Episodes

  • Earning trust as a strategic insights function with Christopher Khoury

    Earning trust as a strategic insights function with Christopher Khoury
    Feb 17 2026
    Strategic insights only matter when leaders trust them. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly speak with Christopher Khoury, Vice President of Strategic Insights at the American Medical Association, about how credibility is built over time inside complex, highly regulated organizations. Christopher shares how insights teams earn trust by saying yes early, getting close to the business, building strong team chemistry, and using market intelligence to guide leaders through uncertainty rather than chasing shiny ideas.
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    47 mins
  • From scattered research to shared reality with Kylee Lessard

    From scattered research to shared reality with Kylee Lessard
    Feb 10 2026
    Enterprise research teams often produce plenty of insight but struggle to influence real decisions. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie speaks with Kylee Lessard, Group/Principal Product Marketing Manager for Insights & Strategy at LinkedIn, about how she helped build a centralized insights function that leadership actually relies on. Kylee breaks down the practical steps she used to move from scattered, ad-hoc research to a shared system for prioritization, synthesis, and decision support. The conversation covers how to design insight charters, align research to planning cycles, separate signal from noise, and use simple AI workflows to stay close to both market shifts and customer reality.
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    45 mins
  • Older adults, gaming, and tech stereotypes with Dr. Brittne Kakulla

    Older adults, gaming, and tech stereotypes with Dr. Brittne Kakulla
    Feb 3 2026
    The story that older adults struggle with technology keeps showing up. The data says otherwise. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Molly is joined by Dr. Brittne Kakulla, Senior Consumer Insights Manager at AARP, with special guest co-host Elana Marmorstein, aytm’s Market Revenue Operations Specialist and host of Waves of Thinking. Brittne shares what over two decades of research reveal about older adults in tech, including gaming, smart devices, and AI. The conversation reframes adoption as selectivity, not reluctance, and shows why trust, usefulness, and life stage matter more than age when designing technology for the 50+ market.
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    40 mins
  • Why LEGO belongs in market research with Garret Westlake

    Why LEGO belongs in market research with Garret Westlake
    Jan 27 2026
    Market research often rewards speed, confidence, and verbal fluency. That leaves insight behind. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Molly is joined by Garret Westlake, Vice Provost for Innovation and Strategic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, with special guest co-host Katie Bernal, Senior Director of Learning and Enablement at aytm. Garret explains how LEGO SERIOUS PLAY can be used as a legitimate market research methodology, why embodied and visual thinking matter, and how serious play creates space for insight from people who do not thrive in verbal-first research settings. The conversation explores inclusion, storytelling, innovation, and how AI can support creative sense-making without replacing human judgment.
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    43 mins
  • How causal AI is revolutionizing consumer and market research with Jason Cohen

    How causal AI is revolutionizing consumer and market research with Jason Cohen
    Jan 20 2026
    In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly sit down with Jason Cohen, Founder and CEO of Simulacra, to explore how causal AI and scenario modeling are changing the way market research actually works. Jason explains why more rows rarely fix weak studies, how seeded synthetic data can extract insight from incomplete datasets, and why understanding cause and effect matters more than ever in modern consumer research.
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    48 mins
  • The researchers you need aren't looking for research jobs with Charitie Dantis-Gayo

    The researchers you need aren't looking for research jobs with Charitie Dantis-Gayo
    Jan 13 2026
    Market research is losing great talent because the career path remains invisible. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly are joined by Charitie Dantis-Gayo, Corporate Vice President, Center for Consumer Insights at New York Life Insurance Company. Charitie shares her nonlinear path into market research, explains why visibility matters more than credentials, and outlines what truly attracts and develops the next generation of researchers. The conversation covers recruiting for initiative and curiosity, using AI with discipline, and why human judgment and fieldwork remain essential in modern insights work.
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    49 mins
  • The human context AI can’t replicate with Nancee Halpin

    The human context AI can’t replicate with Nancee Halpin
    Jan 6 2026
    AI can accelerate research. It cannot replace context. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly sit down with Nancee Halpin, a researcher and insights specialist whose career spans Fuel Cycle, SurveyMonkey, Highlight, and Strella. Nancee explains why human judgment, curiosity, and lived context still sit at the center of good research, even as AI reshapes how fast teams can move. The conversation explores where AI genuinely helps, where it falls short, and why researchers remain essential interpreters between data and decision-making.
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    47 mins
  • Earning a seat at the table: risk, value, and the power of insight with Ed Kahn

    Earning a seat at the table: risk, value, and the power of insight with Ed Kahn
    Dec 23 2025
    Influence does not come from more data. It comes from understanding risk, value, and timing. In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly are joined by Ed Kahn, Senior Principal of CX Research and Insights at Mutual of America Financial Group. With a career spanning consumer electronics, syndicated research, and financial services, Ed shares why researchers often feel excluded from decisions and what actually changes that dynamic. He explains how fluency in business context, clarity around risk, and relevance in the moment turn research into influence. This conversation reframes the idea of a “seat at the table” and offers practical ways insights teams can earn it.
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    43 mins