't we changed things?How far can we go? What are we allowed to do?Do we need to make changes?Why would we choose the old version?Isn't there a better way? Isn't there more? Isn't there different? Isn't there now?Do I feel allowed to do the thing that I think I should or they say I should? Or does fear, intervene in my own sense of permission? Are there external authorities whose power over me is so great that I'm not willing to take a risk? or am I the thing that's in the way of me actually taking a risk to do something different?What are the questions that you're asking?How are you poking into your own assumptions?How are you testing those? What questions are you intentionally using? And what is your practice for going after that?And are you gonna be ready for that or are you gonna be blindsided?Am I allowed? What's desirable? What's allowable?What do you wanna do with it? What does it look like for you? How is it a vehicle for you to live and experience in ways that maybe you haven't fully lent into yet?What is your Right Now Question?How can, and how will my book and these permissions support people to navigate this age of AI?What's possible in this time? What's allowable? We allow ourselves to imagine showing up to this moment differently, and what might that look like?What situation in your life right now feels unfamiliar or uncomfortable where you could experiment with leading with questions instead of assumptions?How might genuine curiosity change those interactions?Where in your life are you waiting for approval when what you actually need is to give yourself permission?What would change if you separated these two concepts this week?How might you make space to process loss and grief that continue to weigh you down?Can you identify three "shoulds" that are currently driving your decisions?What would happen if you spent 10 minutes each day this week asking yourself what YOU actually want, without editing or judging the answers?

"Am I my brother's keeper? Is answered in the daily work of showing up, being challenged, getting it wrong, being corrected, and showing up again." - Ken Woodward In this solo episode, Ken Woodward explores one of humanity's oldest and most challenging questions: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Born from Cain's evasion after murdering Abel, this question continues to shape how we answer fundamental issues about immigration, homelessness, healthcare, and who deserves our care.Drawing from his 101-week walk through every street and alley in Washington, DC, Ken reflects on how he spent 50 years answering "no" to this question while convincing himself he was answering "yes." He shares powerful conversations with Raymond Coates about the Sugar House in Charleston, encounters with a woman who demanded accountability, and the devastating costs of both saying yes and saying no.This episode challenges listeners to examine their own complicity, confront inherited assumptions, and honestly assess who they've decided doesn't count as "brother." Ken offers four concrete takeaways to help transform this ancient question from theological abstraction into daily practice.This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes00:00 The Work of a Brother's Keeper01:12 Welcome to Curated Questions01:50 Am I My Brother's Keeper02:36 The Origin: Cain's Evasion04:44 The Question I Avoided Asking09:09 The Question I Lived11:07 Who Counts As Brother?14:21 What This Question Reveals15:45 The Cost of Yes!19:51 The Cost of No23:50 the Present Moment27:22 The Military Exception28:42 Repentance & Reparation32:35 The Vulnerability of Yes34:00 The Question For You36:58 The Invitation38:41 Takeaway43:27 Final Closing Resources MentionedCain & AbelBook of GenesisJames BaldwinLies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. LoewenCaste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel WilkersonGeorge FloydBreonna TaylorAhmaud ArberyThe TorahThe parable of the Good SamaritanJesusJesus and the Disinherited by Howard ThurmanRaymond CoatesLorton PrisonSugar House, Charleston, South CarolinaTraining Day with Denzel WashingtonBuddy HarrisonMalcolm XJerry ColonnaAn Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-OrtizSouthern StrategyRedliningNegro BibleCivil Rights ActCivil Liberties Act of 1988Emmett TillJerry JonesMary OliverProducer Ben FordBeauty Pill Questions AskedAm I my brother's keeper?Where is your brother Abel?Who have I decided doesn't count?Whose suffering have I accepted as normal?Whose voice have I decided doesn't matter quite as much as others?How am I actually answering this question with my life, not with my words?Why didn't Black service members get access to the GI Bill after returning from World War II?How is the Republican adoption of the Southern Strategy to disenfranchise Black voters starting in the 1950s still functioning?How was a Black family supposed to build generational wealth when redlining was legal?What do I do with the half that's correct?Who is my neighbor?How are people with their backs against the wall supposed to relate to Christianity when Christians have their boot on their necks?Will my brother keep me?How have you been complicit in creating the conditions you say you don't want?You think that didn't affect him?You think he went home and was a good father? A good husband?You think that violence stayed contained in the Sugar House?You think you got something to say, don't you?Are you a racist?What do you think about slavery?What do you think about policing?What about reparations?What about income inequality?What is this project going to accomplish?How is this going to make a difference in my life?Are you really my brother's keeper, or are you just performing?What does repentance look like?What does turning away from these sins look like?What does making amends look like?Who have you decided doesn't count as your brother?How has your boundary line shifted over time?Who is included that wasn't before, and who has now shifted beyond that border?What would it cost you to say yes to someone you've been saying no to?What are the things your grandparents taught you—not explicitly, but through silence, through who was welcome in your home, through what neighborhood you lived in—that were actually answering "no" to this question?Which of those things are you still practicing?Am I ready to become my brother's keeper?What would it cost me to actually be this person's keeper?What have I taught you, through my actions and choices rather than my words, about who counts as your brother?Is that the inheritance you want from me?

