How to follow your curiosity with Sean the Science Kid | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED

At just 10 years old, Sean The Science Kid is our youngest guest ever. Sean is an internet educator with a voracious appetite for learning and a contagious passion for sharing his knowledge. In this episode, Adam chats with Sean and his mother Eunice about the origins of Sean’s curiosity, his strategies for breaking down complex science concepts, and Eunice’s techniques for keeping him humble. They also ponder Sean’s take on the trolley problem and discuss different ways of thinking about life goals. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Sean the Science Kid (Instagram: @learningwithseanthesciencekid | YouTube: @learningwithseanthesciencekid | TikTok: @mumandseanthesciencekid) Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:24 Sean's first scientific interests 02:43 Sean's origin story 05:52 Dealing with being underestimated 07:37 How does Sean stay humble? 09:46 Battling science illiteracy 14:55 Sean's career aspirations 20:00 A question from Saul Perlmutter 21:29 Lightning round 26:05 Sean's trolley problem 28:59 Curiosity

Adam GranthostEuniceguestSean the Science Kidguest

Sep 19, 202532mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: September 19, 2025
Duration: 32m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

At just 10 years old, Sean The Science Kid is our youngest guest ever. Sean is an internet educator with a voracious appetite for learning and a contagious passion for sharing his knowledge. In this episode, Adam chats with Sean and his mother Eunice about the origins of Sean’s curiosity, his strategies for breaking down complex science concepts, and Eunice’s techniques for keeping him humble. They also ponder Sean’s take on the trolley problem and discuss different ways of thinking about life goals. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Sean the Science Kid (Instagram: @learningwithseanthesciencekid | YouTube: @learningwithseanthesciencekid | TikTok: @mumandseanthesciencekid) Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:24 Sean's first scientific interests 02:43 Sean's origin story 05:52 Dealing with being underestimated 07:37 How does Sean stay humble? 09:46 Battling science illiteracy 14:55 Sean's career aspirations 20:00 A question from Saul Perlmutter 21:29 Lightning round 26:05 Sean's trolley problem 28:59 Curiosity

SPEAKERS

Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and host of the podcast ReThinking.
Eunice
guest
Sean the Science Kid’s mother who discusses parenting and supporting his curiosity and learning.
Sean the Science Kid
guest
Child science communicator and creator known as “Sean the Science Kid,” who teaches science online.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Adam Grant and Eunice, How to follow your curiosity with Sean the Science Kid | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED explores sean the Science Kid on curiosity, humility, and science literacy Sean describes his early fascination with science and frames his growing interest as a “diffusion gradient,” emphasizing gradual, curiosity-driven development rather than a single turning point.

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