"Real curiosity, untethered, unsoftened, it's a pretty intense tool. And I think the kids haven't blunted the weapon by politeness or by fear of looking dumb or by the belief that there are certain things we should know. It's still sharp." - Lulu Miller
" Real curiosity, untethered, unsoftened, it's a pretty intense tool. And I think the kids haven't blunted the weapon by politeness or by fear of looking dumb or by the belief that there are certain things we should know. It's still sharp." - Lulu Miller
Lulu Miller first found the power of questions on a subway train, listening to an early Radiolab episode about fireflies that blink in unison. That question opened a door she had been looking for since childhood: another world, inside this one. Today she co-hosts Radiolab with Latif Nasser, co-founded Invisibilia, and created Terrestrials, a nature podcast for kids and families.
Her international bestseller, Why Fish Don't Exist, begins with a question many of us carry quietly: what is the point? Her answer reminds us that the categories we trust are often questions we stop asking.
But the power scared her. She once fled journalism for a fiction MFA, convinced her questions could hurt people. Jad Abumrad's reframe brought her back: those worries are the sound of your moral compass.
In this conversation, Lulu shares three ways to move a conversation past the rehearsed version: ask something tactile, ask the elephant-in-the-room question, and interrupt with care. Then the kids on Terrestrials take over, asking NASA scientists and the poet laureate the blunt, open questions adults soften away. Real curiosity, unsoftened, is still sharp.
Who blunted ours?
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 The Powerful Questions Kids Wield
02:06 Meet Lulu Miller
02:41 Why Fish Dont Exist
03:14 Warm Welcome Exchange
03:49 Power of Questions Origin
04:00 Subway Commute Beginnings
04:36 Childhood Fiction Dreams
05:50 Radiolab Fireflies Hook
06:18 Emergence Opens Doors
07:41 Another World In This One
09:54 Questions Escape The Head
11:16 Interview Prep Without Lists
11:56 Five Scene Story Scaffolding
14:45 Curiosity Versus Outline
15:33 From 2D To 3D Stories
17:23 How To Foster Curiosity
18:21 Learning By Transcribing Masters
19:18 Pull A Book Technique
21:24 Ask The Elephant Question
27:36 Interrupting As Connection
30:47 Interrupting With Care
31:18 Owning The Annoyance
31:52 Permission To Say No
32:35 Listening As Superpower
32:50 The Uncomfortable Pause
33:29 Reflect On Tactile Questions
36:41 Back To The Interview
37:41 Journalism To Fiction Escape
39:19 Writers Party Whiplash
40:41 Questions Win Friends
41:20 Mic Like A Sword
41:55 Ethics Of Powerful Questions
43:43 Mentor Moral Compass
44:55 Collaboration Over Worry
46:22 Dreaming The Interview Prep
46:42 Handwriting Scenes To Set
48:09 Big Question Example
50:25 Terrestrials Kids Podcast
52:40 Kids Questions Taxonomy
01:00:59 Wrap Up And Where To Follow
Resources Mentioned
Radiolab (https://radiolab.org/)
Latif Nasser (https://latif-nasser.squarespace.com/about)
NPR (https://www.npr.org/)
Invisibilia (https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510307/invisibilia)
Terrestrials Podcast (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids)
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-Fish-Dont-Exist/Lulu-Miller/9781501160349)
This American Life (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/)
Radiolab, Fireflies "Emergence" episode (https://radiolab.org/podcast/91501-there-is-no-lord-of-the-fireflies)
Olbers' paradox (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox)
Jad Abumrad (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jad_Abumrad)
Robert Krulwich (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Krulwich)
Jocelyn Ford (https://mediaeducationlab.com/about/jocelyn-ford)
Nell Greenfieldboyce (https://www.nellgreenfieldboyce.com/)
Gregory Warner (https://gregorywarner.substack.com/)
Ellen Horne (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-horne-78a45a2)
The Addams Family (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family)
Radiolab parasites episode (https://radiolab.org/podcast/darkode)
Hanna Rosin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna_Rosin)
Alix Spiegel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alix_Spiegel)
Zoopharmacognosy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoopharmacognosy)
Terrestrials, "An Ocean in Space" episode (https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/an-ocean-in-space/id1504895463?i=1000702888723)
Europa Clipper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Clipper)
Europa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon))
Ada Limón (https://adalimon.com/)
Voyager Golden Record (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record)
Producer Ben Ford (https://www.producerbenford.com/)
Beauty Pill (https://www.beautypill.com/)