(Best Of) Cecilia Conrad - Steward of the MacArthur Genius Grants, 100 million dollars, and transcendent empowerment

This episode originally aired on June 4, 2020. 

There are new episodes coming to you soon, so stay tuned. 

But now is a good time to revisit wise words from one of my favorite previous guests, Cecilia Conrad, Managing Director of the MacArthur ('Genius') Fellows Program and the 100&Change program. 

The 2021 class of MacArthur Fellows was announced in late September 2021. In Cecilia Conrad's words, “As we emerge from the shadows of the past two years, this class of 25 Fellows helps us reimagine what’s possible. They demonstrate that creativity has no boundaries. It happens in all fields of endeavor, among the relatively young and more seasoned, in Iowa and Puerto Rico. Once again, we have the opportunity for exultation as we recognize the potential to create objects of beauty and awe, advance our understanding of society, and foment change to improve the human condition.”

There are themes that have emerged from this show that I didn't think when I launched it would become central to what we explore in these conversations. One of those themes is the breadth of awe in this world and how we experience it individually and collectively, how it disarms each of us to our most elemental and constellates the world to its greatest height. 

The way that Cecilia empowers and imagines the world of awe that could be in her life as in her work was one of the powerful influences for this theme on Origins. 

Like a book read at different times, this conversation will take on new life for whatever the pivotal moment you are in right now, the ones realized and the ones we may only see in hindsight. 

If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these other episodes: