Is Curiosity Dangerous?
Part-Time Genius
iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
4.5 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 October 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Where did the saying “curiosity killed the cat” come from, and is it just a way for the rich and powerful to oppress everyone else? (Hint: yes.) Today on the show, Will and Mango take a look at curiosity’s checkered history: from the Middle Ages (when it was considered a threat to society) to the 17th century (when it became downright trendy) to today (when we can Google anything we want).
Day 2 listener activity: Head over to our Instagram (@parttimegenius) or Bluesky (parttimegenius.bsky.social) and tell us which three objects you’d include in a cabinet of curiosities. We’ll pick one comment at random to win a prize! For a bonus entry, take a photo or video of your objects, upload it and tag us. Deadline is 11:59pm ET, Sunday Oct. 26.
- Buy Barbara Benedict’s book, Curiosity: A Cultural History of Early Modern Inquiry.
Got a question you’d like us to answer? A rabbit hole you think we should explore? Email higeniuses@gmail.com or leave us a message at (302) 405-5925.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:05.1 | Michael Lewis here. |
| 0:06.8 | My bestselling book, The Big Short, tells the story of the buildup and burst of the U.S. |
| 0:12.1 | housing market back in 2008. |
| 0:14.8 | A decade ago, the Big Short was made into an Academy Award-winning movie. |
| 0:18.7 | Now I'm bringing it to you for the first time as an audiobook narrated |
| 0:22.7 | by yours truly. The Big Short Story, |
| 0:25.5 | what it means to bet against the market, |
| 0:27.5 | and who really pays for an unchecked financial system, |
| 0:30.6 | is as relevant today as it's ever been. |
| 0:33.2 | Get the Big Short now at Pushkin.fm. |
| 0:35.5 | slash audiobooks, or wherever audio books are sold. |
| 0:41.5 | Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called |
| 0:46.2 | Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together |
| 0:51.4 | in an intimate setting. Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like Dave Grohl, Leveh, |
| 0:57.1 | Rufus Wainwright, Mavis Staples, really too many to name, |
| 1:00.4 | and there's still so much more to come in this new season. |
| 1:04.5 | Lizzie to Nora Jones is playing along on the IHeartRadio app, |
| 1:07.3 | Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:33.2 | Music app, Apple Podcasts,idoscope and I Heart Radio. |
| 1:35.3 | Guess what, Mango? |
| 1:36.2 | What's that well? |
... |
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