The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant

In the final episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown and Adam Grant draw on Adam’s new book, Vibe (out October 13), to explore how recognizing the differences between associates, allies, pals, and companions can help us better understand our connections. They unpack the pressure we put on relationships, the importance of being clear about what we want from them, and why a great interaction doesn’t always need to become an ongoing relationship. They also explore the idea of being on the same wavelength and the concept of “sonder,” the recognition that we can never fully know another person’s inner world. Along the way, Brené and Adam reflect on their own relationship, what they’ve learned from working together, and how their connection has evolved throughout The Curiosity Shop.

Vibe – Adam Grant, 2026, adamgrant.net

Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff, 2025, Ness Labs

How the Enneagram System Works – The Enneagram Institute, enneagraminstitute.com

Give and Take – Adam Grant, 2013, adamgrant.net

Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community – Vivek Murthy, 2023, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Social Connection Linked to Improved Health and Reduced Risk of Early Death – World Health Organization, 2025, World Health Organization

US Trends in Social Isolation, Social Engagement, and Companionship—Nationally and by Age, Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Family Income, and Work Hours, 2003–2020 – Viji Diane Kannan, 2023, SSM – Population Health

Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions – Common Sense Media, 2025, Common Sense Media

What I Got Wrong About Connection – Adam Grant, 2026, Granted (Substack)

How I Overcame the Fear of Public Speaking – Adam Grant, 2014, Psychology Today

A Practical Guide to Building Taxonomies That Make Data Truly Useful to Your Organization – UserTesting, 2023, UserTesting Blog

The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck, 1939, Penguin Random House

Friends – David Crane, 1994, NBC (IMDb)

Vibe Quiz – Adam Grant, adamgrant.net

DTR – Dictionary.com, 2018, Dictionary.com

Vulnerability Is the Birthplace of Innovation, Creativity and Change: Brené Brown at TED2012 – Helen Walters, 2012, TED Blog

Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII – Aristotle, c. 350 BCE, The Internet Classics Archive (MIT)

Friendship – Bennett Helm, 2021, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The Anatomy of Friendship – Robin Dunbar, 2018, Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Let's Rumble – Brené Brown, 2019, brenebrown.com

Similar Neural Responses Predict Friendship – Carolyn Parkinson, 2018, Nature Communications

Single-Serving Friends (Fight Club) – Uploader unknown, YouTube

Wharton Professor Adam Grant Knows How to Build Stronger Bonds at Work – Aman Kidwai, 2025, Newsweek

Mistakenly Seeking Solitude – Nicholas Epley, 2014, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

Social Interactions and Well-Being: The Surprising Power of Weak Ties – Gillian Sandstrom, 2014, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Learning to Talk to Strangers – Gillian Sandstrom, 2022, SPSP Character & Context blog

The Power of High-Quality Connections – Jane Dutton, 2003, Positive Organizational Scholarship (Berrett-Koehler)

Flow and Happiness – Joachim Krueger, 2015, Psychology Today

Basking in Reflected Glory: Three (Football) Field Studies – Robert Cialdini, 1976, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Brené and Adam on What They Will Never Agree On – Brené Brown, 2026, The Curiosity Shop (YoutTube)

Do Parasocial Relationships Fill a Loneliness Gap? – Heidi Godman, 2024, Harvard Health Publishing

Sonder – John Koenig, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Beautiful New Words to Describe Obscure Emotions – John Koenig, 2016, TEDxBerkeley

Atlas of the Heart – Brené Brown, 2021, brenebrown.com

Sonder Playlist - The Best of Sonder – Revive Music, YouTube

Awe, the Small Self, and Prosocial Behavior – Paul Piff, 2015, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

The Emotions You've Felt but Never Named with John Koenig – Adam Grant, 2025, ReThinking (Apple Podcasts)

The Emotions You've Felt but Never Named with John Koenig (transcript) – Adam Grant, 2025, ReThinking (TED Audio Collective)

Developmental Changes in the Relation between Youth Disclosure and Parenting Behavior: A Cohort-sequential Analysis – Sara Goldstein, 2023, Journal of Youth and Adolescence

The Development of Children's Knowledge About Inner Speech – John Flavell, 1997, Child Development

9 Words for Types of Parenting – Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster Wordplay

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters – Priya Parker, 2018, Riverhead / Penguin Random House

The Liking Gap in Conversations: Do People Like Us More Than We Think? – Erica Boothby, 2018, Psychological Science

Can Conflict Actually Make Our Relationships Stronger? with Priya Parker (video) – Brené Brown, 2026, YouTube

VIBE Tour – Adam Grant, adamgrant.net

Adam Grant – Dallas – Dallas Museum of Art Arts & Letters Live – Etix, 2026, Etix

ReThinking with Adam Grant – Adam Grant, 2021, TED Audio Collective

The Enneagram: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research – Joshua Hook, 2021, Journal of Clinical Psychology

Brian R. Little – Brian Little, brianrlittle.com

Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII – Aristotle, c. 350 BCE, The Internet Classics Archive (MIT)

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Why are we so susceptible to persuasion? In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown and Adam Grant discuss a tip Brené picked up from Seventeen magazine in the ‘80s and end up exploring why we fall for misinformation and persuasive messaging. They examine how vulnerability makes us more receptive to fear-based messaging, how appeals to authority can sometimes stand in for real evidence, and why recognizing misinformation isn’t always enough to protect us from it. Brené and Adam also consider the role of belonging, including the ways our desire for connection, community, and shared identity can make certain ideas especially persuasive. Along the way, they develop a practical framework for resisting unwanted influence: recognize your vulnerability, build your persuasion literacy, and trace information back to its source.

Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World - Adam Grant, 2026, Viking

MythBusters: Rinsing Your Hair In Cold Water - Into The Gloss, 2015

I Washed My Hair With Coca-Cola (and Other Teen-Magazine Beauty Experiments) - Seventeen

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die - Chip Heath & Dan Heath, 2007, Random House

Free Resources, including 'Making Presentations That Stick' - Chip Heath & Dan Heath, HeathBrothers.com

Jayne Modean - Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia

Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline, 800-272-3900 - Alzheimer's Association

Dr. Cialdini's Biography - Influence at Work

Dispelling the Illusion of Invulnerability: The Motivations and Mechanisms of Resistance to Persuasion - Stanford Center on Longevity, 2011

Resistance to Persuasion - Dolores Albarracín & A. Karan, 2022, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology

Dr. Jessica Knurick - Jessica Knurick

Jessica Knurick's Reaction Video - Jessica Knurick, Facebook

A Public Health Expert Keeps Going Viral on Instagram for Delivering This Very Simple Message - Scott, 2025, Vox

What's the Difference Between Physicians and Naturopaths? - American Medical Association, 2024

Appeal to Authority Fallacy: When Expertise Becomes a Logical Trap - Logically Fallacious, 2026

Evidence-Based Practice: Levels of Evidence - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Library

Evidence-Based Management - Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert Sutton, 2006, Harvard Business Review

White House Moves to Take Control of NIH Scientific Grants - The New York Times, 2026, The Philadelphia Inquirer

'Warning: This Image Has Been Digitally Altered': The Effect of Disclaimer Labels Added to Fashion Magazine Shoots on Women's Body Dissatisfaction - Marika Tiggemann, Zoe Brown, Mia Zaccardo & Nicole Thomas, 2017, Body Image

The Sleeper Effect in Persuasion: A Meta-Analytic Review - G. Tarcan Kumkale & Dolores Albarracín, 2004, Psychological Bulletin

The Mirror-Neuron System - Giacomo Rizzolatti & Laila Craighero, 2004, Annual Review of Neuroscience

Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis - Brooke Nickel and colleagues, 2025, JAMA Network Open

We Analysed Almost 1,000 Social Media Posts About 5 Popular Medical Tests. Most Were Utterly Misleading - Nickel & Moynihan, 2025, The Conversation

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini, 2021; first published 1984, Harper Business

The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time - Maria Konnikova, 2016, Viking

How to Know If You're Being Lied To - Khazan, 2016, The Atlantic

Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments - Justin Kruger & David Dunning, 1999, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Recursive Self-Improvement and Agentic AI: Fear of the AI Singularity - HackerNoon, 2026

How Do AI Companies 'Fine-Tune' Policy? Examining Regulatory Capture in AI Governance - Kevin Wei, Carson Ezell, Nick Gabrieli & Chinmay Deshpande, 2024, AIES-24 Proceedings

George J. Stigler, 'The Theory of Economic Regulation' - Christopher Carrigan & Cary Coglianese, 2015, Oxford Handbook of Classics in Public Policy and Administration

The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories - Karen Douglas, Robbie Sutton & Aleksandra Cichocka, 2017, Current Directions in Psychological Science

Powerful Pharma and Its Marginalized Alternatives? Effects of Individual Differences in Conspiracy Mentality on Attitudes Toward Medical Approaches - Pia Lamberty & Roland Imhoff, 2018, Social Psychology

People with a Conspiracy Mindset Resist Childhood Vaccination, Study Shows - Annenberg Public Policy Center, 2023

COVID-19 Misinformation: Scientists Create a 'Psychological Vaccine' to Protect Against Fake News - van der Linden & Roozenbeek, 2021, The Conversation

LinkedIn Post on Collective Vulnerability - Brené Brown, 2020, LinkedIn

Brené on FFTs - Brené Brown, 2020, Unlocking Us

The Group Polarization Phenomenon - David Myers & Helmut Lamm, 1976, Psychological Bulletin

Group Polarization - EBSCO Research Starters

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone - Brené Brown, 2017, Random House

Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity - Sander van der Linden, 2023, W. W. Norton

How 'Prebunking' Misinformation Works - CBS News / 60 Minutes, YouTube

Bad News - Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, (Game that teaches manipulation tactics)

Lump: A Memoir in Ineloquent Reflections - Allison Sweet Grant, 2026, Little, Brown and Company

National Breast Cancer Foundation - National Breast Cancer Foundation

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What if grit isn’t the whole story behind success? Psychologist and author Angela Duckworth joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant to talk about her new book, Situated, and how the situations around us influence our behavior, motivation, creativity, and success. They unpack situational awareness, the paradox of self-control, and why willpower can be an unreliable tool for change. Angela also shares practical ways to shape your environment, reduce friction around your goals, and decide whether to keep going versus change course. Together, they explore how becoming more intentional about our surroundings, relationships, and support systems is often more powerful than simply trying harder.

Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best - Angela Duckworth, 2026, Scribner (author's book page)

Situated Preface (excerpt) - Angela Duckworth, 2026, web excerpt with audiobook sample, angeladuckworth.com

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - Angela Duckworth, 2016, Scribner

Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals - Angela Duckworth, Christopher Peterson, Michael Matthews & Dennis Kelly, 2007, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Too Much of a Good Thing: The Challenge and Opportunity of the Inverted U - Adam Grant & Barry Schwartz, 2011, Perspectives on Psychological Science

Situational Strategies for Self-Control - Angela Duckworth, Tamar Szabó Gendler & James Gross, 2016, Perspectives on Psychological Science

Beyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control - Angela Duckworth, Katherine Milkman & David Laibson, 2018, Psychological Science in the Public Interest

Oxford Essential Quotations (George Bernard Shaw entry) - Susan Ratcliffe (ed.), 2018, reference-work entry, Oxford Reference / Oxford University Press

Maxims for Revolutionists - George Bernard Shaw, 1903; Project Gutenberg edition 2008, public-domain e-text, Project Gutenberg

Figure This: Deciding What's Figure, What's Ground - Adelson, 2002, Monitor on Psychology (American Psychological Association)

LinkedIn post on situations - Angela Duckworth, 2025, social-media post, LinkedIn

The Four Essential Elements of Successful Situations - Duckworth, 2026, book excerpt (online article), Knowledge at Wharton

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit - Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

Angela Duckworth on Her New Book, ‘Grit’ Controversy, and Parenting in a Digital Age - Fiorillo, 2026, Philadelphia Magazine

Rethinking Rumination - Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Blair Wisco & Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2008, Perspectives on Psychological Science

Self-Focused Attention and Negative Affect: A Meta-Analysis - Nilly Mor & Jennifer Winquist, 2002, Psychological Bulletin

Situated Scorecard - Angela Duckworth, 2026, interactive self-assessment (web page), angeladuckworth.com

Situated Scorecard Handout - Angela Duckworth, 2026, PDF handout, angeladuckworth.com

Self-Control and SAT Outcomes: Evidence from Two National Field Studies - Chayce Baldwin, Kyla Haimovitz, Priya Shankar, Robert Gallop, David Yeager, James Gross & Angela Duckworth, 2022, PLOS ONE

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini, 2021; first published 1984, Harper Business (author's organization site)

As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7 - William Shakespeare, c. 1599, Folger Shakespeare Library

More Than Resisting Temptation: Beneficial Habits Mediate the Relationship Between Self-Control and Positive Life Outcomes - Brian Galla & Angela Duckworth, 2015, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Wendy Wood – Publications - Wendy Wood, faculty web page, USC Dornsife

Habits in Everyday Life: Thought, Emotion, and Action - Wendy Wood, Jeffrey Quinn & Deborah Kashy, 2002, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Asaf Mazar - Asaf Mazar, personal website

Alistair Brownlee | The Greatest to Ever Do It - World Triathlon, 2024, video, YouTube

The Paradox of a Pair of Clocks. The Magic of Chronos and Kairos or Why I Wear Two Watches! - Brené Brown, 2026, social-media post (from an AMA), LinkedIn / The Curiosity Shop

Quote Origin: Between Stimulus and Response There Is a Space. In That Space Is Our Power To Choose Our Response - O'Toole, 2018, Quote Investigator

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment - Eckhart Tolle, 1997, Namaste Publishing / New World Library (author site)

32% of Americans Have a Tattoo, Including 22% Who Have More Than One - Schaeffer & Dinesh, 2023, short-read survey report, Pew Research Center

Prepared Environment - Association Montessori Internationale, glossary entry, AMI glossary

Understanding the Three-Year Cycle in Montessori - Maria Rodriguez, web article, The Montessori Foundation

Piagetian Theory - American Psychological Association, dictionary entry, APA Dictionary of Psychology

For the Fun of It: Harnessing Immediate Rewards to Increase Persistence in Long-Term Goals - Kaitlin Woolley & Ayelet Fishbach, 2016, Journal of Consumer Research

Mask-Wearing Needs to Be Easy, Understood and Expected - Duckworth, Ungar & Emanuel, 2020, op-ed reprint, Penn Almanac (original in The New York Times)

Everyday Temptations: An Experience Sampling Study of Desire, Conflict, and Self-Control - Wilhelm Hofmann, Roy Baumeister, Georg Förster & Kathleen Vohs, 2012, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Trait Self-Control and the Avoidance of Temptation - Michael Ent, Roy Baumeister & Dianne Tice, 2015, Personality and Individual Differences

More Than Resisting Temptation: Beneficial Habits Mediate the Relationship Between Self-Control and Positive Life Outcomes - Brian Galla & Angela Duckworth, 2015, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

The Myth of Self-Control - Resnick, 2016, Vox

The Power of Vulnerability - Brené Brown, 2010, TED Talk (video), TEDxHouston / TED

Beyond Grit: The Science of Creativity, Purpose, and Motivation - Grant & Duckworth, 2016, published conversation, Next Big Idea Club Magazine

Knee-Deep in the Big Muddy: A Study of Escalating Commitment to a Chosen Course of Action - Barry Staw, 1976, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance

Hope (Psychology) - EBSCO, encyclopedia-style research overview, EBSCO Research Starters

'Grit' and Circumstance: Bestselling Author Angela Duckworth Brings Her Wisdom to BYU - Walch, 2023, Deseret News

The Four Essential Elements of Successful Situations - Duckworth, 2026, book excerpt (online article), Knowledge at Wharton

Workspace Disorder Does Not Influence Creativity and Executive Functions - Alberto Manzi, Yana Durmysheva, Shannon Pinegar, Andrew Rogers & Justine Ramos, 2019, Frontiers in Psychology

A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - Eric Abrahamson & David Freedman, 2007, Little, Brown (Goodreads listing)

Physical Order Produces Healthy Choices, Generosity, and Conventionality, Whereas Disorder Produces Creativity - Kathleen Vohs, Joseph Redden & Ryan Rahinel, 2013, Psychological Science

Documenting Anne Lamott - SFGate / San Francisco Chronicle (no byline), SFGate

Genius of the AND - Jim Collins, concept page (with excerpts from Built to Last), JimCollins.com

Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success - Angela Duckworth & James Gross, 2014, Current Directions in Psychological Science

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Short Grit Scale - Oscar Gonzalez, Jessica Canning, Heather Smyth & David MacKinnon, 2020, European Journal of Psychological Assessment

In 'Situated,' Angela Duckworth, the Author of 'Grit,' Does an About-Face - O'Gieblyn, 2026, The New Yorker

How Willpower Wasn't: The Truth About Ego Depletion - Danvers, 2020, blog post ('How Do You Know?'), Psychology Today

A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect - Kathleen Vohs and colleagues, 2021, Psychological Science

The Impact of Sleep Interventions on Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review - Lúcio Cunha and colleagues, 2023, Sports Medicine – Open

The Attentional Cost of Receiving a Cell Phone Notification - Cary Stothart, Ainsley Mitchum & Courtney Yehnert, 2015, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Wear Eye Protection When Playing Pickleball - Reena Mukamal, patient-education web article, American Academy of Ophthalmology

Breaking Up with Perfectionism - Adam Grant with Eric Best, 2022, podcast episode, WorkLife with Adam Grant / TED Audio Collective

Adam Grant on How to Reach New Heights - Wharton Magazine (no byline), 2023, Wharton Magazine

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things - Adam Grant, 2023, Viking (Penguin Random House page)

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In this solo episode of The Curiosity Shop, Adam Grant answers questions about leadership, rethinking, careers, AI, and the future of work. He explores how leaders can make people feel heard without adopting every idea, why seeking feedback early can shape a transformational leader, and how to speak up in ways that actually create change. Adam also reflects on a hiring mistake that challenged his own thinking, explains why he’s changed his mind about tradition, and considers why political beliefs are so difficult to rethink. Along the way, he shares his perspective on the jobs most likely to preserve human connection in the age of AI, the benefits and limitations of remote and hybrid work, and how people can reshape and grow beyond their job descriptions. He also takes on a few lighter questions, sharing whether he still practices magic, his favorite food, and what he admires about Tom Brady.

