Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

By Sony Music Entertainment / Jonathan Van Ness

Society & Culture Education

What's Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness about?

Join Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye) each week as they explore everything under (and sometimes beyond!) the sun with scientists, historians, activists, entertainers, and other brilliant guest experts.

New episodes of Getting Curious drop on Wednesdays. On Mondays, join us for Curious Now and Pretty Curious. Curious Now is where we're keeping up with elections, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, and other news stories we're following. Pretty Curious is where we're talking all things beauty!

Subscribe to Extra Curious for exclusive episodes of Ask JVN, where Jonathan's answering your questions about sex, dating, and more.

You can follow Getting Curious on Instagram and Twitter @curiouswithjvn. Transcripts for all episodes are available at jonathanvanness.com/podcasts.

Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email [email protected].

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How Has TikTok Changed Elec...

09.25.2023

If you haven’t seen this week’s Curious Now guest on your TikTok feed, you’ve definitely seen her work. Annie Wu Henry was a breakout star of John Fetterman’s winning Senate campaign, where she crafted iconic, witty, incisive videos for Fetterman’s ...

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness episodes:

09.25.2023 How Has TikTok Changed Elections? with Annie Wu Henry \| Curious Now If you haven’t seen this week’s Curious Now guest on your TikTok feed, you’ve definitely seen her work. Annie Wu Henry was a breakout star of John Fetterman’s winning Senate campaign, where she crafted iconic, witty, incisive videos for Fetterman’s ...
09.20.2023 Who Are The Women Of The Far Right? with Dr. Eviane Leidig There’s a group of far right influencers lurking on your social media feeds. They post organic recipes, millennial mom advice, and #glowups. And they’re using this content to promote white supremacist ideas. This week, Dr. Eviane Leidig joins us to ...
09.18.2023 What Is Beauty Beyond The Binary? with David Yi \| Pretty Curious Welcome to Pretty Curious, a new series where every other Monday, we’ll be talking all things beauty—skincare, haircare, self-care, and beyond. For our premiere episode, we’ve invited back Getting Curious guest David Yi to discuss their GRWM routine, their K-Beauty ...
09.13.2023 How Can I Be A Good Plant Parent? with Christopher Griffin aka Plant Kween Gather your plant fam and tell all the green gurls—there’s royalty on the podcast this week! Christopher Griffin aka THE Plant Kween joins Jonathan to discuss the joys of indoor gardening, from finding a plant that fits your lifestyle to ...
09.11.2023 How Can We Support Intersex Rights? with Alicia Roth Weigel \| Curious Now It’s a new week—and we’re debuting a new series! Welcome to Curious Now, where every other Monday, we’ll be covering topical issues like elections, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, and beyond. For our premiere episode, we’re honored to be back in ...
09.06.2023 What’s The History Of Pockets? with Dr. Hannah Carlson You know the feeling when you try on a dress and realize—it has pockets? Those pockets were more than 500 years in the making! Dr. Hannah Carlson joins us this week to discuss why pockets are still not a staple ...
08.30.2023 What’s Happening With The Supreme Court? with Strict Scrutiny What’s better than one constitutional law expert? THREE! This spring we had the honor of speaking with Professor Melissa Murray about the Supreme Court's recent term. Now she’s back, with her brilliant Strict Scrutiny co-hosts, Professors Leah Litman and Kate ...
08.23.2023 Are Killer Whales Misunderstood? with Dr. Deborah Giles Southern Resident killer whales are a lot like us. They have family meals, chat in different dialects, and sleep side by side. They even engage in an activity called sword fighting—which is exactly what it sounds like. One major difference? ...
08.16.2023 How Cool Are Caves? with Professor Kathleen R. Johnson Getting Curious is going spelunking! Caves are full of evidence about our Earth’s past: they can tell us about monsoons in Laos and sea surface temperatures in Mexico over tens of thousands of years ago. They can also help predict ...
