Blue Sky

Kate Bean's life has been marked by a series of radical changes and transformations.  After founding and running a successful non-profit that launched and oversaw charter schools while leading a national movement towards personalized education Kate decided to make a change.  She retired from her position, tricked out a minivan and headed out so see the country, inspired by Gandhi's advice that, "T...

John Daniel has led a remarkable and inspiring life, marked by challenges that he's met with grit and resilience.  John's alcoholic father struggled to find work but his loving mom made sure her nine children always had the support they needed.  John emerged from his childhood to become a successful banking executive with a successful marriage and thriving children.  But following his own diagnosi...

Pete Davis was a young undergraduate college student when he took a class from Professor Robert Putnam.  By this time, Dr. Putnam was an academic celebrity, based largely on the huge success of his seminal work on social capital, Bowling Alone .  In the time since, Pete has made advocating for more civic engagement the focus of his work and in addition to writing the book, Dedicated: The Case for...

On the "Well…Adjusting" podcast, author, actor, and funny lady Robin Hopkins is joined each episode by people who are struggling with a wide range of issues, from how to manage stress, set some boundaries, find a new apartment, and save a dime or two.  On occasion, she'll invite a "guest expert" to join to add their own insights and advice.  For this episode, the person with the challenge is Robin...

Note for this encore presentation: At the time that we celebrated our one year/50th episode in March of 2024, this episode was our most listened to.  We bring it back now as part of The Optimism Institute's recognition of National Mental Health Month and hope Blue Sky fans will enjoy and benefit from this wise, kind, and experienced professor.     Like most neuroscientists, until a little more tha...

Nearly 45 years ago, Billy Starr lost his mother, an uncle, and a cousin, all to cancer.  Looking for a purpose and outlet for his grief, he and a small circle of friends decided to take a long bike ride across most of the state of Massachusetts, while raising money for cancer research.  That first "event," in 1980, raised just over $10,000.   But that was just beginning, and through the years sin...

Squash – the game, not the vegetable – has long been seen as a "country club" sport.  But Barrett Takesian is on a mission to transform the sport's reputation while building community in his adopted hometown of Portland, Maine.  For the past 11 years, Barrett has worked to create and build Portland Community Squash, a unique gathering place for people of all ages, backgrounds, and income levels. ...

Daniel Stone explains that today's politically-polarized environment began taking shape way back in the 1980's.  Today, he says, we have an increase in what's been described as "affective biases," in which people move from disagreeing with the ideas of another, to disliking the person themselves, for having these beliefs.  It's a dangerous trend, he believes, and among other things, Daniel Stone r...

One of our most popular episodes of 2023 is back, with this encore presentation, just in time for Earth Day!  Dan Reicher's interest in and advocacy for environmental protection and clean energy began when he was a child and has continued throughout his life.  In addition to teaching at Stanford University, has served three U.S. presidents, testified before the U.S. Congress more than 50 times, le...

Marko Cheseto left his home in Kenya to travel all the way to, of all places, Anchorage, Alaska, where he attended college on a track and field scholarship.  A gifted runner, he achieved many accolades before experiencing a tragedy that resulted in the amputation of both of his legs, below his knees.  He says that as he lay in his hospital bed, he thought, "it was my feet that brought me to Americ...

Nathalie Laidler-Kylander has a long and distinguished career working in the non-profit, social entrepreneurship and international development sectors.  Since 2021 she has been CEO of Trickle Up , an organization that partners with women in extreme poverty to build economic opportunity and drive inclusion.  On this Blue Sky episode, Nathalie describes the remarkable work of Trickle Up while sharin...

This episode is a master class on sticking with it, no matter what. From our friend Dan Harris on the Ten Percent Happier podcast, we're joined by Bryan Stevenson, who is a public interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned. He is the author of the bestselling memoir "Just Mercy," which was made into a feature film, and the subject of an HB...

One of our most popular – and powerful episodes of 2023 is back, with this encore presentation.  In the Blue Sky conversation, John Valverde describes the impactful work of the organization he leads, YouthBuild USA,  and also shares his own inspiring story of persevering through 16 years in prison to found two non-profits and now lead a third; YouthBuild USA.  John explains how he brings his own l...

Gill Hasson has a wide range of interests and areas of study, exemplified by the fact that she has authored thirty-six different books.  In this Blue Sky episode, she shares her thoughts and advice on everything from the pros and cons of social media, to how to effectively parent at a time when so many kids are struggling, and how we can better deal with people we find to be difficult. (A preview...

For the 50th episode of Blue Sky, Bill is joined by someone who has completed more than 400 of them.  Bestselling author and TV/podcast host Kelly Corrigan describes to Bill the many things she's learned in her life and career about optimism and how we all can benefit from life's setbacks to become better people and forge stronger relationships.  Kelly reflects on lessons she learned from her pare...

Alison Jones Webb has spent her career studying and working in the public health sector.  Several years ago, a combination of the opioid crisis and a realization that her own extended family had battled various substance use disorders, she decided to turn her attention here and began deeper work into addiction and recovery.  One outgrowth of these efforts is her book, Recovery Allies: How to Suppo...

In this episode, Bert describes how he and his brother grew from a challenging upbringing to create Life is Good, the original positive outlook brand.  He explains why he believes that optimism is a superpower and suggests that in all of history, there's never been a successful pessimist. Links: Browse Life Is Good here: https://www.lifeisgood.com/

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 re...

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 tha...

When Ilze Thielmann learned of the steady stream of refugees and asylum seekers entering New York City, she felt compelled to get involved and help.  This led her to connect with, volunteer for, and ultimately take over leadership of an organization called Team TLC.  Here, Ilze and her colleagues greet asylum seekers – many of whom have been sent to New York from the state of Texas – and help them...

The life of Jonathan Conyers is full of junctures where it appears he's not going to make it.  Both of his parents battled addiction to crack cocaine, yet somehow managed to instill in their son a desire to be educated and advance in the world.  As he grows, Jonathan is surrounded by teachers and mentors who take special interest in him and encourage him to reach high, including "Dico," his transg...

KM DiColandrea says he works with young people because he can't imagine doing anything else.  In high school, he developed a love for speech and debate which has led to a passion for teaching and coaching young people to develop these skills.  We first met KM DiColandrea, aka "DiCo," in our Blue Sky episode with Jonathan Conyers.  There, we heard of him helping turn around Jonathan's life at Frede...

Sara Guillermo's family immigrated to the United States when she was a small child.  She grew up with an appreciation for this country and a desire to serve that expressed itself as early as the 1st grade, when she ran to be her "classroom organizer."  From there, she has held several leadership positions and now serves as the CEO of IGNITE, an organization dedicated to train girls and young women...

The family of Anh Vu Sawyer were among the small number of South Vietnamese who successfully fled Saigon in the final days and hours of the Vietnam War.  After describing this harrowing ordeal, Anh explains how these events inspired her to lead a life of inspiring service and social entrepreneurship here in the United States. 

In the late 1990's, John Wood was living a great life.  As a senior executive at Microsoft, his job took him to exotic places and he was experiencing an ideal post-MBA experience.  His life would forever change on a getaway vacation in Nepal, when he had an experience that led him to quit his job and become a social entrepreneur.  Since then, John Wood has created two successful non-profits and ha...