Be Careful What You Ask For: How Highly Inclusive Leaders Diminish Upward Communication Quality – John J. Sumanth, 2011, (doctoral dissertation) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / Carolina Digital Repository

Does Having a Say Matter Only If You Get Your Way? Instrumental and Value-Expressive Effects of Employee Voice – McFarlin, D. B., & Sweeney, P. D., 1996, (journal article) Basic and Applied Social Psychology

The Impact of Leader Eye Gaze on Disparity in Member Influence: Implications for Process and Performance in Diverse Groups – Shim, S.-H., et al., 2021, (journal article) Academy of Management Journal

Feeling Seen: Leader Eye Gaze Promotes Psychological Safety, Participation, and Voice – Nicole Abi-Esber, Alison Wood Brooks & Ethan Burris, 2022, (working paper) Harvard Business School Working Paper

About Katherine Phillips – Columbia Business School, (web page) Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership

Rocking the Boat but Keeping It Steady: The Role of Emotion Regulation in Employee Voice – Grant, A. M., 2013, (journal article) Academy of Management Journal

Win Over an Opponent by Asking for Advice – Liljenquist, K., & Galinsky, A. D., June 27, 2014, (magazine article) Harvard Business Review

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success – Adam Grant, 2013, (book) Viking

I Have a Dream – Martin Luther King Jr., August 28, 1963, (speech video) Internet Archive

Martin Luther King Jr., Man of the Year – TIME, January 3, 1964, (magazine cover story) TIME

Early Recording Found of King's 'I Have a Dream' Speech – Montagne, R., August 17, 2015, (radio segment) NPR Morning Edition

Feedback Seeking – Susan J. Ashford, (author research page) susanashford.com

The Dynamics of Proactivity at Work – Grant, A. M., & Ashford, S. J., 2008, (journal article) Research in Organizational Behavior 28

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things – Adam Grant, 2023, (book) Viking

The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work – Ludmila N. Praslova, 2024, (book) Berrett-Koehler

Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage – Austin, R. D., & Pisano, G. P., May–June 2017, (magazine article) Harvard Business Review 95(3)

Adam Grant: How Future-Ready Leaders Must Rethink the Work Day – Linda Lacina with Adam Grant, February 28, 2025, (podcast episode) Meet the Leader, World Economic Forum

Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World – Adam Grant, 2026, (book) Viking

The Group Polarization Phenomenon – Myers, D. G., & Lamm, H., 1976, (journal article) Psychological Bulletin 83(4)

The Law of Group Polarization – Sunstein, C. R., 2002, (preprint of journal article) Journal of Political Philosophy

Adam Grant – The Potential of Your Potential – The Imperfects, March 11, 2024, (card trick video) YouTube

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race – Walter Isaacson, 2021, (book) Simon & Schuster

What the Return-to-Office Debate Gets Wrong – Brené Brown & Adam Grant, April 30, 2026, (podcast episode video) The Curiosity Shop, YouTube

Jennifer A. Doudna – Biographical – The Nobel Prize, 2020, (autobiographical essay) NobelPrize.org

Tom Brady Improves 40-Yard Dash Time – NOBULL, September 19, 2024, (video) YouTube

Tom Brady on the Art of Leading Teammates – Brady, T., & Nohria, N., September–October 2024, (magazine article) Harvard Business Review

Hybrid Working From Home Improves Retention Without Damaging Performance – Bloom, N., Han, R., & Liang, J., 2024, (journal article) Nature

What the Data Says About Pandemic School Closures, Four Years Later – Mervosh, S., Miller, C. C., & Paris, F., March 18, 2024, (newspaper article) The New York Times, The Upshot

The Consequences of Remote and Hybrid Instruction During the Pandemic – Dan Goldhaber, Thomas J. Kane, Andrew McEachin, Emily Morton, Tyler Patterson & Douglas O. Staiger, 2022, (working paper) CALDER Working Paper

Crafting a Job: Revisioning Employees as Active Crafters of Their Work – Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E., 2001, (journal article) Academy of Management Review

Managing Yourself: Turn the Job You Have Into the Job You Want – Wrzesniewski, A., Berg, J. M., & Dutton, J. E., June 2010, (magazine article) Harvard Business Review 88(6)

Job Crafting Exercise – Center for Positive Organizations, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, (tool / web page) positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu

Getting Unstuck: The Effects of Growth Mindsets About the Self and Job on Happiness at Work – Berg, J. M., et al., 2023, (journal article) Journal of Applied Psychology

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Does conflict really have the power to bring us closer together? In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, facilitator and author Priya Parker joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant to rethink how we approach conflict. Drawing from her new book, The Art of Fighting, Priya explores why avoiding conflict can create distance in our relationships, how “healthy heat” differs from destructive conflict, and why practicing disagreement when the stakes are low can prepare us for the conversations that matter most. Together, they unpack toxic politeness and why meaningful relationships require us to embrace discomfort instead of avoiding it. They also explore how preparation and collective humanity can be powerful tools to de-escalate conflict. The conversation leads Brené and Adam to reflect on their own history and how some of their hardest conversations have ultimately deepened their friendship.

About Priya Parker | Her Story – Priya Parker, priyaparker.com (web page)

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters – Priya Parker, 2018, Riverhead Books (book)

Brené with Priya Parker on The Art of Gathering – Brené Brown and Priya Parker, 2020, Unlocking Us (podcast episode)

Brené with Priya Parker on How We Return and Why It Matters, Part 1 of 2 – Brené Brown and Priya Parker, 2021, Dare to Lead (podcast episode)

Brené and Adam on What They Will Never Agree On – Brené Brown and Adam Grant, 2026, The Curiosity Shop (video/podcast episode, YouTube)

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis – Carsten K. W. De Dreu and Laurie R. Weingart, 2003, Journal of Applied Psychology (journal article)

The Science of Productive Conflict – Adam Grant, 2021, WorkLife with Adam Grant (video episode, YouTube)

Heat is relevance (and other things I've learned about healthy heat) – Priya Parker, 2026, Group Life (newsletter post, Substack)

Group Life – Priya Parker, n.d., Substack (newsletter)

Prentis Hemphill – Prentis Hemphill, n.d., prentishemphill.com (personal website)

Clear Is Kind. Unclear Is Unkind. – Brené Brown, 2018, brenebrown.com (article)

Working at Canlis – Canlis, n.d., canlis.com (careers page)

Do I stay or do I go? – Priya Parker, 2026, Group Life (newsletter post, Substack)

Why Avoiding Conflict Is Actually Hurting Your Relationships | Priya Parker on 'The Interview' – The New York Times, 2026, YouTube (video)

Festivus: The Airing of Grievances – Seinfeld, “The Strike,” 1997, YouTube (video clip)

The Rituals Of Reality TV Reunions: An In-Depth Examination – Gibson Johns, 2024, Betches (article)

Resources – Conscious Leadership Group, conscious.is (resource library)

Fairy Tales and Script Drama Analysis – Stephen B. Karpman, 1968, Transactional Analysis Bulletin (journal article)

How to Use the Drama Triangle at Work – Conscious Leadership Group, n.d., conscious.is (blog post)

Martin B. Copenhaver – The Christian Century, christiancentury.org (contributor page)

The Rev. Martin

B. Copenhaver: "Divided We Stand" – Martin B. Copenhaver, 2007, Washington National Cathedral (sermon)

Open and Affirming – UCC Open and Affirming Coalition, openandaffirming.org (organisation page)

Open and Affirming – United Church of Christ, n.d., ucc.org (denomination page)

Robert's Rules of Order – Henry M. Robert, 1876, Project Gutenberg (book)

Zohran Mamdani Campaign Rally, United Palace, Washington Heights – uploader not confirmed, 2025, YouTube (video, deep link at 7:41)

The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy – Anand Giridharadas, 2022, Knopf (book)

Remembering Hal Saunders, Founder and Mentor – Sustained Dialogue Institute, 2016, sustaineddialogue.org (memorial notice)

Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City – Anand Giridharadas, 2026, Knopf / Penguin Random House (book)

The 12 New Books to Spice Up Your Fall – Adam Grant, 2026, Granted (newsletter post, Substack)

The Story Rumble Process: A Guide for Groups and Teams – Brené Brown, 2018, brenebrown.com (downloadable resource)

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Primatologist Aaron Sandel has spent over a decade studying the Ngogo chimpanzees, witnessing one of the largest known chimp communities split into two factions. In this episode, Aaron joins Brené and Adam to explore what chimpanzees can teach us about friendship, conflict, belonging, and human nature. He shares what he learned from watching these chimps show affection, navigate dominance hierarchies, and face the effects of division within their own community. Aaron also reflects on what it was like to watch chimps he knew by name turn against one another, while exploring the surprising depth of bonds between chimpanzees. Together, they explore the parallels between chimpanzee behavior and the ways we harmonize, polarize, and build communities in our own lives.

