Blue Sky

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...

David Bornstein has a long history in journalism and founded the Solutions Journalism Network out of his belief that the hard work that people all over the world do to solve tough problems is history's most under-reported story.  His organization trains journalists around the country on how to pursue and write stories not just about our problems, but also on the encouraging solutions emerging to s...

Matt Ridley's seminal book, The Rational Optimist, has inspired many since its publication in 2010 and greatly influenced the creation of The Optimism Institute.  In this far-ranging discussion, Matt will describe an early education that he said was steeped in pessimism but how later in life he found that much of what he'd been taught was simply not true.  This led him to set on a nearly evangelic...

In her new book, The Power of a Few Kind Words , author Tracey Gates tells the story of how she decided to write a handwritten note of appreciation to someone every day, for an entire year.  365 letters later, she's concluded that telling people how much you appreciate them can do as much for your own state of mind as it does for the recipients, and she's encouraging her readers to take up the pra...

Ritah Kabanyoro knows what it's like to go to bed hungry.  Growing up in a household of 20 people, she was used to receiving just one meal a day, until fainting spells alerted others to the malnutrition she was suffering.  After being placed in a private school – and improving her diet, she thrived and today leads Uganda's chapter of Action Against Hunger.  Ritah's home country is the largest reci...

Kevin Adler grew up with a beloved uncle, Mark, who never forgot to send him a Hallmark card on his birthday.  Over time, Kevin learned that his uncle was unhoused and suffering from schizophrenia.  When Mark died at the age of 50, Kevin decided that working to solve the crisis of homelessness would be his life's work.  The experience of having a close relative in this predicament made him realize...

Dr. Howard Koh's story is inspiring. His immigrant parents raised him to be grateful for and contribute to their adopted country.  And he has certainly made his contributions, serving first as a practicing oncologist, then moving into the field of public health.  After treating too many patients who were dying from cancers caused by tobacco use, Howard Koh turned his attention to tobacco cessation...

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 in te...

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 franchise...