How This Podcast Could Fail

How This Podcast Could Fail

Author: Vox Media Podcast Network March 26, 2026 Duration: 1:10:50
Brené and Adam have a bracingly honest conversation about what could go wrong in their collaboration, and how to set new teams, partnerships, and friendships up for success. They discuss the science of avoiding failure and building alignment, and practical strategies for navigating differences—including their own clashing instincts around minimalism vs. maximalism and sarcasm vs. trashtalk. The episode closes with what each of them is listening to, watching, and reading right now. You can also find The Curiosity Shop on YouTube and Instagram (@thecuriosityshop). Chapters: 00:00 - How Brené Inadvertently Launched Adam into Podcasting 02:57 - Interpreting Sarcasm  16:08 - How to Prevent Failure 28:57 - How Could This Partnership Could Go Wrong 38:42 - Learning From Differences 52:05 - How to Align Teams   1:02:00 - Closing Questions Show Notes: Brené and Adam on What They Will Never Agree On - The Curiosity Shop Episode 1 Unless You’re Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice - Adam Grant 2016 NYT Op-Ed My response to Adam Grant’s New York Times Op/ED: Unless You’re Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice - Brené Brown 2016 LinkedIn How to Love Criticism - Adam Grant 2018 WorkLife with Adam Grant Adam Grant on The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know - Brené Brown and Adam Grant 2021 Dare To Lead Podcast Brené Brown on What Vulnerability Isn’t - Adam Grant and Brené Brown 2023 Re: Thinking Ted Audio Collective Hypervigilance in Mary Poppins (1964) The art and science of trash talk with Rafi Kohan - Adam Grant 2024 Work Life With Adam Grant Performing a Project Premortem - Gary Klein 2007 HBR Evaluating the Effectiveness of the PreMortem Technique on Plan Confidence - Veinot, Klein, & Wiggins 2010 ISCRAM Conference The Economics of Gender Differences in Employment Outcomes in Academia - Donna Ginther 2006 National Library of Medicine Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System - Donnella Meadows 1999 The Donella Meadows Project Academy for Systems Change Narcissists: Are We Surrounded? On Science Vs: - Wendy Zukerman 2024 Science VS Podcast Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity, & Lifelong Learning in the Age - Dana Suskind, MD 2026 Book The Killing Stones A Detective Jimmy Perez Novel - Ann Cleeves 2025 Book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine a conversation where the goal isn't to win, but to wander. That's the space created in The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant. Each week, research professor Brené Brown and organizational psychologist Adam Grant meet not as definitive experts, but as dedicated practitioners of a more thoughtful dialogue. In a culture that often confuses loudness for clarity, this podcast from the Vox Media Podcast Network offers a different rhythm. You'll hear them challenge their own assumptions and gently interrogate complex ideas from society and culture, demonstrating that true understanding often begins with admitting what you don't know. Their discussions are a practical masterclass in intellectual humility, focusing on the power of better questions rather than the delivery of tidy answers. Listening feels like being invited into a rare, thoughtful exchange where curiosity is the highest currency. The result is a series of conversations that don't simplify the world's messiness but engage with it more honestly, encouraging everyone who tunes in to reconsider how they learn, think, and connect with others. It’s a weekly reminder that growth is found in the nuance, and that some of the most important discoveries start with a simple, "I wonder."
Author: Language: English Episodes: 93

The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant
Podcast Episodes
Brené with Simon Sinek on Developing an Infinite Mindset [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:13
I’m talking with Simon Sinek, visionary thinker, speaker, and author of multiple bestselling books, about his latest book, The Infinite Game. We talk about finding our why, the infinite mindset versus the finite mindset,…
Brené with Kevin Oakes on Cultural Renovation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:32
Kevin Oakes is the head of the world’s leading HR research firm, the Institute for Corporate Productivity, and we are talking about his new book, Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company.…
Brené with Jim Collins on Curiosity, Generosity, and the Hedgehog [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:12:03
This episode is a two-hour, deep-dive conversation with Jim Collins on his work and how it shaped who I am as a person, as a leader, and as a researcher. We talk about our values, our shadow values, the power of curiosit…
Brené with President Barack Obama on Leadership, Family and Service [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:41
I talk with President Barack Obama about his life, his work, and his new book, A Promised Land. We dive into the power of leaning into uncertainty and why the rare skill of holding the tension of opposites makes us bette…
Brené with Eric Mosley on Making Work Human [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:39
Eric Mosley is the CEO and co-founder of Workhuman, and we talk about his new book, Making Work Human: How Human-Centered Companies Are Changing the Future of Work and the World. His transformative work is based on 50 mi…
Brené with Guy Raz on How I Built This [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:08
I talk with Guy Raz, the creator and host of the popular podcasts How I Built This, Wisdom From the Top, and The Rewind. Guy and I dig into the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset, what gets in the way of innovation…
Brené with Jon Meacham on the Soul of America [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:19
I’m talking with Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Jon Meacham about what history can teach us about leading through crises and deep political divides. We discuss the importance of humility and candor and how our history…
Brené with Abby Wambach on the New Rules of Leadership [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:52
Olympian, activist, and author Abby Wambach and I connect on the new rules of leadership. Her book, WOLFPACK, I kid you not, is on my top five must-read leadership books. I buy this book for everyone. It’s leadership gol…