Overconfidence and the Art of Knowing Yourself

Overconfidence and the Art of Knowing Yourself

Author: Vox Media Podcast Network April 9, 2026 Duration: 59:44
What happens when your confidence outruns your competence? Brené and Adam start with freestyle skiing champ Eileen Gu’s extraordinary Olympic press conference and use it to explore metacognition—how to notice your thinking, question it, and change it on purpose. They dig into the Dunning–Kruger effect, calibration, journaling, and feedback, discuss why we’re so bad at estimating timelines, and consider how “I’ve got this” energy can quietly wreck projects, relationships, and learning. From pickleball and ping pong to therapy and team meetings, this episode is about building the inner game of better thinking without losing your nerve along the way. You can find the Curiosity Shop on YouTube⁠ and Instagram⁠ (@thecuriosityshop). Chapters: 0:00 - Introductions 3:45 - Eileen Gu’s Metacognition   12:22 - What is Metacognition?  25:10 - What is Dunning-Kruger? 38:14 - Time Estimation and The Planning Fallacy  44:36 - Metacognition and Dunning-Kruger Final Thoughts  58:17 - Wrap up Shownotes: I hate minimalism - Hank Green, TikTok Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit - Brené Brown, 2025, Book  Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive-Developmental Inquiry - Flavell, 1979 Explaining the Dunning-Kruger effect and overcoming overconfidence with David Dunning - Adam Grant, 2024, Worklife with Adam Grant Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know - Adam Grant, 2021, Book Intuitive Prediction: Biases and Corrective Procedures - Kahneman & Tversky, 1979, Office of Naval Research Daniel Kahneman Doesn't Trust Your Intuition - Adam Grant, 2023,  Re:Thinking with Adam Grant  The Story Rumble Process: A Guide for Groups and Teams - Brené Brown, Dare to Lead, 2018 The learning benefits of teaching: A retrieval practice hypothesis - Koh, 2018 Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things - Adam Grant, 2023, Book Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments - Kruger & Dunning, 1999, Cornell University The Inner Game of Tennis - The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance - Timothy Gallwey, 1974, Book Charlotte Harpur and Eileen Gu, Final Press Conference, 2026 Winter Olympics, Milano, Italy. 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 Amy Cuddy on Pandemic Flux Syndrome [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:43
I’m talking to Dr. Amy Cuddy, social psychologist, bestselling author, award-winning Harvard lecturer, and expert on the behavioral science of power, presence, and prejudice. We discuss her recently published Washington…
Brené with Charles Duhigg on Habits and Productivity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:47
As I’m writing a book and thinking about habits that are getting in my way of being more productive, I call upon Charles Duhigg, who is a New York Times bestselling author on habits and productivity with The Power of Hab…
Brené with Priya Parker: A Meeting Makeover [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:03
This episode is the second of a two-part series with Priya Parker, master facilitator, strategic adviser, and the author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. We hold a weekly meeting in our organizati…
Brené with Patrice Gordon on Reverse Mentorship [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:40
I’m talking with Patrice Gordon about reverse mentorship, a practice that sets up a junior team member, often a member of an underrepresented group, to mentor senior staff. Patrice did a TED talk last fall on how reverse…
Brené with Doug Conant on Finding & Telling Your Leadership Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:56
Doug Conant is the only former Fortune 500 CEO who is a New York Times bestselling author, a Top 50 Leadership Innovator, a Top 100 Leadership Speaker, and one of the 100 Most Influential Authors in the World. We talk ab…
Brené on Armored versus Daring Leadership, Part 2 of 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:56
This is Part 2 of our two-part series on daring leadership, where I unpack four more common types of armor that we use to self-protect when we’re in fear. These barriers include creating a fitting-in culture versus a bel…
Brené on Armored versus Daring Leadership, Part 1 of 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:11
The greatest barrier to daring leadership is not fear; the greatest barrier is armor, or how we self-protect when we’re in fear. This is Part 1 of a two-part series where I unpack the most common types of armor, includin…