Kelly connects with Malissa Clark, an associate professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of Georgia. Her new book is called “Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture is Bad for Business – and How to Fix it.”  “Today, almost half of US workers would classify themselves as workaholics.”  “Engagement and workaholism can look similar.”  […]
Kelly has an insightful conversation with sociologist Corey Keyes about languishing, flourishing, and mental health. His new book is “Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down.”  “Games are a microcosm of adulthood.” “We humans often get fooled by feelings.”  “Acceptance needs to start with you.” 
Kelly speaks to Alison Taylor, a clinical professor at NYU Stern School of Business and the Executive Director of Ethical Systems, a research collaboration of prominent business school professors working on ethical culture founded by Jonathon Haidt. They discuss her new book, “Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World.”  “We’re […]
Kelly bridges the world of Navy Seals training and Second City improv training with performance psychologist and retired US Navy commander Eric Potterat and executive communication expert Alan Eagle. They’ve co-written a new book: “Learned Excellence: Mental Disciplines for Leading and Winning from the World’s Top Performers.” “It is the top performers’ mental approach to […]
Kelly explores The Second City’s landmark college program Comedy Studies with its Director, Anne Libera. “We learn from failing as opposed to the yes/no or risk/failure binary.” “With comedy, you have to be culturally competent, you have to be aware, you have to be observational.” “Comedy is a combination of recognition, pain and distance.”
Kelly welcomes the great Bob Sutton back to the podcast. Professor Emeritus at Stanford, Bob has a new book out called “The Friction Project” which he co-wrote with Huggy Rao.  “Piles of studies show, to do creative work right, teams need to slow down, struggle, and develop a lot of bad ideas to find a […]
Kelly talks to W. Russell Neuman,  a specialist in new media and digital education at New York University – whose career has also taken him to MIT and the White House – to discuss his new book “Evolutionary Intelligence: How Technology Will Make Us Smarter.”  “We are demonstrably poor at learning from our mistakes.”  “Eyeglasses and hearing […]
Kelly takes a look at leadership through the lens of history with Moshik Temkin, a professor of history and leadership at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University and a faculty affiliate at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His new book is titled, “Warriors, Rebels & Saints: The Art of Leadership from Machiavelli to […]
Kelly connects with psychologist and professor Dr. Mariel Buque to discuss her new book “Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma.”  “No cycle breaker will ever feel fully ready to break the cycle.” “The higher self is not a perfectly healed self, because perfect healing is a myth.”  “We cannot change what we cannot see.” You can follow […]
Kelly connects with Rajiv Shah, the President of the Rockefeller Foundation and a former government official who oversaw USAID from 2010 to 2015. His new book is called “Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens.” “For centuries, two factors determined an individual’s capacity for solving the world’s problems: divinity and dollars.”  “Money alone doesn’t deliver […]
Kelly talks to Vulture Senior Editor Jesse David Fox who also hosts the “Good One” podcast about his new book, “Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture – And the Magic That Makes it Work.”  “Comedy only exists when both the comedian and audience are working together to create the state of play.”  “’Funny is funny’ is a […]
Kelly chats with author Rob Kozlowski about a movie franchise that is dear to both of them and the subject of Rob’s latest book: “Becoming Nick and Nora: The Thin Man and the Films of William Powell and Myrna Loy.” “The characters of Nick and Nora Charles remain the standard for married couples in the movies.”  […]
Kelly welcomes Brad Stulberg back to the podcast, the well-being expert is on the faculty of the University of Michigan and his new book is called “Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing – Including You.” “Our biggest personal and collective challenges revolve around change.” “The best approach is to combine fierce self-discipline […]
Kelly has a fun conversation with longtime Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus about her experiences at the legendary comedy show as well as her current work co-leading the platform and networking community “Woman Work F’ing Hard.” “Expecting perfection is guaranteed disappointment.” “You’re not helping the woman next to you if you’re not being honest.” “Whenever you’re struggling, it’s so importan...
