Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Could a single comment from a teacher or a classmate in our youth redefine how we see ourselves and the world forever? Master storyteller Michael Lewis, in a funny excerpt from his conversation with Kelly for PBS’ Tell Me More, makes the case that indeed it could. (Bonus content not included in the previously aired Michael Lewis podcast interview.) Thank you to PBS. This interview can be viewed in...

People say “Stay in your lane” but I don’t buy it. I like people who care about a lot of things, not just winning another NBA championship (I see you Steve Kerr, eyeing #9) or making another world class docu-series (I see you W Kamau Bell, with your devastating Cosby series). I like people who dare to say unpopular things into microphones because they have a platform and they feel compelled to use...

At this time of year, we are knee-deep in sports: college lacrosse, the NBA play-offs and all the golf majors. Where there are sports, there are adjectives describing the athletes and where there are sports championships, those adjectives are garish and piled-high. Kelly wonders if maybe it’s time to use those dazzling descriptors to honor not the elite athletes out there but the army of regular,...

With thanks to listeners who shared stories about their mothers for this special episode, everyone here at Kelly Corrigan Wonders wishes you a Happy Mother’s Day. Produced by Charlie Upchurch. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You might know bits and pieces of Jewel’s story. Homeless girl hitchhiking into the lower 48 from Alaska. Making music. Being robbed by her mother. What you might not know is how deeply and wisely she thinks about anxiety. This is one to share with every person you love who is sometimes gripped by panic. Please note that this episode references alcoholism, abuse and suicide. Special thanks to the...

A letter to my children about giving up and when it’s just fine to walk. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode of Thanks For Being Here began with a voice message left by listener Jennifer Drohan. Jenn explained that while she enjoyed the Live From College series, as the mother of two older children with autism, she found it somewhat painful to listen to…her children will not be going to college. Kelly asked Jenn if she would like to write something we could share and the result was this movin...

Sometimes, even when things go precisely as you hoped they would, change hurts. Kelly was a guest on a podcast called A Slight Change of Plans, hosted by Dr. Maya Shankar, who was curious to know how empty nesting was going. The conversation was so rich that it felt worth sharing here. This one is for every parent you know. Pass it on. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices vi...

Please note that this episode references addiction and suicide. Teri Rose wrote this loving remembrance of her son Ryland. Ryland was a light in this world who struggled with anxiety, depression and addiction. As Teri said, “He didn’t have a drug problem, he had a life problem. He was saddled with depression and anxiety, which led to his trying to make himself feel better and reduce the noise in h...

For a special listener who was just diagnosed, here are some thoughts on the stages of recovery that I encourage you to share with every last person you know who is in treatment for anything. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly’s guest is actress and author Constance Wu - you may know her from her roles in the breakthrough tv show Fresh Off the Boat and the blockbuster film Crazy, Rich Asians. Constance shares her experiences as an actress in Hollywood both on and off screen: the privilege and responsibility of representation, being a true artist, navigating social media and an incident which took her to a very dar...

Mary Hope wrote this thoughtful, open-hearted letter to her community to introduce her son Alex - who had previously been known to all as Jenna, her daughter. Kelly Corrigan Wonders listeners will be familiar with Alex’s story as we shared it in the episode “A Mother Son Story of the Ultimate Transition” and it was also replayed it in the For the Good of the Order feed. Today, we’re sharing this l...

Kelly shares her own “go to” mantra as well as two blessings from frequent Kelly Corrigan Wonders guest Kate Bowler and her co-author/friend/podcast producer Jessica Richie’s beautiful and extremely useful book: The Lives We Actually Have (100 Blessings for Imperfect Days). The book is full of warm and witty blessings found within the struggles of our shared humanity, from the New York Times bests...

No one understands what makes a character sing better than Michael Lewis. The Big Short, Moneyball, Liar’s Poker, these stories stand for whole industries because Michael Lewis puts just the right protagonist in the center. He is also the father to three great characters, including Dixie, who was killed in a head on collision in May of 2021. This is one of the most moving and important conversatio...

Barbara Michelman wrote this love letter to her mother Dorthea after she died at 89. Barbara said, “My mom was not one for public displays of emotion, she would have hated me crying at her own service. So, I didn’t read this at her funeral. Instead I stood in front of my church family and cried while reading it.” Barbara’s letter is a beautiful tribute to her hard-working, no-fuss mom who had grit...

One of the nicest things that has happened to me in my professional life is crossing paths with Michael Lewis. I think he is the best storyteller in America and our handful of collaborations have been spectacular experiences for me. Next week you’ll hear a long interview him. Today, in anticipation of that conversation, I wanted to share a piece about grief and the way the mind seeks certainty and...

Once upon a time there was a girl who got pink-eye and went to the Met. Author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project, Happier with Gretchen Rubin) joins Kelly to talk about how a visit to her eye doctor inspired her to start engaging with her five senses like never before. Gretchen’s intriguing new book Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me out of my Head and Into the...

As families gather in homes across the country and around the world this week for Passover and Easter, we thought it would be nice to share this heartfelt eulogy Katie Dahm wrote for her childhood home: 8107 Warren Avenue. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/ad...

There’s a new book out - LIFE WORTH LIVING - that I have been loving (and relying on) since I got an early copy six months ago. I think it might be my go to guide to how to think about what’s worth doing. it’s based on the very popular Yale class of the same name. So I rallied some Yalies — Claire Danes and Kate Bowler — to read it and walk through the major questions with me in a 5-part pod serie...

Need a bounce in your step? Click play. You will spend the better part of an hour with two young people who are coming into their power just as we need them most. JerDrema (Dreme) Flynt is a Fulbright Scholar and tech entrepreneur. Will McQuiston is well on his way to a degree from Harvard after a harrowing childhood in Prattville, Alabama. In a sea of gnarly headlines and a culture of name callin...

Joy Netanya Thompson submitted this moving eulogy for her paternal grandmother Zelda, a Holocaust survivor who endured so much and yet threw her arms open to life. Zelda danced at every opportunity and basked in the presence of her grandchildren like they were sunshine. Replay of Episode #27 which originally aired on August 14, 2022. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visi...

This GOTO is a replay of Kelly Corrigan Wonders Ep 18, “A Mother and Son Story of the Ultimate Transition”, which originally aired in January 2021. We’re sharing it again today in celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility and to honor Alex and his mom. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your...

Everyone loves a list. Everyone needs a way to cut through all the noise and move forward with expert guidance. That’s what today’s episode is all about. For those who are making the big investment in college, here are the tips for how to make the best of it from two people who know: Katie Gayman, who has worked in the field of college counseling for 13 years and Dr. Angel Perez, CEO of the Nation...

As many of our listeners know, Kelly has a dear cousin, Kathy, who turns up, one way or another, in all of Kelly’s books. Kathy and her husband Tony have three children. Their oldest, Aaron was killed in a car accident 20 summers ago, just after his freshman year in college. Tomorrow, March 28, 2023 would have been his 40th birthday. To mark the moment, Aaron’s sister Lena shared a short, unforget...

Pallie Savoie’s sister Laurel was always her role model. Although their relationship went through different phases over the course of their lives, they’re now not just two sisters who love and care for one another…they’re the closest of friends. This is an episode for anyone who has ever looked up to an older sister or brother. Please share widely, whether you’re close with your sibling(s) - or yo...