Blue Sky

In honor of this year's 4 th of July celebration, host Bill Burke discusses some bits of US history through the lens of this country's remarkable sense of optimism .  He describes that despite our many setbacks and shortcomings, we remain a place of possibility and hope and encourages us all to keep working towards "a more perfect union."  

Nichole Argo describes the work she's doing to bring communities together by assembling people with different viewpoints around one table to discuss their challenges and formulate solutions .  After great success in her hometown , she's now pursuing similar models across the country , and s he's optimistic that combining a growing desire for belonging with proven methods for bui lding community wi...

Over the course of his remarkable career, Harry Smith interviewed six US presidents and numerous celebrities including Julia Roberts, Cher, and Madonna .  But on this Blue Sky episode Harry shares that his favorite people to cover were the ones we've likely never heard of, the everyday heroes that he describes as the glue of our society .  Harry shares some of the wisdom he's earned and now share...

Blue Sky host Bill Burke, along with several past guests, have described today as the best time to be alive in all of human history .  On this episode, Bill explains some data-backed reasons why and provides hope that even better days lie ahead.  

Mary McManus has never had it easy .  As a kindergartener, she was a victim of polio just a short time before the vaccine was introduced .  She also faced trauma in her home life but somehow managed to persevere and overcome these and still more obstacles throughout her life .  Today, Mary is an inspiring author, poet, motivational speaker, and finisher of the Boston Marathon.     Chapters: 01:05...

Political division in the United States is an issue often cited as contributing to the pessimistic outlook so many of us have. Blue Sky guest Lindsey Cormack believes that our government will only improve if we begin to understand it better and get involved ourselves .  As a college professor, when she found that many of her students were remarkably ignorant about how our government works, she dec...

Sam Pressler has a strong track record of bringing people together and working to rebuild the civic infrastructure of the United States. In addition to being a researcher and writer, he is also the founder of the Armed Services Art Partnership and Connective Tissue , a collection of projects designed to help people understand how they might go about creating connections in their own towns and civi...

On the heels of the "Arts Educators Save the World" feed swap episode with Jonathan Groff and his elementary school music teacher, Linda Tough, Bill Burke reflects on the role of teachers and mentors in helping us all be optimistic .  He shares his own influences and those of many Blue Sky guests, while encouraging us to think of our own and consider being mentors ourselves.  

In this very special "feed swap" edition, Blue Sky Alum Erica Halverson interviews award-winning Jonathan Groff and his inspirational elementary school music teacher, Linda Tough, on the "Arts Educators Save the World" podcast.      Learn more about Erica's podcast here: https://www.artseducatorspodcast.com/   Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to the Feed Swap   In this special edition of the Blue Sky podca...

Martin Gutmann is an expert on the history of business and has written extensively about styles of past leaders.  In this episode, he shares his thoughts on everything from today's political climate, to whether he thinks Ernest Shackleton is overrated (spoiler alert – he does), to the underrated excellence of less well-known figures in history.      Chapters: 02:27 Meet Martin Gutman n   Bill welc...

Blayne Smith and Brandon Young are two US Army combat veterans who came together in civilian life to start their own company.  They've now published a new book, co-authors of Perseverance > Endurance: Lead with Resilience. Grow Through Adversity. Win Together ., in which they describe invaluable lessons that they've learned from their training, the battlefield, and life since their time in the ser...

This episode explores the work of Echoing Green , an international non-profit that invests in social entrepreneurs and their dreams and ideas.  An accomplished leader and executive herself, Cheryl Dorsey explains how she first came to the organization and the great work they continue to do under her leadership.    Chapters: 02:22 Meet Cheryl Dorsey  Cheryl Dorsey, president of Echoing Green, share...

David McCullough got the idea for The American Exchange Project (AEP) after a cross-country trip showed him how diverse and accepting were the people he met.  Today, AEP creates opportunities for recent high school graduates to experience life in a different part of the US, building bridges of understanding and creating lifelong friendships.  It's McCullough's hope that these trips will someday be...

While studying acting in college, Erica Halverson decided that while she loved the theater, being on stage would not be for her.  Instead, she moved into different areas and now is teaching arts education at the University of Wisconsin.  She also hosts a terrific podcast, "Arts Educators Save the World ," on which artists are joined by teachers and mentors to reflect on the transformative impact t...

When Earl B. Hunter's son was seven years old, he took him on three-month, multi-state camping.  It was a positive, life-changing experience for them both.  But Earl was struck by the fact that over the entire trip, they saw just one other black family.  As someone who was working in sales in the outdoor industry, Earl saw an opportunity and went on to found the for-profit company, Black Folks Cam...

On this month's installment of "A Bit of Blue Sky," and in honor of National Optimism Month, host Bill Burke reflects on lessons learned from two years of hosting the Blue Sky podcast. 

Sal Khan is one of the great innovators in education and in this Blue Sky episode, he discusses his book, Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing ). He and his colleagues at Khan Academy are well on their way to creating powerful AI teaching assistant called Khanmigo.  At a time when many fear the onset of AI applications, Sal Khan presents an inspiring vi...

Leslie and Richard Strauss are a husband-and-wife team who oversee Spirit Series, an innovative educational program in which young students perform plays about timeless stories.  Through Spirit Series' immersive and rigorous process, participants gain confidence in themselves and improve their teamwork, higher order thinking and focus in the classroom.  The program has served more than 60,000 stud...

Business school professor and author Amy Edmondson shares her views on how we can make our workplace more productive, enriching, and positive for everyone.  By creating an environment with "psychological safety," Amy says that organizations allow people to do their best work by not fearing to make the "right kinds" of mistakes and/or speaking up when things go wrong.  Order Amy's book Right Kind o...

On this installment of "A Bit of Blue Sky," host Bill Burke describes five books he recommends that will help listeners be more optimistic (and hopefully, fulfill their New Year's resolution to do so)!    Blue Sky Bookshelf: Link     Chapters:   00:00 Welcome to A Bit of Blue Sky  Host Bill Burke introduces the podcast and its mission to inspire optimism through engaging discussions. He sets the s...

Neal Foard is an accomplished marketing expert and storyteller. On this episode, Neal describes why, after helping build household name global brands like Budweiser, Lexus, and Sony, he has turned his attention to telling and teaching stories.  He's inspired by what he describes as the kindness of everyday people and shares personal anecdotes and stories online, hoping others will engage in what h...

In this Blue Sky episode, Zach Karabell describes how the roots of his optimistic worldview come from his deep understanding of history and the important societal trends that continue to move in a positive direction.  This conversation covers a lot of ground, including how Zachary views President Trump and the "chaos" and "hysteria" he expects will be created during his second term, the remarkable...

Daniel Pink joins Blue Sky for a lively and wide-ranging discussion.  He describes the importance of what he sees as a personal portfolio that includes a predominance of optimism that's balanced by a healthy and helpful dose of pessimism. He also forceful debunks "the cynical genius illusion," which leads to an undue bias towards those with cynical, negative viewpoints. He and Bill also discuss th...

Chloe Valdary shares her unique way of thinking about – and training others – in the field of diversity and difference.  She describes her fascination with human beings in all our complexity and resists and rejects our tendencies to put everyone into the limiting categories of "oppressors or oppressed."  Her thoughtful insights will make you think and might even challenge some listeners' long-held...

Bill Burke hosts this first-ever installment of "A Bit of Blue Sky."  In this shorter episode, Bill explains that on the first Wednesday of every month, The Optimism Institute will release a shorter episode with information about the podcast, reflections on past episodes, and hints about new shows in the queue.  This month, to kick of 2025, Bill challenges his audience to make being more optimisti...