Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Latest Episodes:

Deep Dive with Claire Danes and Kate Bowler - Book Clubbing with Kelly Part 1 Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

How do the values we inherited clash or complement the cultures we come of age in? How can we stay the right size in the world and in our own minds? What do you worship and nurture - art, the church, politics, food? Claire Danes and Kate Bowler join Kelly to talk about all the things that came up as they read Life Worth Living, our first Kelly Corrigan Wonders bookclub pick. (Previously aired)

Based on Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most from authors Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz.

Special thanks to the Warren Smoot Carter III and Meagan Carter Charitable Fund.

Thanks For Being Here - Mary's Homage to Judy Heumann Jun 14, 2026

Show notes

Listener Mary Plisco watched a documentary about a summer camp from the 1970s and came away with a new hero — a woman she'd somehow never heard of, despite a career spent doing work this hero made possible. This one is a letter to Judy Heumann, the so-called mother of the disability rights movement, and a reminder that some of the most consequential people in history did their work quietly enough that you have to go looking for them.

The documentary mentioned in this episode is Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. .

https://cripcamp.com/

Go To on What We Lose When We Know Too Much Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

We can see the menu before we go to the restaurant. We can watch the trailer before we buy the ticket. We can read three years of someone's Instagram before we agree to meet them for coffee. Kelly wonders what all of that preparation is actually costing us — and whether the novelty we keep optimizing out of our lives is the very thing we need the most.

Deep Dive with Cava Menzies on Creative Attunement Jun 09, 2026

Show notes

There's a game Cava Menzies plays with her students. She asks each of them to say a word — snowfall, nightmare, dragons — and then she translates it into music on the piano right in front of them. Every time, something magical happens in the room. In the tenth and final episode of our Wired to Create series, Cava — musician, educator, and founding faculty at Oakland School for the Arts — makes the case that music isn't a talent reserved for the few. It's a birthright we've somehow talked ourselves out of using. Please share this episode with anyone in your life who has decided music isn't for them.

Check out Cava and her OSA students singing Purple Rain on stage with Coldplay's Chris Martin HERE.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation. To learn more, please visit: waltonfamilyfoundation.org.

To connect with Kelly and get a list of her weekly takeaways, join Kelly's ⁠free Substack⁠.

Thanks For Being Here - Amy's Mom PT Jun 07, 2026

Show notes

This weekend marks what would have been producer Tammy (Tiehel) Stedman's mom's 85th birthday — she passed away in March 2022.

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: always on the lookout for the person having a tough go of it, the loner, the one who needed a helping hand. This is a story about taking the time to really notice people and to help make the world a better place, one small, kind gesture at a time. (Previously aired)

Go To on Assuming the Identity You Want Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

There's a body of research that says the clothes you wear don't just change how others see you — they change how you see yourself. Kelly traces this idea from her conversation with Denver high school principal Steve Day back to a foundational psychology study, and lands somewhere unexpected: that identity might be less something you earn and more something you assume.

Deep Dive with Steve Day on Creative Pathways Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

What if a high school student could spend their day fixing a plane, machining a part destined for a rocket launch, or building a house that a family will actually live in? At the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) in the Denver metro area, that's just a Tuesday. In the ninth episode of our Wired to Create series, Principal Steve Day makes the case that when you stop underestimating teenagers and give them something real to do, everything changes — for the students, for the school, and for the families whose lives are transformed as a result.

To connect with Kelly and get a list of her weekly takeaways, join Kelly's free Substack.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation. To learn more, please visit: waltonfamilyfoundation.org.

Thanks For Being Here - Christina's Gratitude for Mr. O'Brien May 31, 2026

Show notes

Sometimes all it takes is one person asking the right question at the right moment. Listener Christina Bonvouloir was fourteen, grieving the loss of her beloved father, and quietly falling apart — until a gruff Latin teacher with a twinkle in his eye pulled her aside and asked what was wrong. She never forgot it. Neither will you

Go To on Advice for Grads May 29, 2026

Show notes

In a speech to high school graduates, Kelly shared her take on the things only we know about ourselves — and how keeping our internal dialog honest sets the table for a good and happy life. Please share with all the 2026 graduates in your life. (Previously aired)

Please join Kelly on her free Substack.

https://kellycorriganwonders.substack.com/

Deep Dive with Aditya Vishwanath on Creative Access May 26, 2026

Show notes

There's a version of education that produces brilliant test-takers and has very little to do with learning. Aditya Vishwanath, Stanford-trained education researcher and co-founder of MakerGhat — a nonprofit makerspace network operating in thousands of schools across India — knows that version intimately, and has spent his career building the antidote. In this episode of our Wired to Create series, he and Kelly make the case that what kids need most might also be the thing we've neglected to give them.

To connect with Kelly and get a list of her weekly takeaways, join Kelly's free Substack.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation. To learn more, please visit: waltonfamilyfoundation.org.

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