Podcast Summary: "Surprising Benefits of Being Awkward & The Amazing Power of Seeds"

Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers
Original Air Date: September 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of “Something You Should Know” dives into two seemingly unrelated—but surprisingly profound—topics: awkwardness and seeds. Host Mike Carruthers first interviews workplace performance expert Henna Pryor to explore the powerful upsides of awkwardness, why we all feel it, and how embracing the cringe can lead to greater courage. In the second half, gardener and educator Jennifer Jewell unpacks the science and wonder of seeds, from how they work to the engineered marvel of seedless watermelons.

Segment 1: The Surprising Benefits of Being Awkward

Guest: Henna Pryor, Executive Coach & Author of Good Awkward
Timestamps: [06:16] – [28:32]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Awkwardness as a Universal Experience

  • Everyone feels awkward; Pryor’s own upbringing as the daughter of immigrants made her intimately familiar with the sensation.
  • “I've been awkward my whole life... My name is Henna, not Jennifer or Samantha... Awkwardness was something I identified strongly with.” — Henna Pryor [06:33]

• What Is Awkwardness?

  • Defined as a social emotion rooted in a mismatch between our “true self” and how we believe others see us.
  • “Awkwardness is the emotion that we feel when the person that we believe ourselves to be... is momentarily at odds with the person that other people see on display.” — Henna Pryor [07:21]
  • It is distinct from embarrassment or other emotions; it rarely occurs when alone.

• Awkwardness: Trait vs. State

  • Some view awkwardness as a fleeting state (“I had an awkward moment”); others see it as a personal trait (“I am awkward”).
  • It can become an internalized identity for some, shaping how they navigate the world.

• Subjectivity of Awkwardness

  • Awkwardness is completely subjective—what feels awkward to you may not even register to someone else.
  • “Awkwardness is 100% subjective... Awkwardness is an opinion.” — Henna Pryor [10:27]

• Why We Overestimate How Much Others Notice

  • The “spotlight effect” makes us think people are paying far more attention to us than they are.
  • Referenced the “Barry Manilow T-shirt” study: people notice us about half as often as we think. [11:51]
  • Vicarious embarrassment (empathy-based) deepens our sense of being watched/judged.

• Everyone Thinks They're More Awkward Than Others

  • “Because I know the things I've done that are awkward, but I don't know the things that you've done that are awkward... I'm probably more awkward than you, even though I'm probably not.” — Mike Carruthers [14:22]
  • Pryor agrees: “Everyone would say that, Mike... We ruminate on [our blunders] more... It's valid, but everyone shares that one.” [14:51]

• Being Open About Awkwardness Reduces Its Power

  • Social “musculature” has weakened through digital convenience and pandemic isolation; less real-world exposure makes us less resilient to awkward moments.
  • “Our social muscles started to atrophy and we're at a real dangerous intersection... [with] friction free communication.” — Henna Pryor [15:57]

• Embrace the Awkward: The Path to New Confidence

  • “Awkwardness is not something we can eliminate. It is not a deficiency to fix... To eliminate awkwardness implies eliminating uncertainty in life.” — Henna Pryor [20:38]
  • The antidote? Not making life totally frictionless, but intentionally practicing and embracing small, awkward moments to keep “social fitness” alive.
  • Naming the awkwardness aloud can actually ease the tension: “All it takes is that one person who says, 'man, that was awkward, wasn't it?' and we all relax... Naming it can help release its power.” — Henna Pryor [22:07]

• Is Awkwardness On the Rise?

  • Increased isolation post-pandemic, more hybrid/remote work, and fewer casual run-ins leave people less practiced in handling social discomfort.
  • This leads to more “catering”—performing to meet others’ expectations, not our own.

• Awkwardness and Confidence

  • True confidence isn’t about having no awkward moments, but embracing and being open about them.
  • “There is a new brand of confidence... The version that is cool and polished... Frankly, I'm over that one.” — Henna Pryor [26:42]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It's a social emotion and it is an emotion of discomfort. It doesn't feel good because those two selves are at odds. There's a gap.” — Henna Pryor [07:21]
• “We feel it much more acutely than they do... The avoidance of awkwardness increases awkwardness. When an awkward moment happens and we all avoid it, it makes us all feel more awkward about it.” — Henna Pryor [22:07]
• “The most confident people you know have not cracked the code on how to eliminate [awkwardness]. They've just gotten comfortable with it instead.” — Henna Pryor [25:10]

Segment 2: The Amazing World of Seeds

Guest: Jennifer Jewell, Gardener & Author of What We Sow
Timestamps: [31:43] – [49:27]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• What is a Seed?

