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Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better WritingThe language of children’s storytelling, with Doug Fraser1094. Have you ever wondered about the linguistic techniques behind popular children's podcasts? This week, we talk with Doug Fraser, also known as Dougie Pickles from the "Cozy Critters" podcast, who explains his strategic use of language to soothe and captivate kids. We also hear his insights on what makes successful children's content, including the importance of varied sentence length, the power of word choice and musicality in language.Doug Fraser - https://www.facebook.com/doug.fraser.733Doug's podcast - "Cozy Critters"🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my Linked...
2025-06-2619 min
Curious StateA fond farewellI come to you one last time to say goodbye. And to thank you for joining me on this journey of being curious for its own sake, of saddling a hunch and seeing where its long stride takes us. I think curiosity takes different forms throughout our lives. Wherever you are in your journey, it’s been an honor to be a part of it.You can follow my next adventures on my website: www.dougfraserdigital.comHere's my TwitterAnd here's the ol' LinkedInUntil next time, stay curious....
2022-12-2002 minCurious StateWhy is classical music so timeless? | feat. Benjamin ZanderIn 2021, the top three classical musicians on Spotify—Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart—were streamed 19.2 million times a month in 2021, which together would have earned them over $852,000. How is it that songs hundreds of years old are still being listened to? What is it about classical music that makes it so timeless?Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, shares his passion for the love that classical music generates.To learn more about Ben and access his incredible library of free classical music resources, visit BenjaminZander.org.CreditsCurious State is a Quic...
2022-12-1312 minCurious StateHaven't all the possible songs been written by now? | feat. Matt McGinleyMatt McGinley entered the music industry over 15 years ago as the drummer for the band Gym Class Heroes. Nowadays, Matt’s a contributing music producer for hit radio shows and podcasts, like This American Life, Serial, Nice White Parents, and S Town. Suffice it to say, he produces a lot of music. And it's all part of an ever-growing global library. By Google’s count, between 97 and 230 million songs exist worldwide. It makes you wonder…haven’t all the possible songs been written by now?CreditsCurious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted a...
2022-12-0612 minCurious StateWho will save us from ransomware? | feat. Renee Dudley and Daniel GoldenEasy money is hard to come by. Unless you’re in the ransomware business. Then tens of millions of dollars can be yours in a single, unsuspecting click. Quick cash grabs fuel a worldwide economy, funneling extorted funds into secret bank accounts, hackers’ salaries, and even government pockets. In a world where your data is the gateway to a thief’s payday, all is not lost.Cybercrime vigilantes like The Ransomware Hunting Team volunteer their time to make the digital world a safer place. Chances are, one day you’re going to need help from them. And...
2022-11-2915 minCurious StateHow do you catch a predator? | feat. Chris HansenOn Chris’s investigations (To Catch a Predator), the predators are real—so is the danger. And one night in Florida, that danger came with a car full of guns.CreditsCurious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan ChristiansonDigital Operations Specialist - Holly HutchingsMarketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomli...
2022-11-2219 minCurious StateHow do you get into a Princeton lunch club? | feat. Mark OppenheimerBack in the day, Princeton eating clubs were all the rage. It’s where you tapped into the pulse of the Princeton experience. Allegiances were sworn. Bread was broken. Bonds were forged with fellow members, some of whom would become crucial connections in the post-college world.The bicker of 1958 is a tale of a time gone by, but also a reminder of the continued struggle with anti-semitism and exclusion.Listen to Gatecrashers, a hidden history of Jews in the Ivy League, wherever you get your podcasts.CreditsCurious State is a Qu...
2022-11-0815 minCurious StateIs nature cool with cannibalism? | feat. Bill SchuttIt’s a tough world out there, eh? To live. To die. To hear the call of nature and answer it by eating your children. Just ask Bill Schutt, the author of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History.He discovered something shocking: Cannibalism in nature is incredibly widespread. In fact, it covers the entire spectrum of the animal kingdom.CreditsCurious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates....
2022-11-0113 minCurious StateWhy is the Stranger Things music so haunting? | feat. David KlotzThe music of Stranger Things haunts living rooms across the globe, and at times steals the show. It takes a professional touch to properly integrate music to serve the goal of a scene, and of a moment. Be it for signaling tension, to call back to a previous season, to ratchet up the thrills, or to bring comic relief.Creating the right music offers the opportunity to elevate a scene. But getting the timing just right is what makes it so. Because it’s not just what music plays—it’s when.To learn more about...