Prof. Aaron Sandel – Aaron Sandel, aaron-sandel.com

The Ngogo Chimpanzee Project – Watts, D., et al., ngogochimpanzeeproject.org

Male-Male Relationships and the Transition to Adulthood in Chimpanzees – Sandel, A., 2017, University of Michigan (PhD Dissertation)

First Clearly Documented Split in World’s Largest Known Chimpanzee Community Leads to Deadly Violence – Erin Walters, April 9, 2026, UT Austin News

Lethal Conflict After Group Fission in Wild Chimpanzees – Sandel, A., et al., 2026, Science

Hunting Behavior of Chimpanzees at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda – Watts, D. & Mitani, J., 2002, International Journal of Primatology

Is a chimp a monkey? – Catherine Annau & Tatiana Hayek, January 4, 2017, Jane Goodall Institute Canada

Chimp Empire – Directed by James Reed, narrated by Mahershala Ali, April 19, 2023, Netflix (Documentary Series)

Chimp Empire | Mahershala Ali | Official Trailer – Netflix, March 22, 2023, YouTube (Video)

Conflicted Opinion: Yale Chimpanzee Expert Weighs In on 'Chimp Empire' – Mike Cummings, June 8, 2023, YaleNews

Which Chimp Is Which in Chimp Empire? – Netflix, April 26, 2023, Netflix Tudum

What Happened to the Chimps in ‘Chimp Empire?’ – Netflix Tudum, May 2, 2023, Netflix

Kibale National Park – Google, Google Maps (Map)

Kibale National Park – Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Harvard University

Uganda Wildlife Authority – Uganda Wildlife Authority, ugandawildlife.org

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience – Brené Brown, 2021, brenebrown.com (Book)

The Social Self: On Being the Same and Different at the Same Time – Brewer, M., 1991, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

How Was Chimp Empire Made? – Netflix Tudum, May 2, 2023, Netflix

Male Chimpanzees Form Enduring and Equitable Social Bonds – Mitani, J., 2009, Animal Behaviour

My Life Among the Apes – Mitani, J., 2020, American Journal of Primatology

Rise of the Warrior Apes – James Reed (Director), 2017, KEO Films (Film - Prequel to Chimp Empire)

Most VIOLENT Chimpanzee Society Ever Discovered | Rise of the Warrior Apes – Discovery Australia, February 16, 2018, YouTube (Video)

What a Chimpanzee ‘Civil War’ Can Teach Us About How Societies Fall Apart – Nathan Rott, April 13, 2026, NPR

Lethal Aggression in Pan Is Better Explained by Adaptive Strategies Than Human Impacts – Wilson, M., et al., 2014, Nature

Intergroup Aggression in Chimpanzees and War in Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers: Evaluating the Chimpanzee Model – Wrangham, R. & Glowacki, L., 2012, Human Nature

UT Researchers Find Polarization, Lethal Conflict Among Chimpanzees – Khoi Nguyen, April 21, 2026, The Daily Texan

Adolescent Male Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Form Social Bonds With Their Brothers and Others During the Transition to Adulthood – Sandel, A., et al., 2020, American Journal of Primatology

Glimpses of Fatherhood Found in Non-Pair-Bonding Chimps – University of Texas at Austin, January 15, 2020, ScienceDaily

Human Respiratory Viruses Continue to Spread in Wild Chimpanzees – University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, January 2019, UW-Madison

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead – Brené Brown, 2012, brenebrown.com (Book)

Anthropomorphism and Anthropodenial: Consistency in Our Thinking About Humans and Other Animals – de Waal, F., 1999, Philosophical Topics

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? – Frans de Waal, 2016, W. W. Norton (Book)

Constraints on Relationship Formation Among Female Primates – Barrett, L. & Henzi, S., 2002, Behaviour

The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle – Aristotle, translated by F. H. Peters, 1893, Project Gutenberg (Book)

Think Your Adolescence Was Hard? Try Being a Chimp – Harvard Gazette, May 21, 2026, Harvard University

Social Relationships Between Chimpanzee Sons and Mothers Endure but Change – Reddy, R. & Sandel, A., 2020, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Puberty Initiates a Unique Stage of Social Learning and Development Prior to Adulthood: Insights From Studies of Adolescence in Wild Chimpanzees – Reddy, R., et al., 2022, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Male–Male Relationships in Chimpanzees and the Evolution of Human Pair Bonds – Sandel, A., 2023, Evolutionary Anthropology

Romantic Love in Humans May Have Evolved From Same-Sex Friendship – Lauren Macknight, June 7, 2023, Phys.org

‘It’s Like ‘Game of Thrones’’: Otter Clans Wage War Over Space in Singapore – Maina Chen, October 25, 2021, Yahoo News

Conservation – The Ngogo Chimpanzee Project, ngogochimpanzeeproject.org

Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance – Donald Horton & R. Richard Wohl, 1956, Psychiatry 19(3):215-229

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know – Adam Grant, 2021, adamgrant.net (Book)

Callings – Amy Wrzesniewski, 2010, September 1, 2010, The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship

Unpacking Emotion Differentiation: Transforming Unpleasant Experience by Perceiving Distinctions in Negativity – Kashdan, T., et al., 2015, Current Directions in Psychological Science

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain – Lisa Feldman Barrett, 2017, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Book)

Does Language Do More Than Communicate Emotion? – Lindquist, K., et al., 2015, Current Directions in Psychological Science

Brené Brown Says You’re Doing Feelings Wrong – Dan Harris, April 2022, Ten Percent Happier (Podcast)

Ancestral Diversity – Niedenthal Emotions Lab, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Great Ape Gestures: Intentional Communication With a Rich Set of Innate Signals – Byrne, R., et al., 2017, Animal Cognition

Towards a Great Ape Dictionary: Inexperienced Humans Understand Common Nonhuman Ape Gestures – Graham, K. & Hobaiter, C., 2023, PLOS Biology

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What happens to integrity when cheating becomes easier and the world seems to reward people for cutting corners? In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, Adam shares what happened when he discovered that students were planning to use AI to cheat on an exam. Brené and Adam move into a much larger conversation about honesty, character, and moral identity. Together, they explore when using AI is inherently cheating, why monitoring people isn’t enough to make them trustworthy, the difference between shame and adaptive guilt, and what research reveals about building a stronger moral compass. They also unpack why honor codes can sometimes backfire, how inconsistent accountability undermines trust, and what dimension of character we often overlook. Ultimately, Brené and Adam explore the difference between wanting to be seen as a good person and choosing to become the kind of person who does the right thing even when no one else is watching.

There’s Really Only One Way to Stop Students From Cheating – Adam Grant, August 26, 2026, The New York Times

Cheating: Why Students Do It and How We Can Help Them Stop – Donald McCabe, 2001, American Educator

Brené Brown: The Rage Bucket Theory – Trevor Noah, June 4, 2026, What Now? with Trevor Noah

Adam Grant Gives Trevor an Intellectual Wedgie – Trevor Noah, August 2024, What Now? with Trevor Noah

Pickleball Line Rules: Calling the Ball “In” or “Out” – PlayPickleball.com, July 31, 2024, YouTube

Cheating in the Age of Generative AI: A High School Survey Study of Cheating Behaviors Before and After the Release of ChatGPT – Lee et al., 2024, Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence

Addressing Academic Dishonesty in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Generative AI’s Impact – Sharma & Panja, 2025, Open Praxis

As Schools Reconsider Cursive, Research Homes in on Handwriting’s Brain Benefits – Jonathan Lambert, May 11, 2024, NPR

How Learning Handwriting Trains the Brain: The Science Behind the Cursive Wars – Mariana Lenharo, February 2, 2026, Nature

The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom – Ose Askvik et al., 2020, Frontiers in Psychology

Why Cursive Handwriting Is Good for Your Brain – Christopher Bergland, October 2, 2020, Psychology Today

The Effects of Handwriting Experience on Functional Brain Development in Pre-Literate Children – James & Engelhardt, 2012, Trends in Neuroscience and Education

How Handwriting Trains the Brain – Gwendolyn Bounds, October 5, 2010, The Wall Street Journal

The Self-Importance of Moral Identity – Aquino & Reed, 2002, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Does Moral Identity Effectively Predict Moral Behavior? A Meta-Analysis – Hertz & Krettenauer, 2016, Review of General Psychology

Competition and Cheating: Investigating the Role of Moral Awareness, Moral Identity, and Moral Elevation – Vadera & Pathki, 2021, Journal of Organizational Behavior

Moral Emotions and Moral Behavior – Tangney et al., 2007, Annual Review of Psychology

Shame and Guilt – Tangney & Dearing, 2002, Guilford Press

Shame, Guilt, and Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-Analytic Review – Kim et al., 2011, Psychological Bulletin

Shame v. Guilt – Brené Brown, January 14, 2013, brenebrown.com

Protecting Our Attention, Time and Humanity in a World That Won’t Slow Down – Brené Brown, August 20, 2026, The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant

Effectiveness of Ex Ante Honesty Oaths in Reducing Dishonesty Depends on Content – Zickfeld et al., 2025, Nature Human Behaviour