"Asking the right questions the right way at the right time can often be more of a determinant of your success than being the person to raise their hand and come up with the answer." - Amy Radin Amy Radin is a pioneer in corporate innovation and strategic questioning. Amy shares her journey from the influence of her father's corner drugstore to becoming one of the world's first Chief Innovation Officers at Citi, and her roles at American Express, E-Trade, and more. The conversation delves into the importance of curiosity and questioning for personal growth, achieving corporate goals, the emotional and practical aspects of leading change, and the role of strategic questioning in innovation. Amy also discusses her experiences as an early-stage investor and advisor, highlighting the significance of asking the right questions to assess founders' pitches and provide guidance as they build their companies. Sign up for Amy's newsletter, Uncommonly Pragmatic, at her website amyradin.com.  Amy is available for live or virtual keynotes and workshops. She can be easily reached through LinkedIn direct messages to collaborate on how to bring her expertise to positively impact your organization. This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com. Keep questioning! Episode Notes00:00 Introduction: The Power of Questions01:28 Welcome to Curated Questions02:06 Meet Amy Radin: A Pioneer in Innovation04:01 Amy's Early Influences and Corporate Journey05:13 Transition to Early Stage Investing07:29 Understanding Founders Through Questions10:51 The Importance of Diverse Expertise17:16 Building a Personal Advisory Board18:22 Handling Resistance with Questions21:43 Effective Interview Questions30:42 The Power of Asking Questions in Teams36:10 Emotional Aspects of Change40:49 Modern Change Management43:46 Multi-Generational Workforce Challenges46:14 Coalition Building for Change48:07 Balancing Historical Knowledge and Innovation50:37 Understanding Resistance and Fear51:28 The Role of Experimentation52:21 Digital Channels in Customer Acquisition53:20 Designing Experiments with Skeptics54:36 Financial Discipline and Digital Innovation55:47 Customer Service and Digital Channels56:12 Prioritizing Questions and Experiments59:05 Becoming a Chief Innovation Officer01:00:59 Challenging Assumptions with Questions01:08:39 Qualitative Insight Gathering01:12:28 The Emotional Side of Finances01:16:33 Career Reflections and Resilience01:21:23 Teaching and Strategic Advocacy01:22:30 Celebrating Success and Staying Curious01:23:46 Morning Walks and Creative Thinking01:25:38 Final Thoughts and Places to Connect With Amy Radin01:27:36 Closing Remarks and Takeaways Resources MentionedThe Change Maker's Playbook by Amy RadinSoundboard Venture FundA More Beautiful Question by Warren BergerKotter's Eight Steps For Leading ChangeLarry Keeley on LinkedInThe Diary Of A CEOJohn Dewey High SchoolSpike LeeJohn DeweyAmy Radin Website for the Uncommonly Pragmatic NewsletterAmy Radin on LinkedInProducer Ben FordBeauty Pill Questions AskedWhen did you first understand the power of questions?What am I gonna do with myself now?My first question was, well, what's that?What were some of those right questions to be able to get a little bit deeper?What questions am I gonna ask?Can you tell me more about that? How did you figure that out? Or I'd love to understand that better. Can you dig in a little more?Do we wanna go to the next step?Have there been some particularly insightful questions that founders have asked of your team that have resonated with you?What else do they bring to the table?I would ask tell me a little bit about some of your recent experiences working with some of your other portfolio companies and how you've helped them out. Tell me about a situation when another portfolio founder when the market changed and they almost had the rug pulled out from under them, what was your reaction and were you able to step in and help them?Tell me a story, not what would you do?Has there been anything this new venture has taught you about questions that all of your other previous experience hadn't taught you?What do you think might be a personal bootcamp that somebody could do that could help build that experience?Ask, wow, I'd love