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The book that got under my skin
For someone who goes on and on about staying curious, I haven’t made a lot of time to read books. Until now. I just finished one by...
Jan 201 min read


An unforgettable moment
Hey there friend, The Obama Foundation picked “pluralism” as the theme for its 2024 Democracy Forum , and I was humbled — and...
Dec 23, 20242 min read


How can I change their mind?
These days, most of my thoughts around curiosity, ending divisiveness, and creating community have been going straight into my podcast, A...
Aug 27, 20241 min read


Stay sharp: Remarks to the Wheaton College Class of 2024
Hello! Congratulations! And thank you so much for this amazing honor, what in the world, this is still not quite real – I have my husband...
Jun 26, 20243 min read

With a little help from my friends
Hey friend, It occurred to me the other day that I’m learning constantly from some very thoughtful, curious, and hard-working friends...
Dec 16, 20233 min read


My new Braver Way podcast is here!
It’s here! 😱 My brand new podcast, A Braver Way, is out in the world with three new episodes — yes, THREE — razor-focused on the...
Nov 6, 20232 min read


Announcing my brand new podcast!
It’s finally official! A Braver Way, a brand new podcast I’m hosting about how to stay curious across divides, launches October 2023 and...
Oct 5, 20231 min read


Don’t believe your (f)ears
Partway through my curiosity workshop this summer, after an exercise where participants came up with quick questions about each other’s...
Sep 25, 20233 min read

10 curiosity approved books
Why do we read? We read to escape. We read to learn. And we read for this bright, shining moment of illumination where we understand...
Aug 28, 20232 min read


One curious summer
Breathless in Aspen We started our adventure at the Aspen Ideas Festival, where I gave the most winded talk of my entire life. Our flight...
Aug 7, 20233 min read

Shame on… who?
Shame is that feeling you get when you realize you’ve violated the norms of your community. But it only works when it comes from your...
Jul 25, 20232 min read

‘Because they don’t know you…’
“Hurt people hurt people.” It’s a lovely bit of rhetoric that happens to say something profound. To quote my new friend Erin Jones on a...
Jun 9, 20232 min read

Do you trust me?
In my work I think a lot about the relationship between truth and trust. How you need trust to get to truth. Especially the kinds of deep...
May 26, 20232 min read

Ask a thousand questions
In my house we are *obsessed* with the soundtrack to Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical. Especially “School Song,” a clever track that...
Mar 26, 20232 min read

Oh the places you’ll go
My eyes lingered on a short, quick tweet awhile before I realized it was one of the most delightfully curious compliments I’d ever seen. ...
Mar 13, 20232 min read

We’re so much better than condescension
A conservative friend of mine — let’s call her Jen — just attended one of those dialogue-rich events in a major city with a liberal...
Mar 1, 20232 min read

‘What do you mean by that?’ to the rescue
It started with a question. A man named Alan turned to a woman named Jamie — both of them locals in Edmonds, Washington, who’d signed up...
Jan 30, 20232 min read

The power of people's places
There’s always a bit of awkwardness when you walk into a friend’s home for the first time, a tension I find myself defusing by looking...
Jan 6, 20232 min read

Give the gift of your interest
Ever notice something in you jump in shock when somebody you’re listening closely to says something you really don’t like? That’s what...
Dec 12, 20222 min read

That time I was judgy to judgments
As I packed up from one of my curiosity workshops this summer, a participant named Don came up to me. He was thrilled about what he’d...
Nov 24, 20222 min read
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