Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Latest Episodes:

Thanks For Being Here - Kelly's Eulogy for her Mom May 25, 2025

Show notes

Hi all - this is Tammy writing. Today marks one year since Kelly's mom died.

On Tuesday, June 4th, 2024, I had the honor of attending the funeral service for Kelly's mom, the indomitable Mary Corrigan - lovingly known as "Jammy" to her six grandkids. One thing (among many) that the Corrigan family does very well is honor and celebrate family. GT, Booker and Kelly each delivered a moving, intimate, often humorous eulogy for their one-of-a-kind mom, in front of the hundreds of people who filled St. Thomas of Villanova church to honor her. Today, we're sharing Kelly's. (Previously aired)

Go To on Navigating Fear May 23, 2025

Show notes

Kelly explores Amanda Ripley's take on navigating our fear-filled world. Through the story of a government employee facing an impossible choice, Amanda helps us discover how to stay human when everything feels divisive. Plus, Kelly unpacks Chasing Peace author Tom Rosshirt's practical four-step approach to taming anxieties - highlighting a powerful shift from trying to impress others to being genuinely amazed by them. It's the perspective flip we need right now—finding wonder when the world feels most chaotic. A fifteen-minute reset for anyone asking, "How do we keep going when everything feels so hard?"

Deep Dive with Brad Porteus on Hard Conversations May 20, 2025

Show notes

Kelly explores a radical new way to rate politicians with Brad Porteus, the Executive Director of Bridge Grades, who reveals that the most collaborative members of Congress are complete unknowns while the divisive firebrands are celebrities. This eye-opening conversation, part of our Hard Conversations series, challenges our tribal politics and offers a surprising path forward: what if our differences could actually be America's superpower? Discover why humility might be the missing ingredient in our political discourse and how changing who we celebrate in Washington could transform our divided nation.

To see the existing scores for members of Congress, go to: www.bridgegrades.org. Subscribe to ⁠bridgegrades.substack.com⁠ to be the first to get the 2025 Bridge Grades.

Brad Porteus is also the author of, Roll With It, a heartfelt and vividly detailed love letter to Gen X.

This episode was made possible by a grant from Templeton Religion Trust. To learn more, go to ⁠⁠templetonreligiontrust.org⁠⁠.

Thanks For Being Here - Nancy Brown's Essay "Cincinnatus" May 18, 2025

Show notes

Kelly shares a Marine Corps wife's essay (titled "Cincinnatus") honoring her husband's quiet retirement after 20 years of service. Instead of ceremonies, his legacy lives in small, meaningful actions like giving away his expensive uniform to help a young officer and driving a beat-up Corolla with a trunk full of first aid supplies - so he can help anyone, on a moment's notice. It's a moving reminder that true service isn't captured in plaques or uniforms but in "small private acts of dedication" and the humble wisdom to know that our real legacy is "to give it all away".

Go To the Artists Among Us May 16, 2025

Show notes

Kelly shares the remarkable story of Armia Khalil, a Metropolitan Museum of Art security guard with a secret talent. As a child, Armia played in the mud and created little sculptures by the Nile River. Years later, the artistic young man immigrated to the US with just $375 and a suitcase of woodworking tools. After years of struggle, he landed a job as a security guard at the Met, where a chance conversation with a curator led to his lifelong dream coming true. It's a powerful reminder that everyone—from bus drivers to baristas—carries a universe of dreams inside them. What might we discover if we took a moment to see the artists walking among us?

This episode was inspired by Dodai Stewart's New York Times article.

(published January 8, 2025).⁠

Deep Dive with Amy Griffin on Hard Conversations May 13, 2025

Show notes

As a part of our Hard Conversations series, the author of the New York Times best-seller ⁠The Tell and one of TIME's "2025 Women of the Year", Amy Griffin opens up about confronting trauma after decades of silence - and shares with us why sometimes the hardest conversation of all is the one you're afraid to even begin. With warmth and remarkable clarity, Amy shares how perfectionism and achievement served as her smokescreen until a series of events—including a profound comment by her daughter who said, "You're nice but you're not real " and her husband's experience with therapeutic MDMA—led her to face her past. What unfolds isn't just a story of trauma but a testament to the elasticity of love and the freedom that comes with truth-telling. As Amy puts it, "You think secrets keep you safe, but they keep you stuck," revealing how sharing her story allowed her to experience life in "technicolor"—loving deeper, crying harder, and finding joy on the other side of pain. Please note that this episode contains discussion of sexual abuse.

This episode was made possible by a grant from Templeton Religion Trust. To learn more, go to ⁠templetonreligiontrust.org⁠.

Thanks For Being Here - Motherhood Illustrated May 11, 2025

Show notes

At this time of year, we are knee-deep in sports: college lacrosse, the NBA play-offs and all the golf majors. Where there are sports, there are adjectives describing the athletes and where there are sports championships, those adjectives are garish and piled-high. Kelly wonders if maybe it’s time to use those dazzling descriptors to honor not the elite athletes out there but the army of regular, everyday, hard-working moms. (Previously aired)

Go To - Bono and Christy Turlington Burns Talking Moms May 09, 2025

Show notes

Today's episode is a part of our "About Your Mother" series honoring Every Mother Counts. Bono lost his mother Iris when he was 14 years old. She had an aneurysm at her father’s funeral and as he says, he’s been singing to her ever since. This is a very special conversation, possibly my favorite interview of all time, made more lovely and intimate by the friendship between Bono and Christy going back many years now. (Previously aired)

This series hopes to raise $100,000 to support safe and respectful pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care in 9 countries through Every Mother Counts, founded in 2010 and led every day since by Christy Turlington Burns. Please join us with a donation here. Maternal health is a human right and as Bono says, raising kids takes a village and a mother is a village.

Got feedback? Have an idea? We love to hear form listeners. Write us anytime — hello@kellycorrigan.com - or sign up for our weekly list of takeaways here.

Introducing: Aspire with Emma Grede May 07, 2025

Show notes

Build the life of your dreams and learn from the world’s most successful people.

Emma Grede, one of America’s richest self-made women - wants you to make the most of your life. On ‘Aspire with Emma Grede', learn through thought-provoking conversations with some of the most successful and smartest minds on the planet.

Each episode will unpack their habits, philosophy and strategies, covering career advice, well-being, psychology and of course how to win in business. The show offers personal stories, data-driven advice, real-world strategies, and the experience you need, to turn your dreams into reality.

Deep Dive with Mary Louise Kelly on Parenting Choices May 06, 2025

Show notes

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. (Previously aired)

Thanks to the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Our takeaways were really good on this one…if you’d like to receive the weekly list, just shoot a note to hello@kellycorrigan.com or pop by the website and sign up there.

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