Every so often, Kelly Corrigan Wonders will make space in our feed for someone else?s podcast. In this case, Kelly is sharing an episode of the podcast Love Letters. Today?s episode is called ?Find Your People? and is the story of Ray and Maria who met at a summer camp, and how they affected one another?s lives. Enjoy. To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your email, sign up here.

Is it really possible to talk lovingly and openly, face to face, with someone who thinks you?re going to hell? It better be because when true believers of various faiths come together, big hard things are going to be said. My guest is knee deep in this kind of work. Simon Greer tells us the story of spending 3 weeks in conversation with Oberlin students and evangelicals from Spring Arbor University. His experiences hold many answers for how we, as Americans, might be able to actually know and understand one another. An excellent conversation to share with your most faithful friends.

Special thanks to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for their generous support of this series.

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Link to the short film featuring Simon?s conversation with Evangelical Christian Elizabeth Stewart: https://www.interfaithamerica.org/resources/differences-student-story/

Check out the other episodes from our Rupture + Repair series:

Deep Dive with Mónica Guzmán on Making Family Work

Deep Dive with Drs. Julie and John Gottman on Fighting Right

Deep Dive with Manu Meel on Making College Work

Carter paints a vivid picture of her popular Baltimore mom Sally who always gave back and had plenty of love to spare. Whether it was founding an organization to help others, sitting on a board, creating the best Christmas ever or simply spreading love and joy to her family and beyond, Sally was a force for good. (Previously aired)

Please note: because this is a ?previously aired? episode, next Tuesday?s Kelly Corrigan Wonders will not feature Kate Bowler as referenced at the end of the episode. It will be Kelly?s interview with Simon Greer as a part of our Rupture + Repair series.

I spent about an hour with Matthew McConaughey in Bentonville AR at The Heartland Summit. We talked about acting, of course, but he really sat up straight when I started asking him about gun safety. He and his wife, Camila, are deeply invested in the issue and I am happy to share that progress is being made. So enjoy this conversation and share with folks who care about school safety or just have a big crush on Matthew.

Special thanks to my friends at Heartland Forward and to Matthew for his work on the Greenlights Grant Initiative.

Manu Meel is helping college kids talk to each other ? inside and outside of classes, individually and in groups, in person and online ? about all kinds of important issues where there is a lot of disagreement. He is also as positive and bright as any guest we?ve ever had.

Special thanks to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for their generous support of this series.

Every Wednesday we send out our top takeaways of the week to listeners. If you?d like to receive that email, sign up here.

Check out the other episodes from our Rupture + Repair series:

Deep Dive with Mónica Guzmán on Making Family Work

Deep Dive with Drs. Julie and John Gottman on Fighting Right

Today?s Thanks For Being Here is a eulogy written by Kelly?s dear friend Tracy Tuttle McGowan for her mother Michele White. Michele was someone who lived life in the ready position, a scout always on the lookout for any way she could make the day overflow with wonder. A lover of travel, she particularly appreciated all things French and embodied ?joie de vivre?. Michele walked through life wowed by beauty and made it her business on every occasion, and in all surroundings, to make things more lovely.

Life is more often in between than high and low. We are also usually somewhere between our very best self and our very worst. We know this but it helps to reflect on that fairly frequently. Here?s a few blessings from Kate Bowler?s new book, Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day.

Previous conversations with Kate:

Everything Happens for a Reason with Kate Bowler

Cycling Through All the Emotions with Kate Bowler and Arthur C. Brooks

Looking Back with Kate Bowler at the Truly Crappy

Looking Back with Kate Bowler at All Things Happy

Claire Danes and Kate Bowler Book Clubbing with Kelly Part 1

Claire Danes and Kate Bowler Book Clubbing with Kelly Part 2

Claire Danes and Kate Bowler Book Clubbing with Kelly Part 3

Go To on Grief

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Doctors Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman are probably the world?s reigning experts on relationships. They are well into their 5th decade of research that reveals why we treat each other as we do and how a few small but essential adjustments to our everyday patterns could change our relationships for the better. Everything we talked about is applicable across the board - from couples to parents and children and all the people we work with. We predict this will be our most shared episode of 2024. Enjoy.

