In honor of this year’s 4th of July celebration, host Bill Burke discusses some bits of US history through the lens of this country’s remarkable sense of optimism. He describes that despite our many setbacks and shortcomings, we remain a place of possibility and hope and encourages us all to keep working towards “a more perfect union.”
Nichole Argo describes the work she’s doing to bring communities together by assembling people with different viewpoints around one table to discuss their challenges and formulate solutions. After great success in her hometown, she’s now pursuing similar models across the country, and she’s optimistic that combining a growing desire for belonging with proven methods for building community will yield positive results. Links: TogetherUp Institute Reimagining Us podcast Chapters: 01:11 Meet Nichole...
Over the course of his remarkable career, Harry Smith interviewed six US presidents and numerous celebrities including Julia Roberts, Cher, and Madonna. But on this Blue Sky episode Harry shares that his favorite people to cover were the ones we’ve likely never heard of, the everyday heroes that he describes as the glue of our society. Harry shares some of the wisdom he’s earned and now share bestows on students in the college class he’s teaching at his alma mater. Chapters: 02:16 Meet Harry Smi...
Blue Sky host Bill Burke, along with several past guests, have described today as the best time to be alive in all of human history. On this episode, Bill explains some data-backed reasons why and provides hope that even better days lie ahead.
Mary McManus has never had it easy. As a kindergartener, she was a victim of polio just a short time before the vaccine was introduced. She also faced trauma in her home life but somehow managed to persevere and overcome these and still more obstacles throughout her life. Today, Mary is an inspiring author, poet, motivational speaker, and finisher of the Boston Marathon. Chapters: 01:05 Meet Mary McManus Mary McManus is introduced as a remarkable individual with a story of resilience and triumph...
Political division in the United States is an issue often cited as contributing to the pessimistic outlook so many of us have. Blue Sky guest Lindsey Cormack believes that our government will only improve if we begin to understand it better and get involved ourselves. As a college professor, when she found that many of her students were remarkably ignorant about how our government works, she decided to do something about it. The result is her latest book, which challenges parents to fill the voi...
Sam Pressler has a strong track record of bringing people together and working to rebuild the civic infrastructure of the United States. In addition to being a researcher and writer, he is also the founder of the Armed Services Art Partnership and Connective Tissue , a collection of projects designed to help people understand how they might go about creating connections in their own towns and civic organizations. Chapters: 02:20 Making Grandmothers Proud Sam shares the inspiration behind his man...
On the heels of the “Arts Educators Save the World” feed swap episode with Jonathan Groff and his elementary school music teacher, Linda Tough, Bill Burke reflects on the role of teachers and mentors in helping us all be optimistic. He shares his own influences and those of many Blue Sky guests, while encouraging us to think of our own and consider being mentors ourselves.
In this very special “feed swap” edition, Blue Sky Alum Erica Halverson interviews award-winning Jonathan Groff and his inspirational elementary school music teacher, Linda Tough, on the “Arts Educators Save the World” podcast. Learn more about Erica's podcast here: https://www.artseducatorspodcast.com/ Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to the Feed Swap In this special edition of the Blue Sky podcast, the host introduces the concept of a Feed Swap with Erica Halverson and highlights the upcoming conversat...
Martin Gutmann is an expert on the history of business and has written extensively about styles of past leaders. In this episode, he shares his thoughts on everything from today’s political climate, to whether he thinks Ernest Shackleton is overrated (spoiler alert – he does), to the underrated excellence of less well-known figures in history. Chapters: 02:27 Meet Martin Gutmann Bill welcomes Martin Gutmann to the podcast, exploring his diverse background and extensive experience in various coun...
Blayne Smith and Brandon Young are two US Army combat veterans who came together in civilian life to start their own company. They’ve now published a new book, co-authors of Perseverance > Endurance: Lead with Resilience. Grow Through Adversity. Win Together ., in which they describe invaluable lessons that they’ve learned from their training, the battlefield, and life since their time in the service. Chapters: 01:04 Introducing Blayne Smith and Brandon Young Bill introduces the guests, Army ...
