Calm Clear Curiosity

Christopher Johnson
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement

Calm Clear Curiosity is a weekly podcast for people who love learning, thoughtful conversations, and exploring new ideas. Hosted by Christopher Johnson, each episode is about ten minutes long and begins with a quote worth considering. From there, Christopher shares insights from the books, podcasts, television, journalism, and emerging trends that are shaping his thinking, along with the questions they inspire. This isn’t a review show or a news roundup. It’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and become more curious about the world and each other. Whether you’re looking for a fresh perspective, your next great read or listen, or simply ten minutes of thoughtful reflection, Calm Clear Curiosity offers a calm space where community grows through shared curiosity, and connection begins with meaningful questions. New episodes every week.

  1. 22h ago

    How Art Helps Us Hold On to Hope

    Send us Fan Mail 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 SmithLearn about Ntozake ShangeSupport 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.

  2. Oct 20

    How Life’s Unexpected Turns Shape Who You Become

    Send us Fan Mail What Has the Journey Already Given You? What are you gaining while you work toward a goal? In this episode of Calm Clear Curiosity, Christopher Johnson reflects on Ursula K. Le Guin’s observation: “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Paired with Dolly Parton’s America, the podcast series from Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee explores how our experiences shape us before we reach a destination. The series’ questions about music, identity, home, and belonging offer a starting point for considering what we carry with us as our lives change. Drawing on connections across his career and his experience learning to swim as an adult, Christopher considers the value we can overlook when completion becomes our only measure of progress. Along the way, we develop skills, build relationships, and sometimes discover that our goals have changed. A question to carry with you: If you haven’t reached your destination yet, what has the journey already given you? In this episode 00:00 Ursula K. Le Guin’s quote 00:59 How goals guide us 02:22 Introducing Dolly Parton’s America 03:46 Home, identity, and belonging 04:52 Connections across a varied career 06:05 Life during the preparation 07:11 Valuing progress when the outcome is uncertain 08:18 How curiosity can change our direction 09:15 Listening recommendation and reflection 10:26 Closing and credits Listen and connect Dolly Parton’s America Connect with Christopher Johnson on LinkedIn and subscribe to his newsletter for more reflections and recommendations. Music by Jerome Gray of Cleveland Heads. 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.

  3. Oct 13

    John Wooden on Making Mistakes: How We Learn by Doing

    Send us Fan Mail What do you do after making a mistake? Do you correct it and keep going, or does it become a reason to stop trying? In Episode 12 of Calm Clear Curiosity, Christopher Johnson reflects on John Wooden’s observation that people who take action inevitably make mistakes. Drawing on learning to swim as an adult and working in live broadcasting and events, he explores how we respond when an attempt falls short, why being experienced doesn’t exempt us from being beginners, and how thoughtful correction helps us improve. The book pairing is Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The relationship between player and coach invites a question about mentorship: Who helps us keep learning when we get something wrong? In this episode: Moving from embarrassment to useful reflection.Making room to be a beginner.Correcting a mistake and returning your attention to the present.Helping others improve through respectful feedback.Recognizing the attempts we avoid because we fear getting them wrong.A question to carry with you: What have you been postponing because you might get it wrong, and what would a manageable first attempt look like? Book Coach Wooden and Me by Kareem Abdul-JabbarConnect with Christopher Johnson on LinkedIn and subscribe to his newsletter for more reflections from Calm Clear Curiosity. 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.

  4. Oct 6

    How Can Learning From Yo-Yo Ma Help You?

    Send us Fan Mail Learning Is a Gift. What Will You Do With It? What changes when we think of what we learn not as something we acquire, but as a gift? Inspired by a quote from Yo-Yo Ma, this episode explores the idea that knowledge has a lineage. Teachers, mentors, colleagues, cultures, opportunities, and experiences all contribute to what we eventually call our own expertise. But receiving the gift is only part of the responsibility. Yo-Yo Ma challenges us to both preserve what we have learned and build on it. That raises an interesting question: How do we respect what came before while still creating something new? The reflection extends beyond music and culture to our careers, organizations, families, and communities. What have you been given? Who helped you learn it? And what will you add before passing it along? This episode’s recommendation An unedited On Being conversation between Krista Tippett and Yo-Yo Ma explores curiosity, culture, human connection, and performance as hospitality. That idea shifts the focus from “How am I performing?” to a more useful question: What experience am I creating for the people who are here? In this episode 00:00 Yo-Yo Ma Quote 00:47 Learning as a Gift 02:25 Preserve and Build 03:43 On Being Recommendation 04:20 Performance as Hospitality 05:05 Legacy Reflection 05:47 Closing and Credits 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.

  5. Sep 29

    Gwen Ifill on Building a Better World for the Next Generation

    Send us Fan Mail Creating a Legacy Through Connection and Community Host Christopher Johnson opens Calm, Clear Curiosity with a Gwen Ifill quote about not expecting the world to improve on its own and instead creating something to leave the next generation, contrasting passive hope with active participation. He highlights Ifill’s journalism career and focuses on her use of “create,” reframing legacy as what we add to the world, including intangible gifts like traditions, knowledge, encouragement, and building others’ capacity to continue. Johnson pairs the quote with Vivek Murthy’s Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, emphasizing that meaningful lives depend on relationships despite cultural praise of independence. He argues communities are built through small, cumulative acts—welcoming newcomers, organizing, connecting people—and urges listeners to make the path easier for those coming next by documenting lessons, sharing failures, and inviting others in. 00:00 Quote And Welcome 01:01 Why Create Matters 01:50 Rethinking Legacy 02:36 Book Together On Loneliness 03:53 Building Community Daily 04:54 Legacy For The Next Person 05:36 Practical Ways To Contribute 05:51 Participation Over Passive Hope 06:46 Closing Question And Farewell 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.