Check out the Gottman's? new book: Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict Into Connection

Special thanks to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for their generous support of this series.

To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your email, sign up here.

Check out the other episodes from our Rupture + Repair series:

Deep Dive with Mónica Guzmán on Making Family Work

Kirsten?s dad Tom was beloved by his kids and grandkids (one of whom couldn?t pronounce the letter ?T?, resulting in the nickname Papa Fom). Tom was a man who loved the simple pleasures in life: playing and winning various games, flying balsa wood planes with his family, joking around, drawing and painting, eating candy, playing ?house? and ?school? with his grandkids or letting them climb all the way up his body to stand on his shoulders. He really loved the little things and everyday moments were his favorites. (Previously aired)

What happens in the first 180 seconds of a fight determine its outcome at least 90% of the time. For real. This is a basic truth that every one of us needs to understand and an episode to share with our partners! Many thanks to Drs. Julie and John Gottman for four decades of work and their new book, Fight Right.

Special thanks to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

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Moni Guzman came to the US from Mexico with her family many decades ago. In the past two presidential elections, her parents voted for Trump while she voted for Clinton and Biden. This created the kind of tension that must be managed very carefully. Fortunately, and relatedly, Moni has professional experience with difficult conversations in her capacity as a senior fellow at Braver Angels. We lean heavily on the ideas in Moni?s book, I Never Thought of It That Way, in this episode and throughout our 5-part series on getting along: Rupture + Repair.

Special thanks to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for their generous support of this series.

Every Wednesday we send out our top takeaways of the week to listeners. If you?d like to receive that email, sign up here.

Meghan Jarvis? beautiful story of what happened as she holed herself up in a friend?s home to write her mother?s eulogy. This is for anyone who has written a eulogy and knows what an emotionally fraught yet transformative time it can be. (Previously aired)

Note that we have changed our email address from the one mentioned in this past episode. If you would like to reach out to us, please use: [email protected]

Does someone you love vote for someone you really do not love? This is a short piece about getting along from a book I found super valuable: I Never Thought Of It That Way by Monica Guzman. She and her parents found themselves in opposite camps and needed a set of practices to make sure their rupture did not ever become beyond repair.

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Every so often, Kelly Corrigan Wonders will make space in our feed for someone else?s podcast. In this case, Kelly is sharing a conversation between two former guests ? Dan Harris and Bryan Stevenson ? because we can never think about the hard work of justice enough. Enjoy.

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Reflecting on the persistence and challenge of change as a way of life and a few deep dives into very specific changes with writer, activist and community leader Jen Hatmaker.

If you enjoyed listening to my conversation this week with Jen Hatmaker and you haven?t already listened to the episode we did together in May of 2021, please check it out - it?s been one of the most listened to pods we?ve ever done and I think you?ll really enjoy it. It?s Episode #35 of Kelly Corrigan Wonders. You may also enjoy the series we did in 2021 called How Change Happens. It?s a special 10 part series l of frank conversations about suffering, compassion, willpower and tough love. (Replay of Ep 78 which originally aired on March 8, 2022)

To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your inbox, subscribe at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

Today?s Thanks For Being Here features an excerpt from the book Normal Broken: The Grief Companion for When It's Time to Heal but You're Not Sure You Want To. Since 2018, Kelly Cervantes has candidly chronicled her evolution through grief, parenting her medically complex daughter, Adelaide, who passed away from epilepsy just days before her 4th birthday. Weeks later, the Cervantes family was uprooted when Kelly?s husband Miguel was cast as Hamilton on Broadway, moving them from their closest community and support system in Chicago to what would soon be the isolated and lonely epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Normal Broken was born out of those writings?her blog, Inchstones.

