The Beautiful Thinkers Project

What if the best opportunities come from just showing up? Brie Dillman is a junior at IU Indianapolis who went to a startup founders meeting without a startup—just curiosity and 65 dual credits that wouldn't all count toward her degree. Within months, the Kelley School student built ElevateEd, won her first pitch competition, and discovered that confidence isn't knowing all the answers—it's trusting yourself to handle uncertainty. From handing out popsicles at her parents' drag racing events to becoming a CEO, Brie reveals why saying yes before you're ready builds the kind of resilience corporate America can't teach. Sometimes the craving isn't a destination. It's permission to figure it out as you go.

What if getting injured was the best thing that ever happened to your career? Julia Michels is a Grammy-winning music supervisor whose work on A Star Is Born, Pitch Perfect, and The Devil Wears Prada has generated over $2 billion in ticket sales—but she went to IU for sports science and drove to LA in a Toyota Tercel to dance in music videos. From teaching aerobics to running into elevators for mentorship moments to bringing Bradley Cooper's midnight song to set, Julia reveals why saying yes before knowing how built her entire career, why there's enough work for everybody, and how her gymnastics-trained drive became a philosophy: be resourceful, resilient, and respectful. Sometimes the craving that heals you is the one that heals the world.

What if the biggest risk isn't failure—it's staying down when life knocks you flat? Marshall Goldsmith didn't become the world's #1 executive coach by accident. He sat in the back of Paul Hersey's classroom for months serving coffee for free, studied under Peter Drucker, and learned that credibility must be earned twice: first by doing good work, and second by making sure people know about it. From IU Kelley School of Business to coaching CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, Marshall reveals why happiness and achievement are independent variables, why your good work will never speak for itself, and why the hungry ghost—always eating but never full—is the trap that catches every high achiever.

What if the craving for community is what roots you in the most unlikely places? Chris Noel left Indiana for Alaska's remote Denali Borough—fewer than 2,000 residents stewarding the land around North America's highest peak, where half a million visitors attempt the mountain each year. From environmental management to fighting fires to becoming the fifth mayor of a place where neighbors aren't optional, they're essential, Chris shows how building real community means showing up when the call comes. Sometimes preparedness isn't about predicting what's coming, it's about being ready for your finest hour. And sometimes the universe conspires in your favor when you live a purpose-driven life.

What if failure isn't the opposite of success but the fuel for it? Mike Weasner's initials were written in the stars before he could spell them—and his path to those stars included medical disqualifications, career pivots, and his unheeded warnings about Challenger. From keeping private astronomy logs for 35 years to building one of the world's largest amateur astronomy websites, Mike reveals how craving the cosmos taught him to get back up when life knocked him down—and why sharing that craving matters more than keeping it to yourself. Sometimes the universe you trust is literally the universe itself.

What if our ability to worry about social media and porn means we're doing better than we think? Dr Bryant Paul, whose research has been cited by the Supreme Court, studies the fundamental human craving that connects every ancestor on our family tree - and reveals how our caveman brains simply aren't built to process today's mediated world. Yet even as algorithms exploit ancient desires, the fact that we can debate these dangers suggests our most primal needs are being met.

On the sixth episode of Season VIII Polarity - IU Edition, welcomes Jonathan Racek, Professor and Program Director of Comprehensive Design at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Racek discusses the importance of play within all stages of life, and how his experiences with playmaking and design thinking around the world have shaped his perspective. Throughout this conversation, he explores the beauty of embracing ambiguity, taking risks, and fully exploring a problem before jumping to conclusions.

On the fifth episode of Season VIII "Polarity" - IU Edition, welcomes Jean Camp, Professor and Director of Center for Security and Privacy at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. In this episode, Dr. Camp discusses the dynamic interplay between technology and human behavior, highlighting the importance of designing systems that prioritize trust and usability. Through this conversation, she explores the balance between privacy and security, the role of community involvement in cybersecurity, and the rapid evolution of AI.

Our fourth episode of Season VIII “Polarity”: IU Edition, welcomes Shahzeen Attari, professor at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. In this episode, Dr. Attari shares her insights into how human behavior influences environmental policy and how storytelling can be a powerful tool in shifting public perception. Through this conversation, they explore how seemingly opposing forces—individual actions and global solutions—can work together to create meaningful change.

