Journalist Warren Berger, who has written for publications such as the New York Times, Wired magazine, and Fast Company, has a question for you. In fact, he has a lot. He’s literally written the book on questions (three of them, to be exact), and recently updated his book, A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION, for its tenth anniversary. Warren joins me to talk about why questions are important—even more important than answers. We get into why kids stop asking questions, just what a “beautiful” question is, how Google and AI have changed the way we question, why questions are better than advice, and more. And Warren has some suggestions for those who want to start asking better questions, too.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:46 Writing: A childhood passion turned career path.

05:44 Practical, disciplined approach crucial for successful freelancing.

06:57 Deepening exploration of subjects beyond magazine articles.

13:05 Questioning basics often overlooked, yet fundamentally important.

15:53 Improving questioning skills can transform your life.

17:22 Asking questions builds rapport and connection.

21:02 Innovators' creativity driven by self-questioning and curiosity.

25:20 Kids fear peer pressure, appearing foolish, uncool.

29:58 Questions guide, empower and inspire personal insight.

34:00 Pandemic prompted questioning, AI raises similar queries.

35:48 Questioning is crucial in navigating AI and information overload.

39:09 Questioning and learning, information at our fingertips.

43:58 Beautiful questions have no definite answer; valuable.

45:31 Unanswered questions spark innovation and drive motivation.

51:29 Devaluing expertise and importance of questioning.

53:53 Importance of fairness in critical thinking process.

57:09 Explore and act on meaningful questions together.

58:58 Check out the book's fun website too.

Check out the full show notes (now including transcripts!!) at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

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Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in writing.