Blue Sky

If even the letters "A-I" are enough to spike your anxiety, this episode is for you. In this conversation, host Bill Burke sits down with Dr. Mar k  Bloomfield — a Cambridge Judge Business School fellow who has spent over 15 years applying artificial intelligence to  real business  challenges, long before ChatGPT made it a household name.   Mar c 's career is a story of reinvention: a colorblind t...

Margo Walsh is an entrepreneur on a mission to prove that second chances are good for business. As founder of  MaineWorks  — a certified B-Corp — she has built a model that connects people with substance use disorder and/or criminal records to meaningful employment in the construction sector, tackling two of society's most persistent challenges at once.   MaineWorks   doesn't  just find jobs for p...

What if one of the most powerful tools for restoring your mental health, sharpening your focus, and cultivating optimism has been outside your door all along? In this episode of  Blue Sky , neuroscientist Marc Berman — pioneer of the field of environmental neuroscience and author of  Nature and the Mind  — shares groundbreaking research on how nature  literally rewires  the brain.   From his path...

What if the relentlessly negative news cycle is giving us a distorted picture of reality? In this episode of Blue Sky , Charles Kenny from the Center for Global Development makes a compelling, data-driven case that the world is  truly  getting better — in ways most of us rarely hear about.   From dramatic reductions in global poverty and child mortality to rising living standards across the develo...

Kathryn Anne Edwards, a labor economist and co-host of  Optimist Economy , discusses economic optimism, career paths, and the impact of policy on the American economy. She shares her insights on the job market and  AI, and  explains how her work is motivated by a belief in the importance of investing in children and families to build a stronger economic future. She argues for strategic public spen...

Adam Mastroianni says he likes to " study how people perceive and misperceive their social worlds, from the person sitting across the table to the whole country buzzing around them."  In this  Blue Sky  conversation, Dr. Mastroianni describes research he and a colleague conducted that  demonstrates  that human beings falsely assume that the world used to be better, and that we continue to decline...

Once an ironman athlete and perfectionist,  Risa  August faced a devastating diagnosis that stripped away her former life. This is the story of how she found new purpose and adventure, transforming her approach to life, from rigid achievement to joyful discovery, even with her unexpected companion,  " Bubba, "  her brain tumor.     Chapters: 00:00 From Extreme Achiever to Illness   Host Bill Burke...

Dr. Robert  Soiffer  took an interest in medicine at an early age when he played a physician in his first-grade play .   Today, he is a leading physician, researcher, and teacher at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a world leader in oncology .   In this episode, Dr.  Soiffer  describes the incredible pace of change in the field of cancer research and treatment and the detection tools and cures that a...

While many of us wish we had more resources, more options, and more time, David Epstein suggests that  it's  scarcity and constraints that lead us to better outcomes . This notion might feel  counterintuitive,  but David explain s the research and reasoning behind his terrific new book,  Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better ,  including examples from Apple, Southwest Airlines, NASA, and...

Sam  Fankuchen  shares his personal journey, beginning with a dramatic  close call  on 9/11 that profoundly influenced his career path. This pivotal moment led him to recognize the complexities and barriers within volunteerism, inspiring him to create Golden . The company aims to streamline the process for both volunteers and organizations,  leveraging  AI to match individuals with meaningful oppo...

Dr. Kenneth (Ken) Harris is an experienced practitioner of holistic medicine and author of the book,  Synchronicity .   In this Blue Sky conversation, Ken describes the subtle but  important  difference he sees between coincidence and synchronicity and tells why he thinks it's important for all of us to connect actively with others, leaving ourselves open to the mysterious and positive connections...

Dr. Kate Lund has spent much of her career as a psychologist studying children and parenting .   She's  distilled much of what  she's  learned in her  most recent book, Step Away: The Keys to Resilient Parenting .   In this episode, she describes who she persevered during her own childhood challenges and offers great advice for how we can all remain resilient during these  difficult times .     Ch...