This episode explores the work of Echoing Green , an international non-profit that invests in social entrepreneurs and their dreams and ideas. An accomplished leader and executive herself, Cheryl Dorsey explains how she first came to the organization and the great work they continue to do under her leadership. Chapters: 02:22 Meet Cheryl Dorsey Cheryl Dorsey, president of Echoing Green, shares her journey from being a social entrepreneur to leading a nonprofit that supports emerging social innov...
David McCullough got the idea for The American Exchange Project (AEP) after a cross-country trip showed him how diverse and accepting were the people he met. Today, AEP creates opportunities for recent high school graduates to experience life in a different part of the US, building bridges of understanding and creating lifelong friendships. It’s McCullough’s hope that these trips will someday be as common for high schoolers as the senior prom. Chapters: 02:17 Growing Up in a History-Minded Famil...
While studying acting in college, Erica Halverson decided that while she loved the theater, being on stage would not be for her. Instead, she moved into different areas and now is teaching arts education at the University of Wisconsin. She also hosts a terrific podcast, "Arts Educators Save the World ,” on which artists are joined by teachers and mentors to reflect on the transformative impact that these people had on them. Chapters: 02:49 Meet Erica Halverson Erica shares her background as a pr...
When Earl B. Hunter’s son was seven years old, he took him on three-month, multi-state camping. It was a positive, life-changing experience for them both. But Earl was struck by the fact that over the entire trip, they saw just one other black family. As someone who was working in sales in the outdoor industry, Earl saw an opportunity and went on to found the for-profit company, Black Folks Camp Too . Chapters: 02:01 Earl Hunter Jr.: Champion of Outdoor Diversity Earl B. Hunter Jr., founder of B...
On this month’s installment of “A Bit of Blue Sky,” and in honor of National Optimism Month, host Bill Burke reflects on lessons learned from two years of hosting the Blue Sky podcast.
Sal Khan is one of the great innovators in education and in this Blue Sky episode, he discusses his book, Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing ). He and his colleagues at Khan Academy are well on their way to creating powerful AI teaching assistant called Khanmigo. At a time when many fear the onset of AI applications, Sal Khan presents an inspiring vision for the future of this technology in the classroom and beyond. Chapters: 03:19 The Origin Story ...
Leslie and Richard Strauss are a husband-and-wife team who oversee Spirit Series, an innovative educational program in which young students perform plays about timeless stories. Through Spirit Series’ immersive and rigorous process, participants gain confidence in themselves and improve their teamwork, higher order thinking and focus in the classroom. The program has served more than 60,000 students and research shows that it has improved their cognitive and social/emotional skills and even lowe...
Business school professor and author Amy Edmondson shares her views on how we can make our workplace more productive, enriching, and positive for everyone. By creating an environment with “psychological safety,” Amy says that organizations allow people to do their best work by not fearing to make the “right kinds” of mistakes and/or speaking up when things go wrong. Order Amy's book Right Kind of Wrong Chapters: 01:08 Introduction of Amy Edmondson Host Bill Burke introduces guest Amy Edmondson, ...
On this installment of “A Bit of Blue Sky,” host Bill Burke describes five books he recommends that will help listeners be more optimistic (and hopefully, fulfill their New Year’s resolution to do so)! Blue Sky Bookshelf: Link Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to A Bit of Blue Sky Host Bill Burke introduces the podcast and its mission to inspire optimism through engaging discussions. He sets the stage for a conversation about books that can help listeners maintain their New Year’s resolutions. 01:29 Factf...
Neal Foard is an accomplished marketing expert and storyteller. On this episode, Neal describes why, after helping build household name global brands like Budweiser, Lexus, and Sony, he has turned his attention to telling and teaching stories. He’s inspired by what he describes as the kindness of everyday people and shares personal anecdotes and stories online, hoping others will engage in what he’s calling, “The Conspiracy of Kindness.” He is also the founder of Storyfire , an online storytelli...
