Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Latest Episodes:

Thanks For Being Here - Kelly Finds an Old Letter to her Mom Aug 23, 2026

Show notes

Kelly recently found an old letter (hidden away in a closet in Bozeman) that she had written to her mom, way back in 1991. It’s good to look back sometimes at old letters and half-finished journal entries and be reminded of who we were - and who we wanted to become. (Previously aired)

Go To on Our Greatest Collaborator Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

Every piano, every oil painting, every scrap of silk is proof of a 150,000-year collaboration between human hands and the raw materials of the earth. Kelly shares a speech she wrote for the OneGreenThing Forum in Bozeman, MT, making the case that art isn't separate from nature—it's the clearest evidence of our dependence on it.

Deep Dive with Ali Truwit on Great Coaching Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

As part of our Great Coaches series, Kelly talks with Ali Truwit, who went from Yale Division I swimmer to shark attack survivor to Paralympic silver medalist in just over a year. Two days after her college graduation, a snorkeling trip in Turks and Caicos ended with Ali losing her left foot and part of her leg as a result of a shark attack. What followed wasn't just a physical recovery but a complete reimagining of identity, guided by coaches who understood that rebuilding Ali meant helping her see what was still there, not what was lost. (Previously aired)

Please check out and consider supporting Ali's non-profit: Stronger Than You Think . https://strongerthanyouthink.org/

Thanks For Being Here - Kathleen's Letter to Coach Dave Greenberg Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

What makes a coach unforgettable? Kelly reads listener Kathleen Ricketts' tribute to her high school basketball coach, Dave Greenberg—known simply as "DG". This isn't a story about championships or statistics. It's about a man who knew his players as individuals, who loved freely and built confidence that shaped the trajectory of their lives. Through Kathleen's words, we meet a coach who became a second father to young women who needed one, and we're reminded that the greatest legacies live not in record books but in the people we help become who they're meant to be. (Previously aired)

Go To on Admitting You Don't Know Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

There's a particular kind of courage in admitting you don't know something. In this final piece of their onstage conversation at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Kelly and Sharon McMahon trace what happens when trust in institutions erodes and people are left to find their own sources of truth (including AI).

Very special thanks to our friends at the Aspen Ideas Festival where this episode was recorded.

Deep Dive with Andy Ward on Great Coaching Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

How do you help someone see their own work more clearly without breaking their spirit? In this episode of our "Great Coaches" series, Kelly talks with her editor Andy Ward about the delicate art of literary coaching—knowing when to push a writer toward uncomfortable truths and when to step back and let them find their own way. Through stories about working with David Sedaris, George Saunders and the posthumous publication of When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Andy reveals how great editing is really about asking the right questions, building trust through close attention and helping writers discover what their book is truly about. This conversation covers the psychology of creative partnership, the vulnerability of sharing early drafts and why the best coaches never impose their vision but instead help others see their own more clearly. It's a "must listen" for anyone interested in writing. (Previously aired)

Books mentioned in this episode:

Naked by David Sedaris
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Tenth of December by George Saunders
Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
To Obama by Jeanne Marie Laskas
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
North Woods by Daniel Mason
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

Thanks For Being Here - Jodie's Eulogy for her Dad George Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

Kelly shares a beautiful eulogy from listener Jody Antypas which she wrote for her Greek immigrant father George—a man who came to America with one suitcase and built a life from scratch. From his wartime childhood to becoming "Pappou" the pancake-making, Monopoly-playing, sand castle-building grandfather, George's story will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. It's a reminder of why immigrants have always been such a gift to this country, and why the small moments with the people we love matter most. (Previously aired)

Go To on the Civics Gap Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

Somewhere between what we're taught and what we actually believe, there's a gap—and someone is always ready to fill it. Kelly sits down again with America's government teacher, Sharon McMahon, recorded live on stage at the Aspen Ideas Festival, to trace the invisible architecture of how a country teaches itself what's true. They talk about the seduction of confidence and the strange new authority of the comment section, circling a bigger question: whether the most dangerous thing in a democracy is ignorance, or charisma without accountability. It's a conversation about the discomfort required to actually think for yourself, and what happens to a nation when no one can agree on the story it's telling.

Check out Sharon's book which Kelly mentioned: The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

Welcome to For the Love with Jen Hatmaker Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what a new series on For the Love with Jen Hatmaker is all about, the Sacred Yes. It's choosing delight, rest, and pleasure on purpose because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else.

In this episode, Jen sits down with writer, poet, and community-builder Jess Janz to talk about the social experiment that grew into the phenomenon known as Dinner With Strangers. What began as a gathering around a table with a few curious questions has now welcomed more than a thousand people into conversations that move past small talk and into the territory we all secretly long for: belonging.

Come find your Sacred Yes with Jen. Follow and listen to For the Love with Jen Hatmaker wherever you get your podcasts.

Deep Dive with Geraldine Brooks on Fairness Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks set out to profile a government bureaucrat and found something closer to fiction: Jarod Koopman, a fit, tattooed IRS agent who teaches jiu-jitsu three mornings a week, built his own house (including a wine cellar because he also happens to be a certified sommelier), and has personally helped return billions of dollars to American taxpayers while freeing children from exploitation and dismantling criminal empires hiding behind cryptocurrency. Kelly and Geraldine talk about why Jarod turned down the kind of salary the private sector would gladly pay him, and what it costs a country when talented, mission-driven people walk away from public service. This fifth and final episode of our Unsung series is a conversation about what fairness in America actually requires to survive—and why we should be paying much closer attention to the people making sure it does.

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