to understand more where you're coming from. Could we walk through it? Because I wanna appreciate what you're trying to do and why you're uncomfortable with this. So, can you help me understand your perspective better?How did I do? Did I do this three times?What do you think makes for a good question?What are the key requirements? What do I really need from this person? What would you do about X, Y, Z?Help me understand what you did. What you felt and what you thought, and how did you actually handle that situation?What metrics should we consider that would be appropriate to helping us understand the potential for this idea that would make us feel good about this tiny little investment you wanna make for prototype?How can they bring the entire questioning game in the conversation up another level,What do I really wanna understand better about this opportunity?What do I really wanna understand better about working with these investors?Do I wanna use the opportunity of this call/pitch session/diligence to ask them their advice about something? And can I be candid about?Why can't you...? How might you...?How do you think about that feeling or that component of us and bringing that into the workplace?How is this change going to affect my career and what happens to me and my ability to pay my mortgage and send my child to college?How do you feel?Why does Sally seem so upset at the meetings?As you are engaging with a company and helping them think through change, how do questions play a role in that process?Who's gonna be there? What's their mindset about learning? Is it a curious organization? How would you describe the culture?What role do questions play in change?How do I really accomplish this change?How does fostering curiosity and questions play a role in coalition building?How do you get that tipping point?What role can digital channels be effective to attract new customers?What aspects do we think that innovating around the digital experience could favorably impact those aspects, those financial drivers of the business?What role could digital channels play in customer service that could improve the customer relationship, lower costs, improve customer satisfaction, reduce attrition, and increase people's usage of the card?What role does digital technology play in our business to benefit customers and shareholders?How did you become a chief innovation officer?What's that?What do you think about specifically on questions in challenging assumptions?Why are we doing it like this?Where did that assumption come from?When people go online, what happens to call volume?What do we measure?How do you see questions playing a role in sparking insights?How are people managing their financial lives in the context of dealing with all the fallout from the financial crisis?Are things filed, or is it a big mess in a paper stack? Why is it set up like that?What are all the things that I could do?You had mentioned early on about not being the cookie-cutter person, and wanting to be out there on the edges a little bit and mixing things up. How has that served you?What can we do about this?Would you be interested in teaching this Strategic Advocacy course? What the hell is that?What do you need to do next?What are your right now questions or question that you're working with?I'm wondering why some of my best questions seem to come to me when I'm talking to my dog?Are there any areas of questions that we didn't touch on that you were hoping to or excited to be able to touch on?Where is this the best place for folks to track you down and see the things that you're working on and the things that you're excited about?How would your career trajectory change if you spent the next year becoming known for asking brilliant questions rather than providing quick answers?Can you identify three times over the coming week when you could practice asking "Help me understand your perspective" instead of explaining why someone is wrong?Who are the people in your network who know what you don't know, and how could you formally invite skeptical perspectives into your most important decisions?What would happen if you designated a regular meeting as question-only, where solutions are forbidden and curiosity is the only currency?

