Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Thanks For Being Here Michelle's 20th Anniversary Essay

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Hurst celebrates her husband and their marriage on the occasion of their 20th Anniversary. From 23 year-old newlyweds finding their way in th...

Mental Health Check on Getting What You Want

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I moderated a panel of public media professionals recently and scribbled pages of notes as they talked through the pivotal moments in their careers. ...

College Talk with Boston College's Biz Bracher

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most popular professors at Boston College is a woman named Biz Bracher. She teaches a course that wonders about ethics, society and the in...

Jim D's Friend David McCarthy

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jim Doherty eulogized his friend David McCarthy, “number 2”, at the dedication of a baseball field, 30 years after his death. David was one of t...

Mental Health Check on the "Most Important Thing"

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 h...

College Considerations with Columbia's Andy Delbanco

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As a parent writing a whole lot of tuition checks, Kelly came to the conversation with a long list of questions. What’s the best college can be? W...

Thanks For Being Here Darin's Mom Carole

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Darin Ishimatsu eulogizes his mother and lifelong teacher Carole. As a shy and reserved boy, Carole’s energy and enthusiasm brought out the very be...

Parenting Check In on Money and Spending with Julie Lythcott-Haims

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The final week of a 3-part mini series with Julie Lythcott-Haims where Kelly drops a specific, real life parenting challenge on the table and two moms...

Parenting from an Empty Nest

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly and renowned writer Susan Orlean talk about transitions in family life — including the big one of becoming an empty nester. In this replay of...

Thanks For Being Here Katie's Son Eli

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this heartfelt eulogy which Katie Toungette wrote for her son Eli, she talks about setting a workout plan for life based on Eli’s love of trainin...

Parenting Check In on Commitments with Julie Lythcott-Haims

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Looking at micro-moments in family life with Julie Lythcott-Haims who believes good parenting means giving kids a lot of choice — and all the accomp...

Parenting Challenges with Julie Lythcott-Haims

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Love Hope and Grief with Beth's Dad Herman

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Beth Trutner wrote this poignant letter to her father in the middle of the night after one of his trips to the hospital. The letter is a meditation on...

Parenting Check on Letting Kids Travel with Julie Lythcott-Haims

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Every Friday for the next 3 weeks, Kelly takes a small but real parenting challenge to her friend Julie Lythcott-Haims, the author of some very good b...

Parenting and the Brain with Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

To understand the brain’s function and methods is to get some much needed distance from family dynamics so that we might understand them more fully....

Love Hope and Grief with Tim & Camden's Drive to Oregon

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Julie Vasquez submitted two lovely essays that Tim wrote when it was time to send their sons off to college. We loved both and today we’re ...

Mental Health Check on Advice Giving

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Milkman caught my ear when she said: unsolicited advice is demotivating. She’s at U Penn’s Wharton’s school and does a lot of research on ...

Teens, Science Moms and Climate finale

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How do toddlers become tweens who become teens who take themselves so seriously, they get right to work on the biggest, hairiest problem on planet ear...

Love, Hope and Grief for Joy's Grandmother Zelda

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joy Netanya Thompson submitted this moving eulogy for her paternal grandmother Zelda, a Holocaust survivor who endured so much and yet threw her arms ...

Mental Health Check on Repair and Circularity

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to the team at Reasons to be Cheerful, a feed and website started by my old friend from an interview I did for PBS, David Byrne, I have learned...

Teens, Science Moms and Climate 4

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s show features two charming, unassuming, determined women. First, a humble teenager named Ardra Charath shares her ideas about what we can d...

Love, Hope and Grief for Catherine's 80th Birthday Toast for her Mom Judith

07 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Catherine wrote this loving tribute to honor her mother Judith on the occasion of her 80th birthday. Judith is a mother of 4 and grandmother of 8 who...

Mental Health Check on the Opposite of Depression

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Something I have long sensed to be true from personal experience and now know is the case, thanks to the work of Dr. Samantha Boardman, author of Ever...

Science Moms Wonder About How to Make Change

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emma Venarde is a college sophomore at Brown. Joellen Russell is a climate scientist in Arizona. They are leaders in a growing army of earnest, ende...

Love, Hope and Grief for Clare Murphy's Essay "Love is Thicker Than Lake Water"

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

High school junior Clare Murphy wrote this touching, personal and evocative essay for a school assignment. It conveys incredible warmth and deep affe...