  • Seeds are fertilized reproductive units of plants, equipped to produce new plants.
  • Different plants have different reproduction systems—some by spores, others via seeds requiring pollination.

• The Marvel of a Seed’s Dormancy and Viability

  • Many seeds can lie dormant for years or even millennia before sprouting under the right conditions (heat, water, light).
  • “There are... date palms that they found in an ancient Egyptian tomb... germinated after like 2,000 years.” — Jennifer Jewell [35:03].
  • Most commercial seeds (lettuce, zinnias) stay viable for 2-3 years.

• Inside the Seed: How It Becomes a Plant

  • Seeds contain the embryo, initial shoot/root, cotyledons (first leaves), and a food reserve (endosperm).
  • Once germinated, roots and shoots grow, with roots seeking nutrients/water and shoots aiming for sunlight.
  • Leaves then photosynthesize, pulling carbon from the air to feed growth. The process is self-contained and initiated by environmental triggers.

• Genetics and ‘Miracle’ of Seeds

  • All DNA for a plant is pre-loaded in the seed, just as in animal reproduction.
  • Growing two different seeds (pumpkin, watermelon) in the same soil yields two different plants—the DNA blueprint determines the outcome.

• Human Intervention: Seedless Watermelons and More

  • Seedless watermelons (and similar crops) are “anomalies created by humans.”
  • Achieved not by growing from seedless fruit seeds—those don’t exist—but through engineered crosses using chemical treatments that alter chromosomes, producing sterile “mule” plants.
  • “You can't get more seedless watermelons from a seedless watermelon... They are a human creation. They're sort of the Frankensteins of the food.” — Jennifer Jewell [43:36]

• Why Do Some Commercial Crops Taste Bland?

  • Commercial crops (e.g., tomatoes) are bred for durability, travel, and climate compatibility, not for flavor.
  • Cloning through cuttings and tissue culture prioritizes uniformity and logistics over diverse taste.
  • Many vegetable and fruit seeds now originate from seed-growing “centers” globally to ensure supply aligns with planting seasons worldwide.

• Seed Saving and Biodiversity

  • Seed collection used to be a part of every grower’s practice—saving the best seeds for next season to ensure desirable traits.
  • Industrial-scale agriculture and global seed supply chains now minimize this practice, although gardeners are encouraged to return to it for biodiversity’s sake.

• Why Seeds Matter — Jennifer’s Passion

  • Seeds are miraculous, omnipresent, essential for all life—yet often invisible and underappreciated.
  • “They are feeding us as humans. They are feeding all of the insect, bird, and mammalian lives around us, and they are so, so often invisible.” — Jennifer Jewell [47:49]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “[Seeds] have been co-evolving for something like 365 million years. So they have figured out a lot of ways to reproduce, create seed, adapt that seed...” — Jennifer Jewell [35:03]
• “We screw with seeds a little bit to get what we think we want. The seedless watermelon... is an anomaly created by humans.” — Jennifer Jewell [43:36]
• “Seeds are... where we will learn both the wonder and the respect to really think about how our seed is being cared for and allowing us to become advocates for its integrity in our food supply, in our native plant supply.” — Jennifer Jewell [47:49]

Mini-Segment: Parallel Parking Pro-Tip

Timestamp: [49:34]

• The secret is in the name: pull up completely parallel (front bumper even with the car you want to park behind); most people don’t pull up far enough or end up at odd angles.
• “That is something you should know.” — Mike Carruthers [49:34]

Memorable Moments & Speaker Highlights

• Embracing The Universal:
  • “The most confident people you know... have just gotten comfortable with [awkwardness] instead. I think that's something we can all stand to do.” — Henna Pryor [25:10]
• Seed Wonders:
  • “If I had one piece of advice, I would say look at what your trees and your shrubs and your flowers are producing and marvel at the ingenuity that these lives offer out every year in order to keep our planet going.” — Jennifer Jewell [47:49]

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Embrace, Don’t Erase, Awkwardness: Social discomfort is inescapable—practice and openness build resilience and connection, not avoidance.
• Seeds Are Everyday Miracles: Every piece of plant life (and much of our food chain) begins with these tiny powerhouses—sometimes hundreds of millions of years in the making and now, sometimes, marvels of human ingenuity (and meddling).

Episode guests:

• Henna Pryor — @hennapryor | Author, Good Awkward
• Jennifer Jewell — @cultivating_place | Author, What We Sow

Useful for: Anyone interested in human psychology, self-improvement, or the natural world; especially beneficial for listeners grappling with self-consciousness, or anyone simply curious about the magic in everyday seeds.