Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Olivia Walton went from asking questions as a business journalist to creating solutions as a philanthropist—and she's learned that the best way to fix maternal healthcare in America isn't just a moral argument, it's an economic one. In this third episode of our Women of Consequence series, Kelly sits down with the founder and CEO of Ingeborg Investments and Ingeborg Initiatives, chair of Crystal B...

Most of us are still waiting for that one perfect mentor to appear and show us the way. Podcaster Liz Moody decided to stop waiting and start sending emails to strangers instead. The result was a room full of powerful women comparing notes on things nobody talks about out loud, and a philosophy that might just change who you invite into your corner. In this special Thanks For Being Here episode—pa...

We carry around this dangerous myth that brave people feel brave—that somewhere out there, women are standing up in meetings and saying the hard thing without their heart rate changing, that courage is a feeling you either have or don't have. Kelly blows up that whole idea by sharing what she learned from her conversation with Olympian Allyson Felix: when Allyson hit send on the New York Times op-...

Allyson Felix has 11 Olympic medals, which makes her the most decorated American track and field athlete in history. But here's the thing—most people know her name because of what happened when she got pregnant. After nearly a decade with her sponsor Nike, they offered her a new contract at 70% less than her previous salary. And when she asked for one thing—protected time to recover from childbirt...

Writer Anne Lamott tells Kelly about the "other mother" from her childhood—her best friend's mom who thought she was fabulous when her own parents had concerns. It's about the gratitude you carry for the rest of your life when someone champions the parts of you that feel unseen and how those other mothers—the ones who celebrated instead of shaped—end up changing who we become. This episode has bee...

Kelly reflects on a moment from Tuesday's conversation with Laura Modi, founder of the infant formula company Bobbie, who had 48 hours to decide whether to take on thousands of desperate new parents during the 2022 formula shortage or stand by her current customers. Laura went against every growth model and turned the new customers away to protect those who already trusted her—not because of data...

Laura Modi had mastitis five days into motherhood— blistered and bleeding, fever raging—and when she finally turned to formula, she discovered the first ingredient was corn syrup. So, she did what any sleep-deprived new mom would do: she went down a 2 AM research rabbit hole and emerged determined to change an entire industry. In this first episode of our Women of Consequence series, Kelly talks w...

Newly appointed Judge Kristine Burk's investiture ceremony became unexpectedly tender when her 19-year-old son Tyler took the podium. Moving beyond the usual formal speeches, Tyler crafted an acrostic poem for "JUDGE" that revealed the everyday magic of his mom - from her unshakeable belief in second chances, to her instinct for helping strangers in need, to the joyful warmth she radiates to every...

You may be familiar with this woman: she wakes up before anyone else, eats standing up, clears the dishes first—and if you told her she was good, she'd believe you, because all of that not resting, not asking, not taking up room, is what goodness looks like—doesn't it? Kelly digs into research showing that the behavior we reward in women—being accommodating, putting others first, never stopping—is...

Kelly sits down with Enneagram coach Courtney Smith, co-author (with Elise Loehnen) of the workbook Choosing Wholeness Over Goodness, to explore the cultural scripts women inherit about how we're supposed to be—and what happens when we start questioning them. They talk about why taking responsibility feels both terrifying and liberating, the difference between being stuck and choosing agency, and...

Karen Frost held hands with a stranger named Frank at a U2 concert in Chicago—a man she sensed didn't have much time left. They didn't exchange contact information, but she knew what they shared was a soul connection forged through music. Years later, when she faced a cancer diagnosis and began guided imagery to prepare for radiation, something unexpected happened. It's a story about the fleeting...

What if the most powerful response to tragedy isn't professional intervention, but something much simpler and closer to home? Kelly weaves together a George Eliot quote about unhistoric acts, a newsletter from psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman, and decades of research on community resilience to explore a surprising truth: after crisis, your friends and family aren't just holding you until you can...

Quick afternoon nap? Gummies before bed? Hitting snooze? Here’s a thorough look at how to get our sleep right with one of the world’s most informed sleep experts: Dr. Matthew Walker. Why? Sleep is our super power. Put less positively, poor sleep maps terribly closely to poor mental health. Joining me for the conversation are previous guests and friends of the show cognitive scientist and podcaster...