Committed Dishonesty: A Systematic Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Social Commitment on Dishonest Behavior – Zickfeld et al., 2024, Psychological Bulletin

Detecting and Preventing Cheating in Exams: Evidence From a Field Experiment – Cagala et al., 2024, Journal of Human Resources

The Honor Committee – University of Virginia, honor.virginia.edu

Effects of Honor Code Reminders on University Students’ Cheating in Unproctored Exams – Zhao et al., 2023, Contemporary Educational Psychology

Honor Codes and Other Contextual Influences on Academic Integrity: A Replication and Extension to Modified Honor Code Settings – McCabe et al., 2002, Research in Higher Education

Academic Dishonesty: Honor Codes and Other Contextual Influences – McCabe & Treviño, 1993, Journal of Higher Education

Bicentennial Analysis – UVA Honor Committee, 2019, University of Virginia

Culture Is Not the Problem. Tolerated Behaviour Is. – John Amaechi, February 15, 2026, Giant! with John Amaechi

Making a Pledge Can Encourage Honest Behavior—If the Wording Is Right – Simon Makin, Scientific American, February 26, 2025, Scientific American

"Do or do not. There is no try” - Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back, Screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, 1980, [Video] YouTube

I Solemnly Swear I’m Up to Good: A Megastudy Investigating the Effectiveness of Honesty Oaths on Curbing Dishonesty – Zickfeld et al., 2024, HAL Preprint

Trump Reports Over $1 Billion in Income From Crypto Ventures – TIME, June 30, 2026, TIME

Now Available: The President’s and Vice President’s Public Financial Disclosure Reports – U.S. Office of Government Ethics, 2026, U.S. Office of Government Ethics

Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 – U.S. Congress, 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-105

This Is Your Brain on Drugs – Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 1987, YouTube

Project D.A.R.E. Outcome Effectiveness Revisited – West & O’Neal, 2004, American Journal of Public Health

New Approaches to Youth Substance Misuse – American Psychological Association, March 2024, Monitor on Psychology

Beyond Pleasure and Pain – Higgins, 1997, American Psychologist

Self-Discrepancy: A Theory Relating Self and Affect – Higgins, 1987, Psychological Review

Possible Selves – Markus & Nurius, 1986, American Psychologist

Unwanted Identities: A Key Variable in Shame–Anger Links and Gender Differences in Shame – Ferguson et al., 2000, Sex Roles

Shame Resilience Theory: A Grounded Theory Study on Women and Shame – Brown, 2006, Families in Society

The BRAVING Inventory – Brené Brown, brenebrown.com

An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust – Mayer et al., 1995, Academy of Management Review

The Halo Effect: Evidence for Unconscious Alteration of Judgments – Nisbett & Wilson, 1977, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Integrity Is Choosing Courage Over Comfort – Brené Brown, brenebrown.com

The Self-Importance of Moral Identity – Aquino & Reed, 2002, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

The Optics of Lying: How Pursuing an Honest Social Image Shapes Dishonest Behavior – Guzikevits & Choshen-Hillel, 2022, Current Opinion in Psychology

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones – James Clear, 2018, Avery

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In this solo episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown turns to questions and comments from her LinkedIn community to explore what it means to protect our humanity and attention in a world moving faster than ever. She digs into where AI can support our work without replacing human discernment, why "work slop" costs leaders real cognitive bandwidth, and how leaders can tell the difference between polished output and actual understanding. Brené also unpacks Aiko Bethea's idea that transformation requires grief, reflects on what her conversation with Rebecca Lowe revealed about preparation and presence, and explores how pausing and active listening are essential parts of meaningful conversation. Along the way, she explains why she wears two watches and shares the story of getting fired from a house-cleaning job… and the unexpected lesson it taught her about why shiny can never replace mastery.

Brené Brown — Brené Brown, LinkedIn (Profile)

Adam Grant — Adam Grant, LinkedIn (Profile)

AI, Commencement Speeches, and Why Human Thinking Still Matters — Brené Brown & Adam Grant, June 11, 2026, The Curiosity Shop (Podcast)

The Rise, Fall, and Surprising Survival of WordPerfect — Jonathan Scott, January 15, 2023, Retro Tech Reads (Post)

Why Do Podcasters Wear Headphones While Sitting Next To Each Other? — Ray Malik, January 25, 2025, How-To Geek (Article)

AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity — Kate Niederhoffer et al., September 22, 2025, Harvard Business Review

On Death and Dying — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, 1969, Macmillan (Book)

Stages of Grief Portrayed on the Internet: A Systematic Analysis and Critical Appraisal — Kate Anne Avis et al., 2021, Frontiers in Psychology

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit — Brené Brown, 2025, Random House (Book)

Multitasking: Switching Costs — American Psychological Association, 2006, APA

Center for Humane Technology — Center for Humane Technology, humanetech.com

Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Unlearning Certainty, Part 1 of 2 — Brené Brown, 2022, Unlocking Us (Podcast)

Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Unlearning Certainty, Part 2 of 2 — Brené Brown, 2022, Unlocking Us (Podcast)

The Two Halves of Life With Brené Brown — Center for Action and Contemplation, 2024, Everything Belongs (Podcast)

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life — Richard Rohr, 2024, John Wiley & Sons (Book)

Kairos: The Right Moment or Occasion — Barbara Baert, Institute for Advanced Study

The History of the Elgin National Watch Company — Times Ticking, timesticking.com

Aiko Bethea — Aiko Bethea, aikobethea.com

RARE Coaching & Consulting — Aiko Bethea, rarecoaching.net

Brené with Aiko Bethea on Inclusivity at Work: The Heart of Hard Conversations — Brené Brown, 2020, Dare to Lead (Podcast)

Stop Outsourcing Your Judgement: Brené Brown in Conversation with Leadership Coach Aiko Bethea — Brené Brown, April 21, 2026, Fast Company

Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams — Amy C. Edmondson, 1999, Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2)

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth — Amy C. Edmondson, 2018, Wiley (Book)

Systems Thinking Resources (The Iceberg Model) — The Donella Meadows Project, Academy for Systems Change

Rebecca Lowe Bio & Career Accomplishments — FOX Sports, FOX Sports

Brené with President Barack Obama on Leadership, Family, and Service — Brené Brown, 2020, Dare to Lead (Podcast)

Brené with Brandi Carlile on Music, Mysticism, and Broken Horses — Brené Brown, 2021, Unlocking Us (Podcast)

Brené with Bono on Songs of Surrender and Carrying the Weight of Our Contradictions, Part 1 of 2 — Brené Brown, 2023, Unlocking Us (Podcast)

Dare to Lead Hub — Brené Brown, brenebrown.com

Brené with Barrett Guillen on The Hardest Feedback I've Ever Received, Part 1 of 2 — Brené Brown, 2021, Dare to Lead (Podcast)

The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant — YouTube (Channel)

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Is it possible to build a community without a 'them'? Author, YouTuber, and podcaster John Green joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant for a wide-ranging conversation on belonging, friendship, and the systems that shape our lives. Together, they explore why sports can create such powerful communities, whether it’s possible to build an “us” without needing a “them,” and why shared projects can help relationships last for decades. John reflects on the challenges of young adulthood, what he learned from working as a hospital chaplain, and why supporting someone in pain sometimes means resisting the urge to fix it. The conversation also moves through why frictionless access, not just awareness, is essential to helping people get the care they need, the role coaches can play in athletes’ well-being, and John’s upcoming novel Hollywood, Ending.

Hollywood, Ending - John Green, September, 2026, hollywoodendingbook.com

CrashCourse - Hank Green & John Green, YouTube

Demonic males: Apes and the origins of human violence - Wrangham & Peterson, 1996, Houghton Mifflin.

The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex - Charles Darwin, 1871/1999, Project Gutenberg

Not Like Me = Bad: Infants Prefer Those Who Harm Dissimilar Others - J. Kiley Hamlin, 2013, Psychological Science

The Social Self: On Being the Same and Different at the Same Time - Marilynn B. Brewer, 1991, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

The Away End - Episode 1: John Green & Daniel Alarcon Dissect the 2026 World Cup Draw - The Away End, 2026, YouTube

Roger Bennett – Men in Blazers Media Network

Developmental Sequence in Small Groups - Bruce W. Tuckman, 1965, Psychological Bulletin

The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times - Pema Chodron, 2002, Shambhala

The Framework for Leading With Both Care and Accountability - Brené Brown, 2026, The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant

"The Fault in Our Stars" Author John Green on Reaching Young Adults and Dealing With Mental Illness - CBS News, 2020, 60 Minutes (CBS News)

The Social Determinants of Mental Health and Disorder: Evidence, Prevention and Recommendations - James B. Kirkbride, 2024, World Psychiatry

Single-Session Interventions for Mental Health Problems and Service Engagement: Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses - Jessica Schleider et al., 2025, Annual Review of Clinical PsychologyAdministrative Burdens in the Social Safety Net - Herd and Moynihan, 2024, Journal of Economic Perspectives

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Help-Seeking in Young People: A Systematic Review - Gulliver, Griffiths & Christensen, 2010, BMC Psychiatry

