Curated Questions: Conversations Celebrating the Power of Questions!
Curated Questions is a podcast hosted by Ken Woodward that explores the art and science of asking profound questions. It features conversations with experts from various fields who discuss how inquiry has shaped their lives and careers. The show offers practical techniques for improving questioning skills in personal and professional settings. Listeners can expect discussions on leadership, personal transformation, and societal discourse, with an emphasis on critical thinking and better communication.
Episodes
Still Sharp: Lulu Miller on the Questions We Stop Asking | Lulu Miller #104
" Real curiosity, untethered, unsoftened, it's a pretty intense tool. And I think the kids haven't blunted the weapon by politeness or by fear of looking dumb or by the belief that there are certain things we should know. It's still sharp." - Lulu Miller
Lulu Miller first found the power of questions on a subway train, listening to an early Radiolab episode about fireflies that blink in unison.
The People Who Leave Get the Last Word: Revisiting a Question Ten Years Later | Ken Woodward #103
"What do former members say about the organization?" - Ken Woodward
Ten years ago today, I asked a question on my daily practice, IOTD365: what do former members say about an organization? I wrote it after my daughter gave up on an internship. One conversation in a hallway with a senior who'd done it was all it took.
In 2016 I read that question as an insider asking leaders to listen. Today
The Questions That Make You Nod: How Agreement Hides Assumptions | Ken Woodward #102
"Disagreement makes the map visible. Agreement lets it pass for the terrain." - Ken Woodward
"Thank you for your service" arrives with a script already written. A World War II veteran taught Ken Woodward a better reply: "You were worth it." That exchange opens a solo episode about the worlds hidden inside the questions we answer.
Ken starts with a single verb that put broken glass on a road
When Certainty Drifts | Ken Woodward #101
" I ate of that apple. It tasted like safety." - Ken Woodward
Once a submarine goes under, nobody aboard knows exactly where they are. The boat runs on an estimate that drifts, and being off course feels exactly like being on course. The only remedy is to come up and take a fix.
In this solo episode, Ken asks whether certainty is what keeps us safe, or whether safety comes from our ability to kee
Debbie Millman: Earning Trust & Storytelling Through Questions | Debbie Millman #100
"The biggest reason somebody will avoid answering a question is because they don't trust you with the answer." - Debbie Millman
Debbie Millman has spent 21 years asking questions on Design Matters, the show she started in 2005 before podcasting had rules. In episode 100 of Curated Questions, she takes the receiving chair.
Debbie traces her craft from a survey-style list she asked everyone, work sh
What Are They Really Asking? | Former Starbucks SVP Wanda J. Herndon on the Second Question #99
" I had to start trying to think beneath the questions: what are they really saying?" - Wanda Herndon
Wanda J. Herndon trained as a journalist, then spent forty years on the other side of the notebook. Dow. DuPont. Eleven years as Starbucks SVP of Global Communications while the company grew from 550 stores to more than 11,000.
Her curiosity starts with a middle child in Flint, Michigan, who wore
Paid To Say I Don't Know | Ken Woodward #98
" You do not knock on a door that's been painted over. One word scores the paint and reopens it." - Ken Woodward
Researchers paid people to admit when they didn't know something. Given access to AI advice, they almost never did.
The design made it startling. Participants could decline any question with no penalty. Guessing wrong cost them money. The AI advice they received was usually wrong.
The Last Time Was A Tuesday | Ken Woodward #97
"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 p
A Slightly Smaller Life | Ken Woodward #96
"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.
Even Socrates Didn't Ask: On the Hidden Power of Questions | Lani Watson #95
" 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 Qu
The Station Never Called: The Listener's Question | Ken Woodward #94
"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 i
Built to Reach, Not to Catch | Ken Woodward #93
"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.
Show What You Know By The Questions You Ask | Robert Doore #92
" 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
The Fear Is Far, The Hope Is Near: America At 250 | Ken Woodward #91
"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
Right Now Questions - Union Market, DC: When Now Becomes Next | Ken Woodward #90
"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 he
The Question We Wait to Be Asked | Ken Woodward #89
"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 woul
Learning to Be Asked | Ken Woodward #88
"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 a
The Anatomy of a Question | Ken Woodward #87
"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
The Smallest Act of Authorship | Ken Woodward #86
"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 contr
What Will You Soon Realize You Already Know? | Larry Robertson #85
" 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
The Long Tail: What Your Decisions Drag Behind Them | Ken Woodward #84
"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 Roa
What You Know Changes What You Can Ask | Ken Woodward #83
"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.