2022-10-2513 minCurious StateWhere does movie blood come from? | feat. Howard BergerHoward Berger started working in the movie industry at the young age of 13. Today, he has over 100 films to his credit as a professional makeup artist. He's worked on movies like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, From Dusk Till Dawn, and the blood-filled Kill Bill movies. But things on set don't always go as planned.Click here to learn more about Howard and purchase his new book, Masters of Make-Up Effects.A Quick RequestIf you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with...
2022-10-1820 minCurious StateWait... vampires are real? | feat. Michelle BelangerGrowing up in rural Ohio, Michelle Belanger had to hide her unique abilities from classmates. Her grandmother worried that if she showed off too much, government men would take her away for testing. Luckily, that never happened. Instead, Michelle went on a journey of self-discovery and created the de facto code of ethics for the international vampire community.A Quick RequestIf you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a great way to help the show grow and start fun conversations along the way.There a...
2022-10-1117 minCurious StateHow do you design a house...for fear? | feat. Leonard PickelLeonard Pickel's Hauntrepreneurs has designed over 300 original haunted attractions, including ones for Madison Square Garden, Universal Studios Florida, several Six Flags Amusement Parks, and the Kandy Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion.But what goes into designing a haunted house?Leonard takes us through the spooky business of manipulating architecture, impossible floor plans, why you should always "scare forward," and the kind of haunted houses that chill him to the bone.A Quick RequestIf you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a...
2022-10-0418 minCurious StateIs pillow fighting the next big sport? | feat. Steve WilliamsImagine the Ultimate Fighting Championship…but with pillows. That’s the basic recipe for the Pillow Fighting Championships. And it just might be the next big sport. Steve Williams, CEO of PFC, joins me to share pillow fighting’s journey into worldwide popularity (and possibly into the list of Olympic sports).A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The story of the one and only TKO so far in the PFCHow do you win a pillow fight?How the PFC pillows get their trademark thwhop! soundA Quick RequestIf you en...
2022-09-2711 minCurious StateWhat makes movie trailers so compelling? | feat. Dallas TaylorMovie trailers are a game of chess. Except in this game, millions of dollars are at stake with every move.Dallas Taylor, owner of Defacto Sound and host of Twenty Thousand Hertz, gives us a peek behind the curtains where creativity and business live in a pressure cooker.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:How many trillions of minutes of TV are watched in the US every year (yes, trillions)The evolution of movie trailersHave movie and TV trailers become too epic?A Quick RequestIf you enjoy Cu...
2022-09-2014 minCurious StateWhat's the secret to breaking 800+ world records? | feat. Ashrita FurmanAshrita Furman broke the world record for underwater hoola-hooping in Florida, where a pod of dolphins watched from afar—in what I presume was utter confusion.I've been in the presence of some pretty fascinating people. The voice of Porky Pig, a haunted house architect, a scientist who's close to bringing back a T-Rex (albeit in a less menacing, chicken-sized form). But Ashrita Furman is in a league of his own. He has world records out the ying yang, including:The most matches put out on your tongue in a minuteThe most beers opened with a ch...
2022-09-1315 minCurious StateWhy were prized rabbits in Auschwitz? | feat. Tanya SingerA photo album made with rabbit fur. A secret breeding project.A lost alligator.The story of Project Angora is truly stranger than fiction.Holocaust researcher and founder of the Knitting Hope project, Tanya Singer, shares a little-known story from inside 31 concentration camps. A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Why Heinrich Himmler was so obsessed with angora rabbitsThe dark message of Nazi fashionWhy animal exhibits existed at some concentration campsClick here to read the article on which this episode is based.Cred...
2022-09-0616 minCurious StateCan a "friends with benefits" relationship last? | feat. Dr. Justin LehmillerThe line between friendship and a romantic relationship blurs when sex comes strutting into the room. How do you navigate the complications of going from buddy to booty call?Thankfully, we’ve got an expert with the answers: Dr. Justin Lehmiller. He’s a social psychologist, Kinsey Institute Research Fellow, and the creator of Sex and Psychology. Justin was part of a team that conducted a year-long study of 200 friends-with-benefits relationships. And what he found can help us all unweave this type of messy, sexy, and downright “oh my god what have I done??” relationship.A few...
