Features
Listen and Be Curious
O n Friday , April 12 , 2024 , Falk Laboratory School welcomed back David Greene . A former host of NPR ’ s popular “ Morning Edition ” program , Greene attended Falk from kindergarten until fifth grade , when his family left Pittsburgh .
Greene joined NPR in 2005 , covering the White House and then serving as a foreign correspondent based in Moscow , Russia . He was cohost of “ Morning Edition ,” which is heard in more American homes than any other public radio program , from 2012 until he retired in 2020 . Since then , he has remained busy , hosting and producing podcasts such as “ Left , Right & Center ” and “ Ukraine Stories ,” which showcased a different Ukrainian citizen every day during the first few months of the Russian assault .
During his visit to Falk , Greene took a tour of the building , including the 2010 addition , which was new to him . He then participated in a questionand-answer session with Falk middle school students , presented below .
“ We ’ re always so delighted to welcome former Falk students back to the school , not because they demonstrate to current Falk students that they can go on to do amazing things but because of how they do these amazing things : by asking questions , by finding creative solutions , and by trying new things ,” said Falk director Jill Sarada in her introduction . “ These are all Falk values , and these are all trademarks of David Greene ’ s work as a journalist , which is why we ’ re so thrilled to have him here with us today , speaking with students and taking their questions .”
Q : On a podcast , I heard something once that has stuck with me : “ The antidote to judgment is curiosity .” And that is something I think about deeply . Can you speak to what that might mean in relation to the work that you do ?
A : I love that phrase , and it actually is very central in my work today . I don ’ t have to tell all of you this : I think we live in a world where there can be too much judgment when someone says something maybe about politics or something else . You might immediately have a judgment of that person , like “ I can ’ t sit down and have dinner with this person ” or “ I can ’ t sit with this family member because I disagree with them about this big thing .” In the world of politics today , I think this is so , so sad and problematic .
I was actually in Lancaster , Pennsylvania , where I went to high school , a few days ago . And I was having some dinner sitting at a bar , and I met two women who had been friends for years . And I happened to tell them
that I have this podcast , “ Left , Right & Center ,” which is all about showing that you can come together in one space and get along and actually have conversations with each other even if you disagree about stuff . And the whole energy of my show is curiosity .
I told the two women that I had a show , and our conversation went like this :
“ Will you help us ?”
DG : “ We just met 15 minutes ago . What can I do to help you ?”
“ We can ’ t talk about politics because we ’ re voting for two different people in the presidential election .”
DG : “ Okay . How long have you been friends ?” “ Thirty years .” DG : Why can ’ t you talk about politics ?
“ When she says something , I get so mad . She ’ s voting for Trump , and I ’ m voting for Biden , and I just don ’ t get it .”
DG : “ Why don ’ t you ask her a few questions ?”
And they started asking each other questions , and I said , “ You know what you sound like right now ? You sound like two friends who are curious about each other .”
They started asking why questions , not [ statements like ] “ I can ’ t believe you believe that ” or “ I can ’ t believe you ’ re voting for that guy .” It was more like “ So why do you believe that ?” and “ Why is that so important to you ?”
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