The Current Susan Orlean: Why being curious gives you a richer life
Dec 22, 2025
Susan Orlean, a staff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author, shares her journey of curiosity and storytelling. She discusses her transition from profiling others to exploring her own life in her memoir, Joyride. Orlean reveals the Senegalese metaphor that sees people as 'libraries' and describes her process of finding story ideas everywhere. She also reflects on her transformative piece about grocery stores and the emotional complexities behind public success and personal turmoil, encouraging listeners to embrace curiosity for a richer life.
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People Contain Whole Worlds
- Each person is like a library containing volumes of memories, thoughts, and knowledge that form a whole universe.
- Susan Orlean says recognizing that complexity helps writers reveal hidden richness in ordinary lives.
Keep Your Curiosity Radar On
- Keep your curiosity radar on: notice radio, community boards, conversations and unfamiliar neighborhoods for story ideas.
- Susan Orlean practices constant noticing and collects small observations into future reporting opportunities.
Rethink The Familiar
- Rethinking what you think you know can open surprising stories in plain sight.
- Susan Orlean turned a grocery-store curiosity into a deep, unexpected feature by questioning everyday assumptions.