What's the difference between curiosity, awe, and wonder and why does it matter for learning? In this episode, we welcome back three friends of the podcast: Dr. Megan Cuzzolino, researcher and educator at Harvard's Next Level Lab, Dr. Lauren Hodges, human performance researcher, and Jessica Billiet, neuroscience-informed change leader. Together, they explore curiosity as an epistemic emotion, the relationship between awe and meaning, and why widening our aperture might be the antidote to fear-based thinking. Part 1 of 2.

00:00 Cold Open

01:33 Dana Gets Meta-Curious

04:52 Meet Megan: Awe & Epistemic Emotions

07:23 Quick Curiosity vs. Sustained Interest

09:56 Does Learning Kill Awe?

11:12 Awe as Motivation at Work

14:00 Curiosity, Wonder & Vastness

21:02 Awe, Meaning & Purpose

24:18 Meet Lauren: Curiosity as Aperture

29:52 Curiosity as the Antidote to Stress

31:27 Reframing Fear with Curiosity

34:15 Wrap Up & Part 2 Preview

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Megan - https://pz.harvard.edu/who-we-are/people/megan-powell-cuzzolino

Lauren - https://www.performance-on-purpose.com/about

Jessica - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicabilliet/

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast

You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.

CONNECT WITH US

If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.

DISCLAIMER

All thoughts and views are of our own.

Recorded live at SXSW EDU 2026, Jake and Bob sit down with Dr. Tessa Forshaw from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to explore metacognition in an AI-driven world. Tessa unpacks why our brains naturally offload thinking to AI, the power of productive friction, and what it takes to keep our own reasoning sharp. We close the show with simple strategies everyone can apply.

00:00 Cold Open

00:37 Live Show and Intro of Tessa

04:56 Metacognition in the AI Era

12:46 How to Stay Metacognitive with AI

17:26 Think While You Work, Not After

19:40 Productive Friction Explained

23:09 The Current Divide with EdTech

30:00 Practical Moves and Closing

CONNECT WITH TESSA’S WORK

https://pz.harvard.edu/who-we-are/people/tessa-forshaw

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast

You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.

CONNECT WITH US

If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.

DISCLAIMER

All thoughts and views are of our own.

Dan Bielenberg was one of the original learning geeks who spent 25 years in adult learning at Accenture. After retiring, he only deepened that curiosity. His learning path took him through seminary studies, becoming a hospice chaplain, and now coaching faculty in higher education. Dan shares how stepping away from the corporate world opened a new chapter of intentional, reflective learning. We explore self-awareness, emotional intelligence, being present, and why the best learners never retire.

00:00 Cold Open

01:38 Learning from Seminary and Hospice

09:59 Strengths Coaching in Academia

17:13 Emotional Intelligence Matters

21:42 EdTech and Distracted Learner

25:16 Microlearning Revisited

29:55 What I'd Tell My Younger

34:45 One Last Thing…

36:10 Closing

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast

You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.

CONNECT WITH US

If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.

DISCLAIMER

All thoughts and views are of our own.