When Eddie  Ndopu  was two years old, his mother was told he  wouldn't   likely live  past five .   Now in his early thirties, Eddie is an  internationally-known  and Oxford-educated advocate for the rights of the disabled .   In this interview, he shares how his optimistic single mother instilled in Eddie a love of learning and encouraged him to pursue a "life of the mind."  Today, Eddie is world...

We all know that our jobs are a huge part of our lives, and the way we feel about our workplace,   our supervisors, and coworkers has a lot to do with our ability to stay positive and mentally   healthy  a nd be optimistic about our future.  Blue Sky guest Amy  Leneker   was achieving every success  she'd  ever   imagined in her  work, but  was still unhappy and eventually became burned out.   She...

In this  very special  episode of Blue Sky, Steve D. tells the remarkable story of his struggle against his son's severe addiction to alcohol. (Steve is not using his full name here to protect his son's anonymity.)  While living what he would describe as a near perfect life – great marriage with his high school sweetheart, dream job, five great children – Steve discovers that his youngest child is...

The teenage years are always tough, not just for the teens but also for the parents, teachers, and coaches in their lives .   Charlene Engstrom and Johan Fallby have decided to do something about this and their firm, Playwell  Minds has developed an app and other teaching tools to develop in young people what they describe as "mental fitness."     Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to  Playwell  Minds  ...

Jeff Korzenik , the chief economist at a major US bank, explains how predicting a labor shortage in the US led him to discover the growing movement around "second chance" hiring of people with criminal records .  His passion for this work led him to write "Untapped Talent," a book that explains to companies the benefits of this type of hiring and offers a blueprint of how best to do it .  Jeff des...

Beatrice Erkers decided not to pursue a PhD after concluding that she wanted to do work that had more of a positive impact on the world .  She made her way to the Foresight Institute and is now director of their Existential Hope program .  In this episode, she describes her reasons for op timism and the work she's doing to create more hope around the benefits of emerging technologies.     Chapters...

LaTosha Brown has been described by many as a "force of nature," and from the first seconds of this Blue Sky episode, you will understand why .  Raised in Selma, Alabama she grew up surrounded by family members who were at the center of the civil rights movement in the United States .  Being close to grandparents who spent much of their adult lives unable to vote led her to appreciate this franchi...

Julie Roland's background is impressive and remarkably varied .  She's a retired naval aviator, magician, a law school graduate, a political staffer, and founder of the community-building nonprofit Just Tryna Make Friends .  In this Blue Sky episode, Julie spreads her infectious optimism about how the arts can be used to connect people at a time when so many forces are pulling us apart.     Chapte...

Older Americans are struggling with social isolation more than ever .  This can lead to challenges with mental and physical health as people age, and one nonprofit is having great success trying to do something about it. Life Story Club uses scheduled Zoom and phone calls form members to share stories about their past, present, and plans for their future .  In this Blue Sky conversation, interim d...

Lynda Ulrich and her daughter Liesl Ulrich-Verderber are the mother-daughter team behind t he Goodness Exchange , a global positive-news platform founded in 2014 to help people cut through today's negative nose with research-backed, solutions-focused storytelling. On this Blue Sky episode, they describe how they came to their optimistic outlooks at different stages of their lives and have managed...

Before Stan Andrisse was sentenced to ten years in prison for a Class A drug felony, the prosecutor had asked for a life sentence, suggesting that the defendant was irredeemable .  In the years since, Stan, now "Dr. Andrisse " has proved this attorney and many others wrong .  While in prison, he discovered an interest in science and endocrinology and today is a tenured professor at the Howard Univ...

Kevin Lowe has come a long way since he was seventeen years old and lost his eyesight during a medical procedure gone wrong. In this Blue Sky conversation, Kevin describes how he's rallied from this devastating event to live a life full of resilience, purpose, and optimism .  This episode concludes with a surprise musical feature, courtesy of Kevin himself.     00:00 Kevin Lowe's Childhood & Early...

Chris Anderson was inspired by the growth of TED once they expanded from being simply a conference company to adding the concept of offering their talks free to the world over the internet .   He's now calling on us all to "reclaim the internet" and use it as a force for spreading less hate and division and more kindness and generosity .  His new book, Infectious Generosity , lays out clearly the...