It can be really hard to interpret the signals our bodies send us. Does stress mean we should run? Does discomfort mean something is going wrong? Today?s mini pod unpacks one of the top social science findings from the Greater Good Science Center. (Previously aired)

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The word is EVERYWHERE. Happiness. I don?t even always believe that it?s a worthy goal honestly, but that might be a matter of semantics. How you define happiness defines how you approach it. This is a careful conversation with Gretchen Rubin that?s based on what research and experience tell us makes a life that feels pretty satisfying most of the time. Gretchen wrote The Happiness Project 15 years back and has been playing with the tenets and practices ever since on her podcast Happier.

Our takeaways were long on this one?if you?d like to receive the weekly list in your inbox subscribe to our Weekly Takeaways email at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

Alisha Goldblatt submitted her short, beautifully written poem, ?Parenting 101?, which likens parenting to a class - one which is particularly tough but oh so worthwhile.

To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your inbox, subscribe at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

What?s the point of slowing down, noticing, directing your attention to small wonders? Kelly celebrates the work of Dacher Keltner on AWE. (Replay of Ep 77 which originally aired on January 6, 2023)

To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your inbox, subscribe at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

Living in an optimization culture is making parenting much more complicated than it need be. Or so says Dr. Aliza Pressman, author of The Five Principles of Parenting and the host of Raising Good Humans, who spends a lot of time with the latest research and a lot of time with parents in clinic. Today?s conversation is about exactly what does and does not protect us from the worst health outcomes and is to be shared with anyone who is looking for a parenting north star.

Our takeaways were juicy on this one? if you?d like to receive the weekly list in your inbox subscribe to our Weekly Takeaways email at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

In honor of our 100th Thanks for Being Here episode, I wrote a love letter to Tammy, whose name you hear at the end of every podcast. She is my trusted, beloved, essential thought partner on almost all matters, professional and personal. Here?s why?

(Suggested share: to someone in your life that makes your whole world work better.)

To receive the weekly Top Takeaways in your inbox subscribe to our Takeaways email at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

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 ?Go To?, I wanted to underline one unusual choice that made all this beauty possible: the minute Kim Morton decided to say something real. (Replay of Ep 23 which originally aired on December 24, 2021.)

?He may die but he?s alive now and we are going to enjoy this moment together.? This is theology professor Lee C. Camp sharing the turning point of his life as a father of a child who was unwell and is now, thankfully, in recovery. A tender and unguarded conversation, laced with a few existential bombs, to inspire better, less angry days for all of us. Check out Lee?s podcast and live show both called, No Small Endeavor.

To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your inbox, subscribe at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

This essay has never before been shared outside of Julia Ogden?s family but fortunately for us, she has decided to share it with the Thanks For Being Here audience. It?s a look at her daughter?s OCD diagnosis and how managing a mental illness has challenged and changed their entire family - including in some unexpected and very positive ways. (Replay of Ep 79 which originally aired on 7/30/23.)

To receive a short set of our weekly takeaways in your inbox, subscribe at www.kellycorrigan.com/takeaways.

It?s here: the time of year when we mix it up with family. Good to keep a little forgiveness handy. This episode was made to share. (Replay of Ep 70 which originally aired on November 18, 2022.)

Mary Louise Kelly (host of NPR?s All Things Considered) has been doing some reflecting. What choices did she make and how do they look now, as her nest is nearly empty? Is it okay to travel through war zones when a kid is home with the flu? What is gained and what is lost, for the individuals in question and for society? This is a conversation to take in slowly, to share with every mother you know, and to discuss.

Thanks to the Aspen Ideas Festival. This conversation was recorded before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Our takeaways were really good on this one?if you?d like to receive the weekly list, just shoot a note to [email protected] or pop by the website and sign up there.

