I’m taking a little break in December. Call it some curiosity R&R — curiosity respite & re-airs. I’ll get a production break, and my radio audiences will continue to enjoy uninterrupted listening, thanks to Pacifica Radio Network, with four great C2BC Classic re-airs. We'll be back with a great lineup starting January 1st.

Of course, I don’t want you to miss out, so here’s a peek at what my radio audiences will be getting in case you'd like to listen along. Maybe you’ve heard these episodes before, maybe not. They're a wonderful sample of curiosity in action. I hope you enjoy them.

And for those of you nice enough to subscribe and actually read this post, some vaguely-related pictures to repay your loyalty. :)

Thanks, as always to Sean Balick for our theme music. "The Little Powder" and "Night Light" by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I couldn't fit everything in this week, so here is what Jack Laws and I drew from the Big Jar of Wannabe Analogies. #analogy

Episode webpage: https://lynnborton.com/2025/11/27/curiosity-nature-journaling-with-john-muir-laws/

"Slow down to the speed of wonder." ~ John Muir Laws

This is an episode about nature journaling, but Jack would be the first to say: it isn't about the journal, it's about the journey.

He's developed interdisciplinary programs that combine art with science and train us to observe the world with rigor and joy -- strengthening our capacity to be intentionally curious.

John Muir Laws: https://johnmuirlaws.com

Theme music by Sean Balick; other music by Sketchbook, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Visit the episode webpage here: https://lynnborton.com/2025/11/27/curiosity-nature-journaling-with-john-muir-laws/

Enough with the polite, front parlor pablum of the past -- and onward toward rich discussion, mindful discourse, self-disclosure, and – dare I say it? – curiosity!

Wanting to do something about the epidemic of loneliness among her peers, Ashley Kirsner set out to find a way to help people build their conversational and self-revelatory muscles.

Enter Skip the Small Talk.

Skip the Small Talk: https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Are We Loose Yet” by Bodytonic, via Blue Dot Sessions.

“Creativitry," writes legendary playwright Stan Lai in the preface to his new book of that name, "Doesn’t exist as a word. Just as all creative things do not exist -- until they do.

"Rhymes with Artistry, and Chemistry, and Sorcery.

"The know-how, practice and mastery of creativity."

The overlap, undercurrents and  interplay of creativity and curiosity come up a lot here, which only heightened my delight at being joined by creativity master Stan Lai, known as “the major contemporary Asian playwright of his time...perhaps of all time."

More about Stan Lai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lai

Theme music by Sean Balick; “A Certain Lightness” by Migration, via Blue Dot Sessions.

How might understanding the experiences of disability help us be more curious about our own and others' minds and bodies?

And, most importantly, how might any of that help us be kinder and more patient with ourselves and each other?

I’m profoundly grateful to legal scholar and disability media-maker Qudsiya Naqui for proposing today’s topic.

Qudsiya Naqui: https://law.udc.edu/qudsiya-naqui/

Theme music by Sean Balick. ”Mind Body Mind" by BodyTonic, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Brian Fretwell's work grows out of a rich mix of neuroscience, anthropology, leadership and what you might call self-interested curiosity. Rather than obsessing about where we fell short and consoling ourselves we will learn from our mistakes, he encourages us to learn from our successes instead. The secret, he says, is connection.

Brian Fretwell & Finding Good: https://www.findinggood.com

Theme music by Sean Balick. ”Sunday Lights" by Onesuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

What if there were a mechanism – a format – that kept novelty high, provided some assurance that the information being imparted was important (at least to someone), and that might tap into things we know perhaps a bit about? 

Wouldn’t that seem like a pretty great curiosity vehicle?

I give you PechaKucha!

PechaKucha Night Knoxville: https://www.pechakucha.com/communities/knoxville

Theme music by Sean Balick. “Turning on the Lights” by Speakeasy, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I've been thinking about being more curious about what accessibility around curiosity really means and entails. I was delighted to sit down with accessibility advocate and Birdablity executive director, Cat Fribley to explore the curiosity lessons to be learned from the organization -- and from Birdability Week, a week full of events dedicated to making birding accessible and inclusive for everyone --- especially those with disabilities and other health concerns. 

Birdability: https://www.birdability.org

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Wingspan” by Bayou Birds, via Blue Dot Sessions.

“Kiku” is a Japanese word for listen. It is comprised of smaller characters that together, as my guest Haru Yamada puts it, “generate the secret alchemy of listening: an ear 耳 on the left and fourteen 十四 hearts 心 on the right …conjuring a person listening with the energy of fourteen hearts.”

Think for a moment what it means to listen with the energy of fourteen hearts…

Haru Yamada is a self-described global nomad and sociolinguist who loves thinking and writing about how people talk and listen across cultures. Her book, 聴くKIKU The Japanese Art of Good Listening was released in the UK in March 2025, and in the US in October 2025. You can find her Sounds Good writing on Substack at @haruyamada.

Theme music by Sean Balick. ”Wahre” by Cloud Harbor via Blue Dot Sessions.