"If we start talking about developing people, you have to ask those deep questions." - Dave McGurkDave is a transformational leader who bridges military precision with cutting-edge organizational development. As Founder and CEO of Veridian Perspective and Vice President at Apogee Global RMS, Dave brings over 20 years of executive leadership experience. His impressive 30-year military career includes Training Operations Director at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Army Enterprise liaison and senior executive advisor to U.S. Army European, African and Special Operations Command teams.He has managed multi-billion-dollar budgets, led teams of hundreds, and influenced policy at the highest levels of government—including presidential-level decisions. His approach blends 30 years of military leadership, adult education, & neuroscience to create AI-powered diagnostics, hyper-personalized development, and dynamic simulations for resilient leaders in a volatile world.Ken Woodward engages in a profound discussion with Dave McGurk, a transformational leader with a rich background in military leadership and organizational development. Dave shares his experiences, including a pivotal moment during his deployment in Iraq where he learned the cultural importance of time through the simple act of removing his watch. This revelation led him to question the embedded cognitive frameworks that shape our understanding of the world.Through deeply reflective questions, Dave emphasizes the importance of framing problems accurately, understanding inherited mental models, and fostering genuine connections with others. He introduces his innovative seat swap counseling method, which promotes genuine feedback and psychological safety. This episode explores the transformative power of questions in personal growth and leadership development, encouraging listeners to challenge their assumptions and continually evolve.This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.Keep questioning!Episode Notes00:00 Reflecting on Leadership and Influence01:16 Welcome to Curated Questions02:02 Introducing Dave McGurk04:03 Dave's Military Background and Leadership Experience04:40 Cultural Challenges in Iraq06:36 Learning from Iraqi Commanders11:11 Building Trust and Relationships13:44 The Importance of Asking the Right Questions19:14 Teaching Critical Thinking in the Military20:25 Challenging Assumptions and Mental Models22:51 The Role of Vulnerability in Leadership31:07 Navigating Authority Bias34:21 Transition to Defense Contracting and Consulting35:06 Understanding Mental Models and Cognitive Frameworks35:54 The Power of Disruptive Questions36:36 Teaching Creative Thinking and Problem Solving39:56 Developing a Questioning Practice44:49 Reflecting on Mental Models and Growth45:39 Sports Analogies and Human Development46:24 Personal Journey and Military Experience48:22 The Impact of Suicide in the Military49:22 Leadership and Connection with Soldiers49:43 A Pivotal Moment: Jeremy LeClair's Story50:03 Psychological Autopsy and Leadership Reflection51:30 Commitment to Authentic Leadership52:21 The Importance of Deep Questions52:38 Understanding Mental Models59:17 Challenges of Egocentric Thought01:00:46 Feedback Mechanisms and Counseling01:02:27 Connecting with People in Leadership01:03:25 Deployment and Leadership Challenges01:06:52 Empowering Teams and Challenging Authority Bias01:08:09 Excitement for Future Leadership Development01:14:35 Curated Questions and Continuous Improvement01:21:01 Final Thoughts and TakeawaysResources MentionedGeneral DempseyArmy's Command General Staff CollegeCONOPMk PalmoreApogee Global RMSThinking Fast and Slow by Kahnemanexperiential learning modelJeremy LeClairthe Leadership Student 2.0 podcastProducer Ben FordBeauty Pill Questions AskedWhen did you first understand the power of questions?What else am I missing?As an American who is over here supporting this country and this culture, what else do you not think I understand?What do you think sets you apart in your approach versus those who came behind?What are they really getting after?What is it that you're really looking for?What's the problem?What am I missing? How do I see the problem? What are the facts that are relevant to the problem? And what's gonna allow me to open my aperture to see a different dimension of the problem?How did that question rubric land with those that you were teaching or bringing up behind?What is the question that you need to ask somebody to turn that into a fact?What do you think?What are the things that you're struggling with? What are the questions that you're trying to figure out? What haven't you had answered?Am I trying to disrupt it in the right way?Why did you jump on the one that was wrong?What are the things that you think about that really drive the way you think?How does your brain work?How do we challenge that?How do we challenge our own ability to understand how we're thinking and how we're gonna make a difference for us?How can we develop a questioning practice or a way of living that ensures that we look beyond just the top drawer?What are those echoes that kind of govern how we think?What assumptions had to be made here that would turn into facts that are still applicable here?How do we match that against what we think our inherited mental model is that is driving that for us?Am I aware of those shortcuts that my brain is making?Am I a reflection of the rewiring and the response?How do I change the framework?What is this doing to me?Do you have any idea where that came from?What is it that's going on?What are those reflexive interpretations that are coming?What are those echoes that are coming back and feeding us?What was it about me that made you think that I was a good leader?What invasive cognitive model has colonized your mind without your permission?What is that question really trying to get at the heart of?How does ego fit into all of this story?Is this the right perspective? How do I shape that perspective?How are you doing? How's your wife? You get a birthday next week, how does it feel to be getting old?How did you take that staff and turn it into such a machine in such a short period of time?How are our customers doing?How would you feel if you would have one of your VPs sit down and give you counseling about what you're doing? Are you crazy? Why would I do that?What elements are you most excited about in this next season that you're going into, with all that you've been creating?Did we miss anything about questions?What are the questions that you're working with right now for you personally?How are you gonna experience catastrophic success?What inherited beliefs about the right way to operate might you be clinging to without questioning their validity in different contexts?How might your current problem be completely reframed if you ask, what am I missing instead of how do I solve this?Which of your firmly held beliefs did you actually choose versus inherit from your environment? And are they still serving you?What would change in your relationships if you literally or figuratively swap seats with those you lead or work alongside?

