The Learning Geeks Podcast

In the final episode of Durable Learning Camp, we focus on the learner’s role in making learning stick, framing it as preparation, learning in the moment, and consolidation. We break each of these three areas down and provide practical techniques (e.g., bias awareness, generative note-taking, distraction-free reflection). We take a quick detour to share learning myths and introduce “learning accelerators” such as exercise, nutrition, stress management, and sleep.
This episode closes Season 8, and we want to give you a HUGE THANK YOU for being a listener! We’re very thankful for your support and continue to look forward to building this community.
 
00:00 Cold Open and Banter
00:27 Summer Camp Catch Up
02:12 Role of Learner in Durable Learning
04:17 Preparing to Learn
11:16 In the Flow of Learning
17:33 Learning Myths
24:05 Consolidating What I’ve Learned
26:39 Learning Accelerators
31:06 Wrap Up
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LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast
 
You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.
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CONNECT WITH US
If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.
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DISCLAIMER
All thoughts and views are of our own.

Part 3 of Durable Learning camp, we discuss what facilitators, or teachers of others, need to know about durable learning principles and how those principles may be challenged in a world of agentic AI. We explore how facilitation choices can unintentionally compromise durable learning and share tactics on how to retain effectiveness throughout the experience. We also debate AI’s impact on when teaching others, emphasizing effortful practice, productive friction, metacognition, and more.
 
00:00 Cold Open and Banter
02:56 Why Facilitators Need Principles
06:42 Facilitation Tactics
16:55 Energy Recovery in Sessions
18:27 How AI Effects Teaching process
23:05 Intentionality and Metacognition
30:58 Wrap and Signoff
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LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast
 
You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.
-----------
CONNECT WITH US
If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.
-----------
DISCLAIMER
All thoughts and views are of our own.

In Part 2 of Durable Learning Camp, we dive into all eight durable learning principles by reading their original definitions from the ancient scripture, which was dug up from an archeological dig of Jake's closet. We unpack what each one means, why it matters, and how they connect, plus a quick update on how practice and reflection have evolved since the framework's early days.
 
00:00 Intro and banter
02:36 Durable Learning Setup
03:19 Relevant
04:41 Engaging
06:53 Contextual
08:40 Effortful
15:19 Generative
17:45 Social
22:04 Practice
26:28 Reflection
30:12 Do Principles Still Hold?
34:16 Wrap Up
 
ARTICLE REFERENCED
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/people-in-progress/designing-for-the-cognitive-cost-of-change
 
LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast
 
You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.
 
CONNECT WITH US
If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.
 
DISCLAIMER
All thoughts and views are of our own.

We kick off a multi-episode our "durable learning camp". Today's episode focuses on the fundamentals of durable learning. We share personal learning examples from pinball, woodworking, and journaling to show durability in action, plus how AI tools intersect with metacognition and role-play practice. Consider this the fundamentals refresher before our next episode where we dig deeper into each principle.
 
00:00 Summer Camp Kickoff
00:33 Where have we been?
01:33 Movies and Broadway detour
06:58 Durable Learning Summer Camp Intro
07:58 Eight Principles Recap
12:05 Spaced Practice Pinball Story
15:38 Woodworking Skills and Recall
19:41 Experiential Learning and Journaling
24:39 AI Roleplays and Metacognition
29:54 Summer Agenda and Wrap Up
 
LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast
 
You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.
 
CONNECT WITH US
If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.
 
DISCLAIMER
All thoughts and views are of our own.

In part two, Dr. Megan Cuzzolino, Dr. Lauren Hodges, and Jessica Billiet dig into what prevents curiosity in our kids, our workplaces, and ourselves. From the neuroscience of dopamine and threat response, to how schools and organizations are designed for speed over exploration, the conversation gets practical. What does it take to protect the margin where curiosity lives? And what can leaders do to model and cultivate it? Part 2 of 2.
00:00 Intro
02:02 Neuroscience of Curiosity
05:39 Aperture Threat and Learning
10:35 Failure Safety and Workplace
21:23 Curiosity Needs Margin
24:14 Awe and Context for Kids
29:00 Patience and Social Safety
31:59 Leader Takeaways and Wrap
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Megan - https://pz.harvard.edu/who-we-are/people/megan-powell-cuzzolino
Lauren - https://www.performance-on-purpose.com/about
Jessica - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicabilliet/
 
RESOURCES
Reflection Guide: Making Space for Everyday Awe: https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/websites.harvard.edu/dist/a/108/files/2025/10/Making-Space-for-Everyday-Awe-Reflection-Tool.pdf
 
Reflecting on Your Learning in the Workplace: https://nextlevellab.gse.harvard.edu/learning-modules/reflecting-on-your-learning-in-the-workplace/
 
LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast
 
You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.
 
CONNECT WITH US
If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.
 
DISCLAIMER
All thoughts and views are of our own.

What's the difference between curiosity, awe, and wonder and why does it matter for learning? In this episode, we welcome back three friends of the podcast: Dr. Megan Cuzzolino, researcher and educator at Harvard's Next Level Lab, Dr. Lauren Hodges, human performance researcher, and Jessica Billiet, neuroscience-informed change leader. Together, they explore curiosity as an epistemic emotion, the relationship between awe and meaning, and why widening our aperture might be the antidote to fear-based thinking. Part 1 of 2.
00:00 Cold Open
01:33 Dana Gets Meta-Curious
04:52 Meet Megan: Awe & Epistemic Emotions
07:23 Quick Curiosity vs. Sustained Interest
09:56 Does Learning Kill Awe?
11:12 Awe as Motivation at Work
14:00 Curiosity, Wonder & Vastness
21:02 Awe, Meaning & Purpose
24:18 Meet Lauren: Curiosity as Aperture
29:52 Curiosity as the Antidote to Stress
31:27 Reframing Fear with Curiosity
34:15 Wrap Up & Part 2 Preview
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Megan - https://pz.harvard.edu/who-we-are/people/megan-powell-cuzzolino
Lauren - https://www.performance-on-purpose.com/about
Jessica - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicabilliet/
 
LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-geeks-podcast/id1413446184 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mACo97JvUL1LOmVJ9lATI?si=c430a6d9b08c4100
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learninggeekspodcast
 
You can also download us anywhere you get your podcasts.
 
CONNECT WITH US
If you have any feedback or want to join in on the conversation, connect with us via LinkedIN.
 
DISCLAIMER
All thoughts and views are of our own.