  6. Sep 22

    What Matters Most? Leonard Cohen and Atul Gawande on a Meaningful Life

    Send us Fan Mail Host Christopher Johnson opens Calm, Clear Curiosity with Leonard Cohen’s idea that “repose” comes from thinking less about ourselves, contrasting it with everyday self-evaluation and even self-improvement as constant self-judgment. He connects this outward shift of attention to Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, which critiques medicine’s focus on prolonging life without asking what makes life worth living, centering the question “What matters to you?” Johnson highlights related questions—what someone fears, will endure, or won’t sacrifice—and argues they apply beyond medicine as a way to understand others. He frames curiosity as a tool for getting outside oneself, distinguishing reflection from preoccupation, and suggests practices like listening closely, making something, helping, exploring, and asking genuine questions. He closes with prompts about where attention goes when it's not focused on oneself and what changes when you become curious about others’ answers. 00:00 Cohen Quote and Welcome 00:47 Repose and Self Focus 01:59 Being Mortal and What Matters 03:10 Curiosity as Repose 04:22 Practices to Look Outward 05:21 Weekly Questions and Closing 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.

  7. Sep 15

    What Jessye Norman Can Teach Us About Living Without Approval

    Send us Fan Mail Don’t Live Like a Weather Vane: Jessye Norman, Stoicism, and Handling Criticism Host Christopher Johnson opens Calm, Clear Curiosity with a quote from opera singer Jessye Norman warning that constantly gauging others’ opinions—like a weather vane responding to shifting winds—can limit your life. He explores how many people instinctively ask “What will people think?” when trying something new, and how this becomes a self-imposed limitation based on imagined reactions rather than real obstacles. Johnson connects Norman’s idea to William B. Irvine’s book The Stoic Challenge, highlighting its Stoic practice of reframing setbacks: treating inconvenience, criticism, or failure as tests that build patience, creativity, resilience, and perspective. Instead of avoiding discomfort by making only safe choices, he suggests becoming someone who can handle questioning and criticism when it comes, and notes that the show notes include an interview with Norman. 00:00 Stop Living by Approval 00:52 The Weather Vane Metaphor 01:48 Your Inner Weather Vane 02:26 Quiet Self Limitations 03:19 The Stoic Challenge 03:46 Reframing Setbacks 04:25 Handling Criticism and Risk 05:11 Closing and Next Steps 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.

  8. Sep 8

    Finding the Words: James Earl Jones on Voice, Courage, and Growth

    Send us Fan Mail Christopher Johnson introduces Calm, Clear Curiosity with a James Earl Jones quote about the pain of holding words in your heart that you can’t utter, reflecting on the contrast between Jones’ iconic voice and his childhood stutter. He connects the quote to common moments of hesitation, such as asking questions, sharing ideas, starting creative work, or having difficult conversations, and suggests that speaking can be part of becoming ready, with confidence sometimes following imperfect expression. Johnson discusses Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, contrasting fixed and growth mindsets and applying the idea of development to finding one’s voice. He recounts how a teacher encouraged Jones to read poetry aloud, helping him speak without stuttering, and invites listeners to consider what they’re still holding back and why. Book Recommendation Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck Dweck explores the difference between fixed and growth mindsets and how seeing our abilities as something we can develop can change how we approach learning, challenges, setbacks, and growth. Listen More James Earl Jones: An Incredible Journey The Interview, BBC World Service In this 2011 conversation with BBC interviewer Stephen Sackur, James Earl Jones reflects on his extraordinary journey from a childhood marked by poverty, segregation, and difficulty speaking to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable actors and voices. The BBC rebroadcast the interview following Jones’s death in September 2024. Listen: https://pca.st/episode/276cc855-beac-4258-9bf7-7f1113d09443  In This Episode 00:00 Opening Quote 00:17 Show Welcome 00:48 Jones and Silence 01:35 Words Unspoken 02:48 Mindset Framework 03:30 Developing Your Voice 04:01 Practice and Poetry 04:56 Question to Reflect 05:35 Book Recommendation 06:08 Closing and Credits 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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Calm Clear Curiosity is a weekly podcast for people who love learning, thoughtful conversations, and exploring new ideas. Hosted by Christopher Johnson, each episode is about ten minutes long and begins with a quote worth considering. From there, Christopher shares insights from the books, podcasts, television, journalism, and emerging trends that are shaping his thinking, along with the questions they inspire. This isn’t a review show or a news roundup. It’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and become more curious about the world and each other. Whether you’re looking for a fresh perspective, your next great read or listen, or simply ten minutes of thoughtful reflection, Calm Clear Curiosity offers a calm space where community grows through shared curiosity, and connection begins with meaningful questions. New episodes every week.

Information

  • Creator
    Christopher Johnson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Calm Clear Curiosity
  • Show Website
    Calm Clear Curiosity