Moving Towards Better

Moving Towards Better

By Chris Minnick and Chris PenickBusinessScienceTechnologyEducationArts
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Moving Towards Better episodes

  • Productive Struggle: Why Real Learning Still Takes Effort in the Age of AI

    In this episode of Moving Towards Better, Chris Penick and Chris Minnick dig into one of the hardest parts of learning as an adult: balancing curiosity, effort, and limited time. They explore where AI tools can genuinely help, where they can short-circuit productive struggle, and why learner responsibility still matters more than any app or assistant.

    Along the way, they talk about prerequisites, bootcamps, Duolingo-style gamification, and how to keep yourself curious even without AI doing the heavy lifting. The conversation keeps circling back to a practical question every busy learner faces: if learning takes real effort, how do you make space for it in everyday life?

    A thoughtful episode about practice, discipline, and using AI without letting it do your learning for you.

    39 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 10 - Should Learners Use AI Tutors Every Day?
    We kick off a new AI debate series by tackling a question every modern learner is wrestling with: should AI tutors be part of your daily practice? Our debaters make the case for AI as a structured-practice and interview-prep powerhouse, and the case against it as a replacement for human guidance. Along the way we stress-test edge cases — flashcards, cheating, and what AI uniquely adds — before landing on a middle ground: narrow AI support with human oversight. Plus skill-learning updates, a Morse code listener challenge, and a peek at upcoming debates.
    37 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 9 - Jill McVarish and Samantha Penick
    In this episode, we interview a professional fine artist, Jill McVarish, and a student just getting started out in the art world, Samantha Penick. We talk about what it takes to be a professional artist, how early Jill and Samantha knew that they wanted to pursue a career in art, how to find inspiration, and the meaning of success and failure as a working artist.
    Thank you to Jill McVarish (www.jillmcvarish.com) and to Samantha for appearing on this episode.
    53 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 1 - Introductions
    Welcome to Moving Towards Better — a show about learning, curiosity, and becoming a more interesting, more capable version of yourself. In this introductory episode, co-hosts Chris Penick and Chris Minnick set the tone for the podcast, share how they got here, and talk about why learning is the throughline for a happier, more engaged life.
    Chris Penick walks through his path from security and government work into teaching, while Chris Minnick traces his own from music and early hacking into a lifelong habit of curiosity. Together they lay out the podcast's mission: becoming interesting by doing interesting things — and bringing listeners along for the ride.
    Along the way they dig into what actually works when it comes to learning: myth-busting the popular "learning styles" idea (and the limits of frameworks like VARK), talking about what the research actually supports, and pointing to resources like *Learning How to Learn*. They also float ideas for recurring challenges, audience engagement, and where the show is headed.
    Chapters:
    - (00:11) Cold open and episode setup: a show about learning and better living
    - (01:01) Why learning matters: growth, choice, and becoming more capable
    - (02:08) Meet the hosts: Chris Penick and Chris Minnick
    - (02:39) Penick's background in security, government work, and teaching
    - (07:51) Minnick's path from music and hacking to lifelong curiosity
    - (12:37) The podcast's mission: becoming interesting by doing interesting things
    - (15:14) Mythbusting learning styles and the limits of VARK
    - (19:37) Recurring challenge ideas, audience engagement, and show format
    - (22:44) So what does work? Learning how to learn
    - (25:50) Listener call-to-action, sleep-learning tangent, and sign-off
    32 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 2 - The MTB Challenge
    We're kicking off a month-long learning challenge series — one assignment at a time, no excuses. In this opener, we lay out the format and ground rules, walk through the challenge-selection process (including one rejected first pick that sends us in a more creative direction), and riff on how each assignment should actually be tackled. By the end, we recap the final lineup and invite you to take on the challenges alongside us. Hit play, then pick a challenge and join in.
    16 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 3 - How to Actually Learn: Myths, Productive Struggle, and a Framework That Works

    In this episode we dig into what learning really looks like — starting with why wanting to learn matters more than any technique. We bust five common myths about struggle and talent, unpack why recognition isn't the same as recall (and why passive tutorials fall short), and make the case for making, testing, and being wrong as core to the process. From there we get practical: how to use productive struggle, when to ask for help, learning through projects, and why the only fair comparison is against your past self. We wrap with a simple learning framework, a few book recommendations, and an update on the first week of the first Moving Towards Better Learning Challenge.

    41 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 8 - MTB Challenge Round Two
    We're back with a follow-up to our first Moving Towards Better skill challenges. It turns out most of round one didn't go to plan. We recap what happened, reveal the basketball spin attempt and anime drawings attempts, and dig into why habits, systems, and support might matter more than raw talent when it comes to getting good at anything. Along the way we get into the limits of productivity advice, the case for progress over perfection, and what actually counts as a win. Then we kick off round two with new challenges!
    36 min
  • Moving Towards Better - Episode 7 - Do You Only Learn When You Have To, and The Artist's Path
    A conversation about how we actually learn — and whether real skill is forged under pressure or drawn out by curiosity. We start with a simple question about how you'd learn painting if you were doing it over, then follow the thread into survival, the pull between artistic calling and practical life, and the old debate about whether artists have to suffer for their work. Along the way: obsession, the inner pull to create, and what actually makes someone a real artist.
    30 min

About Moving Towards Better

From the publisher's feed

Moving Towards Better is a podcast about the practice of getting better at anything — learning, growth, and the messy middle in between. Each episode digs into the ideas, frameworks, and habits that help us actually improve: productive struggle, learning by doing, comparing yourself to your past self, and busting the myths that hold us back.