#91 Ken Woodward: The Fear Is Far, The Hope Is Near: America At 250

"That is what a patriot is. Someone who loves the country enough to trade the myth for the question." - Ken Woodward

We took a single question to two places: the garden of the Heurich House in Washington, DC, and a town-center street in Rockville. What are you asking, right now, about America at two hundred and fifty? We did not coach anyone. We asked, and we listened. What came back was not one mood. It was several, sitting side by side. A civility one immigrant was taught here and watched thin. A fear for the vote. An institution lost and a resolve to become one. The next two hundred and fifty years held in one hand and tonight's parking in the other. A whole country found again in a crowd at a pool.

Underneath all five runs one thread: the fear lives at a distance, and the hope lives within reach. Agency far away arrives as something done to us. Agency close enough to touch arrives as hope. The episode follows that thread back to the founding, to Frederick Douglass, and to what the word patriot is supposed to mean.

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

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Keep questioning!

#90 Ken Woodward: Right Now Questions - Union Market, DC: When Now Becomes Next

"When someone asks us about now, many of us answer with next." - Ken Woodward

We took the mic into Union Market and asked strangers one question. What is your Right Now Question? Their answers, and the quiet trend running underneath them.

On a warm June afternoon in Washington, DC, we stood in Union Market and asked the people passing through a single thing. Not what they do. Not where they are headed. Just this. What is your Right Now Question?

What came back was a market full of strangers, each one carrying something. A job. A move. A book they could not choose. A neighborhood changing faster than anyone can hold. Listen for the trend running underneath the answers, then meet us on the other side for what we noticed.

A few of the Right Now Questions we heard:

Am I going to get this job?
What does peace look like?
Do I stay, or do I go?
Do the new neighbors know what this used to be?
Where will these protests lead us?
What is so hard about being kind?

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!

#23 Ken Woodward: Right Now Questions Explored

This episode explores 'Right Now Questions,' a concept introduced in an earlier 2024 podcast episode. The episode compiles various interviews where individuals share their current pressing questions.

Featured guests include author Chazz Scott, who discusses life post-book release and physical recovery, and sisters Shreyaa and Esha Venkat from the nonprofit NEST4US, who are considering their future plans and educational transitions. Other contributors include educator Kwame Sarfo-Mensah reflecting on his roles, business leader Bill Reed sharing deep questions on emotional triggers and passions, and multi-hyphenate EbonyJanice Moore contemplating her priesthood journey. Art Historian and problem solver Amy Herman ties in personal and professional life experiences, and Executive Coach Jerry Colonna speaks on his transitional stage. The audience is invited to share their own Right Now Questions, fostering a continuous journey of learning and inspiration.