The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant cover art
Podcast · 42 episodes

The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant

by Vox Media Podcast Network · English

Research professor Brené Brown and organizational psychologist Adam Grant are partnering on a new weekly podcast grounded in an unflinching commitment to learning and unlearning. At a time when public discourse rewards certainty over inquiry, The Curiosity Shop features two of the world's most sought-after experts on connection, change, and leadership making the case for slowing down, asking better questions, and embracing informed complexity over easy answers. Bringing together their left and right brain sensibilities — she’s a qualitative researcher; he’s a quantitative researcher — they explore some of the defining questions of our time, unpack the research reshaping how we live, lead, and love, and dive deep into the ideas, evidence, and cultural moments intriguing them the most. New episodes drop every Thursday. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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Why Grit Isn’t Always Enough with Angela DuckworthAngela Duckworth discusses her book Situated and argues that achieving goals requires both grit and “the situation” around you—physical, social, and cultural—not just willpower or trying harder.24 Sep 2026 · 1 h 4 min · 22 chapters
Rethinking Leadership, Work, and Human Connection in the Age of AIAn Ask Me Anything on leadership, career growth, “rethinking” beliefs, and how AI affects work and human connection.17 Sep 2026 · 37 min · 15 chapters
Can Conflict Actually Make Our Relationships Stronger? with Priya ParkerPriya Parker argues that “conflict” (healthy heat) is necessary for belonging and stronger relationships.10 Sep 2026 · 1 h 9 min · 22 chapters
What Chimpanzees Reveal About How We Connect and Divide with Aaron SandelThe episode uses the Ngogo chimpanzees in Kibale National Park (Uganda) to explain how social bonds form, how they break into polarization, and how lethal intergroup violence can emerge even when…3 Sep 2026 · 1 h 26 min · 54 chapters
Building Integrity in the Age of Normalized CheatingThe episode argues that “normalized cheating” (especially via AI/LLMs) reflects a broader integrity crisis, and that external monitoring/proctoring can’t solve it.27 Aug 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 20 chapters
Brené Brown on Protecting our Attention, Time, and Humanity in a World that Won’t Slow DownSolo AMA episode where Brené Brown answers LinkedIn questions about using AI without surrendering discernment, protecting attention/time (“Kronos and Kairos”), and how preparation and pausing create…20 Aug 2026 · 41 min · 12 chapters
Can We Build an “Us” Without a “Them”? with John GreenCan communities (“us”) be built without defining themselves against an outgroup (“them”)?13 Aug 2026 · 57 min · 29 chapters
Leading Under Pressure with Rebecca LoweRebecca Lowe discusses leading and performing under pressure in live sports broadcasting, emphasizing control through preparation, and reflects on sexism and harassment she faced as a woman in…6 Aug 2026 · 1 h 25 min · 33 chapters
Why Sports Matter Even When the Game Doesn’t with Roger BennettRoger Bennett (Men in Blazers) argues that sports—especially the World Cup—matter because they generate collective emotion, identity, and meaning even though “none of it matters” materially.30 Jul 2026 · 1 h 13 min · 25 chapters
The Framework for Leading With Both Care and AccountabilityAiko Bethea’s Anchored, Aligned, and Accountable framework for self-leadership and psychological safety—leading with care plus accountability.23 Jul 2026 · 1 h 4 min · 18 chapters
You Don't Get an A for EffortWhat to do when someone works hard but doesn’t get results—distinguishing effort from excellence, and coaching instead of judging. It also covers prioritization using Jeff Bezos’s “consequential vs.16 Jul 2026 · 39 min · 13 chapters
Time Scarcity and Pocket PresenceTime scarcity and “pocket presence” for leaders, contrasting it with “executive presence.” The episode argues that time scarcity makes people devalue the future and rely on hope/magical thinking…9 Jul 2026 · 38 min · 14 chapters
Sports as Leadership Theater and Recognizing Near EnemiesLeadership “near enemies” (values’ disguised threats), paradox in building strong ground, and how sports teach courage, clarity, and teamwork.2 Jul 2026 · 43 min · 12 chapters
Courageous Leadership as a Daily PracticeCourageous leadership as a daily practice, centered on asking “exquisite questions,” shifting from “knower” to “learner,” building trust through care and connection, and operationalizing core values…25 Jun 2026 · 44 min · 15 chapters
The Highest Performance Strategy is Caring About People ft. Simon SinekThe episode discusses how to achieve “highest performance” in organizations by caring about people, building strong teams, and leading transformation amid short-term, fear-driven incentives and rapid…18 Jun 2026 · 1 h 21 min · 31 chapters
AI, Commencement Speeches, and Why Human Thinking Still Matters | The Curiosity ShopThe episode connects three threads: what makes a great commencement speech, why some AI-themed speeches were booed, and how to respond when AI-generated “work” is dumped on collaborators without…11 Jun 2026 · 1 h 23 min · 25 chapters
Why Toughness and Kindness Need Each Other | The Curiosity ShopToughness and kindness as complementary strengths in sports and life; how shame harms cultures; grief and community; gun reform; and why shame-based leadership/parenting/coaching drives concealment…4 Jun 2026 · 1 h 9 min · 21 chapters
Exploring the Paradoxes of Human NatureParadoxes in human nature—how to hold opposing truths at once (e.g., hope + brutal facts; autonomy + community; spiritual + practical).28 May 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 27 chapters
Sober AF, Michael Scott Phobia, and How to Politely End a ConversationThree-part conversation on (1) Brene Brown’s 30 years of sobriety and how “high bottom” change can happen without rock bottom, (2) why Adam Grant can’t watch certain popular shows—especially The…21 May 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 25 chapters
Are You a Preacher, Prosecutor, Scientist, or Politician?How people slip into “preacher,” “prosecutor,” “politician,” and “scientist” modes under threat—and how to use scientist (and sometimes teacher) thinking to stay hypothesis-driven instead of…14 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 21 chapters
BS Disclaimers, Invisible Armies, and the Importance of the Words We ChooseThe episode debates two “communication tools” that avoid accountability: the “Invisible Army” (saying “we all believe/think” without naming who) and “bullshit disclaimers” (hedges like “I don’t mean…7 May 2026 · 1 h 8 min · 26 chapters
What the Return-to-Office Debate Gets WrongThe return-to-office debate is framed too narrowly around productivity and “because I said so,” ignoring deeper work-design factors and leaders’ mental models.30 Apr 2026 · 50 min · 24 chapters
The Emotion Few Talk About, But Many FeelShame and its distinctions from guilt, humiliation, and embarrassment; why shame is hard to talk about; how humiliation can contribute to violence; and how to build “shame resilience” using empathy…23 Apr 2026 · 1 h · 17 chapters
Uncertainty is Not the EnemyThe episode explores how leaders and teams should handle uncertainty, using “pre-mortems” to surface risks early, and argues that uncertainty isn’t the enemy.16 Apr 2026 · 1 h 8 min · 24 chapters