2022-08-3020 minCurious StateHow does cyanide kill you? | feat. Neil BradburyCyanide has made quite the name for itself. Take the Jonestown murder-suicide, for example—where cult leader Jim Jones called for over 900 of his followers to drink cyanide-laced punch. Cyanide also sits centerstage with a popular spy movie trope: the cyanide tooth. In case of capture, pop out the fake tooth that’s actually made of cyanide. Swallow it. And boom, a quick death is on its way.But how exactly does cyanide kill you?Let’s light up our gumshoe detective pipes and crack this case wide open with Neil Bradbury, author of A Ta...
2022-08-2316 minCurious StateAre cats a**holes? | feat. Jackson GalaxyJackson Galaxy is America’s Cat Daddy. He’s the host of Animal Planet’s hit show, My Cat From Hell, he’s amassed over 100 million views on his YouTube channel, and he has his own toy line—when it comes to cats, Jackson knows best.So, Jackson…is it true? Are cats assholes? Or is there more to those furry enigmas than meets the eye?A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The problems with seeing cats through dog-colored glassesWhy cats are Zen mastersThe dating impact for men with catsDid You Know?
2022-08-1618 minCurious StateWhat does reality TV say about us? | feat. Danielle J. LindemannThe shows we refer to as guilty pleasures may be more insightful than we think. Danielle J. Lindemann, author of True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, takes us on a journey into ourselves.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The character archetypes that make for compelling reality TVDo people care that reality TV isn’t real?The very first reality TV show (it’s almost 50 years old)How reality TV builds communityDid You Know?For the season one finale of Survivor in 2000—guess how many people tuned in. Upwar...
2022-08-0918 minCurious StateWhat's it like to remember every moment of your life? | feat. Rebecca SharrockOnly 80 known cases of highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) exist. What's it like to remember almost everything that’s ever happened to you? Rebecca Sharrock shares her experience—and how her dreams revealed an incredible feature of HSAM. A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:How she uses scent to relive positive memoriesRebecca’s first memory…at just 12 days oldWhat her dreams helped reveal about her memoryDid You Know?To help her quiet the memories in her mind, Rebecca goes to Harry Potter for help. At night, she quietly recites passages to...
2022-08-0212 minCurious StateHow do you get rid of a dead whale? | feat. VA Beach Aquarium Stranding ResponseWhales are textbook beauty and grace—and they’re a helluva lot of work to clean up when they die. Today, we’re diving into one of the most bizarre, smelly, and heartbreaking jobs in the world: working on a marine animal stranding response team.Thanks to Dr. Susan Barco and Dr. Alex Costidis at The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Program, here are a few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The equipment you need to dismember and move a 50-ton whaleHow many calories a whale eats in a dayThe smelliest whale to disse...
2022-07-2623 minCurious StateCan deep play revolutionize your work life? | feat. Alex Soojung-Kim PangUnder the right conditions, hobbies and physical activities become deep play, taking on additional layers of meaning and personal significance. Historical figures, like Winston Churchill, relished his deep play. Which, for him, was painting. “I know of nothing which, without exhausting the body,” he said, “more entirely absorbs the mind.”Ol’ Churchill knew that his deep play was important not just for the fun of it, but for the positive impacts on his work. Something Alex Pang knows all about.Alex is the author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. He’s made...
2022-07-1918 minCurious StateWhy did we fall out of love with pigeons? | feat. Andrew BlechmanDid know that—scientifically speaking—there’s no difference between a dove and a pigeon? Yet a dove’s more colorful counterpart has been dragged through the cultural mud. In doing so, we’ve missed out on the rich history and amazing features of this incredible creature. Andrew Blechman (author of Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird) is here to share the jaw-dropping details.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The world event that led to the cultural downfall of pigeons in AmericaThe loving history between pigeons and hu...
2022-07-1218 minCurious StateWho picks you up when you die? | feat. Jake HalbeckOver the next year, 56 million people around the world will die. That’s 106.6 per minute, 1.8 people every second, every day. That’s a lot of deaths. And it’s someone’s job to pick those people up and take them where they need to go. But who picks you up when you die?A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Why’s there such a high divorce rate among morticians?Why does the person who picks you up wear a suit and tie?How did the Civil War change funeral services?Did You Know?...
