We treat "amateur" as an insult — someone not quite serious, not quite qualified. But the word comes from the Latin amator: lover. An amateur is someone who does a thing for love, not for a credential or a paycheck. In this episode, Annelise Riles explores how amateurs solve problems that stump the experts — and how borrowing an amateur's mindset can help even the pros think again.

Open-source investigator Natalia explains how amateur online detectives — "some guy named Bob in Florida" — crack cases that overwhelm even Interpol, from locating trafficked children to keeping people safe while dating. Consultant and philosopher Christian Madsbjerg describes the "amateur mindset" he uses to advise some of the world's largest companies: showing up knowing nothing, observing, and truly listening — what he calls epistemological humility, and the approach that helped move Ford toward electric vehicles. And Northwestern students share how an outsider's perspective creates room not just for innovation, but for kindness.

Guests

Christian Madsbjerg — author, consultant, and philosopher; founder of ReD Associates, which advises major global companies using the social sciences rather than standard management-consulting methods.

Natalia Antnova — open-source investigator, formerly with the collective Bellingcat; founder of the Safer Dating project.

"Your Turn" voices — Northwestern University students, gathered by on-campus producer Mia Perkins.

More from Annelise Riles at Everyday Ambassador: anneliseriles.substack.com

Chapters

(00:00) The amateur detectives who crack what the professionals can't

(03:44) This episode: the power of the amateur

(04:12) Christian Madsbjerg on the amateur mindset

(06:15) Why Ford studied people's relationship to nature instead of a spreadsheet

(11:02) What "amateur" really means: epistemological humility

(12:35) The costs — slow work, and not being taken seriously

(14:52) Why insight travels on its own, regardless of credentials

(15:47) Curiosity, joy, and the "juicy" question

(17:14) Your Turn: students on the outsider's perspective

(20:32) Closing reflection: the outsider as a source of kindness

Credits: This episode was produced by FP Studios with support from the Humboldt Foundation. Our on-campus producer was Mia Perkins.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anneliseriles.substack.com/subscribe