Mental Health Check on Uncertainty and Vigilance

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Based on a week’s worth of conversations with friends who are parenting hard and losing sleep because of it, I turned to my neuroscientist friend, L...

Science Moms Wonder about Finding Nemo, Field Trips and Planet Earth

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What do college freshman Malia Honda and deep sea oceanographer Claudia Benitez-Nelson have in common? They both believe that they can change the sto...

Love, Hope and Grief with Rebecca's Blessing for Asher's Bar Mitzvah

24 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s Thanks For Being Here is the first episode since we here at Kelly Corrigan Wonders made the decision to include many different types of spec...

Mental Health Check on the Achievements of Youth

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve been listening to our recent climate series, “All Together Now”, you’ve heard from some pretty impressive teens. For those of us lis...

Hope, Youth and Progress in Climate Correction

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Join us as we marvel at the work of a young activist who reminds us that the movement cannot be stopped. Rahul Durai, a junior in high school, is wor...

Love, Hope and Grief for Cindy's Friend's Daughter "Ave the Brave"

17 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Once in a great while, maybe even just once in a lifetime, a person comes along who totally changes your perspective, teaches you what matters and giv...

Mental Health Check on The Power of Word Choice

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to a brilliant TED talk by Baratunde Thurston, I’m thinking about how people tell the story of what’s happened. I also reached out to my n...

How To Make A Movie

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yllka Gashi is Kosovo’s answer to Jennifer Aniston. After years starring in the nation’s most adored sit-com, she left her war torn country to ra...

Love, Hope and Grief for Liz's Nephew Jack

10 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

12 year-old Jack was an artist, a brilliant reader, a mathematician, a serious student of the Bible and a lover of Legos, baseball and his family. Al...

Mental Health Check on Family Culture

08 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Coming off a family wedding, I dug out a copy of The Middle Place to share a passage about learning that my fertility was a casualty of the cancer war...

Lessons in Lemonade Making with Cherylann Gengel

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The worst thing that can happen to a mother happened to Cherylann Gengel. And it has changed every moment since. She is one of those high purpose pe...

Love, Hope and Grief for Kirsten's Dad Tom AKA Papa Fom

03 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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). ...

Mental Health Check Figuring Out Mindfulness

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Here’s a word that everyone is saying these days: mindfulness. I don’t totally know what it means, officially, but I have jerry-rigged a little p...

Sit down? No Thanks, I'd Rather Stand.

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As a 19 year old, Letitia Hanke took a job as a receptionist at the local roofing company. Within 10 years, she bought the business she has now been ...

Love, Hope and Grief for Nancy's mom "Sweet Little Ellie"

26 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The only person who didn’t know how truly special Ellie O’Connor was, was Ellie O’Connor. A woman of action, not words she was pure magic - abl...

Mental Health Check on the Golden Age of Destigmatization

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a small but life changing miracle when someone tells you about their harder days. This is for anyone who needs a reminder that everyone, even ...

How a Person Becomes a Therapist

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With the demand for excellent mental health care at its all time peak, it’s a good thing people like Tracy Defina dared to go back to school — for...

Love, Hope and Grief for Jonathan and Jamie's Pop Pop George

19 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Moira O’Connor submitted this 2-part eulogy written and originally read by her nephews Jonathan and Jamie to honor her dad/their grandfather, George...

Mental Health Check on How to Think about Feedback

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For anyone who has ever caught themselves turning away from feedback, this one’s for you. And if you find it hard to learn from your children or th...

What's Love Got To Do With It? Live with Anthony Ray Hinton

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anthony Ray Hinton has been on the pod before. In fact, our listeners chose him for the 2021 Episode of the Year. Recently, Kelly and Ray met up on ...

Love, Hope and Grief for Shawn's Parents Bobbie & Roy

12 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shawn eulogizes her parents Bobbie and Roy Gomer who she lost to Covid within a day of one another in May 2020. She talks lovingly of her stoic, humb...

Thoughts on Agency and What To Do When We Feel Out of Control

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our greatest act of agency is the minute by minute choice of where we place our attention. Here’s a thought for all of us who feel so damn out of c...