Sometimes kids just know things. Molly Merrihew's almost-three-year-old daughter Cecelia asks out of nowhere, "Why did Caitlin die in February?" while standing on a kitchen chair, her aunt's senior photo mixed in with the daily clutter of mail and coffee mugs. Molly realizes her daughter has picked up on the rhythm of grief, the way February carries both celebration and loss—Cecilia's birthday fal...

Kelly and Tammy explore Pixar's WALL-E, a film that dares to say almost nothing for the first forty minutes—and somehow says everything about curiosity, connection, and what it means to be alive. They talk about how the filmmakers watched silent films for months to learn how emotions work without dialogue, why a frictionless life is enfeebling, and what a lonely robot can teach us about slowing do...

What if the antidote to our frenzied, overscheduled lives isn't found in distant places or grand revelations, but in the radical act of paying attention? Writer Pico Iyer—who famously traded a corner office in Manhattan for a single room in Japan with no bed, no phone, and no distractions —sits down with Kelly to explore the art of staying curious in an age of constant noise. They wander through i...

Kelly reads a birthday letter from her lifelong friend Mary Hope McQuiston to her father Bob, who is turning 90. Instead of throwing a surprise party, Mary Hope decided to honor her dad by collecting the lessons he's taught her—one for each decade he's lived. What unfolds is a portrait of a life well-lived, told through stories about elaborate pranks, deep friendships, showing up when it matters,...

What happens when a filmmaker refuses to judge his characters and just keeps asking "and then what would happen?" Kelly and Tammy dive into Spike Jonze's Her, a film made in 2013 that somehow predicted our current moment of AI engagement with unsettling precision. They wander through questions about embodiment and consciousness, the dangerous beauty of unchecked curiosity, and why conviction kills...

Kelly sits down with visionary neuroscientist Gül Dölen—who FedExed seven octopuses to her lab and dosed them with MDMA to understand how brains learn—and to explore what happens when you let wonder lead the way. Gül explains that our brains have windows when they're wide open to learning, that those windows known as "critical periods" close—and more importantly, how we might crack them back open....

Sometimes the most powerful thing a doctor can do has nothing to do with medicine. Kelly reads a listener letter from Ellen Versprille, who lost her mother, her husband, and her sister-in-law in the span of just weeks—and then one freezing January night, heard a knock at her door that changed everything. It's a story about what it means to truly show up for someone, and why the moments that sustai...

Kelly and Tammy explore creativity through La La Land, a film that uses color like a second language and turns a highway traffic jam into magic. Tammy reflects on her own journey trying to make it in LA and why the film's authenticity around creative pursuit never fails to wreck her, while Kelly considers the deep self-belief required to chase any dream and the humiliation baked into trying. They...

In the 4th episode of our Super Traits series, Kelly sits down with her favorite writer George Saunders—author of 12 books including Lincoln in the Bardo and his latest novel Vigil—to explore creativity as a practice of staying open. They talk about how precise language changes the way we receive the world, why specificity lowers reactivity, and what it means that neurologically speaking, we're al...

Tracy Hargen shares the story of the night her son Will came to her during his junior year of high school to say he'd been struggling with depression for over a year—and she had no idea. She reflects on what teenage depression actually looks like, how different it can be from what parents expect, and the critical moment when her son asked for help. It's about creating space for the hardest convers...

This week's Go To is another film discussion between Kelly and Tammy, this time exploring creativity through Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. They break down what makes the film a masterclass in creative choices: the strict candy-store palette, the impeccable production design/hair/makeup and the intentional postures and snappy pacing from the actors. Kelly reflects on what it takes to hol...

Kelly sits down with theoretical physicist Brian Greene—who might seem like an unusual choice for a conversation about creativity until you learn he's turned the general theory of relativity into theater that makes people cry. They explore what it means to translate the mysteries of the universe into stories that move us, why Brian doesn't believe in free will, and how collections of particles gov...