The Inverse Care Law - Julian Tudor Hart, 1971, The Lancet

Rebooting Psychotherapy Research and Practice to Reduce the Burden of Mental Illness - Alan E. Kazdin & Stacey L. Blase, 2011, Perspectives on Psychological ScienceAre Mental Health Awareness Efforts Contributing to the Rise in Reported Mental Health Problems? A Call to Test the Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis - Lucy Foulkes & Jack L. Andrews, 2023, New Ideas in Psychology

How Coaches Can Be a Source of Mental Health Support for Student-Athletes - Madeline Will, 2024, Education Week

Meet the Genius Behind America’s Best Roadside Attraction - Show and Tell, Atlas Obscura, YouTube

Kate Bowler - Kate Bowler, katebowler.com

How the Intention to Share Can Undermine Enjoyment: Photo-Taking Goals and Evaluation of Experiences - Alixandra Barasch, 2018, Journal of Consumer Research

Optimal Distinctiveness Theory: A Framework for Social Identity, Social Cognition, and Intergroup Relations - Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, 2010, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

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What does it take to stay calm when millions are watching? Rebecca Lowe, the host of NBC’s Premier League coverage and Fox’s record-breaking 2026 World Cup broadcast, joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant to explore why preparation—not confidence—is her real superpower; the weight of being one of the only women in the room; and what it really means to lead when things get chaotic. Together, they unpack the difference between presence and preparedness, the “permission slip” moment that defines great leadership, and why the loudest person in the room isn’t always the one in charge. Along the way, Rebecca reflects on breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, how she earns trust from personalities like Zlatan Ibrahimović, and the teachable habit she uses to keep her co-hosts focused on live TV.

The Return of Coach Lasso – NBC Sports, 2014, YouTube

Nessun Dorma, Rome 1990 – Luciano Pavarotti, 1990, YouTube

Double Standards for Competence – Martha Foschi, 2000, Annual Review of Sociology

"Executive Presence" Is Overrated – Adam Grant & Brené Brown, 2025, Instagram

Entrepreneur Passion and Preparedness in Business Plan Presentations – Xiao-Ping Chen, 2009, Academy of Management Journal

Beyond Nine to Five – Lieke ten Brummelhuis, 2017, Academy of Management Discoveries

Building atomic habits with James Clear – Adam Grant (Host), July 21, 2023, ReThinking with Adam Grant

Can Your Employees Really Speak Freely? – James Detert, 2016, Harvard Business Review

Trailblazing Motivation and Marginalized Group Members – Karren Knowlton, 2025, Organization Science

Bullet Time Effect in "Sherlock" the BBC TV Series – Moffat & Gattiss, January 14, 2014, BBC/YouTube

Conversational Style – Deborah Tannen, 2005, Oxford University Press

Who Won't Shut Up in Meetings? – Adam Grant, 2021, The Washington Post

Dare to Lead read-along workbook (Permission Slips) – Brené Brown, 2021, Brené Brown, LLC

Tell Me What I Did Wrong – Stacey Finkelstein, 2012, Journal of Consumer Research

Emotional Contagion – Elaine Hatfield, 1993, Current Directions in Psychological Science

Huge If True – Cleo Abram, YouTube

Range – David Epstein, 2019, Riverhead Books

The science of performing under pressure with Sian Beilock – Adam Grant (Host), March 28, 2023, ReThinking with Adam Grant (“Twisties” discussion at 8:50)

Hidden Potential – Adam Grant, 2023, Viking

What Being Sober Has Meant to Me – Brené Brown, 2019, brenebrown.com

The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown, 2010, Hazelden Publishing

Positive Conceptions of Perfectionism – Joachim Stoeber, 2006, Personality and Social Psychology Review

The Queen Bee Phenomenon – Belle Derks, 2016, The Leadership Quarterly

Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women – Rosabeth Moss Kanter, 1977, American Journal of Sociology

Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex – Kimberlé Crenshaw, 1989, University of Chicago Legal Forum

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Why do sports make us cry, unite strangers, and create memories that last a lifetime? In this episode, Men in Blazers founder and CEO Roger Bennett joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant fresh off a 39-day World Cup marathon to explore what the tournament revealed about identity, belonging, and the power of collective effervescence. Together, they unpack the difference between hero players and hero teams, what it means to be a true fan, the political complexities surrounding the World Cup, and how sports create shared experiences that shape our lives. Along the way, Roger shares stories from the road, reflects on the strange grief of “World Cup withdrawal,” and revisits some of the tournament’s most memorable stories, including Erling Haaland’s taxidermy shop detour, the Cape Verde goalkeeper who became a global icon overnight, the controversial red card reversal, and more.

Roger Bennett – Men in Blazers Media Network

The Englishman Who Became America’s No. 1 Soccer Fan – David Waldstein, July 16, 2026, The New York Times

Men in Blazers’ Roger Bennett Eats Two Dinners During the World Cup “Chicken-tinga burros are the Messi of burros.” – Ben Widdicombe, July 17, 2026, New York Magazine

Brené Brown on Surrounding Yourself With People Who Take Pleasure in Your Joy (Schadenfreude vs. Freudenfreude) – Ellen DeGeneres, April 1, 2022, TheEllenShow

Premier League to bring all 20 clubs to U.S. in activation after 2026 World Cup – Victoria Hernandez, July 23, 2026, Yahoo Sports

The Kansas City fanwalk had us all like… – OnsOranje, Royal Dutch Football Association

The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football Is Wrong – Anderson & Sally, 2013, Penguin

Men in Blazers - “The Women’s Game” and “Vamos” (Platform links) – The Men in Blazers Media Network

New Volume Edited by Phil Smith and Sébastien Tutenges: Collective Effervescence – 2026, Yale Center for Cultural Sociology

ROG’s Heartbreaking Farewell and Stunning Comeback at Goodison Park (Everton) – Roger Bennett, 2026, YouTube

Brené Brown: The Power of Vulnerability & Joy in Liverpool! – Roger Bennett, April, 2025, Men in Blazers (Interview)

Anfield sings 'You'll Never Walk Alone' to kick off new season – NBC Sports, August 15, 2025, YouTube

We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event – Roger Bennett, 2026, HarperCollins

Who Belongs? Football and the Reinvention of the Modern Nation – Josh Wilson, 2026, TIME

The definition of a true fan – Adam Grant, Instagram

Folarin Balogun's lifted suspension – Roger Bennett, CBS Morning News, Instagram

This is so awkward: Modern puberty explained – Cara Natterson & Vanessa Kroll Bennett, 2023, Rodale Books

Human challenges in polar and space environments – Sandal et al., 2006, Springer

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit – Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

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This episode is a master class in coaching as Aiko Bethea, one of the most respected senior leadership coaches in the country, takes Brené through a current leadership conflict in real time, showing just how hard it is to slow down and lead from your values instead of your urgency. The coaching session is underpinned by Aiko's new "Anchored, Aligned, and Accountable" framework that focuses on why self-leadership is so critical in today's complex operating environment. Together, they dig into the difference between assuming good intent and believing someone is doing the best they can, and why that distinction changes what accountability actually looks like in practice. Aiko also introduces and models the powerful coaching practice of "three levels of listening" and how it's central to developing a coaching mindset.

Aiko Bethea — Aiko Bethea, aikobethea.com

Dare to Lead Hub — Brené Brown, brenebrown.com

Audre Lorde — Mariana Brandman, 2021, National Women's History Museum

bell hooks — Asami Robledo-Allen Yamamoto, 2025, National Women's History Museum

RARE Coaching | Aiko Bethea (@rare_coach) — Aiko Bethea, n.d., Instagram

Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams — Amy Edmondson, 1999, Administrative Science Quarterly

This Is Our Reminder of What Courageous Leadership Looks Like — Brené Brown, 2026, LinkedIn

One of the Greatest Joys of My Career Has Been… — Brené Brown, 2026, LinkedIn

Futurist Amy Webb on What's Coming (and What's Here) — Brené Brown, 2024, Dare to Lead podcast

Brené with Aiko Bethea on Inclusivity at Work: The Heart of Hard Conversations — Brené Brown, 2020, Dare to Lead podcast

Rising Strong — Brené Brown, 2015, Random House

Feeling Powerless at Work? Here's Where Your Agency Still Lives — Jessi Hempel, 2026, Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel

Without Accountability, Just Throw It All Away — Aiko Bethea, 2023, LinkedIn (Street Lights newsletter)

Post on Learning and Development (#learninganddevelopment) — Aiko Bethea, 2026, LinkedIn

Dare to Lead — Brené Brown, 2018, Random House

Stop Outsourcing Your Judgment: Brené Brown in Conversation with Leadership Coach Aiko Bethea — Brené Brown, 2026, Fast Company

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Previously released on Dare to Lead, this is part of a special six-part series with Adam Grant on Brené's book, Strong Ground. Brené and Adam unpack the difference between effort and excellence, why coaching matters more than judgment, and how unclear priorities can quietly derail even the hardest-working teams. From there the conversation moves further into prioritization, a consequential 2x2 decision-making framework, and how leaders inadvertently signal the wrong priorities through their emotional reactions. Circling back to effort, they also discuss why the first question leaders should ask when results fall short is whether they set their team up for success in the first place. Plus, Brené has a real-time realization that her own team may not be aligned on what's actually consequential.