"Who am I? Was never gonna turn out well. Who do I say I am? Had a chance." - Mike HilsonHost Ken Woodward welcomes Pastor Mike Hilson, senior pastor of New Life Church. They delve deep into how questions shape identity, leadership, and personal growth. Mike shares his journey, from wrestling with self-identity as a child to leading a thriving network of churches. Key discussions include the necessity of creative boredom, the evolution of the question 'Who do I say I am?', the importance of strategic delegation, and balancing doctrinal adherence with familial love.  Episode Notes00:00 The Origin of a Pivotal Question01:51 Introducing Mike Hilson03:18 Mike's Early Life and the Power of Questions04:16 Struggles in School and the Importance of 'Why'05:18 College Years and Career Decisions05:49 Journey into Ministry06:14 Challenges and Realizations in Ministry08:21 Creative Boredom and Leadership11:00 Self-Awareness and Personal Growth11:24 Marriage and Life Decisions15:38 Parenting and Fatherhood17:24 Wrestling with Identity and Faith18:17 Leadership and Church Growth22:40 The Impact of Lifelong Questions30:36 What is a Good Dad?36:16 Delegation and Empowerment38:57 Handling Authority and Humility40:38 Church Planting and Community Building41:58 Maintaining Humility and Perspective42:46 Mentorship and Church Growth43:33 Rabbinical Mentoring Approach44:04 Coffee with the Pastor Series44:37 Rick Warren's Baseball Diamond Structure45:39 Impact and Ministry Goals48:52 End Game Thinking50:36 Succession Planning53:27 Communism and Totalitarianism54:14 End Game Thinking in Personal Life58:37 Questions and Anger in Society01:00:48 Philosophical Base Choices01:03:57 Biblical Truths and Cultural Application01:06:04 Personal Identity and Roles01:07:26 Future Plans and Family01:13:13 Living a Full Life01:15:51 Common Question: Proving God's Existence01:16:10 Philosophical Game: What If I'm Wrong?01:19:43 Final Thoughts and Gratitude01:19:48 Summary Takeaways Resources MentionedNew Life Church in La Plata, MarylandProducer Ben FordSouthern Wesleyan UniversityAppalachian State UniversityJohn MaxwellRick WarrenNapkin Theology by Mike HilsonSpeak Life by Mike HilsonA Significant Impact for Christ by Mike HilsonCoffee with the Pastor by Mike HilsonTheo BoldenOutlive by Dr. Peter AttiaBrett FavreMike Hilson on LinkedInBeauty Pill Questions AskedWhen did you first understand the power of questions?Why am I here, why am I here without anybody? Why don't people like me?Why is that bird doing that? Why does that rabbit hide there? why does that snake stand in that tree?Why am I doing this [college class]? Why am I here? Why am I doing this?What's this gonna be like?Why am I a Wesleyan? Why do I believe this about the Bible versus that?Could I be a Baptist? Could I be a Pentecostal?Where is your creative boredom?How have you used questions in that journey of self-awareness?If I keep dating this girl, I'm going to marry her. And I had to stop and say to myself, am I okay with that?Who do you say I am?Who do I say she is?Am I, Mike the guy who's gonna be a businessman who's gonna do this? Or am I, Mike the guy who's gonna be a pastor? Am I pastor Mike?How do I figure it out?How do I help other people deal with this?Who do I say I am? Who does God say I am?How could you leave?What do I think a father ought to be?What does a good father do right now?How do you properly unpack things?Which matters more?What did Jesus die for?If I fail to show grace here, how is it that I'm being like Jesus?How does a dad show Grace?What is a good dad, and how do I live that out?Who do I say that I am?What can I not, not do?How quickly did you embrace load shedding and being okay with that as a leader?How do I make sure we're taking care of them properly?What is the logical outcome of what I am currently doing?What is end game thinking?What do I leave behind?How do you think through what that building's gonna be worth in 30 years?What's the natural outcome if I continue to treat my wife the way I'm treating her right now?What happens if you silence half or a third of your nation and tell them they can't talk anymore?How generous am I being to other people?What does that mean for my life? What does that mean for how I live?What measure did I just use?What measure do I want God to use back to me?What does it mean to love my child, even if my child's gonna reject my faith?How do I balance these?How do you now do your job? What can I not not do to fit inside of that?Why would I believe in a God that you can't prove exists?What have I missed in my life by following a biblical worldview and the biblical tenets of how I should live?What if I'm wrong?What if I'm right? What have you missed?