Our third episode of Season VIII “Polarity”: IU Edition, welcomes Lee Feinstein, founding dean at the Hamilton Lugar School of International and Global Studies, President of McLarty Associates, and researcher for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. In this episode, Feinstein shares insights on the importance of establishing a global and international studies school at IU Bloomington, reflecting on his experiences working in Poland, and contributing to Holocaust research and remembrance efforts for the Holocaust museum. He also provides informative insights on the upcoming 2024 election and its involvement concerning international relations, and emphasizes the importance of education in fostering awareness and understanding of foreign relations tied to the United States.

Our second episode of Season VIII “Polarity”: IU Edition, welcomes Dana Marsh, director at Historical Performance Institute and professor at the IU Jacobs School of Music. In his work, he prioritizes balancing tradition with fresh perspectives, and how we can preserve old music to honor the history while embracing present times. In this episode, Marsh discusses his extensive work in historical music performance and how working with old instruments brings the thrill of connecting audiences to music from another time.

Our first episode of Season VIII "Polarity": IU Edition, welcomes Jamie Theophilos, doctoral student and associate instructor at the Media School at Indiana University Bloomington. Theophilos discusses their work on digital justice, conflict resolution, and the impact of educational relationships. In this debut episode, they'll explore how polarity shapes our online interactions and educational spaces through the lens of thoughtful engagement and collaborative connection.

In this episode, Carolyn Hadlock, Founder and Host sat down with Johannes Torpe to discuss his circuitous creative path starting with being born in a commune, and his evolution as a multidisciplinary creative and CEO of his eponymous studio.

In this episode, Carolyn Hadlock, founder of TBTP talks with Nevada about how the landscape of Norway informed her culinary evolution. She speaks to the importance of seasons, cooking in the outdoors and respecting the food traditions of Norway while finding modern takes on them.

In this episode, Carolyn Hadlock, Founder and Host sat down with Paul Bennett to discuss his long and fruitful career with IDEO, his creative partnership with Tim Brown, how to land in a room deeply and what's next on his Not To-Do List. (P.S. Stay past the end for bonus content about his tattoo.)

In this episode, Carolyn Hadlock, founder of TBTP talks with Marcus Engman about the future of retail, IKEA's inaugural Artist in Residency Program with Annie Leibovitz, designing change and growing up IKEA as the second Engman to be Head of Design at IKEA.

On the season VI finale of “Saturated,” Carolyn Hadlock and IU students Mina Denny and Caterina DeSantis bring back Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at IU, Dr. Edward Hirt. If you recall, we kicked off “Saturated” with Dr. Hirt. Instead of focusing on the ways in which saturation depletes us as we did in the first episode, here we tap into how we can recharge and ameliorate our mental batteries amongst saturation. Whether an idea of someone else sparks a new creation of our own, or just the mere image of another empowering us to tap into the unique singularity of ourselves, there is beautiful opportunity within this phenomenon.

The sixth episode of Season VI "Saturated" : IU Edition welcomes Jason Q. Ng, Author of Blocked On Weibo where he writes about Chinese internet censorship and currently works as a Data Scientist at Duolingo. In this episode Jason discusses how he has used data throughout his career to democratize information in order to help people learn about everything from incarceration rates in his work as a researcher with Citizen Lab, to helping artists on connect with listeners on Spotify, to helping people worldwide learn a new language through his work at Duolingo. He talks about the use of propaganda in China to misinform citizens through social media and the complexity of who should be the arbiter of free speech on a global stage. From the moment he started a blog on Chinese censorship that would eventually led to his book, Jason has been moved to help people learn and act on data in a way that positively impacts society. He currently lives and works in New York City with his wife and son.

The fifth episode of Season VI “Saturated”: IU Edition welcomes Denise Roberson, Chief Purpose Officer at TBWA, Professor and Speaker. Denise is the first Chief Purpose Officer TBWA has had. Denise shares her passion for purpose and her work to embed it inside organizations. While the work of purpose dates back to the late 1880’s, it would be over a century before brands would embrace it as a profit driver. She shares stories of brands who have walked the walk and brands who’ve badly bungled it. Her view is that brands are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Fear is not an option. Denise also works with executives who are looking for more meaning in their professional role or looking to change function through the Executive MBA program at Pepperdine. In this episode she speaks candidly about the fatigue and confusion of purpose and even helps students formulate an answer to the dreaded holiday question from relatives: “Now why would you go into advertising?”

The fourth episode of Season VI “Saturated”: IU Edition welcomes Aakash Ranison, Author, Nomad and Climate Optimist. Aakash shares his personal journey of how traveling (via bicycle) through India opened his eyes to the need for climate change. His optimistic approach calls us to shift our behaviors—starting with daily choices. Discover how he adeptly navigates the challenges of embracing a minimal lifestyle white simultaneously scaling his positive impact on the global environment.