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Curated Questions

Celebrating The Power Of Questions

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#79 Andrew Caulk: Who Benefits From Me Believing This?

"It is easier simply to tell the truth, even if you've made a mistake, because what it does is build credibility over time." - Andrew Caulk

"It is easier simply to tell the truth, even if you've made a mistake, because what it does is build credibility over time." - Andrew Caulk

What happens when the questions leaders most need to ask are the ones they're most afraid to voice? Andrew Caulk spent two decades in the Air Force as an information strategist, and he's seen how institutions, military, political, and personal, manage their narratives by avoiding the hardest inquiries.

In this conversation, Andrew and Ken explore how misinformation and disinformation actually work, why truth is more strategically sustainable than deception, and how the attention economy is quietly rewiring our ability to think slowly.

Andrew shares what senior leaders refused to ask aloud in military war games, what the casualty projections for a Taiwan conflict actually look like, and why American will to fight may be the most underexamined variable in geopolitical strategy.

The conversation also turns to children, curiosity, and how the questions we allow, or suppress, in our homes shape the next generation's capacity to navigate a noisy world.

This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.

Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions)

Keep questioning!

Episode Notes

00:00 Welcome to Curated Questions

02:12 Meet Andrew Caulk

03:46 Power of Why

04:47 Choosing the Military Path

06:15 Public Affairs to Influence

08:38 Truth as Strategy

09:54 Credibility and Reviews

11:51 Mis Dis and Mal Info

13:31 Iran and Incentives

14:54 Rhetoric and History Lens

18:57 War Games Hard Questions

21:54 Will to Fight and Allies

27:27 NATO Article Five Details

31:46 Narrative Identity and Change

36:01 Changing Identies Late In LIfe When the Answers Demand it

43:16 Nuance Over Facebook

43:52 Understand Or Persuade

44:47 Conflict Communication Tools

45:35 Socratic Theology Debate

46:18 Leaving An Out

47:03 Change Takes Time

48:19 Deradicalization Lessons

49:15 Relatives And Intention

50:55 Self Reflection Practice

51:51 When Nothing Is Forgotten

53:32 Public Forgiveness Gap

56:07 Real Apologies And Follow Through

58:02 Reentry And Rehabilitation

01:00:41 Curiosity In Attention Economy

01:06:49 Poison Pills in Media

01:11:17 Andrew's Media Strategy

01:14:02 Broadening Your Media Diet

01:20:17 Explaining War to Kids

01:20:59 Screens as Slot Machines

01:21:28 Reading as a Baseline

01:21:57 Teaching Kids About Ads

01:22:55 Modeling Critical Thinking

01:25:04 Chores Versus Games

01:26:10 Feelings Versus Behavior

01:27:18 Predicting Your Day

01:28:34 Owning Mistakes and Apologies

01:31:00 Curiosity Through Homeschooling

01:33:37 Sex Ed and Consent Talk

01:38:01 Filtering Noise and Choosing Focus

01:42:19 A Vision for the United States

01:45:16 What Privacy Checks and Balances Look Like

01:50:30 Andrew's Right Now Question

Resources Mentioned

 Cognitive Strategy Group 

Right to Forget Law

Helio Fred Garcia

Inside The  Manosphere documentary

 Battlefield Three

 Ad Fontis Media Bias Chart

 Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday

Anchorman 2

 Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

Associated Press (AP)

Reuters

The Economist

 SCOTUSblog

 Freakonomics

Ground News

 Planet Word Museum

 Being Human Church

 Dr. Kori Schake

Jim Mattis

Andrew Caulk on LinkedIn

Producer Ben Ford

Beauty Pill

tags: Ken Woodward, Curated Questions, Andrew Caulk, disinformation, misinformation, information warfare, strategic communication, military intelligence, national security, media literacy, critical thinking, propaganda, narrative warfare, attention economy, social media manipulation, war games, Taiwan conflict, American foreign policy, Iran war, military strategy, public affairs, credibility, truth in communication, information strategy, cognitive bias, normalcy bias, media bias, news literacy, questioning assumptions, leadership questions, curiosity, sense-making, strategic inquiry
categories: Community, Leadership, Mental Wellness, Personal Growth, Politics, Strategy, Parenting, Problem Solving
Wednesday 04.15.26
Posted by Kenneth Woodward
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