Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

Dr. Alan Stern is an aerospace executive and planetary scientist with experience on 29 space mission teams, 14 of which he played a principal investigator role. Among those, he is the leader of NASA's New Horizons, the first mission to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt—making the farthest exploration of worlds in history. Summary Our conversation explored a number of questions: Why was the exploration of Pluto important? How does it remain so? What are the leadership lessons associated with the program? How can leaders encourage the identification of problems that could compromise the mission? Why is it essential to have a precise mission goal and sub-objectives? What qualities should leaders look for when hiring people? How can educators use space exploration to inspire students toward science and engineering careers? Why is the continued exploration of space critical? References/Links Instagram - chasingnewhorizons2018 Twitter - @AlanStern https://www.vox.com/2015/7/16/8980397/pluto-mission-cost

Guest Valerie Gordon is a 10-time Emmy-winning television producer with over 20 years of producing and overseeing award-winning content for HBO, ESPN, CBS, and the Olympic Games. She knows what makes a story meaningful and memorable and the incredible power of stories to engage, educate and entertain. An engaging speaker with innovative programming, Valerie offers audiences and individuals the storytelling strategies to stand out, whether they want to land a job, secure a promotion, nail the presentation, close the sale, or plan their next chapter. Summary Valerie and I discuss the importance of storytelling in leadership and how to improve storytelling skills. We dive into her highly readable book FIRE YOUR NARRATOR: A Storyteller's Guide to Getting Out of Your Head and Into Your Life, which explores the impact of our internal communications on external communications. Valerie shares her own internal voice, "Squash," and how it hindered her growth. We explore a few of the ten narrator archetypes and some strategies for reshaping personal narratives and achieving healthier perspectives. The book also combines personal stories, neuroscience, and humor to help readers improve their storytelling skills. References/Links Website: https://thestorytellingstrategist.com/ More on the book: https://thestorytellingstrategist.com/fire-your-narrator/ (Available on Amazon and BN.com) Connect with Valerie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriejgordon/ Follow The Storytelling Strategist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStorytellingStrategist/ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storytelling_strategist/

Guest Hal Herring is an award-winning journalist and contributing editor at Field and Stream magazine. He is also the host of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Podcast and Blast. Summary The debate over public and private land and water in the United States has raised concerns over public access to natural resources. While large tracts of land are being bought up in the West, the major consequence is not raising real estate prices but rather a growing indifference to conservation and the environment. Politics plays a significant role in this issue, as policymakers tend to prioritize other issues, such as immigration and economic concerns. Public ignorance and indifference also contribute to this problem. There is a need for a more informed and less indifferent citizenry to address this issue, recognizing people's spiritual connection with nature's ecosystem. The three major topics discussed in this podcast conversation are: The debate over private and public land and water: The conversation delves into the issue of public access to public land and water, with a focus on the debate between private and public ownership. The Wyoming hunters' case is used as an illustration. Why environmental and conservation work is challenging: We discuss the challenges faced by environmental and conservation workers, including political lobbying, public ignorance and indifference, and the difficulty of passing conservation legislation. The spiritual connection, recognizing one's place in nature's ecosystem: We discussed the need for humans to recognize that they live in and are a part of the natural world – nature is not just a place they visit. This is especially important to recognize to broaden the discussion beyond what's good for hunters and fishers. References / Links Hal's website New York Times article Backcountry Hunters and Anglers BHA Podcast and Blast The Wilderness of Hope John Jeavons E&ENews Trout Unlimited

Guest Jeanine Cowen is an active media composer and educator. She is the chair and professor of practice of the Screen Scoring department at the University of Southern California. Formerly the Vice President for Curriculum and Program Innovation at Berklee, she is an experienced and skilled educator and innovator. She is an active freelance composer, music producer, and sound designer focusing primarily on the intersection of audio and visual medias, with particular interest in the burgeoning VR/AR/XR worlds and video games.Cowen's compositions have been heard throughout film, television, video games and the stage in works which include the definitive documentary The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo. Summary The conversation revolves around the music score of "The Night Window," a scene from the World War I film "1917." (See below.) The scene focuses on Lance Cpl. Schofield as he runs through the blazing ruins of a French village, dodging bullets and night flares. The haunting score, composed by Thomas Newman, begins softly and then accelerates to contribute to the scene's emotion. The episode delves into how film composers generate a movie's score, including discussions with the director and film editor. The importance of how film composers help tell a film's story in films is highlighted, as they speak with notes when actors and screenwriters speak with words. Referenced / Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeaninecowen The Night Window Scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKew6JUNknk