14 Million Followers and Panic Attacks to Boot: Lilly Singh on Modern Life

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you need proof that nothing is quite as endearing as honesty, meet Lilly Singh. She is a smart, funny millennial whose YouTube sketch comedy video...

Love, Hope and Grief for Amy's Mom PT

05 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

All three of the Tiehel sisters eulogized their incredible mom PT but this one, written by daughter Amy really sums up the way PT lived her life: alw...

Cheers to the Class of 2022

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From Kelly’s graduation speech at The University of Richmond, 67 legit reasons for optimism even now. To learn more about listener data an...

Cycling Through All The Emotions with Kate Bowler and Arthur C Brooks

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling author and stage 4 cancer patient Kate Bowler (Duke Divinity professor and host of Everything Happens podcast) asks as many questions as s...

Love, Hope and Grief for Carter's Mom Sally

29 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 org...

A woman I met in Iowa and her bold move

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

During the book signing portion of a recent speech, I spent a few minutes with a woman whose story hasn’t left me. To learn more about l...

Embracing What Is with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Robin Roberts, who has been saying Good Morning America for decades now, has a few hard-earned lessons to share. She was in isolation for 174 days af...

Love, Hope and Grief for Julie's Friend Pam

22 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The first time Julie met Pam of Kinderhook, NY, it was in the doorway of their freshman year dorm room. It was the beginning of a supercharged, meani...

The Graduation Speech I Didn't Give

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The week after I graduated from college I jumped on a boat in Malta and served as the cook for six weeks. I’m still thinking about a few things I l...

How Helping Works with Samantha Power

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Samantha Power is devoted, insightful and oozing with compassion for the many pockets of the world that need our support. As part of the PBS series, ...

Love, Hope and Grief for Jen's friend Hallie

15 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jen remembers her friend and “guardian angel” Hallie. The two women met on a week-long rock-climbing adventure for cancer survivors and quickly bo...

Mental Health Check on Curiosity and What Kills It, What Encourages It

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I believe in wonder as a way of life. Here are some thoughts about what hurts and helps curiosity flourish. To learn more about listener da...

A conversation about collective memory and shared narrative with Kevin Young

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture in DC, this is a conversation about how and what we remember with the muse...

Love, Hope and Grief with Kim's eulogy for her mom "Lovely Lin"

08 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kim writes about her mom who a childhood friend named “Lovely Lin”. She says: If you knew her, you were fortunate—whether a brief encounter, a ...

Mental Health Check for Mothers Fighting The Good Fights

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In my experience over these 20 years, the thing about motherhood that makes me batty is trying to gauge whether I’m overreacting or under reacting. ...

Intentional, Self Awareness Parenting with Dr. Ariel Trost

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dropping kids off at kindergarten, summer camp, the prom, college, their first apartment…how do we do transitions well? It’s that time of year: c...

Love, Hope and Grief for Kelly B's Badass Mom

01 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly B. pays tribute to her mom who created cozy quilts and knit caps, cut peonies from her garden and shared her passion for color and beauty all wh...

Mental Health Check on Marriage and Unexpected Kindnesses

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s my anniversary. This one’s a look back at a weird moment in our early days and why it’s so hard and also so glorious to be in the same moo...

Judd Apatow on Women, Collaboration and How Funny Works

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Judd Apatow is curious, unassuming and forthcoming in this conversation with Kelly about his mom, his daughters, the business that needs improving and...

Love, Hope and Grief for Stacey's Dad Frank

24 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As snow falls on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Stacey remembers her hard-working and loving father Frank. To learn more about listener dat...

Mental Health Check on Original Thinkers and Dropouts

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I am learning to stay open to unconventional paths and I like it. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https:/...

Father Greg Boyle on Character, Change and Kindness Dosing

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you haven’t heard of Father Greg Boyle, let us introduce you: a Jesuit priest who has a touch of Santa Claus in his affect, Greg Boyle has collab...

Love, Hope and Grief for Jody's Dad

17 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jody honors her dad Bob, who loved his roles as a pilot, father and grandfather. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices...

Mental Health Check on What Friendship Really Takes

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What friendship takes and what friendship gives. One to share with your BFFs. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices...

The Unassailable Case for Being Other-Focused

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Estimates are that about every 15 minutes we make a decision and that decision often involves a choice of who to put first, ourselves or someone else....

