Curiosity Collective

Join us as Nicola shares his experience navigating the pandemic from the  first Italian red zone to being quarantined alone in the Dolomite Mountains, how his perspective and faith have evolved over the last two years, and how he cultivates joy and delight in his daily life.

As a big man with an even bigger heart, 45 year old Nicola Maj (he/him) lives in Casalpusterlengo, works in Parma,  and stays visits Primiero in the ...

Pete and Joyce share their Kiwi pandemic experience, including how New Zealanders' fierce independence helped eradicate coronavirus from the island, how they navigate grief and longing through creativity and connection, and what brings them hope.
Content warnings include mass shootings and gun violence.

From Christchurch, New Zealand, Pete & Joyce Majendie have spent a large chunk of their lives exploring fait...

Solo world-traveler Rhys MacLean (she/her) joins us from the Pacific Crest Trail to share about her counter-cultural lifestyle living on the road, the adventure of traveling in some of the most remote parts of the planet, and what it's actually like to hike the most famous trails on the globe.

Content warnings include disordered eating.

Rhys is a world traveler, thru-hiker, and writer.  She has explored more than 50 co...

Join us as Roberta (Jenkins) James (she/her) shares how she's harnessed and embodied deep self-worth, confidence, and an abiding sense of Black joy while navigating white supremacy culture, how she's attained success in an industry dominated by white men, and why she parents her children to shoot for the stars.

Content warnings include racism, redlining, and misogyny. 

Roberta James was born in Savannah,...

Join us as Dylan Julian (he/him/his) shares his unique experience navigating the complexities of gender identity and expression as a Trans man, the work he's doing to support the LGBTQIA+ community as a coach, and what gives him the courage to embrace the tension of the unknown.

Content and potential trigger warnings include abuse, transphobia, homophobia, and misogyny.

Dylan Julian is a trans man and mindset...

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we're lucky enough to have special guest and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Jessie Timmons (she/her) to help us navigate the wilds of our shared collective trauma, share themes she's observing as we emerge from our respective quarantine bunkers, and the realities of navigating shifting relationships in the midst of it all. 

Content warnings include acute and chronic tra...

Join us as Melissa shares her unique parenting experience homeschooling 7 children including several with special needs, honestly reckoning with race in a multi-racial household, and the realities of navigating her own mental health in the midst of it all. 

Melissa Mowry (she/her) is a homeschooling mother of seven children, aged 8-22, four of whom have special needs of one sort or another.  She taught elementary school fo...

In this episode, my dear childhood friend Candice Shakur generously shares her experience as a Black girl growing up in small white Pennsylvania town, her current reality navigating the myriad challenges and  complexity of white supremacy culture as a Black woman, wife, and mother, and where she finds her hope.

Candice Shakur was born and raised in York, PA. She is a private person who would rather keep her stories to hers...

Join us as historian and scholar Dr. Emily Seitz shares the complex and nuanced history of obstetrics in the 19th century, including when women began entering the workforce as physicians, the complexity of language and legislation of birth, and some of the the origins and intricacies of abortion and reproductive justice. 

Content warning include miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion.

Emily Seitz (she/her) earned a...

Join me and one of my oldest friends Jen Balsbaugh as she shares her family's experience of the rare genetic condition of Trisomy 9, including navigating the world of medical specialists, pediatric therapy, and special education, and the many joys and delights it is to have a baby Nora.

Jen Balsbaugh (she/her) is wife to Colin, mom to Gus (7) and Nora (3), and former science teacher from northern Indiana.  In her free...

When she was only 29 years old, Avni Tokhie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a rare disease of the Central Nervous System that affects both the brain and the spinal cord.  Join us as she shares how she has adapted as a mother of young children, and her passionate advocacy to spread awareness and find a cure.

Avni Tokhie (she/her) was born and raised in Michigan.  Since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2015 ...

Join us as Keturah shares what it means to her to come from Old Order Amish heritage, what it was like growing up Beachy Amish Mennonite in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and a little about her palliative care work with infants and families as a nurse at the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pa.

Content and potential trigger warnings include death and dying of children, genetic birth defects, and religious languag...

This one is a doozie!!  Join us as Mya helps to break down and explain so very many myths and stigmas related to diet culture, disordered eating,  the extraordinarily junk science of the body mass index and SO MUCH MORE!!  If you've ever been swept up in shaming your body or punishing yourself for eating that delicious treat, this one is definitely for you! 

Content warnings include fat shaming, medical weight stigma,...

Curiosity Collective is back!

Host Katie Langley is joined by her dear friend Steph to launch season two of the Curiosity Collective Podcast!  Together they chat about where the Collective has been, where it's headed, and what Katie's learning, struggling with, and delighting in along the way.

Stephanie Frysinger (she/her) is a residential Realtor in central Pennsylvania with a Master's Degree in So...

Join us as Lindley generously shares her experience and wisdom as an autistic fat person, how she has catalyzed her rage into hope and change for thousands through her fat liberation activism and photography, and the challenges navigating accessibility, medical weight stigma, and finding clothes that fit. 

Content warnings include body and neurodivergence shaming, fat phobia and medical weight stigma.

Lindley Ash...

No matter where she lived growing up military all over the world, Gozá learned over and over through racist beauty standards and toxic purity culture that she was ugly, and never enough.

In this episode Gozá shares her erotic exploration from embodied trauma and shame to wild power, freedom, and joy.  

Gozá Parks is an artist, speaker and coach from Chicago. She has a psychology background and a passion for empowe...

Like many boys, Frank learned young that boys don't cry, but that it better (and safer) to repress his feelings in silence and shame.  In this episode, Frank bravely shares his experience confronting childhood sexual abuse, his path through addiction towards recovery, and the beauty in being surprised by hope.

Frank Sheffer (he/his) is a 44 year old father of two from central Pennsylvania who strives daily towards red...

Joanie Wolf (she/her) was born in Oil City, a small western Pennsylvania town and raised in Mechanicsburg, a suburb of Harrisburg, PA.  A former Kinesiology major, Joanie first dreamed of becoming an Elementary Phys Ed Teacher.  She graduated from West Chester University in 2008 with a degree in Liberal Studies with concentrations in Health and Education. With 15+ years’ experience working alongside adults and children in various c...

SEPTEMBER IS WOMEN IN MEDICINE MONTH!

Meet Dr.Deon,  Pediatric Rehab Physician in Chicago!  Join us as we talk about disability access, using your voice and finding your power as a woman, and choosing curiosity as our hope for healing.

Dr. Deon graduated magna cum laude from Xavier University in New Orleans, LA and attended the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, TN where she obtained her Doctor of ...