In this Blue Sky episode, Zach Karabell describes how the roots of his optimistic worldview come from his deep understanding of history and the important societal trends that continue to move in a positive direction. This conversation covers a lot of ground, including how Zachary views President Trump and the “chaos” and “hysteria” he expects will be created during his second term, the remarkable medical breakthroughs like mRNA vaccines, and his new Substack newsletter, " The Edgy Optimist ." Ch...
Daniel Pink joins Blue Sky for a lively and wide-ranging discussion. He describes the importance of what he sees as a personal portfolio that includes a predominance of optimism that’s balanced by a healthy and helpful dose of pessimism. He also forceful debunks “the cynical genius illusion,” which leads to an undue bias towards those with cynical, negative viewpoints. He and Bill also discuss the connections between curiosity and optimism and Daniel describes the research and powerful conclusio...
Chloe Valdary shares her unique way of thinking about – and training others – in the field of diversity and difference. She describes her fascination with human beings in all our complexity and resists and rejects our tendencies to put everyone into the limiting categories of “oppressors or oppressed.” Her thoughtful insights will make you think and might even challenge some listeners’ long-held beliefs. Chapters: 02:20 Chloe Valdary’s Background Chloe shares her journey from New Orleans to beco...
Bill Burke hosts this first-ever installment of “A Bit of Blue Sky.” In this shorter episode, Bill explains that on the first Wednesday of every month, The Optimism Institute will release a shorter episode with information about the podcast, reflections on past episodes, and hints about new shows in the queue. This month, to kick of 2025, Bill challenges his audience to make being more optimistic a New Years resolution. Chapters: 00:32 Introducing A Bit of Blue Sky Bill unveils a new mini podcas...
This is an encore presentation of the 50th episode of Blue Sky, when Bill was joined by someone who has completed more than 400 of them. Bestselling author and TV/podcast host Kelly Corrigan describes to Bill the many things she’s learned in her life and career about optimism and how we all can benefit from life’s setbacks to become better people and forge stronger relationships. Kelly reflects on lessons she learned from her parents and how facing her own cancer diagnosis and battle with the di...
Don Carpenter has spent the bulk of his career working on youth development. Today he’s executive director of the Rural Futures Fund, an organization focused on kids in rural settings, working to help them close what he calls the “aspirations gap,” between them and their peers in more affluent settings. Chapters: 01:11 Meet Don Carpenter Bill introduces Don Carpenter, Executive Director of the Rural Futures Fund, an organization dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities for youth in rural...
When Olivia Clarke was first diagnosed with cancer and began treatment, she looked for ways to keep her spirits up as the grueling treatments and symptoms became increasingly difficult. Gradually, she noticed moments – in waiting rooms, treatment areas, with strangers – that, when looked at with a certain lens, could be seen as downright funny. This inspired her to launch “Humor Beats Cancer,” and online community that encourages other cancer patients to share their own moments of levity to soft...
November is Gratitude Month at the Optimism Institute and this episode wraps up our celebration while kicking off Thanksgiving weekend. Blue Sky host and founder of The Optimism Institute Bill Burke shares his thoughts on the tight link between gratitude and optimism and has selected excerpts from past episodes to drive this point home. Blue Sky alums explain the health benefits of gratitude, the many reasons to be grateful to be alive today, and why, despite our many challenges, the United Stat...
Kevin Adler grew up with a beloved uncle, Mark, who never forgot to send him a Hallmark card on his birthday. Over time, Kevin learned that his uncle was unhoused and suffering from schizophrenia. When Mark died at the age of 50, Kevin decided that working to solve the crisis of homelessness would be his life’s work. The experience of having a close relative in this predicament made him realize that “everybody is somebody’s somebody,” and deserving of our compassion. He founded Miracle Messages,...