08.09.2023 What’s The Science Of Sleep? with Dr. Gina Poe We spend one third of our lives sleeping. But WTF is going on during those hours?! This week, Dr. Gina Poe gives us an A to Zzzz crash course in all things sleep. Dreams, memory, narcolepsy, naps, sleep demons, traveling ...
08.02.2023 Who Were History’s Queer Seamen? with Dr. Seth LeJacq Sea daddies! Sea queens! Land hoes! This week, we’re getting wet and wild with Dr. Seth LeJacq to learn what life was like for queer sailors in the British navy from the 15th century to the 19th century. How did ...
07.26.2023 Who Are Hollywood’s Paparazzi? with Dr. Vanessa Díaz Paris. Lindsay. Kim. We know the celebs in paparazzi photos, but what about the people behind the cameras? This week, Professor Vanessa Díaz takes us inside the world of Hollywood's paparazzi—who are predominantly Latine men, many undocumented—and shares what this ...
07.19.2023 Are Parasites Out To Get Us? with Dr. Sebastian Lourido Parasites are everywhere: in our bodies, in our water, even in our cats’ litter boxes. Are they agents of chaos—or just misunderstood? This week, Dr. Sebastian Lourido joins Jonathan to discuss the epic world of parasites, from pinworms to toxoplasma ...
07.12.2023 How Can We Ease Eco-Anxiety? (ICYMI) with Dekila Chungyalpa Last week, Earth hit record-high temperatures—three times. We’re feeling the heat of climate change, literally, and it’s f*cking scary. To help us handle this moment, we’re re-releasing an episode from our archives, with Dekila Chungyalpa. She joins Jonathan to discuss ...
07.05.2023 How Do Cops Get Away With Robbery? (ICYMI) with Professor Saleema Snow Imagine a situation where the cops can take your car, your house, and your cash. You could be waiting years to get your possessions back, without an attorney to help you. And the police can ultimately keep or sell your ...
06.28.2023 How Does The Universe Get It On? with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Is life one big cosmic orgy? To wrap up our Pride Beyond Borders series, we’re going big… with an episode all about our universe! Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joins Jonathan to discuss why spacetime isn’t straight, what quantum spin can teach ...
06.21.2023 What’s It Like To Be Gay In China? with Dr. Travis S. K. Kong What do 90 young, gay men in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have in common? They’ve all spent years sharing their stories with this week’s guest: Dr. Travis S. K. Kong. He joins Jonathan as part of our Pride ...
06.15.2023 What's Haitian Vodou? (Part Two) with Professor Eziaku Nwokocha What’s it like to enter a religious or spiritual space as a queer person? In Haitian Vodou, the divinities are ready to accept LGBTQIA+ practitioners—and are arguably queer themselves. In part two of our Pride Beyond Borders episode about this ...
06.14.2023 What's Haitian Vodou? (Part One) with Professor Eziaku Nwokocha A spiritual practice that has a divinity dedicated to the protection of lesbians?! Tell us more! This week, for our Pride Beyond Borders series, we’re exploring the world of Haitian Vodou in a special two-part episode. In this first half, ...
06.07.2023 What Are The Global Politics Of Drag? with Professor Kareem Khubchandani This June, we’re celebrating Pride Beyond Borders! And to kick off our series, we’re exploring global drag culture with Professor Kareem Khubchandani aka Dr. LaWhore Vagistan. We’re learning how drag artists around the world stage political dialogues with their audiences, ...
05.31.2023 How Many Hard Rights Can One Supreme Court Take? with Professor Melissa Murray In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court of the United States will hand down decisions that could have major implications for LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, tribal sovereignty, and beyond. Melissa Murray and Jonathan discuss what’s on the docket, why the ...
05.24.2023 What Makes Gems So Precious? with Dr. Gabriela Farfan We’re dripping in jewels this week on Getting Curious! What does it mean for a diamond to be “hard”? Are lab-grown gems made to perfection? What’s the difference between rubies and pink sapphires? Dr. Gabriela Farfan joins Jonathan to discuss ...
05.18.2023 How Did New Orleans Become New Orleans? (Part Two) with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius New Orleans was one of America’s most important cities in the early 1800s. It was also one of the most deadly. This week, to mark the new season of Queer Eye, we’re exploring New Orleans history with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius ...
