Building something new sounds exciting. Rebuilding something after it breaks sounds exhausting. And yet most of us are living in a world where both are happening all at once. In this episode, Patti, Dan, and Lynne dig into the questions we should be asking when we talk about building and rebuilding and why these processes are never as simple as they seem.

Dan brings his experience as an engineer and technologist and admits that even in fields built on data and logic, most decisions are emotional ones. Lynne talks about coming back from a serious injury and how rebuilding a life and rebuilding a body are never separate experiences. Patti reflects on transformation and why rebuilding feels so loaded with history, memory, and meaning.

Together we explore questions about resilience, fragility, anti fragility, institutional collapse, community, collaboration, disagreement, and the emotions we attach to words like build and rebuild. We also look at what is worth rebuilding, what is better to build from scratch, and how personal rebuilding shapes everything else we try to create.

This conversation moves from sandcastles to frozen yogurt shops to democracy to the stories we tell ourselves about what should last and what should change. It is thoughtful, curious, and surprisingly funny in moments that remind us just how human these questions are.

If you are navigating change or trying to understand what should be saved, strengthened, or scrapped, this episode offers the questions that help you see the path more clearly.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Listening for the Questions is where curiosity is our compass.