He thought crochet would be the simple win his changing hands needed—then arthritis turned it into a brutally relatable reality check. This funny, vulnerable moment reveals the surprising truth about adapting when your ambition outpaces your body.

His “Easy” Hobby Backfired Fast

Forget beginner mode — this tool throws you straight into the deep end. This oddly addictive Morse “Wordle” is equal parts useful and punishing, and that absurd default speed is exactly why people can’t stop talking about it.

This Morse Game Starts at a Brutal 40 WPM

The brutal truth about learning: hours of starting over, messy mistakes, and almost nothing to show for it. This clip hits hard if you’ve ever felt stuck—then reveals why slow, frustrating progress is actually how real skill is built.

4 Hours for This Tiny Result?!

This is proof-of-work at its rawest: awkward, imperfect, and weirdly addictive. Watch the messy middle of learning unfold in real time as he fights through Morse code mistakes, proving progress isn’t talent—it’s repetition, frustration, and sticking with it.

He Spelled His Name in Morse—Live

Public challenge accepted: by end of November, there will be a human-sized scarf and a live Morse code test. No more vague goals, no more hiding — just receipts, pressure, and a comeback the audience will want to witness.

We’re Locking Ourselves In

Think your limitations disqualify you? This clip flips that story fast. From dyslexia to physical setbacks, it’s a blunt, motivating reminder that progress starts when you stop spiraling and start adapting.

No Excuses, Just Adjust

This clip drops a chilling reality check: unlike nukes, insanely powerful AI could end up in everyone’s pocket. It’s a bold, debate-sparking take on why AI risk may be far more scalable, chaotic, and dangerously easy to ignore.

AI Isn’t the New Nuclear Bomb

AI is moving fast, work is demanding faster, and a brutal question is hanging over all of us: are we still learning, or just scrambling to keep up? This clip digs into the tension nobody can ignore—how to grow when the machine sets the speed.

Can You Still Learn When AI Sets the Pace?

From hieroglyphics to hidden skills, this clip captures the wild upside of AI: instant resources for self-learners who are tired of feeling stuck. It’s inspiring, a little mind-blowing, and a sharp reminder that curiosity now has real horsepower.

AI Just Made Learning Anything Ridiculously Easy

Hustle culture got this one dead wrong: if you’re speeding through a course, you may not be learning at all. This clip reveals the uncomfortable truth about real growth—why slowing down, doing the boring reps, and embracing the messy process is the only way to actually get better.

Slow Learning Wins

On this episode of Moving Towards Better, Chris Penick talks about learning to crochet while living with arthritis, and Chris Minnick explains how he's learning Morse code by sound.

Challenge Checkin: Crochet with Arthritis, Morse Code by Ear

We kick off a new AI debate series by tackling a question every modern learner is wrestling with: should AI tutors be part of your daily practice? Our debaters make the case for AI as a structured-practice and interview-prep powerhouse, and the case against it as a replacement for human guidance. Along the way we stress-test edge cases — flashcards, cheating, and what AI uniquely adds — before landing on a middle ground: narrow AI support with human oversight. Plus skill-learning updates, a Morse code listener challenge, and a peek at upcoming debates.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 10 - Should Learners Use AI Tutors Every Day?

In this episode, we interview a professional fine artist, Jill McVarish, and a student just getting started out in the art world, Samantha Penick. We talk about what it takes to be a professional artist, how early Jill and Samantha knew that they wanted to pursue a career in art, how to find inspiration, and the meaning of success and failure as a working artist. Thank you to Jill McVarish (www.jillmcvarish.com) and to Samantha for appearing on this episode.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 9 - Jill McVarish and Samantha Penick

