Curious

The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

£0.00 for first 30 days

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get 3 months for £0.99/mo

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.

Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.

1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.

Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.

Access exclusive sales and deals.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Curious

By: Ian Leslie

Narrated by: Rich Keeble

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

A fascinating multi-disciplinary analysis of why curiosity makes the world go round.

'I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious'. (Albert Einstein)

Everyone is born curious. But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning and discovering as they grow older. Which side of the 'curiosity divide' are you on?

In Curious Ian Leslie makes a passionate case for the cultivation of our desire to know. Curious people tend to be smarter, more creative and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly practised only by a cognitive elite.

Drawing on fascinating research from psychology, sociology and business, Curious looks at what feeds curiosity and what starves it, and uncovers surprising answers. Curiosity isn't a quality you can rely on to last a lifetime, but a mental muscle that atrophies without regular exercise. It's not a gift, but a habit that parents, schools, workplaces and individuals need to nurture if it is to thrive. Filled with inspiring stories, case studies and practical advice, Curious will change the way you think about your own mental life, and that of those around you.

Developmental Psychology

Neuroscience & Neuropsychology

Psychology

Psychology & Mental Health

Habits

Listeners also enjoyed...

Fascinate, Revised and Updated cover art

The Art of Optimism: Your Competitive Edge cover art

Leveraged Learning: How the Disruption of Education Helps Lifelong Learners, and Experts with Something to Teach cover art

I Love Learning; I Hate School cover art

An Intelligent Person's Guide to Education cover art

Critic reviews

"A lovely, erudite exploration of what it is that makes us human." (Independent on Sunday)

Most relevant

A good overview and full of interesting takeaways. Plenty of references to follow-up on.