Who Told You That Was Good? | Ken Woodward #82
"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 Harri
What the Machine Can't Hold | Ken Woodward #81
"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 disti
Still Asking: Ten Lessons From A Decade With Questions | Ken Woodward #80
"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 blo
Who Benefits From Me Believing This? | Andrew Caulk #79
"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
The Question Asked in the Wrong Room | Ken Woodward #78
"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 b
The Questions We Didn't Ask Our Grandmothers | Jenny Chan #77
"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
The Questions You're Living Inside: How to Stop Answering Questions You Never Chose-Ken Woodward #76
"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 exp
It's Not The Answers — It's Having the Questions | Phil Liebman #75
"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 mo
How Questions Can Save A Fractured Democracy | Eila Park Robertson #74
"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 bu
Mortar & Pestle: The Fragrance Of An Intentional Life | Ken Woodward #73
"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 exper
The Alchemy of Questions: What Defended Answers Cost | Ken Woodward #72
"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 in
The Cost of Wonder | Ken Woodward #71
"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
Refined, Not Defined: Discipline of Relentless Resilience | Dr. John A. King #70
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 tra
Ask Three Questions — Then Go Play | Addy Graff #69
"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
Hope Is A Muscle | Ken Woodward #68
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 a
When Cognitive Dissonance Breaks Open | Matthew Pridgen #67
"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 his
What Happens When A Question Is Asked? | Ken Woodward #66
"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 brai
Everything Is Hard - Choose Your Hard | Mitchell Osmond #65
"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 d
What Questions Are You Carrying Forward? Reflections on 2025 | Ken Woodward #64
"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 cla
The Inquisitive Almanack: 2026 | Ken Woodward #63
"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 blend
Flashlights, Lanterns, and the Way We Listen! | Haru Yamada #62
"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, wh
The Art of Noticing: How Asking Better Questions Changes What We See! | Rob Walker #61
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 d
From Goals to Puzzles: How Questions Outperform OKRs in Real Teams! | Radhika Dutt #60
"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 au
The Insight Pause: When a Single Truth Rewrites Your Story! | Ken Woodward #59
"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
How Bridge-Building Questions Cross Divides! | Frank Sesno #58
"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
Building Enduring Trust Through the Questions We Ask! | Jaimie Reese #57
"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 th
Safety, Burnout, and the High-Achievement Mask! | Garrett Wood #56
"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
The Locked Door: How Avoided Questions Hold the Key to Transformation! | Ken Woodward #55
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 Finall
The Permission Paradox & Why Questions Matter More Than Approval! | Jill Reilly #54
"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
Impactful Questions: Am I My Brother's Keeper? Ken Woodward | Ken Woodward #53
"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 is
Why Asking the Right Questions Beats Having Quick Answers! | Amy Radin #52
"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 Of
Mental Models, Cognitive Frameworks, and the Questions That Disrupt Them! | Dave McGurk #51
"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 includ
Why "Who Do I Say I Am?" Changes Everything! | Mike Hilson #50
"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 neces
The Key to Helping Others Find Their Own Questions! | Naomi Campbell #49
"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, in
The Curated Questions Origin Story: When It All Began! | Ken Woodward #48
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 purpo
How Questions Create Instant Trust in Any Conversation! | Maury Rogow #47
"You were the most interested person in the room, and you're gonna get love." - Maury Rogow Maury Rogow is all about storytelling. He is the CEO of the Rip Media Group and creator of the Story2Sales methodology that's generated over $150 million in trackable revenue for clients. I appreciate the tag line, "Your brand will thrive or die, based on the story you tell." Maury's unique journey spans hi
Why the Right Question Feels Like an Invitation | Dr. Matt Lampe #46
"The meaning of your communication is the result you are getting." - Dr. Matt Lampe With a Doctorate from Alliant International University's California School of Professional Psychology, Matt has dedicated his career to transforming how organizations approach change, leadership development, and workplace agility. He is currently leading enterprise-wide organizational change efforts as part of Busi
The Power of Asking "What Do I Do Now?" Instead of "Why Me?" | Dr. Latorial Faison #45
"When I even think that I wanna give up, I can't because people like this put their life on the line so that I could have better opportunities." - Dr. Latorial Faison Dr. Latorial Faison is an HBCU and Virginia State University Professor, Poet, Author, Independent Scholar & Senior Military Spouse. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University. She holds und
What Machines Can’t Imitate - On Questions, Doubt, and the Discipline of Curiosity | AI Alan Turing #44
"I suspect beauty comes when a question both sharpens and enlarges your vision." - AI Alan TuringIn this special episode, we step back to a cold December night in 1951 and into the warm, wood-paneled room of The Britons Protection, a historic Manchester pub. Across the table sits Alan Turing, the mathematician, wartime codebreaker, and one of the founding figures of computer science, who is brough