Welcome to Moving Towards Better — a show about learning, curiosity, and becoming a more interesting, more capable version of yourself. In this introductory episode, co-hosts Chris Penick and Chris Minnick set the tone for the podcast, share how they got here, and talk about why learning is the throughline for a happier, more engaged life. Chris Penick walks through his path from security and government work into teaching, while Chris Minnick traces his own from music and early hacking into a lifelong habit of curiosity. Together they lay out the podcast's mission: becoming interesting by doing interesting things — and bringing listeners along for the ride. Along the way they dig into what actually works when it comes to learning: myth-busting the popular "learning styles" idea (and the limits of frameworks like VARK), talking about what the research actually supports, and pointing to resources like *Learning How to Learn*. They also float ideas for recurring challenges, audience engagement, and where the show is headed. Chapters: - (00:11) Cold open and episode setup: a show about learning and better living - (01:01) Why learning matters: growth, choice, and becoming more capable - (02:08) Meet the hosts: Chris Penick and Chris Minnick - (02:39) Penick's background in security, government work, and teaching - (07:51) Minnick's path from music and hacking to lifelong curiosity - (12:37) The podcast's mission: becoming interesting by doing interesting things - (15:14) Mythbusting learning styles and the limits of VARK - (19:37) Recurring challenge ideas, audience engagement, and show format - (22:44) So what does work? Learning how to learn - (25:50) Listener call-to-action, sleep-learning tangent, and sign-off

Moving Towards Better - Episode 1 - Introductions

We're kicking off a month-long learning challenge series — one assignment at a time, no excuses. In this opener, we lay out the format and ground rules, walk through the challenge-selection process (including one rejected first pick that sends us in a more creative direction), and riff on how each assignment should actually be tackled. By the end, we recap the final lineup and invite you to take on the challenges alongside us. Hit play, then pick a challenge and join in.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 2 - The MTB Challenge

In this episode we dig into what learning really looks like — starting with why wanting to learn matters more than any technique. We bust five common myths about struggle and talent, unpack why recognition isn't the same as recall (and why passive tutorials fall short), and make the case for making, testing, and being wrong as core to the process. From there we get practical: how to use productive struggle, when to ask for help, learning through projects, and why the only fair comparison is against your past self. We wrap with a simple learning framework, a few book recommendations, and an update on the first week of the first Moving Towards Better Learning Challenge.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 3 - How to Actually Learn: Myths, Productive Struggle, and a Framework That Works

We're back with a follow-up to our first Moving Towards Better skill challenges. It turns out most of round one didn't go to plan. We recap what happened, reveal the basketball spin attempt and anime drawings attempts, and dig into why habits, systems, and support might matter more than raw talent when it comes to getting good at anything. Along the way we get into the limits of productivity advice, the case for progress over perfection, and what actually counts as a win. Then we kick off round two with new challenges!

Moving Towards Better - Episode 8 - MTB Challenge Round Two

A conversation about how we actually learn — and whether real skill is forged under pressure or drawn out by curiosity. We start with a simple question about how you'd learn painting if you were doing it over, then follow the thread into survival, the pull between artistic calling and practical life, and the old debate about whether artists have to suffer for their work. Along the way: obsession, the inner pull to create, and what actually makes someone a real artist.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 7 - Do You Only Learn When You Have To, and The Artist's Path

AI is setting the pace of work, but is there still room for real learning? In this conversation we dig into whether expertise still matters in an AI-first world, what happens when AI systems fail and who has the depth to explain why, and the difference between using AI to finish work versus actually learning from it.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 6 - Learning in the Age of AI

How do you actually learn something new when nobody hands you a curriculum? In this episode we break down a practical framework for self-directed learning: defining the real goal before you build the plan, finding trustworthy resources without falling into research spirals, setting micro-goals and timelines you'll actually follow, and using libraries, milestones, and real feedback to measure progress.

Moving Towards Better - Episode 5 - How to Study Anything Without a Syllabus

Chris Minnick (@candcmusicfactory) · Zencastr

Chris Minnick (@candcmusicfactory)

Moving Towards Better is a podcast about the practice of getting better at anything — learning, growth, and the messy middle in between. Each episode digs into the ideas, frameworks, and habits that help us actually improve: productive struggle, learning by doing, comparing yourself to your past self, and busting the myths that hold us back.

Alongside the deep dives, we share monthly challenges — real experiments in learning new skills — plus book recommendations and honest updates on what's working (and what isn't).

If you're the kind of person who'd rather try, fail, and iterate than stay stuck, you're in the right place.