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I've been thinking a lot lately about how @jvn presents a masterclass on critical thinking in every episode of @CuriouswithJVN that is so beautiful and understandable that it should be required listening. A THREAD.
This thread is prompted, in large part, by having been reminded of a genre of podcast that I used to listen to with some frequency. The type that takes a very "pop science" approach to the way it presents information, which is in itself fine!
The goal of podcasts like these is to BLOW YOUR MIND with a TOTALLY NEW and AUTHORITATIVE take on something you probably know something about. This take is also often presented as the sole idea of their invited expert, who is also often...maybe not an expert but has THOUGHTS.
This is frustrating for me, as a(n erstwhile??) historian, because uh
Which is to say, that the conclusion of these podcasts isn't necessarily *wrong*, per se, but it: a) is often one possibility of many, and b) has often been discussed at length for a long time by a lot of people in its relevant field, and so isn't the epiphany of the one guest.
(Why yes, a fairly well-liked podcast WHICH SHALL NOT BE NAMED recently released an episode with a topic in my field, why do you ask??)
Anyhoo, I don't take issue with these sorts of podcasts' content, but with their clickbait-y presentation. I LOVE when information is made digestible and interesting to people, with no agenda, and in such a way as to spark curiosity to learn more.
Enter: @jvn.
If you know @jvn from Queer Eye and/or Gay of Thrones but you do NOT know @CuriouswithJVN, you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice.
It is a podcast dedicated to topics about which Jonathan is genuinely curious, and lemme tell you, his interests run the GAMUT: from the Romanovs, to Renaissance art history, to geoengineering, to Jim Crow. The full archive of episodes is dazzling in its diversity.
Here are the reasons why @jvn's approach to learning—and the way he takes his listeners along for the ride—is so special:
1. He is ENTHUSIASTIC. Did you at some point lose your childlike zeal for learning? JVN has absolutely not. His energy and excitement for soaking up every bit of information from his guests is palpable from the get-go.
2a. He invites people who know what they're talking about. His experts largely comprise university faculty and researchers and have years of experience under their belts. They're also real human beings who can communicate their expertise to general audiences.
2b. He also clearly respects that expertise. He knows his guests know what they're talking about, and that they are the best equipped to teach his audience. He has said many times that he loves a "gorgeous PhD" (okay this is not necessarily important but it makes me feel good)
(2c. okay so maybe the subtext of this thread is that the science- and expert-denying MAGA crowd could learn a lot from JVN. which is true on MULTIPLE levels but i'm really just going for the whole "critical thinking" thing here. anyhoo...)
3. He—and his guests—have NO AGENDA. While JVN is a gifted interviewer and is always prepared, he never tries to steer the interview one way or the other. There is no clickbait here. The conversation is directed purely by questions and their answers.
4a. He demonstrates that the spirit of a true scholar is accessible to all. JVN is a master of coming up with great "who/what/when/where/why" questions, and listening carefully when his expert guest responds. And after they do, do you know how he then responds?
4b. "omg interest! How do we know that?"
HOW
DO
WE
KNOW
THAT
?
What is the EVIDENCE for this claim? Where are the RECEIPTS? Asked conversationally, effortlessly. This may seem like a small detail, but—*looks around at all...this*—it really and truly is not.
HOW
DO
WE
KNOW
THAT
?
What is the EVIDENCE for this claim? Where are the RECEIPTS? Asked conversationally, effortlessly. This may seem like a small detail, but—*looks around at all...this*—it really and truly is not.
4c. And because he invites actual experts to be his guests, no one balks! They answer—conversationally, effortlessly—with the evidence for their statements because THAT IS HOW ALL OF THIS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
5a. Every episode is presented as the beginning—not the end—of learning about the topic. At the end of nearly every episode, a flustered JVN sputters about their time having run out and tells his guest that they HAVE to come back, that he could keep talking to them for hours.
5b. He makes so clear how vast and riveting their topic of conversation is, how many rabbit holes there are to fall down.
5c. You come away from every episode having learned a lot, but also knowing that only the surface had been scratched. There are no pretenses about definitive answers or Grand Conclusions, just...a lot of interesting shit that hopefully gets you curious to learn more.
There are probably more virtues that I could list, but those get to the heart of the matter, which is that I think @jvn is doing the world a real service, and he is the 21st-century critical thinking icon we need.