The Scholar Who Sees Literature in Sneakers, Hip-Hop, and Gaming | Dr. Jemayne King #43
"Sneaker culture literature is no different than any other form of literature." - Dr. Jemayne King Jemayne, is creative, insightful, and VERY intentional. He is the founder of Sole Food Brand LLC, sole is spelled S.O.L.E which you will come to appreciate, and among many things, his company celebrates HBCUs (or Historically Black Colleges and Universities). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English/Ne
Want Connection? Skip The Small Talk | Ashley Kirsner #42
"It is much safer to be vulnerable than you might think." - Ashley Kirsner Ashley is the founder and director of Skip the Small Talk, and believes in the efficacy of high-quality person-to-person interaction for improving psychological health. She has conducted research with professors at prestigious organizations such as Cornell University, the Harvard Decision Science Lab, and the Harvard Busine
The Question of Beauty: A Photographer's Pursuit | Robert Sturman #41
"I realized that paying attention is a form of a question." - Robert Sturman Robert Sturman is a seeker and visual storyteller. Driven by an unshakeable belief that beauty exists everywhere. He has pursued this vision as an Official Artist of the Grammy Awards and the FIFA World Cup, and as a globally recognized photographer who captures the healing power of humanity through yoga. After studying a
Reviving Benjamin Franklin's Junto: How Questions Built America | Ken Woodward #40
"They were the leather apron crowd, average guys intent on having extraordinary conversations." - Ken Woodward In this episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward uncovers a forgotten antidote to our fractured discourse: Benjamin Franklin's Junto. In 1727 Philadelphia, a 21-year-old printer gathered tradesmen—the 'leather apron crowd'—for Friday night discussions that would revolutionize Ameri
How Asking 'What Was That Like' Creates Extraordinary Connection | Scott Johnson #39
"I brought these people together and now they're engaging with each other and enriching each other's lives." - Scott Johnson Scott is a curious listener and natural connector. He started The Computer Tutor in 1999 and then expanded to include a compendium podcast, which he hosted for several hundred episodes. Driven by an insatiable desire to understand what extraordinary experiences feel like, he
How Do You Build a Life That Honors All Your Talents? | Ernest Ponraj #38
"That's where things started with my idea and vision for this space." - Ernest Ponraj Dr. Ernest Ponraj, a native of Montgomery County, Maryland, pursued his undergraduate studies at Pacific Union College in California before earning his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Loma Linda University in 2008. After obtaining his DDS license, he returned to Maryland and has since been a practicing dentist,
Walking 2,085 Miles Through America's Hard History | Ken Woodward #37
"Albeit on wobbly legs, I chose courage." - Ken Woodward Curated Questions host, Ken Woodward recounts his transformative journey of questioning deeply held beliefs about patriotism and social justice, influenced by significant moments, readings, and personal encounters. This introspective episode delves into his midlife reevaluation of American history, racism, and the resilience required to ch
When Every Conversation Holds Possibility | Jeff Wetzler #36
"That is the question. What can I learn from this person?" - Jeff Wetzler Jeff is a learner and teacher. Blending a unique set of leadership experiences in business and education, he has pursued this quest as a management consultant to the world’s top corporations, as a learning facilitator for leaders around the world, as Chief Learning Officer at Teach For America, and most recently, as co-CEO o
When You Show Up for Yourself, Your World Changes | Shelbie Morgan #35
"I had a lot of small victories, but it wasn't until I showed up as me completely that my world began to change." - Shelbie Morgan Shelbie Morgan is a force for good. Good purpose, good energy, good vibes, and good financial literacy. For several years, Shelbie worked in corporate marketing and social media, with her last corporate role in human resources at TikTok. In late 2024, Shelbie bet on he
From FBI Interrogations to Corporate Conversations | MK Palmore #34
"The secret to interviewing is knowing when to shut up and listen." - MK Palmore M.K. Palmore's story begins where many transformational leaders find their compass—in service to something greater than themselves. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., during a time when the city carried the sobering title of "murder capital" of the United States, the odds were stacked against his very survival, let
From Cowboy Dreams to Coaching Life Transitions | Tony Kennedy #33
"What are we going to do afterwards?" - Tony Kennedy Tony Kennedy began his collegiate football career by earning a Division I scholarship at Virginia Tech (1988-1992). In 1993, Tony signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, fulfilling a childhood dream. Although he finished his professional career in 1994, he has remained active in the collegiate football community by directing and organizi
Why Curiosity Converts Better Than Commission | Patrick Dubois #32
"We want to learn from our mistakes. And remember, it's a miss-take, so we can do it again." - Patrick Dubois Patrick Dubois has over 30 years of experience in corporate sales and leadership for the veterinary and pet spaces. In 2024, he launched his own consultancy, Sales Growth Today, as a conduit to share his expertise through coaching, seminars, workshops, and strength assessments. He special
Kevin Kelly: The Future Belongs to the Question-Makers | Kevin Kelly #31
"In any vibrant, ongoing discipline, questioning has to be at the heart of it, or there's no growth." - Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly is one of the most original voices in technology and culture. Kevin's career is a journey through the heart of innovation. He helped launch Wired magazine, shaping our understanding of the digital revolution. Before that, he edited the Whole Earth Review, spotlighting
Intentionally Cracking Love's Enigma Through Analytics | Tim Molnar #30
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