391: What Can Chronic Uncertainty Teach Us About Control, Acceptance, and Resilience?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Release Date: 12/02/2025
401: How Do Writer Friendships Make the Creative Journey More Sustainable?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Hurley Winkler is a writer and editor from Jacksonville, FL. Her newsletter, “Lonely Victories,” is among the top Substack publications in the Literature category. She teaches creative writing at Flagler College. Summary In this episode, I speak with writer and teacher Hurley Winkler about journaling, creative practice, and building a sustainable writing life. Hurley traces her path to writing back to childhood anxiety and early journaling inspired by Harriet the Spy, and describes how writing eventually became her preferred independent art form after early interests in...
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400: How Do Observing and Deep Listening Help Shape Strong Writing?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Heather Lende is the author of four books centered on her life in Haines, Alaska: If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs, Find the Good: Life Lessons from a Small-town Obituary Writer, and, most recently, Of Bears and Ballots, about her adventures in local politics. Heather served as Alaska Writer Laureate from 2021-2023, has an honorary Ph.D in Humane Letters from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and is the recipient of the Middlebury College Alumni Award. Summary In this, my 400th episode, I sit down with writer Heather Lende...
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399: Why Do Public Lands Remain a Source of Controversy?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Adam Bronstein grew up exploring the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York and knew from a young age that he wanted to work to protect wild places. He received a BS from SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry in Environmental Studies and Geographic Information Technologies. Adam first joined the Western Watershed Project staff in 2020. Outside his capacity at WWP, Adam hosts and produces Our Public Lands podcast, advocates for Wilderness, and is a dedicated public lands hunter and angler—always looking for that elusive cow-free habitat. Summary In...
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398: Why Do Internal Customers Matter as Much as External Ones?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest April Obersteller is a people-centered leader, operator, and founder of And Not Or, a community and leadership platform built around the belief that we don’t have to choose. She has led customer and employee experience across iconic consumer brands, including YETI and woom, and now leads community and experience at Recess. April also hosts The AND Podcast, where she shares real conversations about leadership, growth, and humanity. Summary In this episode, Jeff talks with April Obersteller, co-founder and CEO of And, about what it really takes to build companies that succeed by...
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397: Who and What's Behind the Continued Efforts to Sell or Transfer Our Public Lands?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Hal Herring is a long-time contributing editor and writer at Field and Stream magazine and has covered conservation and the environment for national and international publications for almost thirty years. His work was featured in the Patagonia documentary Public Trust in 2020, and he is at work on a book about the American public lands. Summary In this episode of Getting Unstuck: Cultivating Curiosity, Jeff speaks with writer and public-lands advocate Hal H. about renewed political efforts to weaken protections for America’s public lands. The conversation centers on three major...
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396: What We Read and Why in 2025
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Summary In this episode, Cultivating Curiosity host Jeff Ikler reflects on his love of year-end “Best Books” lists and why reading sits at the heart of his podcast and personal life. He welcomes lists from institutions like The New York Times and the New York Public Library, seeing them as both a defense against book banning and a source of discovery, connection, and generosity. For Ikler, books spark curiosity, deepen empathy, and create bonds—whether through gifting or thoughtful conversation with authors. He also underscores podcast hosts' responsibility to read their guests’ work...
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395: Why Are Many of Today’s Students Anxious, Aggressive, and Shut Down?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guests Why are school children more anxious, aggressive, and shut down than ever before? We first heard answers from educators Tamara Neufeld Strijack and Hannah Beach in April 2020. Hannah takes us up to the present in this update episode. Tamara is the academic dean of the Neufeld Institute, where she develops and delivers courses and workshops that support parents, teachers, and helping professionals around the world in making sense of children through developmental science. Tamara works as a registered clinical counsellor, parent consultant, and sessional instructor for several...
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394: "Earthrise"—What Can the Apollo 8 Mission to the Moon in 1968 Still Teach Us?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Update: If you listened to last week’s podcast, you know that today’s episode about the historic Apollo 8 mission to the moon in late December 1968 was one of my most popular of 2024. The lessons from that mission, which I discussed in episode 344, are just as important, if not more so, today in episode 394. An artist’s rendering of Apollo 8 as it photographs “Earthrise.” Summary In this episode, I reflect on the Apollo 8 mission to the moon in late December 1968 and the turbulent year that preceded it. The episode highlights enduring lessons on inequality,...
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393: Which Podcast Episodes Did You Listen to the Most in 2025?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Summary This coming February, will start its eighth year. My goal with this podcast is to host guests who will make us think, “I didn’t know anything about that,” or “That’s something I hadn’t considered,” or “I might be able to apply that to some aspect of my life.” In each case, “that” refers to the topic being discussed. And the topics will vary widely. Unlike other shows that focus on a single topic, such as politics, entertainment, or leadership, Getting Untuck’s focus is eclectic. This year, I offered episodes about how to inspire student curiosity, the healing...
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392: In What Ways Do Children Grow When They Run Real Businesses?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Leah Ellis is a mom of four, writer, wedding officiant, Girl Scout leader, and founder of The Society of Child Entrepreneurs. Her life blends family, creativity, and leadership, from giggling over business plans at the breakfast table to mentoring kids through hands-on entrepreneurship. With her children as her compass, Leah is reminded daily that growth is messy, love is work, and compassion changes everything. Through SoCE, Nerdy Nuptials ICT, and Girl Scouts, she creates spaces where kids, couples, and communities are empowered to lead with authenticity. Leah believes in making room...
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Jonathan Gluck is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He was deputy editor of New York magazine for ten years, after which he worked as managing editor of Vogue. He currently works at Fast Company. His work has been recognized with multiple National Magazine Awards. He is the author of An Exercise in Uncertainty, a memoir of how his journey with incurable cancer has reshaped his identity, marriage, and daily life.
Summary
In this deeply candid conversation, journalist and author Jon Gluck recounts his 22-year journey living with multiple myeloma, an incurable but treatable bone-marrow cancer. He describes the shock of his diagnosis at age 38 and the long, winding road of tests, remissions, relapses, and emerging treatments that have kept him alive. The discussion explores how Gluck navigates profound uncertainty, the illusion of control, and the emotional toll that chronic illness places not only on the patient but also on family and relationships. He and his wife confronted the strain of living in medical limbo, ultimately turning to therapy to rebuild connection during what he calls becoming “cancer zombies.”
The conversation also highlights the restorative role of fly fishing, which Gluck describes as one of the few activities capable of placing him entirely in the present. This genuine flow state quiets fear and anxiety. He shares broader lessons about empathy, how to speak to someone with a serious diagnosis, and the importance of intentionally pursuing joy, connection, and meaning while living alongside uncertainty.
The Essential Point
The heart of the discussion is Jon’s insight into living meaningfully in the face of uncertainty. His story shows that while we cannot control the inevitabilities of illness or life’s unpredictability, we can control how we show up—seeking information, accepting our limits, nurturing relationships, and embracing activities that restore us. His emphasis on intentionally choosing joy, connection, and presence—even in the shadow of chronic illness—offers a universal lesson for anyone facing their own uncertainties.
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