Natalie Silverstein honors the relationship she shared with her mother, who passed away in October of 2021 at the age of 90. Quite often, it is the simplest things that we remember the most when a loved one is gone. In this case, Natalie reflects on the almost daily, brief phone calls she and her mother shared and details a walk through a grocery store which stirs up memories of her mother in every aisle and around every corner.

Confessions and thoughts on all the ways our biases mess up how we think and how that locks us into boring, no-growth positions from the stage of The Nantucket Project, a great weekend-long think session with some of the nicest people I have ever met. (You should meet me there next year, Sept 26-29, 2024.)

Well, if you need something to help you believe in people?s ability to affect outcomes, if you need a reason for hope that America could be a less unequal place, if you want a good news story about hard work and its proper rewards, this is it. That?s really all I want to say. I loved this story, this guest and this conversation.

Okay, so some more things I could tell you:

Pete Stavros has a huge private equity job that puts him in close contact with companies and workers in all kinds of interesting places. He is also the son of a construction worker who was never paid according to his value. Put those two things together, along with a world class mind, and you have an idea that could totally change income inequality in America. Okay, that?s all I?m telling you. Enjoy.

Special thanks to PBS and AmeriHealth Caritas.

Anyone who has lost a parent knows that in addition to deep sadness, quite often the loss can bring up many other complicated emotions. It can, however, also provide unexpected gifts. Anne Murphy submitted this moving essay detailing the time just prior to her father?s death. In his final moments of lucidity, as he reflected on his life, Anne?s dad gave her the gifts of his wisdom, an apology and peace.

With a special nod to every high school senior hearing back from colleges right about now, here are a few thoughts I share every chance I get about how to respond to news of all types. (Replay of Ep 86 which originally aired on March 10, 2023.)

This is an episode that will set your heart right. We know that the #1 driver of human happiness across time and culture is meaningful connection to others. So, how to get more of that? David Brooks has some ideas, pulled from his newest book How to Know a Person. Please share widely as the more people around us who are oriented toward connection, the better for all.

Thanks to PBS and AmeriHealth Caritas for the support.

The thing about being the neighbor across the street is that you are always looking out at the home you face. That was a gift for one young family who watched and learned how to live life to the fullest from their beloved neighbors Joan and Doug Smith. This beautiful letter honors the Smiths who moved away after many years in their family home.

Ron Shaich, the son of a man who died with a few regrets, started two super successful restaurant chains: Panera and Cava. Today I share a story from his book, Know What Matters, which describes a clarifying moment between father and son that transformed Ron?s intentions.

Arianna Huffington loves her mom, reading, America, adventure and getting to the bottom of things. She has spent a lifetime asking Why and Why Not? Our conversation zeroes in what any one of us can do to thrive, such that we might have more capacity to contribute. We loved being together, comparing notes, figuring out what leads to what. Please share with everyone you know who needs a reminder that we have agency.

This episode was made possible by AmeriHealth Caritas and can be viewed anytime you like at PBS.org/kelly.

As families gather in homes across the country for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be nice to share this heartfelt eulogy Katie Dahm wrote for her childhood home: 8107 Warren Avenue. (Replay of Ep 62 which originally aired on 4/9/23.)

Every Friday, we share something good and true about the world, something to get your head right as you finish another week and head into some downtime. Inspiration comes from all manner of places, this week a New York Times article about a guy who quietly made life a little easier for the people in his town.

The New York Times article Kelly references was written by Emily Schmall and was published January 25, 2023.

I have had migraines so bad that I ended up in the ER, so my interest in this episode was personal. Turns out so much of the country is in chronic pain that it is a major national issue affecting economic considerations like productivity and health care costs and existential considerations like depression and hopelessness. Rachel Zoffness is a pain psychologist who is reframing our understanding of what pain is and therefore how better to treat it. Given the numbers of people who live in pain, I think this might be one of the most important conversations we have shared.

This conversation was had on the set of my PBS show Tell Me More. Special thanks to the wonderful people at Amerihealth Caritas.

Rachel Zoffness? excellent book can be purchased here.

