The other day a friend stopped by my office. She looked around and pointed quizzically at the list of adjectives posted by my desk. I told her it’s a reminder to myself of how I want to show up for work each day. She read them again, nodded, and moved on to note (accurately) that my plants needed to be watered. But my mind lingered on the list of words, and the last one in particular: curious.

There are a host of ails in the workplace (and, for that matter, the world) that can be mitigated by curiosity. When curiosity is at play we seek to understand, rather than to blame. We make fewer assumptions. We delay judgment. We discover new paths.

An interesting thing about curiosity is that it both requires and generates knowledge. We need a little information about a topic to ignite curiosity…which leads to discovery…which informs questions…and the cycle continues. 

In that way, I think of public broadcasting as a curiosity factory. A news story opens my eyes to a topic that I haven’t considered all that deeply. I scroll through OPT Passport and find a documentary that explores the context and nuance. The filmmaker highlights a related issue that sparks my curiosity – and so it goes. 

I find tremendous joy and value in this cycle, and I imagine you do too. In a world with plenty of assumption, judgement, and blame, I am so grateful that you choose to watch and support this curiosity factory. 

Rachel Knight
General Manager