"Questions are an extremely sophisticated thinking skill that everyone can use and practice all the time." - Naomi Campbell In this episode, host Ken Woodward is in conversation with Naomi Campbell, Director of the Right Question Institute (RQI) Legal Empowerment Program. They delve into the transformative power of teaching people to ask questions, highlighting its impact across various fields, including education, legal practice, and healthcare.   Naomi shares her journey from an inquisitive childhood encouraged by her family and school, through law school at Harvard, to her work in Mexico City advocating for migrant workers. The episode emphasizes the importance of questioning as a sophisticated skill that fosters personal agency and enhances democratic participation. Naomi also discusses RQI's unique methods for teaching this skill and how they support change agents in different communities.   The conversation provides insightful examples of how empowering people to formulate their own questions can lead to meaningful social change and better navigating decision-making systems.Episode Notes00:00 Powerful Questions As A Skill01:50 Meet Naomi Campbell03:33 The Importance of Asking Questions07:30 The Role of Agency in Advocacy10:59 Naomi's Law School Experience11:38 The Socratic Method in Legal Education15:49 Empathy in Legal Practice18:53 Naomi's Work in Mexico City20:04 Returning to the Right Question Institute25:39 The Right Question Institute's Mission27:22 Empowering Through Questions30:55 Examples of Impactful Questioning41:00 The Role of Questions in Healthcare42:05 Challenges and Mistakes in Advocacy42:42 Lessons Learned and Moving Forward43:38 Embracing Change and Learning from the Field44:17 Using the Method in Shifting Landscapes44:51 The Virtuous Cycle of Curated Questions45:56 Job Interview Questions: Examples and Inspiration47:26 Iterating on Questions: A Skill for All Ages49:23 Teaching Question Formulation in Classrooms51:42 The Role of Questions in Education53:44 Exciting Developments at RQI56:49 Connecting Questions to Democracy59:41 Micro Democracy: Participating in Everyday Decisions01:00:22 Combating Misinformation Through Critical Thinking01:01:11 Helping Others to Ask Their Own Questions01:03:41 Challenges in Healthcare Adoption of Questions01:05:53 The Importance of Patient Empowerment01:08:22 Frameworks for Effective Questioning01:09:58 The Power of Questions in Decision Making01:13:10 Questions As A Tool To Amplify Unheard Voices01:19:15 Takeaways and Reflections Resources MentionedThe Right Question Institute (RQI)RQI's Legal Empowerment ProgramLynn Borton at Choose To Be CuriousSocratic MethodHarvard Negotiation Workshop & the Alternative Dispute Resolution ProgramsCentro de los Derechos del MigranteMake Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own QuestionsSNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance ProgramSNAP Employment and Training ProgramsKevin KellyBeauty PillProducer Ben Ford Questions AskedWhen did you first understand the power of questions?How do you help other people ask their own questions?You said that, questions were encouraged what did that look like growing up for you?What were the things that you think your parents did right in helping you be inquisitive about the world or encourage that?What was it about the school environment that encouraged questions and is what you encountered?Who was holding that power? who is holding the power of questions?How can you use questions?How do questions help people both feel and express empathy?What kinds of questions are you asking when you are really listening to somebody?How are questions important?Is choosing to spend your life pursuing the questions that intrigue you common with your peers?What is the school going to do to prevent this? What are we going to do to prevent this from happening again in the future?What am I really concerned about?How could it be a better question?How could it be a worse question?What happens when you share the power of questions and how can that improve thinking, how can it improve advocacy? How can it improve democracy?how are you seeing the importance of questions in relation to democracy?Do you have any particular initiatives working on combating misinformation and disinformation?What brings you here today?Not only what questions do you have, but how can I help you ask questions?How do I help the people that I'm trying to serve ask questions?Who gets to ask the questions?Who in fact asks the questions?Who doesn't ask the questions?What questions didn't I ask?What questions should I have asked?Have there been any areas where you thought there was gonna be more of a response or a richer return on investment?What's the difference between a closed and an open-ended question?What are the advantages and disadvantages of both types of questions and how can you use them strategically?how do you order your questions?How do you use closed and open-ended questions?How do you ask questions about decisions?What questions do you have?Which questions of mine have to do with the reason  behind the decision, and the why behind the decision?What questions have to do with the process for making the decision?How was the decision made?Who was involved?What information was used?When was it made?What meeting was held?What role do I have?What is the role of the people who are affected by the decision?How did you come to this decision?How might you come to this decision?What can I do in this situation?What can I do to better follow the doctor's instructions?What can I do if my child is struggling in school?Is this the transparency that's supposed to be happening?Are people having a voice that's supposed to be happening?Do they have a case here?If we say we care about democracy and actually do, how do we uphold these principles?What is your right now question?How do we find the change agents in all of these fields? How do we find the people who care about agency, how do we support them, and how do we connect them to each other?Instead of providing answers or asking all the questions yourself, how could you teach others to formulate their own powerful questions?When facing a decision that affects you, what questions are you not asking about the process and your potential role in it?What would change if you permitted yourself to ask terrible questions before expecting to get to the good ones?Who in your sphere doesn't feel empowered to ask questions, and how could you help change that?