Kelly shares an excerpt from her friend Alix Strauss? book, The Joy of Funerals: A Novel in Stories, which has just been reissued in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

?The Joy of Funerals is a sneak peek at the inner world of those left behind. From the very first page, readers are drawn into the strange, often humorous world where nine women grapple with sex, power, love, and death. When read as a collection, they are anchored together by the novella, "The Joy of Funerals," which follows the life of Nina, a lonely, single thirty-something woman who attends the funerals of the deceased characters in the previous stories. Thinking her ?funeraling? habit is under control, Nina slips seamlessly in and out of these proceedings, and these people's lives, until, of course, she's found out.?

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Here?s my case for celebrating the litany of accomplishments that a completed college application represents. A special episode to mark the day that millions of high school kids hit send on their reach school. Please share with parents, students, college counselors and heads of school. May we all work to reset the goal line. Replay of Episode 15 (originally aired on 11/1/21)

He?s good. He?s really good. In particular, Pete Buttigieg is good at making connections between pragmatic stuff like infrastructure and the most important parts of our lives ? caring for people we love and making full use of ourselves. This is a conversation for anyone thinking about the next election and what it means to ?make the trains run on time.?

You can watch this conversation ? and about 50 more you might really love ? anytime you like at PBS.org/kelly.

This episode was made possible by the lovely and hard working people at AmeriHealth Caritas.

A stunningly beautiful eulogy comprised of notes written over many years by Paul Paroff to his friend Chris Stokes? mother Charlotte. Charlotte was like a second mother to Paul - until she became more like his own mother and a grandmother to his son. The simplicity of the notes that are included is a reminder to us all to keep in touch, to reach out more often, to share our love and gratitude with the very special people in our lives. (Replay of Ep 44 which originally aired on 12/11/22.)

It often takes the perspective of another to help us see things in a new way. This GOTO includes two heart-felt and thoughtful pieces of feedback we received at Kelly Corrigan Wonders - and Kelly?s response.

It?s not that common for someone to retain her optimism even as she studies all the ways that health outcomes vary by race. Linda Villarosa, a solutions-based journalist and medical school professor, is such a woman. In this conversation, she pulls from a childhood of doing everything right and still feeling like a fly in the buttermilk as well as her early days in journalism where she was constantly coaching her Essence readers to just behave better. Now, she?s seeing a broader picture that includes both lots of kale and walking AND systemic changes to the way we deliver care.

Linda?s 5-star book, UNDER THE SKIN, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

This episode was made possible by PBS and AmeriHealth Caritas, which provides affordable health plans to millions.

Kelly shares a lovely letter written by George Saunders (author of books such as Lincoln in the Bardo and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain) for his, and Kelly?s, editor Andy Ward.

Thoughts on the once-ness of life. With thanks to a woman I talked to at a party in Portland a long time ago and never forgot. To be shared with everyone you know who is missing someone.

Please be in touch. Write us anytime about anything ? [email protected] ? we read every single one.

Everyone is thinking about war and service. Here?s a conversation with someone who has known many battlefields and paid dearly for his commitment to defend and protect. Retired Colonel Greg Gadson was a kid who dreamed of playing football and who ended up with Super Bowl rings after all. You can watch this episode at any time on PBS. Special thanks to AmeriHealth Caritas.

Retired Colonel Gadson?s book is Finding Waypoints: A Warrior?s Journey Toward Peace and Purpose.

Feedback is always welcome: [email protected]

Kelly?s friend Alec Guettel wrote this fabulous love letter to his wife Christy when they were forced to be apart by his work project in London. It details the trials and tribulations he might have faced had they been kept apart 300 years ago - and what he might have done.

I had this crazy thing happen one morning trying to get to LAX that I keep reflecting on. Meant to be shared with anyone you think of as one of those people, the ones who go with the grain of life as it happens.

Please be in touch. Write us anytime about anything ? [email protected] ? we read every single one.