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know – Adam Grant, 2021, Viking

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit – Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

No, You Don't Get an A for Effort – Adam Grant, 2024, The New York Times

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol Dweck, 2006, Random House

Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children's Motivation and Performance – Mueller & Dweck, 1998, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means – Carol Dweck, 2016, Harvard Business Review

“Both/And” Leadership – Wendy Smith, 2016, Harvard Business Review

Genius of the AND – Jim Collins, n.d., JimCollins.com

Reversible and Irreversible Decisions – Shane Parrish, n.d., Farnam Street

The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You – Elaine Aron, 1996, Broadway Books

Sensory-Processing Sensitivity and Its Relation to Introversion and Emotionality – Elaine Aron, 1997, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Above/Below the Line Practice – Brené Brown, 2025, BrenéBrown.com

Fairy Tales and Script Drama Analysis – Stephen Karpman, 1968, Transactional Analysis Bulletin (Origin paper for the villain/rescuer/victim model of conflict)

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Previously released on Dare to Lead, this is part of a special six-part series with Adam Grant on Brené's book, Strong Ground. The conversation opens on time scarcity, the devaluation of future time, and whether hope is actually a strategy. From there they discuss how great leaders don't need all the right answers (just the right questions) and the difference between executive presence and pocket presence. While digging into how the five C's of delegation build the situational awareness and critical thinking that pocket presence requires, Adam has a breakthrough realization that pocket presence isn't just an individual skill, it's a collective capability. Executive presence, they agree, is "party of one."

Resource Slack and Propensity to Discount Delayed Investments of Time Versus Money – Gal Zauberman, 2004, Journal of Experimental Psychology

Time for Happiness – Ashley Whillans, 2019, Harvard Business Review

Can We Afford to be Time Poor? The Hidden Tax of Time Poverty – Celestine Rosales, 2024, The Decision Lab

The Will and the Ways – C. R. Snyder, 1991, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Hope Theory: Rainbows in the Mind – C. R. Snyder, 2002, Psychological Inquiry

Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting – David Laibson, 1997, The Quarterly Journal of Economics

Some Empirical Evidence on Dynamic Inconsistency – Richard Thaler, 1981, Economics Letters

Future Self-Continuity: How Conceptions of the Future Self Transform Intertemporal Choice – Hal Hershfield, 2011, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

The stranger within: Connecting with our future selves – Cynthia Lee

April 9, 2015, UCLA Newsroom

We normally think of a weakness as a strength you lack, but it can also be a strength you overuse – Adam Grant, July 10, 2018, LinkedIn

Stop Overdoing Your Strengths – Robert Kaplan, 2009, Harvard Business Review

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit – Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

Research: Vague Feedback Is Holding Women Back – Shelley Correll, 2016, Harvard Business Review

The New Rules of Executive Presence – Sylvia Ann Hewlett, 2024, Harvard Business Review

Pocket Presence (Video) – Emmanuel Acho, n.d., TikTok

Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive-Developmental Inquiry – Flavell, 1979, American Psychologist

Essential social work theories & models – Syracuse University, n.d., OnlineGrad@Syracuse

The 5 Cs of strategic thinking, decision making, and delegating – Brené Brown, n.d., brenebrown.com

Atomic Habits – James Clear, 2018, Avery

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Previously released on Dare to Lead, this is part of a special six-part series with Adam Grant on Brené's book, Strong Ground. They dig into the Buddhist concept of near and far enemies- and why the biggest threat to your values isn't the opposite of them, it's what masquerades as them. From there they move into discussion around the value of paradoxical thinking, why some tensions aren't meant to be resolved, and why sports are leadership theater. Plus a conversation about why future time is always undervalued.

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit – Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

The Near Enemies of the Heart – Jack Kornfield, n.d., jackkornfield.com

Almost Everything: Notes on Hope – Anne Lamott, 2018, Riverhead Books (Chapter 2: “Inside Job”)

12 truths I learned from life and writing – Anne Lamott, July 13, 2017, TED (Video)

Anne Lamott's thoughts on love, writing, and being judgy – Adam Grant (Host), April 16, 2024, ReThinking with Adam Grant, TED Audio Collective

Genius of the AND – Jim Collins, n.d., jimcollins.com

Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning – James G. March, 1991, Organization Science

Putting Feelings Into Words – Lieberman et al., 2007, Psychological Science

How to Tame Reactive Emotions by Naming Them – Mitch Abblett, 2022, Psychology Today

Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule – Paul Graham, 2009, paulgraham.com

The Tush Push Explained – Kyle Brandt & Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson, 2024, NFL (Video)

Togethxr’s ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ T-shirts go viral – Callie Holtermann, June 28, 2024. The New York Times

Dr. Linda Hill on leading with purpose in the digital age – Brené Brown (Host), April 18, 2022, In Dare to Lead, Vox Media

The Pre-Mortem Method – Gary Klein, 2021, Psychology Today

Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting – David Laibson, 1997, Quarterly Journal of Economics (PDF)

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In this Re:Thinking podcast episode recorded at Authors@Wharton, Brené joined Adam to dig into her book, Strong Ground. They explore why courage now has to mean being a learner instead of a knower, and why values aren't just what you care about-- they're what you sacrifice for. The conversation moves through the four skill sets of courage, why a value that isn't operationalized into behavior is just a poster with an eagle on it, and how to use the "story I'm making up" framework for hard conversations. They also get into executive presence, vulnerability, care, and why fake courage is easy to spot.

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit – Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

Research – Brené Brown (n.d.).

The discovery of grounded theory – Glaser & Strauss, 1967, Aldine

Awareness of dying – Glaser & Strauss, 1965, Aldine

De-tabooing dying control – Thulesius et al., 2013, BMC Palliative Care

Never Split The Difference – Chris Voss, May 24, 2016, TEDx University of Nevada

Expectancy Theory (Victor Vroom) – The Decision Lab, (n.d.)

Dare to lead: List of values – Brené Brown, 2018

Dare to Lead Hub – Brené Brown

Brené Brown brings Dare to Lead program to UT – University of Texas at Austin, 2020, UT News

Neural processing of narratives – Jääskeläinen et al., 2020, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

The New Rules of Executive Presence – Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Jan-Feb 2024, Harvard Business Review

The Gifts of Imperfection - Your Guide to a Wholehearted Life: 10th Anniversary Collection – Brené Brown, 2010

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In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown and Adam Grant sit down with their first-ever guest, Simon Sinek. Together, they explore the state of organizations globally, including the chaos hitting C-suites, the human cost of misaligned incentives, AI-driven layoffs, and leaders playing defense when they should be playing offense. They dig into what makes teams high-performing, why caring deeply about the people you lead isn't soft but essential, and what the military's culture of love and loyalty teaches us about business. The conversation also moves through nervous system regulation, shame and guilt in parenting and leadership, and what AI can or cannot replace about human connection. This episode is a reminder that the things we've been told to leave out of business, such as love, care, and human connection, may be the most important things we can bring to it.

The Old Order Is Dead. Do Not Resuscitate — Sven Beckert, November 4, 2025, The New York Times

A Friedman Doctrine — Milton Friedman, September 13, 1970, The New York Times Magazine

The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America—and How to Undo His Legacy — David Gelles, 2022, Simon & Schuster

‘Take a simple idea and take it seriously’: Charlie Munger in his own words — Financial Times

Jack Dorsey Blamed AI for 4,000 Layoffs. A Former Block Exec Says That’s Not the Real Story — Leila Sheridan, 2026, Inc.

Brené Brown on values, vulnerability, and playing to win — Adam Grant, December 22, 2025, Knowledge at Wharton (Interview)

Threat-Rigidity Effects in Organizational Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis — Barry M. Staw, 1981, Administrative Science Quarterly

Finding our strong ground, part 1 of 6 [w guest Adam Grant] — Brené Brown, September 17, 2025, In Dare to Lead. Vox Media Podcast Network

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action — Simon Sinek, 2009, Portfolio/Penguin

The mental game of tennis: A scoping review and the introduction of the Resilience Racket Model — Konstantinou, G et al., 2025, Sports

The Inner Game of Tennis — W. Timothy Gallwey, 1974, Random House

Suppose We Took Groups Seriously… — Harold J. Leavitt, 1975, in Man and Work in Society

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t — Simon Sinek, 2014, Portfolio/Penguin

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts — Brené Brown, 2018, Random House

The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization — Peter M. Senge, 1990, Doubleday/Currency

Developing Brave Leaders and Courageous Cultures — Brené Brown, Dare to Lead hub

The Infinite Game — Simon Sinek, 2019, Portfolio/Penguin

Brené Brown: Focus on guilt instead of shame — 60 Minutes, March 29, 2020, YouTube

Children’s Proneness to Shame and Guilt Predict Risky and Illegal Behaviors in Young Adulthood — Jeffrey Stuewig (lead), 2015, Child Psychiatry and Human Development

The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe — Samuel P. Oliner & Pearl M. Oliner, 1988, Free Press

The Toxic Handler: Organizational Hero—and Casualty — Frost & Robinson, 1999, Harvard Business Review

Jensen Huang Says an Incorrect Nine-Year-Old Prediction About AI Shows Why It Won’t Destroy Jobs — CNBC, 2025, CNBC

Relational Job Design and the Motivation to Make a Prosocial Difference — Adam M. Grant, 2007, Academy of Management Review

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In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown and Adam Grant use this year’s booed commencement speeches as a launching pad to explore the role of AI in our lives. They dig into what some of those commencement addresses were missing: moral imagination, emotional honesty, and real empathy for the graduates. Brené introduces the concept of being “smitten with what’s written,” the trap of polished AI output that looks good but fails to move anything forward, and unpacks why writing is a tool for thinking, not just communicating. Adam proposes that signing your name on AI-generated content is an integrity violation, and together they work through how to give feedback, set expectations, and stay human in the middle of a technological transformation.