Love, Hope and Grief with The McNultys for their dad John

10 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It was John' McNulty’s wish to be eulogized by all four of his adult children (Christine, David, Laura and Daniel). So, they wrote this warm, loving...

Mental Health Check on Picking Other over Self

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With our hearts in Ukraine, here’s a story to love about a group of caring people in San Francisco in a time of uncertainty who showed the world how...

The Most Exciting Person in American Theater

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anna Deavere Smith (from broadway as well as Nurse Jackie, West Wing and Inventing Anna) is a deep thinker with an easy laugh—pretty much my favorit...

Love, Hope and Grief for Meghan's Baby Girl Maggie

03 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Meghan’s loving eulogy for her baby girl Maggie. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc....

Mental Health Check on Stamina

01 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of how a TV show began…for anyone who is trying to do something hard. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practice...

The Men We Love with Jen Hatmaker

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly and Jen swap stories of the men in their lives who make them feel sane and loved, including co-workers, cousins, uncles, brothers and old high s...

Love, Hope and Grief for Steph's Husband

27 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Steph's Husband To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more a...

Mental Health Check on A Word I Wish I Hadn't Said So Damn Much

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A quick thought on what intentional relationships actually look and sound like. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices ...

Talking Closely Held Beliefs with Jen Hatmaker

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Convictions about what parenting moves work and which are pure disaster…decisions about where and when to donate to what…beliefs about shared huma...

Love, Hope and Grief for Jody's Mom

20 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jody's Mom To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about ...

Mental Health Check for Everyone Waiting for News

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The data are in: we are not good at predicting what will make us happy. This is known and documented. So as we watch another class of kids lose thei...

A Deep Dive into Adult Friendship with Jen Hatmaker

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comparing notes and readings on friendships with writer and activist Jen Hatmaker. Let this be your reminder that talking about money, sex, health an...

Love, Hope and Grief for Lisa’s Cousin

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa’s cousin. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more ...

Mental Health Check on the Logic of Hope

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A takeaway from two articles I read this week that reminded me that it is not insane to believe we might find news ways to relate, co-exist, be… ...

Readings and Conversation about How to Do Change Well with Jen Hatmaker

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 commu...

Love, Hope and Grief for Sheri's Friend Marque

06 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sheri honors her vibrant co-worker and dear friend Marque. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.au...

Mental Health Check on High School Sports

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As another spring season of sports kicks in, here are some thoughts about what we can make of this time together on fields and courts and baseball dia...

Icons David Byrne and Judy Woodruff on Staying Positive

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Talking Heads. American Utopia. Singular creative David Byrne talks with Kelly about how he stays just cheerful enough to keep making art in a world o...

Love, Hope and Grief for Shawn's Father

27 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shawn remembers her father Dave and why being stubborn isn't such a bad thing. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices v...

My dad, her husband and thoughts on the anniversary of Greenie's passing

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When I was in high school, I found a pile of old letters that my dad had written to my mom when she was just a girl from Baltimore. I revisit them he...

Scott Galloway and Dolores Huerta on Saying Hard Things

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Galloway repeatedly asks us to square our worship of technology and innovators with what we know is and is not good for us and society. He want...

Love, Hope and Grief for Harry's Brother

20 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

19 year-old Harry lovingly remembers his younger brother Charlie. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https:/...

Mental Health Check on Love and Taking An Interest

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dipping back into some early GOTOs, here’s a second run of an idea that bears repeating: kids remember when we follow their lead. It feels like lov...

Bianca Valenti and Melinda French Gates on Making Waves

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today I’m talking with big wave surfer Bianca Valenti and big time philanthropist Melinda French Gates. Whether it’s facing down a 50-foot wave or...

Love, Hope and Grief for Andy's Dad

13 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first episode of our new series Thanks For Being Here. It will be a very short pod that comes out every Sunday morning as Sundays are, fo...

Mental Health Check on Mindsets

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to a PhD I used to talk to quite a bit when our kids were in school together, I got a shape up on the ways I think and talk about whose good at...

Steve Kerr and W. Kamau Bell on Speaking Up

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

The Life Changing Potential of Being Cared for by Someone Other Than Your Parents

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to a listener who makes an excellent point, I am correcting some recurring remarks about piano lessons being a total bust. To learn m...