Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness's Podcast

Seeking a podcast that’s informative and well-researched without taking itself too seriously? Try “Getting Curious” by Jonathan Van Ness.

If you know Van Ness, it’s probably from his participation on the insanely popular remake of the decade-old makeover show “Queer Eye” (formerly “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”). The Netflix series has Van Ness and a cadre of other queer men make over someone’s life—usually, but not always a straight guy—from top to bottom. Van Ness is technically the “hair and grooming” specialist on the show, but his humour, compassion, and penchant for waxing political while working on a haircut has made him into a beloved public personality.

In “Getting Curious”, Van Ness tackles everything from fashion trends to heavy geopolitical topics like Brexit and the legacy of the Armenian Genocide. The podcast’s strength is that Van Ness doesn’t distinguish between “worthy” topics for in-depth coverage and debate—he is equally fascinated with pop culture and politics, and he is always funny, curious, sassy, and skeptical when approaching the subject of choice. He’s entertaining, but his goal is to educate: to make sure that diverse listeners have access to all kinds of information in an unintimidating way.