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What would you learn about a new road if you came back after the ribbon cutting? You might find out where the bus stop went, how long it takes to cross the street, or what the neighbors hear when morning traffic starts.

A line from Neil Gaiman about voice and vision gets me thinking about those kinds of details. In this episode of Calm, Clear Curiosity, I turn to Robert Caro’s The Power Broker to see what happens when a reporter stays with a story. Caro follows the appointments and toll revenues that helped Robert Moses wield power without holding elected office. Then he spends two chapters on a single mile of the Cross Bronx Expressway, asking what happened to the people who lived in its path.

Closer to home, I look at aerial photos from Segregation by Design. You can trace Detroit’s old street grid and see where I‑75 and I‑375 cut through it, in and around Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. I also share where to start with the 99% Invisible read-along if you’d like to explore Caro’s account of that mile in the Bronx.

This week, pick a place you pass all the time. Find one detail you can’t explain and ask someone who knows the place about it. Give them a little time to answer.

Chapters

• 00:00 Neil Gaiman on voice and vision
• 00:18 Welcome to Calm, Clear Curiosity
• 00:48 What you notice shapes the story
• 01:13 After the ribbon cutting
• 02:02 How Robert Moses gained power
• 03:07 One mile of the Cross Bronx Expressway
• 04:08 Detroit’s freeways and the neighborhoods they displaced
• 05:21 The questions people rarely get asked
• 05:38 Where to start with the 99% Invisible read-along
• 06:39 Listening for the question you almost skipped
• 07:33 This week’s curiosity challenge
• 07:56 Closing and music credit

Read, listen, and explore

• Robert Caro’s The Power Broker
• The 99% Invisible read-along
• Part 9 with Majora Carter, covering “One Mile” and “One Mile Afterward”
• Segregation by Design’s Detroit aerial comparison
• Segregation by Design on Instagram

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About Calm, Clear Curiosity

Calm, Clear Curiosity is a weekly exploration of ideas worth thinking about. Each episode begins with a quote and follows the questions it raises through books, podcasts, journalism, conversations, and other discoveries.

Hosted and produced by Christopher G. Johnson of Calm Clear Media.

Music by Jerome Gray of Cleveland Heads.

Connect & Keep Exploring

Connect with me on LinkedIn for more ideas about curiosity, communication, media, and the ways we connect with one another.

Subscribe to my newsletter for reflections, resources, recommendations, and ideas that carry on the conversation beyond the podcast.

If this episode introduced you to a new idea, raised a question, or encouraged you to see something differently, follow Calm, Clear Curiosity wherever you listen to podcasts and share the episode with someone who might enjoy it.

Keep curious.

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Staying Curious with Quincy Jones

When was the last time you held back a question because you thought you should already know the answer?

In this episode of Calm Clear Curiosity, I pair a playful line attributed to Quincy Jones from Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones. His work across jazz, film, and pop gets me thinking about how we stay open to learning once people start counting on us to know what we’re doing. I’m also drawn to the way his autobiography makes room for other people to tell parts of his story. How often do we get to hear what someone else remembers about a moment we thought we understood?

I share what learning to swim as an adult taught me about asking for help and how I try to bring that same beginner’s mindset to work I’ve done for years. If you want to try it this week, ask someone to play you a song they love and tell you what they listen for. See what you hear the second time around.

Chapters

00:00 Quincy Jones quote and welcome
00:43 What does it mean to grow up?
01:19 What is a beginner’s mindset?
02:55 When experience leads to assumptions
03:46 Hearing a song through someone else’s ears
04:42 Making room for other voices in an autobiography
06:01 Learning to swim as an adult
07:11 Bringing a beginner’s mindset to work
07:56 This week’s curiosity challenge

Support the show

About Calm, Clear Curiosity

Calm, Clear Curiosity is a weekly exploration of ideas worth thinking about. Each episode begins with a quote and follows the questions it raises through books, podcasts, journalism, conversations, and other discoveries.

Hosted and produced by Christopher G. Johnson of Calm Clear Media.

Music by Jerome Gray of Cleveland Heads.

Connect & Keep Exploring

Connect with me on LinkedIn for more ideas about curiosity, communication, media, and the ways we connect with one another.

Subscribe to my newsletter for reflections, resources, recommendations, and ideas that carry on the conversation beyond the podcast.

If this episode introduced you to a new idea, raised a question, or encouraged you to see something differently, follow Calm, Clear Curiosity wherever you listen to podcasts and share the episode with someone who might enjoy it.

Keep curious.

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What helps us keep caring when it’s easier to withdraw?

Christopher Johnson pairs Ntozake Shange’s words about art as a healing force with Maggie Smith’s poem “Good Bones.” Together, they invite a reflection on how poetry, music, and stories can sustain us while we acknowledge the world’s difficulties.

Christopher considers the comfort of feeling understood, the tension between protecting others and preparing them for life, and the possibility of caring for the places where we have some influence. He also explores how small choices in a gathering can help people feel welcome and heard.

This episode closes with an invitation: return to a work of art that has stayed with you. Give it your attention, and notice what it offers you now.

In this episode:

• Ntozake Shange on art, joy, and sustaining ourselves.
• The uneasy hope in Maggie Smith’s “Good Bones.”
• How art can give form to feelings we struggle to express.
• Making room for experiences that help us continue.
• Finding opportunities for care in everyday life.

Reflection question: What poem, song, or story has helped sustain you through a difficult time?

Connect with Christopher Johnson on LinkedIn, and subscribe to the newsletter for more reflections and recommendations from Calm Clear Curiosity.

Resources:

• Read “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith
• Learn about Ntozake Shange

Support the show

About Calm, Clear Curiosity

Calm, Clear Curiosity is a weekly exploration of ideas worth thinking about. Each episode begins with a quote and follows the questions it raises through books, podcasts, journalism, conversations, and other discoveries.

Hosted and produced by Christopher G. Johnson of Calm Clear Media.

Music by Jerome Gray of Cleveland Heads.

Connect & Keep Exploring

Connect with me on LinkedIn for more ideas about curiosity, communication, media, and the ways we connect with one another.

Subscribe to my newsletter for reflections, resources, recommendations, and ideas that carry on the conversation beyond the podcast.

If this episode introduced you to a new idea, raised a question, or encouraged you to see something differently, follow Calm, Clear Curiosity wherever you listen to podcasts and share the episode with someone who might enjoy it.

Keep curious.