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Everyone has a dream. But sometimes there’s a gap between where we are and where we want to be. True, there are some people who can bridge that gap easily, on their own, but all of us need a little help at some point. A little boost. An accountability partner. A Snooze Squad. In each episode, the Snooze Squad will strategize an action plan for people to face their fears. Guests will transform their own perception of their potential and walk away a few inches closer to who they want to become ...
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Guest Christopher Schaberg, PhD., is the Director of Public Scholarship at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as a founding editor of Object Lessons, a book series on the secret lives of ordinary things. Chris is the author of ten books, including one really good one on fly-fishing. Summary
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In this wide-ranging conversation, Chris reflects on curiosity, confusion, and the value of paying attention to small things. He begins by adapting Norman Maclean’s line from A River Runs Through It—“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” by suggesting that “confusion” or “mystery” runs through his own life and work—a reminder that lingering in uncertainty can be a fertile state for creativity and learning. Chris also discusses his fascination with airports, where he once worked, and how those complex spaces became both a professional subject and metaphor for human experience.
He also explores his “Object Lessons” book series, which celebrates the hidden lives of ordinary things, and his broader intellectual project of focusing on the small, the local, and the limited—an intentional counterbalance to a culture obsessed with scale, speed, and expansion. This theme carries through his writing on fly fishing, Adventure: An Argument for Limits, and Little Data, all of which urge closer attention to what’s near, tangible, and often overlooked.
As director of public scholarship, Chris works to help academics communicate their research clearly and meaningfully to general audiences, fostering what he sees as a moral imperative for universities: to re-engage with the public in accessible, authentic ways. He and I also reflect on teaching, the challenges of student preparation, and the evolving role of curiosity in an AI-driven age. Chris closes by describing fly fishing not as an escape but as a way to recenter attention and rediscover connection—with nature, with others, and with himself.
The Essential PointChris’s essential insight is that confusion and uncertainty are not obstacles but opportunities—spaces where curiosity deepens, learning expands, and meaningful connections between art, scholarship, and everyday life emerge.
“The best essays leave you more puzzled about a topic in a constructive way. It’s okay to be confused—linger there.”
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