Kelly Corrigan Wonders

People say “Stay in your lane” but I don’t buy it. I like people who care about a lot of things, not just winning another NBA championship (I see you Steve Kerr, eyeing #9) or making another world class docu-series (I see you W Kamau Bell, with your devastating Cosby series). I like people who dare to say unpopular things into microphones because they have a platform and they feel compelled to use...

Thanks to a listener who makes an excellent point, I am correcting some recurring remarks about piano lessons being a total bust. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With tenderness and optimism, Atul Gawande (author of Being Mortal, a must read) and Ai-jen Poo (who supports caregivers across the country) give us all a way to think about love, caregiving and facing mortality. To watch Kelly’s conversations with Atul and Ai-jen, go to www.pbs.org/kelly. If you love our pod, please give us a nice juicy 5 star rating. It takes about 2 seconds and helps lots of ot...

Thoughts on doing things for no reason whatsoever, including an excerpt from Kate Bowler’s little book of devotionals called Good Enough, and my embarrassing need for rationalizing doing nothing as doing something. You’ll see. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.co...

Puzzles. Pickle Ball. Backgammon, hearts, Rummikub. Collaging, watercolors, knitting. What might have seemed nice-to-have is actually a must-have if you want to protect your mental, physical and intellectual well being. Catherine Price, a science journalist, has rounded up the evidence and it’s clear: fun matters. Listen to Kelly and Catherine talk through the when, how and why of playing. Share w...

Right around this time, especially this year, there can be a pervasive feeling that change actually never happens. that things go in circles, that progress is a lullaby. I say no! Here’s my formula for keeping hope alive. Share with anyone who might be slowly sinking under the weight of it all. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-pol...

A big word for me as I get my head around 2022 is notice. What am I letting happen to myself? What might I be able to adjust or reject? Noticing seems like the obvious first step in self-management. Today’s conversation with Pamela Paul is about the things we have lost to the Internet and what, if anything, we want to do about it. What ideas, objects, habits and preferences has the Internet washed...

In exploring a project about eulogies, I noticed something that made me question all the guilt I’m hearing about from parents who listened to my conversation with Julie Lythcott-Haims. I mean, yes, we make mistakes and those mistakes have consequences but our giant gorilla heart love doesn’t go unnoticed either. Share this with anyone who gets down on themselves about the bumpy ride that is family...

With not much more than a bag of chips and a tuba, Richard White found his way from intermittent homelessness and into the symphony This is a story to make you remember how much we can and do overcome. If you love this episode, you’ll also like hearing ultra-athlete Rich Roll talk about his long walk to solid ground and the irresistible Devone Boggan talk about the guys he takes to Disneyland ever...

After re-listening to my conversation with Julie Lythcott-Haims about overparenting and reading hundreds of comments online, it seemed to me like there might be a way to transition from the hovering at close range to cheering from a safe distance. Here’s 3 minutes on the 3 steps I’m trying. Please share our work with your friends, or I should say KEEP sharing (clearly you have been since our reach...

There’s a lot to learn about how to help (or let) a kid become an adult from someone who worked with Stanford students for 10 years, not to mention someone who wrestles with every major moment in parenting herself. Julie Lythcott-Haims is the author of How to Raise an Adult and Your Turn: How to Be an Adult and is as honest as they come. This is one to play on repeat. If you loved this conversatio...

Ages ago, M Scott Peck (of The Road Less Traveled) studied success (personal and professional) and was surprised to discover that all the people in his study had one thing in common: they all report the exact same “most important” thing. As I sink into the reality of an empty nest, I felt the need to remind myself that it is not my children’s job (nor is it Edward’s) to make me happy. Hope you fin...

Kelly listens in tears as long time death row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton tells her the best story she's ever heard. With thanks to listeners for voting and Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative for introducing us to Mr. Hinton. Please share widely. This one will heal us. Other 2021 listener favorites mentioned in this episode include BJ Miller on Losing the Ones We Love and Anna Quindlen...

A lovely story about a neighborhood in Baltimore has been circulating this week. Like so many people, I was moved. For today’s very quick GOTO, I wanted to underline one unusual choice that made all this beauty possible: the minute Kim Morton decided to say something real. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about y...

Kelly talks with a favorite writer: the kind, wise, funny and wicked smart George Saunders. They go deep on ignoring the persistent whispering of our tricky egos and work through the ongoing challenge of returning ourselves to a state of wonder and empathy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices....

For anyone who finds themselves going to war with reality…this one is for you. A deep dive into where we get our expectations of consistency and resolution. Share with your pals. Podcasts make the perfect fodder for friendship. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.c...

Jen Hatmaker was famously married with children until she discovered she wasn’t. Chosen by producer Tammy Stedman as her favorite conversation of Year One, here’s Kelly and her friend Jen talking candidly about shock, tangled up losses of all kinds (financial, emotional security, sense of identity, futures you were counting on…) and the things you learn on the bounce back. This episode features th...

For Liz Laats, who died 6 years ago today. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Talking to Judy Woodruff about the things she learned from her son, Jeffrey, talking to Ai-jen Poo about all the nannies she supports, took me right back to some weirdly lovely moments with Greenie. This is a short piece to share with anybody you know who is taking care of someone. It’s hard work made a litle bit easier by being recognized. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practic...

After a year of conversations, it’s time to reflect on our favorites. We go behind the scenes with the team to surface the episodes that have moved us, changed us and sustained us during this abjectly crappy time in American life. Founding producer Susan George tells Kelly her top 3 picks, ending with her #1: writer, thinker, humanist Johann Hari. Susan mentions: Episode 37 Amanda Ripley on Person...

Here’s a cool thing: some listeners asked me to share my essay on forgiveness in a stand alone piece so they could send it to friends and family who had been forgiving with them over the years like an audio thank you card. So, by request, I’m sharing the uncut (and actually expanded) version of the piece I wrote first for the podcast and then for The New York Times with thanks to Rabbi Michael Lez...

For anyone with gift anxiety, for anyone who feels like you can’t win for losing, this is the conversation for you. Full of reminders and insights as we gear up for the season, Anna and Kelly ask all the right questions. If you enjoyed this heart to heart, you’ll love episodes 24-28 with Anna Quindlen and podcaster Anna Sale. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https...

Hey Annie from MA who commented on my FB post, this GOTO is for you. I did a deep dive into the magic of nudges (not rules, not threats, just little well-placed nudges toward the right next move) and followed the search where it took me—to one of my most dearly held convictions. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more a...

Anna Quindlen and Kelly share readings, stories and insights on the art of holidaying, regular-people style. Special drop in by Kelly’s brother, Booker. If you love Anna Q, you’ll enjoy episodes 24- 28 from March 2021. Please subscribe, rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts! We read and appreciate every review. You can follow the conversation with Kelly on Instagram @kellycorrigan. To...

After a really interesting conversation with a few friends who have lost parents, I’ve been wondering about what it really feels like to be the one in the bed and reconsidering my assumptions about quality and quantity, tragedy and growth, knowable and unknowable. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad ch...