2022-07-0514 minCurious StateWhat's it like in the Pixar writers' room? | feat. Matthew LuhnSully. Miguel. Mr. Incredible. Nemo. Pixar has an extensive roster of characters who instantly capture our imaginations. But getting an impactful story to fall into place comes with big challenges—ones Pixar writers have to creatively spar with every day. And sometimes, those challenges hit back. 20-year Pixar storytelling veteran Matthew Luhn takes us on his journey into the writers’ room. A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Why did Toy Story (and Pixar) almost get shut down?How did Matthew go from The Simpsons to Pixar?How’d the writers figure out the ending to...
2022-06-2823 minCurious StateHow'd they fix wounded soldiers' faces in WWI? | feat. Dr. Lindsey FitzharrisThe First World War saw the dawn of fighting in the skies and advanced, savage warfare on the ground. Maimed soldiers lucky enough to survive were unlucky enough to live in a time when medical tech was vastly outpaced by war tech. That struggle to keep up meant uncertain futures for wounded soldiers—especially when it came to facial injuries. Medical historian Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris takes us behind the scenes of a medical revolution: the birth of plastic surgery.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Why did soldiers with facial injuries sit on blue...
2022-06-2120 minCurious StateWhatever happened to "thou"? | feat. Grammar GirlIn an age when eels were sometimes used as currency and castles pierced the sky, “thou” was all the rage. But over time, it disappeared from use. Where’d it go? And will it ever make a comeback? Grammar Girl (aka Mignon Fogarty) helps us parse through the grammatical treasures of yore and solve the “thou” mystery once and for all.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The searing insults “thou” providedThe societal shift that ended “thou”What dead word Grammar Girl would love to resurrectDid You Know?“Thou” was used longest in areas...
2022-06-1414 minCurious StateDoes this episode make you sleepy? | feat. Drew AckermanIs sleep giving you the cold shoulder? What if you had a bedtime buddy? A platonic pal who could slow the thoughts running through your head and lull you to sleep every night? Enter Drew Ackerman (aka Dearest Scooter).His Sleep With Me podcast gets 3 million+ downloads every month. That’s over a hundred thousand people, every night, falling to sleep to Drew’s hypnotic voice and meandering tales. How does he do it? What’s the secret sauce to lulling a football stadium’s worth people nightly?A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episo...
2022-06-0717 minCurious StateCould science go extinct? | feat. Alie WardScience is all around us. It's in our smartphones, the contours our of eyelids, the hidden rabbit nest in the backyard. But what if everything we’ve come to know about the world (and that the natural world knows about itself) disappeared? Could science itself go extinct? Alie Ward of Ologies stops by to set the scientific record straight, and share why science is more than a path to answers—it's a gift of questions.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:What animal species Alie discovered as a childWhy we’re not the on...
2022-05-3115 minCurious StateWhat makes a cemetery a tourist destination? | feat. Loren RhoadsCemeteries are a rather new invention in human history, created only 10-15,000 years ago. We’ve come a long way from stopping to smell the proverbial roses… instead of rotting flesh. But how do these resting grounds for the deceased become tourist destinations for the living? Cemetery historian and author Loren Rhoads helps us dig up the truth.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Why a famous Paris cemetery “brought in” celebritiesThe world event that led Loren to fall in love with cemeteriesWays humans have rid of their dead through the yearsDid You Kno...
2022-05-2416 minCurious StateCan animals break the law? | feat. Mary RoachWe humans love law and order. But what happens when non-humans go mucking around and chewing on our rules? Can animals actually break the law? Renowned science writer and raccoon super-fan Mary Roach has the answers. A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Do seagulls have it out for the pope?What are laws for, anyway?Laser scarecrows? Say what??Did You Know?In 1451, a Swiss bishop took some leeches to court. His reason? There were too many of them in the local pond.Curious State is a Quick and...
2022-05-1716 minCurious StateWhy's that crow living in the aquarium? | feat. The Virginia AquariumWhat do a crow and a glossy-eyed harbor seal named Monty have in common? Us.Oftentimes, human interaction with animals is for the worse. But when it comes to animal rehabbers, the interaction is meant to get the animal back on its feet—or paws or claws or flippers—and release them back into the wild. Chip Harshaw, VP of Animal Care at The Virginia Aquarium, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour to meet Monty and dives into the good, the bad, and the downright heart-melting aspects of human/animal relationships.A few curio...