05.17.2023 How Did New Orleans Become New Orleans? (Part One) with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius New Orleans is a city in a swamp—a city, some argue, that should have never been built. So how did it become one of America’s most important sites in the 1800s, and a critical battleground in the American Civil War? ...
05.10.2023 Why Do We Gossip? with Dr. Meltem Yucel You didn’t hear it from us, but this week’s episode is so juicy that you’ll want to tell everyone about it. Dr. Meltem Yucel joins Jonathan to dish on gossip: why it’s irresistible, what it reveals about our moral and ...
05.03.2023 How Do Great Apes Go Wild? with Dr. Laura Simone Lewis Chimpanzees and bonobos know how to live it up. They hang out with their friends, they take self-care breaks, they eat fresh fruit, and when it’s raining they fashion umbrellas out of leaves. Dr. Laura Simone Lewis is back on ...
04.26.2023 How F$^*#d Up Is Fatphobia? (ICYMI) with Dr. Sabrina Strings What do Enlightenment-era paintings, 19th-century American fashion magazines, and Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” have in common? They’re all examples of what fatphobia has to do with race, class, and gender discrimination. This week, we’re re-releasing one of our favorite ...
04.19.2023 Why Is The Titanic So Iconic? with Dr. Meaghan Walker The RMS Titanic sank 111 years ago this week. It may have been on its maiden voyage, but this trip was the culmination of more than 200 years of maritime travel and innovation. This week, Dr. Meaghan Walker joins us ...
04.12.2023 Where Did All The Malls Go? with Alexandra Lange In the late 1990s, American malls were the place to be. Families from around the world vacationed at the Mall of America. Teens flocked to Britney Spears’ Hair Zone Mall Tour. A nine-year-old Jonathan basked in the fine fragrance mists ...
04.06.2023 How Are Iranians Making History? (Part Two) with The Iranian Diaspora Collective A note from team Getting Curious: This episode contains descriptions of violence that are at times graphic. Women in Iran aren’t allowed to dance, sing, or show their hair in public. But it wasn’t always this way in the country. ...
04.05.2023 How Are Iranians Making History? (Part One) with The Iranian Diaspora Collective A note from team Getting Curious: This episode contains descriptions of violence that are at times graphic. If you haven’t heard about the women-led revolution happening in Iran, or you thought things had quieted down, that’s by design. The Islamic ...
03.31.2023 What’s It Like To Be Young And Queer In America? with Queer Youth Assemble Today is March 31, 2023. It’s International Transgender Day of Visibility. And Queer Youth Assemble has organized the March For Queer & Trans Youth Autonomy. It’s set to be one of the largest queer and trans youth marches in history, ...
03.29.2023 Whose Land Is This Land? with Dr. Elizabeth Rule This week, we’re touring Washington, DC, to learn how the nation’s capital is a Native capital—with returning guest Dr. Elizabeth Rule! She and Jonathan explore the city’s significance for the 574 tribal nations in the US today and spotlight Indigenous ...
03.22.2023 How Have You Changed Reality TV As We Know It? with Fenton Bailey This week, we’re celebrating the small screen with a TV legend: World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey! Fenton is one of the creative forces behind RuPaul’s Drag Race and other groundbreaking TV shows and films. Fenton and Jonathan discuss how infomercials, ...
03.16.2023 How Smart Is AI? (Part Two) with Meredith Broussard We’re back with the second half of our special two-part episode about algorithms and artificial intelligence, featuring returning guest Meredith Broussard. Yesterday, we got the T on ChatGPT, and learned why we can’t trust algorithms to be fair or objective. ...
03.15.2023 How Smart Is AI? (Part One) with Meredith Broussard Every time you interact with a targeted advertisement, use a drop-down menu, or scroll through TikTok, you’re engaging with an algorithm. And these algorithms are anything but objective. This week, Meredith Broussard returns to the show for a special two-part ...
03.10.2023 What’s Happening In East Palestine? with River Valley Organizing When a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, just over a month ago, the team at River Valley Organizing sprang into action. River Valley Organizing is a multi-racial, multicultural working class organization that radically builds community throughout ...
