The Beautiful Thinkers Project

Hosted by Carolyn Hadlock, Founder/President

Business Entrepreneurship Arts DesignInterviews guests

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Latest episode

Mar 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Join Carolyn Hadlock, founder and President of The Beautiful Thinkers Project as she interviews creatives, founders, creators, leaders, and visionaries to discover what makes beautiful thinking.

Listen to episodes

59 recent

March 2, 2026Episode 630 min

Season IX | EP 6: Brie Dillman, Student-Founder. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

January 20, 202632 min

Season IX | EP 5: Julia Michels, Gymnast. Music Supervisor. Grammy Winner. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

December 19, 2025Episode 434 min

Season IX | EP 4: Marshall Goldsmith. Student of Drucker. World's #1 Executive Coach. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

December 14, 202530 min

Season IX | EP 3 : Chris Noel, Mayor of Denali. From Hoosier to the Last Frontier. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

November 25, 2025Episode 230 min

Season IX | EP 2: Mike Weasner, Stargazer. Fighter Pilot. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

October 28, 202529 min

Season IX | EP 1: Dr Bryant Paul, Rebel. Optimist. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

December 17, 202430 min

Season VIII | Episode 6: Jonathan Racek, Designer. Playmaker. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

December 11, 202427 min

Season VIII | Episode 5: Jean Camp, Academic. Engineer. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

November 25, 202429 min

Season VIII | Episode 4: Shahzeen Attari, Environmentalist. Storyteller. Beautiful Thinker.

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.

November 14, 202430 min

Season VIII | Episode 3: Lee Feinstein, Diplomat. Scholar. Beautiful Thinker.

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.