Guest Rick Locke was born and raised in Erie, PA. He earned a BS in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in finance from Rutgers University. Rick's professional career in information technology spanned 39 years. He completed his career as Chief Information Officer at his last two companies and retired in 2014.Rick became interested in photography around 1980. He learned the craft through photo magazines and adult education classes. Initially, family and career demands limited his photographic endeavors to family vacations. By the early 2000s, with more time to devote to photography, he began to pursue his passion for photography more seriously. Summary What makes Rick unique and interesting is that he is now an outstanding photographer despite the fact that he is legally blind, the result of macular degeneration. He can still see out of the corner of his eye, which he wisely named his website, "Out of the Corner of My Eye." Following the theme of episodes 246 and 247, Rick's story is a great example of serendipity. The universe puts situations in front of us. Sometimes we see them, and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we act on them, and sometimes we don't. Rick created luck out of what others might have seen as a tragedy. While he was blessed with support from family, friends, doctors, and technology, Rick's personality and strength of character encouraged him to look at his challenge from a different and more positive angle. Links / References Website: www.RickLocke.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/OutoftheCornerofMyE

Guest April Vokey is a fly fishing writer, fly-tyer, and speaker. After guiding in British Columbia for ten years, she now splits her year between camp in northern BC and Australia. She is an FFF certified casting instructor, forager, bowhunter, and mother. Summary April Vokey can't help but look at life differently. From a very early age, April loved fishing and hunting. She's decided to shun quote-unquote more traditional work and instead start a business where she would be "all in" as a fly fishing guide, provide instructional courses, write, be a keynote speaker, and host a podcast on all things related to her interests while being a wife and mother came. Her decision came with the expected challenges, but as a female in a male-dominated industry, she faced some challenges that men doing the same work would never have to face. April is also passionate about the environment and conservation, especially now that she is raising her daughter to be a steward of the Earth. Links/References https://www.instagram.com/aprilvokey/ https://www.facebook.com/AprilVokey/ https://www.youtube.com/flygalventures Interview with John Dietsch

Summary In this podcast episode, my cohost, Steve Miletto, of the "Teaching, Learning, Leading K12" podcast, and I talk with Elizabethton, TN High School teachers Daniel Proffitt, Jason Clevinger, and Patrick Roberts. Elizabethton is an XQ Super School with a mission to build a culture for learners to think and act as changemakers. This episode discusses how the school actualizes this mission at the individual student level through its curriculum, school activities, and professional development. The school advocates for student agency, giving students a voice and choice in what and how they want to learn and promotes curiosity as a core determinant of academic achievement. The episode also explores how faculty members in traditional core subjects such as Math, English, Science, and History encourage curiosity. Referenced Teaching, Learning, Leading K12 podcast XQ Super School Elizabethton High School

Summary Cindy House is the author of Mother Noise, a memoir in essays, and is a regular opener for author/humorist David Sedaris on his tours across the country. She teaches in the MFA program at Lesley University. In this brief episode, we follow Dr. Christian Busch's 3-part process to showcase a beautiful example of personal serendipity — the act of creating personal smart luck. Social Media >Website: https://cindy-house.webflow.io/ >Memoir: Mother Noise Referenced For more on the 3-part Serendipity process, see episode #246 with guest Dr. Christian Busch.

Summary Steve Jobs famously said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward." Today's guest would respectfully disagree. As guest Dr. Christian Busch writes, "serendipity is not just about a coincidence that happens to us, but it is actually through the process of spotting and connecting the dots do we start to see bridges where others see gaps." This episode will explore that process. Thus, Serendipity is "unexpected good luck resulting from unplanned moments in which proactive decisions lead to positive outcomes. Serendipity is the hidden force in the world." Serendipity is smart luck versus blind luck. Guest Dr. Christian Busch is the author of The Serendipity Mindset and an internationally known expert in the areas of innovation, purpose-driven leadership, and serendipity. He is the director of the CGA Global Economy Program at New York University (NYU), and also teaches at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is a co-founder of Leaders on Purpose and the Sandbox Network and a former director of LSE's Innovation Lab. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Expert Forum, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and on the Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 thinkers "most likely to shape the future. Links/References Book: The Serendipity Mindset Twitter: @ChrisSerendip LinkedIn: Christian Busch Book: Meaningful Coincidences

Guest Ted Merwin, Ph.D. is a Senior Writer for the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). Before coming to JFNA, he worked as AIPAC's Synagogue Initiative Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region. For many years, Ted taught Judaic studies at Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pa), where he was the founding director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life. Summary Look between the slices of rye bread of a traditional Jewish deli sandwich, and a time capsule of Jewish life in America emerges. The Jewish deli – a uniquely American institution – is the story of migration from Eastern and Central Europe and the struggle between wanting to retain Jewish culture and assimilate into American life. The story of Jewish life begins in the crowded tenements of New York City, migrates to the other boroughs, the nearby suburbs, and eventually throughout the U.S. Key Discussions How the Jewish deli in America √ emerged as an institution unlike what immigrants had experienced in the shtetls of Eastern Europe. √ evolved as a focal point of Jewish identity and remembrance, as a unifier of different immigrant Jewish cultures, and as a communal gathering place, especially for men. √ had its roots in the culinary habits of German Jewish immigrants √ rose in importance during the great depression and the rise of the American Nazi Party, especially in New York City. √ migrated outside of New York City – to the suburbs, Miami and Los Angeles – in the aftermath of World War II. √ as an institution declined due to various factors. Social Media/Referenced ULTRA Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli "I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli at the New York Historical Society (through April 2, 2023)