03.08.2023 What Happened To Separation Of Church And State? with Dr. Lauren Turek A pastor, a president, and a foreign political leader step into a National Prayer Breakfast. What happens next? A whole lot of mingling between church and state. This week, Dr. Lauren Turek joins Jonathan to explore how evangelicals have influenced ...
03.01.2023 Who Wins When Everyone Plays? with Verity Smith Sports are about so much more than competition. Through athletics we learn life skills, we move authentically, and we find community. This week, Verity Smith joins Jonathan to discuss the importance of trans inclusion in sports, his personal experiences on ...
02.22.2023 Who Are The Fab Five Of The Great Ape Family? with Dr. Laura Simone Lewis Gorillas. Orangutans. Bonobos. Chimpanzees. Humans. Can you name a more iconic Fab Five? This week, Dr. Laura Simone Lewis joins Jonathan for an episode all about our beautiful primate family tree! Listen in to learn how we’re related, what makes ...
02.15.2023 How Does Dust Impact Earth’s Climate? with Dr. Sarah Aarons Dust isn’t just something that accumulates between our couch cushions. Dust is ALL OVER Earth—there are 20 trillion grams of it!—and it plays a critical role in weather events, climate change, and how we understand Earth. This week, Dr. Sarah ...
02.08.2023 What’s The Steamy History Of Valentine’s Day? with Dr. Sally Holloway Roses are red, violets are blue, we have a Valentine’s Day episode for you! This week on Getting Curious, we’re learning all about the history of Valentine’s Day, with returning guest Dr. Sally Holloway. Was the holiday always about love ...
02.01.2023 Why Are We So Obsessed With Dogs? with Dr. maythe han Dogs. We snuggle up with them on the couch. We pamper them with treats and toys and songs. We even give them prime placement on our dating profiles! But how—and why—did we become BFFs with canines? And what does our ...
01.25.2023 What Can Queer Arab American History Teach Us? with Dr. Charlotte Karem Albrecht Starting in the late 1800s, a group of Syrian immigrants settled in America. Many of them took up peddling as a career. When American newspapers described these peddlers, it was often in derogatory ways—and through terms of queerness. This week, ...
01.18.2023 Can You Even Believe It’s Our 300th Episode? with Jonathan Van Ness If you’d told Jonathan seven years ago that they’d be celebrating 300 episodes of Getting Curious this week, they would have passed out on the salon floor. You’d be visiting from the future, after all! We couldn’t have made it ...
01.11.2023 Are Plant-Based Diets For Everyone? with Dr. Aviaja Lyberth Hauptmann We all need to eat. And we know that the choices we make with food are at once deeply personal and informed by systemic factors. As part of our ongoing exploration into global foodways, Dr. Aviaja Lyberth Hauptmann joins Jonathan ...
01.04.2023 What’s The Sordid History Of U.S. Trash Collection? with Professors Patricia Strach and Kathleen S. Sullivan New year, Gilded Age drama! Today we might think of municipal trash collection as a mundane activity. But in the late 1800s, trash collection in the United States was the site of dirty politics, public health debates, and a whole ...
12.28.2022 Do Beauty Standards Need A Glow Up? (ICYMI) with David Yi As we wind down for the year, we’re re-releasing one more essential beauty episode from the Getting Curious archives! Jonathan and David Yi celebrate the history of gender-inclusive beauty, and spotlight beauty influencers across millennia—like Neanderthals who used highlighters, Korean ...
12.21.2022 Hair Variation, What’s Her Story? (ICYMI) with Dr. Tina Lasisi This holiday break, we’re re-releasing two gorgeous beauty episodes from the Getting Curious archives! First up, join Dr. Tina Lasisi—a biological anthropologist studying human hair—and Jonathan as they explore the evolutionary history of hair, measuring hair variation, and the twists ...
12.14.2022 How Stunning Are Our Listeners? with Jonathan Van Ness For our last new episode of the year, we’re turning the mic on the Getting Curious community. Jonathan is answering your questions about all things hair—including dry shampoo, hair loss, highlights, and staying sleek while getting sweaty. And one thing ...

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