The Current Susan Orlean: Why being curious gives you a richer life
Nov 10, 2025
Join Susan Orlean, a bestselling author and long-time New Yorker staff writer, as she explores the art of curiosity and storytelling. She shares how her father's inquisitive nature influenced her life and reflects on the joy of finding extraordinary stories hidden in everyday moments. Susan discusses the challenges of writing about personal experiences, including her marital breakdown, and the surprise of seeing Meryl Streep portray her. Plus, hear how her candid tweets during the pandemic made her an accidental icon of 'pandemic drinking'.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Curiosity As A Life Guiding Principle
- Susan Orlean views curiosity as a guiding life principle that leads to unexpected stories and adventures.
- She believes mapping her life shows others how to adopt openness and curiosity for a richer life.
Father Took Them Into The World
- Susan Orlean describes her father driving the family downtown during civil unrest to learn what happened.
- That childhood experience taught her to embrace openness and learn from unfamiliar situations.
Each Person Is A Library
- Orlean uses the metaphor that each person is a library filled with memories, knowledge, and complexity.
- She argues writers must reveal both ordinary surface and the extraordinary depth of people's lives.