In this solo episode, host Ken Woodward delves into the origin and development of the 'Curated Questions' project, which began in 2018. Ken shares his personal journey of curiosity, inspiration from Tim Ferriss' podcast, and the influences that led to the creation of his blog and subsequent podcast.   Highlighting notable milestones and influential interviews, Ken discusses the structure and purpose of the Curated Questions website and its various elements, including famous questions and lists. He also reflects on the profound impact of asking meaningful questions, illustrated with personal anecdotes.   The episode encourages listeners to embrace curiosity and engage with the world through the power of well-chosen questions. Episode Notes00:00 Welcome to Curated Questions00:48 Origin Story of Curated Questions01:42 Early Influences and Personal Growth02:26 Tim Ferris and the Power of Questions03:44 Inquiry of the Day Blog04:54 Year of Connection Project05:53 Podcast Launch and Challenges07:31 Impact of COVID-19 and Social Justice Walk08:26 Relaunching the Podcast09:52 Website Structure and Features10:58 Famous Questions and Quotes16:05 Interview and Reflection Questions21:56 The Power of Questions and Conclusion Resources MentionedAmwayTim FerrissSeth GodinIOTD365.com Ken's first blog#yearofconnectionPodcast FellowshipRob Lawless of Robs10kfriendsPat EnnisTeresa VargasWashington Post Article about walk through Washington D.C.Lynn Borton of Choose to Be CuriousFamous QuestionsMaya AngelouHarriet Beecher StoweAbraham LincolnQuotesClayton ChristensenAi WeiweiJohn O'DonohueSylvia PlathKrista TippettListsQuestions from Tribe of MentorsQuestions from Benjamin Franklin's JuntoKevin KellyQuestions from The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin KellyQuestions by Ryan HolidayPainted Porch BookstoreResourcesCurated QuestionsIntervieweeInterviewerGeneral Stanley McChrystalLeadershipEpictetusSocial JusticeIjeoma OluoPhilippa Pham HughesJoel FreemanMentoringJerry ColonnaPaul HarveyRainer Maria RilkeBeauty PillProducer Ben Ford Questions AskedWe have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? – Maya AngelouIs man ever a creature to be trusted with wholly irresponsible power? – Harriet Beecher StoweIf I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? – Abraham LincolnWhat do you want to accomplish with this hire that is different from the incumbent?How much freedom do I have to make this position my own? What is a recent example of how this freedom has been demonstrated in this department?What are the assumptions that have to prove true in order for me to be able to succeed in this assignment? – Clayton ChristensenWhat mentor recommendation have you adopted, and what have you rejected?What would someone who doesn't like you say about you? – General Stanley McChrystalWhy is the vision of the company important to you? – Brad JeffersonHow long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself? – EpictetusWhat tone does your presence establish in the organization, and how does it change while you’re away?What was the best mistake you’ve ever made, and how did it lead to something better? – Tim FerrissHow much more of your privilege do you want tied to the oppression of others before you decide to let it all go for all of our liberation? – Ijeoma OluoWhen did you learn the world is unjust/unfair? – Philippa HughesWhat was the moment you realized, because of your skin color, the rules are somehow different for you? – Joel FreemanHow have you been complicit in creating the conditions you say you don’t want? – Jerry Colonna