Show Notes:

George Saunders Reflects on his Famous Convocation Address at Syracuse University (2013) - George Saunders, 2023, Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences

Values and Messages Conveyed in College Commencement Speeches - Jenifer Partch & Richard Kinnier, 2011, Current Psychology

Don’t Be Afraid to Fall - Brené Brown, 2020 University of Texas at Austin (Commencement Address)

Make Your Bed – Admiral William H. McRaven, 2014 University of Texas at Austin (Commencement Address)

Through Disappointment You Can Gain Clarity - Conan O'Brien, 2011, Dartmouth College (Commencement Address )

Be True to Yourself - Ellen DeGeneres, 2009 Tulane University (Commencement Address))

The Importance of Kindness - Steve Carell, 2025 Northwestern University (Commencement Address)

Make Failure Your Fuel - Abby Wambach, 2018 Barnard College (Commencement Address)

Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game – Abby Wambach, 2019, Celadon Books

2026 graduates boo commencement speeches on AI - Eric Schmidt (Former Google CEO) University of Arizona; Gloria Caulfield (Real estate executive) University of Central Florida: Scott Borchetta (Big Machine Records CEO) Middle Tennessee State University, May 2026, PBS NewsHour

Exploring the Paradoxes of Human Nature: The Stockdale Paradox Explained, Brené Brown and Adam Grant, May 28, 2026, The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit - Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

A Whole New Mind – Daniel Pink, 2005, Riverhead Books (source of 'Symphony')

AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity – Kate Niederhoffer et al. (BetterUp Labs & Stanford Social Media Lab), 2025, Harvard Business Review

The Biggest Tell That Something Was Written by AI – Eve Fairbanks, 2026, The Atlantic

Quote Origin: I Do Not Know What I Think Until I Read What I’m Writing - Quoteresearch, 2023, Quote Investigator

Dare to lead glossary: Key language, skills, tools, and practices (including “Paint Done”) - Brené Brown,

Pilots and Passengers – BetterUp Labs & Stanford Social Media Lab 2025, BetterUp

The Ghost in the Machine’s Memory: A Teacher’s Lament - Hudson Mathew, 2026, AI & Society (A Socrates warning, voiced by Plato)

The Enhanced Games – inaugural event May 24, 2026, Las Vegas (founder Aron D'Souza; doping-permitted competition)

Atlas of AI – Kate Crawford, 2021, Yale University Press

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In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown and Adam Grant explore what happens when trust, vulnerability, grief, and performance collide. Using insights from the San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich's leadership philosophy, they examine why caring deeply is an act of courage, how shame quietly undermines teams, families, and organizations, and how psychological safety fuels excellence. The conversation moves through ambition and rejection, miscarriage and loss, community, emotional intelligence and empathy, and the ways people show up for one another through life's hardest moments. This episode explores how strength and kindness are not opposites and why building cultures of trust may be one of the most important things we do.

Victor Wembanyama on having Spurs legend David Robinson and Tim Duncan in the building - 2026, Yahoo Sports

Armored Versus Daring Leadership, Part 1 of 2 -

Brené Brown, 2021, Dare to Lead (Podcast)

Victor Wembanyama Emotional After Spurs Advance to the NBA Finals - 2026, Bleacher Report

Goals research summary - Gail Matthews, 2015, Dominican University of California

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead - Brené Brown, 2012, Gotham Books

Ring Theory Helps Us Bring Comfort In

- Elena Sandler, 2025, Psychology Today

Atlas of the Heart - Brené Brown, 2021 (Book)

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy & Adam Grant on Loneliness - Murthy & Grant, Authors@Wharton, 2024, YouTube

​Andrew Garfield on grief and the loss of his mother – CBS, 2021, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert​

National Survey of Gun Policy - Center for Gun Violence Solutions, 2025, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Empathic Joy and the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis - Batson et al, 1991, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1992-05357-001

Human empathy through the lens of social neuroscience - Decety & Lamm, 2006, The Scientific World Journal

​The Making of an American​ – Jacob Riis, 1901, Macmillan

​The Coach–Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q)​ – Sophia Jowett, 2004, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

​Bad Is Stronger Than Good​ – Roy Baumeister, 2001, Review of General Psychology

​Scarred for the Rest of My Career?​ – Erica Carleton (with Julian Barling), 2016, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

The evolution of shame and its display -

Landers & Sznycer, 2022,

Evolutionary human sciences

​Moral Emotions and Moral Behavior​ – June Tangney, 2007, Annual Review of Psychology

The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain - Brené Brown and David Eagleman, 2020, Unlocking Us with Brene Brown Podcast

Unlocking the Mysteries of our Brain - Chris Anderson with David Eagleman, 2022, The TED Interview

Winning coaches’ locker room secret - Blanding on the research of Barry Staw, 2019, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

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In this episode of The Curiosity Shop, Brené Brown and Adam Grant unpack the paradoxes that shape our lives, relationships, leadership, and decision-making. They explore the Abilene Paradox, the Stockdale Paradox, why groups often make decisions nobody actually wants, and how people balance gritty facts with gritty faith. The conversation moves through spirituality, teamwork, family dynamics, optimism, creativity, and even unexpected debates about Twilight and Pitch Perfect. Funny, thoughtful, and deeply human, this episode examines why two opposite truths can exist at the same time and why learning to live inside that tension may be one of the most important skills we have.

You can find The Curiosity Shop on ⁠YouTube⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ (@thecuriosityshop).

00:00 Intro: Paradoxes, Dad Jokes & Big Questions

04:20 What Is a Paradox?

10:15 The Grace Paradox

19:02 The Abilene Paradox

27:04 How to Avoid the Abilene Paradox

30:45 Guilty Pleasures: Twilight, Pitch Perfect & Eurovision

38:38 Aesthetic Chills & The Big Five

43:08 The Stockdale Paradox Explained

46:48 Gritty Facts vs. Gritty Faith

49:47 Why Leaders Need Paradoxical Thinking

51:04 MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech

55:39 Candor Over Consensus

57:32 Comfort vs. Courage

1:02:06 Jim Collins & The Genius of the And

1:06:48 Harvard's Anti-Grade Inflation Policy

1:09:21 How Brené Grades Group Projects

1:13:19 Building the Muscle to Hold Paradox

1:14:54 Personal Paradoxes & The Grace of Getting It Wrong

Lump - Allison Sweet Grant, September 2026, Little, Brown and Co. (Forthcoming book)

Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems - Smith & Lewis, 2022, Harvard Business Review Press (Book)

Toward A Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing - Smith & Lewis, 2011, Academy of Management Review

Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World - Adam Grant, October 2026, Vking (Forthcoming book)

Holding the Tension, The Wisdom of Paradox - Adapted, 2024, from Richard Rohr, The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, 2009, Center for Action and Contemplation,

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit - Brené Brown, 2025, Random House

SmartLess (Guest: Stephen Colbert)- Arnett, Bateman & Hayes, SiriusXM/Wondery (Podcast)

The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement - Harvey, 1974, Organizational Dynamics

Eurovision Song-Along: Story of Fire Saga: "Song-Along" - Dobking, D. (Director), 2020, Netflix (Movie clip)

Grease: "You're The One That I Want" - Kleiser, R. (Director) 1978, Paramount Pictures (Movie clip)

Brain Connectivity Reflects Human Aesthetic Responses to Music - Sachs, Ellis, Schlaug & Loui, 2016, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

Aesthetic Chills as a Universal Marker of Openness to Experience - McCrae, 2007, Motivation and Emotion

The Stockdale Paradox - Jim Collins, 2017, jimcollins.com

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't - Jim Collins, 2001, HarperBusiness (Book)

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts - Brené Brown, 2018, Random House (Book)

The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research - Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, 1967, Aldine (Book)

It's 2020, Stop Saying 'Negative Nancy' - Sexist colloquialisms to avoid - Eskreis-Winkler, 2020, An Injustice! (Magazine)

https://www.feministlawprofessors.com/2008/07/nervous-nellie-was-not-a-woman/

The Will and the Ways: Development and Validation of an Individual-Differences Measure of Hope - Snyder et al., 1991, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

An analysis of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" public speech - Duarte, 2011

BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company - Collins and Lazier, 2020, Portfolio/Penguin (Book)

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