The Say The Word Podcast

Cindy Giovagnoli

Curiosity is a skill. It’s at the heart of how we move away from judgment and into real learning, empathy, and forward motion. Like all skills, there are tools to help us develop, grow, and hone curiosity. Language is one of those tools. The Say The Word podcast is where we look at how language is used in literature, memoir, poetry, and all kinds of fiction and nonfiction to connect us to what it means to be human and how to use curiosity to peel back the layers of what is keeping us from living the rich, meaningful lives we were always meant to be living. Come dig in with me, Cindy Giovagnoli, and let's get curious together! read less

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A Different Story

A Different Story

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from John Paul Brammer’s memoir, ¡Hola, Papi! : How To Come Out In A Wal-Mart Parking Lot & Other Life Lessons, discussing perspective, change, and the fallibility of memory. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Episodes

A Different Story

A Different Story

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from John Paul Brammer’s memoir, ¡Hola, Papi! : How To Come Out In A Wal-Mart Parking Lot & Other Life Lessons, discussing perspective, change, and the fallibility of memory. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Beyond My Imagination

Beyond My Imagination

Episode description: In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, discussing how to live on the moon, the astonishment of our real lives, and what is extraordinary in the ordinary. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a poem from Marie Howe’s collection The Kingdom of Ordinary Time , discussing what it means to move through our lives in a state of hurry, what it gets us (and doesn’t), and how to work with it. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Louise Erdrich’s novel The Round House, discussing what it means to deal with the unavoidable, confront fear, and step into adulthood. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

To Err Is To Wander

To Err Is To Wander

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from William Least Heat-Moon’s travel memoir, Blue Highways, discussing what it means to make errors, how wandering relates to creativity, and the kinds of failures that lead to regret. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from David James Duncan’s novel, The Brothers K,discussing how some issues in our lives can be subtle or invisible (until they’re not), recognizing them, and how curiosity can be a valuable tool in finding our way home to ourselves when that happens. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Hostages of Time

Hostages of Time

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s memoir, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, looking at what it means to have a chronic illness, our relationship to time, and how curiosity can be a valuable tool in unwelcome circumstances. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Genius Encouraged

Genius Encouraged

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Ta-Nehisi Coates’s novel, The Water Dancer, looking at what it means to be encouraged, to recognize our own genius, and how curiosity can help us honor that genius in ourselves and others. Get more info and the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re talking about humility and forgiveness and love as we dive into an excerpt from Brian Doyle’s essay collection One Long River of Song, and examining how curiosity can serve us in this work. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Islands and Walls

Islands and Walls

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Joan He’s young adult sci-fi novel, The Ones We’re Meant To Find, examining the difference between aloneness and loneliness, how to tear down walls, and how to use curiosity to connect more deeply. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a poem from Joy Harjo’s collection, An American Sunrise, examining how to find ourselves when we feel lost, get up when we stumble, and how to be right where we are. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

The Largeness Inside

The Largeness Inside

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Book of Longings, looking at how that it means to bless the largeness within us, to be a voice, and how curiosity can help us move forward through fear. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Residing Alongside

Residing Alongside

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Ellen Meloy’s essay collection Seasons: Desert Sketches, and talking about place and bearing witness and what it means to be a guest. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at a passage from Leah Johnson’s YA novel You Should See Me In A Crown, looking at how curiosity is the key to trustworthiness and why visibility matters. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re looking at an essay from Ross Gay’s collection The Book of Delights, looking at how curiosity equips up to be delighted even in moments of learning, and why it matters to lead with our hearts. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Multifarious Possibility

Multifarious Possibility

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re digging into an excerpt from Matt Haig’s intriguing novel The Midnight Library, examining the fallacy of regret as well as why and how we all have futures of "multifarious possibility." Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Angels and Bodhisattvas

Angels and Bodhisattvas

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re talking about the teachers who surround us every day and digging into an excerpt from Brian Doyle’s essay collection One Long River of Song, examining how the mundane can offer us deep lessons and what it looks like to pause and to truly see what is right before us. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Love Begins With

Love Begins With

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re talking about an excerpt from Renee Watson’s Love Is A Revolution, examining what it means to love in all its forms and how to get there through curiosity, and how story gives us a window to truth. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

Language of Home

Language of Home

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re talking about the importance of language and words and digging into an excerpt from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, examining what it means to have and use language, why it matters, and how to get there through curiosity. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast

In this episode of The Say The Word Podcast, we’re talking about enthusiasm and why being “cool” might not be worth the cost, and we’re digging into an excerpt from Kate Morton’s novel, The Secret Keeper, examining cycles, times of strife, finding happiness in small things, and letting ourselves laugh. Get the complete show notes at www.cindygiovagnoli.com/podcast