2022-05-1015 minCurious StateCan you empathize with your internet haters? | feat. Dylan MarronFive years ago, Dylan Marron (creator and host of Conversations with People Who Hate Me) started engaging his internet detractors in long-form conversations over the phone. What started as a coping mechanism has turned into a hit podcast, lessons from which he’s shared in his new book.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The four-word idea that’ll change how you approach all conversationsHow you can apply what Dylan’s learned from internet haters to any relationship in your lifeWhat’s the point of trying to empathize with internet haters?Did You Know?
2022-05-0315 minCurious StateAre celebrities more interesting than us? | feat. SuChin PakJournalist SuChin Pak (co-host of Add to Cart) has been reporting on TV since she was 16 years old. If you watched MTV in the early 2000s, you saw her just about every day, interviewing the who's who of pop culture and music.Those celebrities, the ones who grace the silver screen and flood the airwaves with catchy tunes that burrow into your brain and never ever leave—are those people actually more interesting than the rest of us?A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:What it’s really like at the MTV Vid...
2022-04-2615 minCurious StateWhy are there so few female psychopaths? | feat. Dr. Mark FreestoneDr. Mark Freestone, author of Making a Psychopath: My Journey into Seven Dangerous Minds, takes us into the mind of an infamous female psychopath—and the finicky, outdated, and often untrustworthy system that attempts to diagnose women like her.A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The antiquated diagnosis process for psychopathsThe differences between how psychopathy manifests in male and female patientsGritty details of the murder committed by Angela the RemorselessHow a bias toward male patients is a symptom of a much larger issueDid You Know?James Bond is a psych...
2022-04-1917 minCurious StateWhat's the point of regret? | feat. Daniel PinkRegret is our constant companion, tugging at our ears to remind us of our mistakes. Our follies. The kind of stuff we shove to the back of our brain fridge and hope it doesn’t stink up the house.But what if regret isn’t what we think?What if it’s actually the way to a happier, more fulfilling life?Daniel Pink, the author of such insightful classics as To Sell is Human and A Whole New Mind, rolled up his sleeves and mined the deep, dingy trenches of regret. What he found j...
2022-04-1219 minCurious StateIs the mafia really that violent? | feat. Elie HonigThe mafia and violence go together like a fist and brass knuckles. But is the mafia really as violent as pop culture would have us believe? Or are we being conned?Nicknamed "organized crime's worst nightmare," former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig earned his stripes through the prosecution of John Gotti Jr and other major mafia players. He’s here to set the record straight.A few curiosities you’ll discover in this episode:The mind games of mafia violenceWhy murder is bad for businessThe strong appeal of unionsWhy the Italian mob could lose...
2022-04-0514 minCurious StateCan we overcome our childhoods? | feat. Lori GottliebSomewhere in the rows and rows of office cubicles that make up the emotional business of our brains, there’s one employee hellbent on burning the whole place down. Her name…is childhood. Is it possible to pry ourselves from her fiery grasp? Or are we destined to live with one hand on the fire extinguisher? Psychotherapist and bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb, offers a way to set our childhoods free: changing the stories we tell ourselves.A few of the curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:Why we’re all u...
2022-03-2913 minCurious StateCould we have domesticated a T-Rex? | feat. Dr. Richard KisselAh, the T-Rex. King of the tyrant lizards. Ruler of children’s imaginations the world over. With its savagery and you-look-tasty-enough-to-eat smile…could we have domesticated it? Dr. Richard Kissel is here to help us figure it all out. He’s the VP of Education at The DoSeum in San Antonio, Texas, and a total T-Rex fanboy.A few of the curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:The 3 questions to ask yourself before domesticating a T-RexHow much it would cost to feed a T-Rex over its lifetimeWhat a T-Rex’s personality might have been likeCould we have ma...
2022-03-2915 minCurious StateTrailerCan animals break the law? Why do some fonts just feel so good? Can a "friend with benefits" relationship last? Could we have domesticated a T-Rex? Dive into what you didn’t know you needed to know on Curious State with Doug Fraser. First two episodes drop on March 29.Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser. Have a question you want Doug to find the answer to? Leave a voicemail at (757) 541-8471 or email us at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.Follow the show:FacebookInstagramTw...
2022-03-1501 min