Kelly reminisces with Chicago-bred comedian and author Mike Bridenstine whose new book is called  “The Perfect Amount of Wrong: The Rise of Alt Comedy on Chicago’s North Side.”  “Chicago was an improv town and everybody knew it.” “None of it was glamorous. None of it should have worked at all.” “During that brief period, I was forced to unlearn […]
Kelly talks to best-selling author Morgan Housel whose book “The Psychology of Money” sold over 3 million copies. His new book, “Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes,” is a fascinating look at history’s most powerful lessons. “Asking what the biggest risks are is like asking what you expect to be surprised about.”  “The […]
Kelly sits down with high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais to talk about his new book “The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What People Think of You.” “The sooner you fundamentally change your relationship with other people’s opinions, the sooner you become free.”  “The idea that we can take a magic pill that makes our […]
Kelly has a timely conversation with Harvard University professor Michele Lamont to discuss her new book “Seeing Others: How Recognition Works and How it Can Heal a Divided World.” “Identity is and has always been a basis for hateful attacks.”  “Unlike optimism, hope is not an expression of our temperament, but a plan for the […]
Kelly spends time with Catalina Daniels and James Sherman, two entrepreneurs who met at Harvard Business School and have written a new book: “Smart Startups: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know.” “Knowing you are meant to be an entrepreneur is a journey unto itself.”  “As soon as you observe a rising tide, you’re too late.”  “Hire for curiosity.”
Kelly talks to Jill Stoddard, the founder and director of The Center for Stress and Anxiety Management, to discuss her new book “Imposter No More: Overcome Self-Doubt and Imposterism to Cultivate a Successful Career.” “If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t worry about being exposed as incompetent.” “The imposter voice often grows rather than shrinks with […]
Kelly welcomes back Suneel Gupta to the podcast to talk about his new book “Everyday Dharma: 8 Essential Practices for Finding Success and Joy in What You Do.” “For too long, we have fixated on the future of work and ignored the future of worth.”  “It’s easy to recognize when you’re lost in the woods. The hard part […]
Kelly interviews Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key live at the Chicago Humanities Festival to discuss their new book “The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey Through the Art and Craft of Humor.” “There is something about comedy that is primal.” “Just because something is uncomfortable, doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”  “There was always a parachute and […]
Kelly connects with Liz Tran, the founder of Reset – an executive coaching and wellness company – to talk about her new book “The Karma of Success: Spiritual Strategies to Free Your Inner Genius.” “Our work selves and our home selves are not separate beings.”  “Get out of your own way and allow what is already […]
Kelly welcomes Harvard professor Frances Frei back to the podcast along with leadership coach Anne Morriss to talk about their new book:  “Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems.”  “The fastest way to mess up change leadership is to make it about you.”  “The most important item on your packing […]
Kelly talks to Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross about the science behind art. The pair have written the book “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transforms Us.” “We now have scientific proof that the arts are essential to our very survival.” “Your brain loves a good metaphor.” “Curiosity is a building block of flourishing.”
Kelly connects with UCLA professor Hal Hershfield to talk about his new book “Your Future Self: How To Make Tomorrow Better Today.”  “Your fate is not fixed. Not even close.”  “We can never really know our future selves.” “You are actually a we.” 
Kelly welcomes back renowned Harvard professor Amy Edmondson to the podcast to discuss her new book “The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well.” “Most of us fail to learn the valuable lessons failures can offer.”   “Everyone fails at failure.” “When it comes to errors, intent matters.” 
Kelly sits down with playwright and author Jeffrey Sweet to discuss the new edition of his legendary book “Something Wonderful Right Away,” an oral history of The Second City.
Kelly reconnects with Second City alum Mike Lukas to talk about his new book, “Finding Your Funny Muscle: How to Create Laughs Like a Pro.” “A good laugh can feel better than sex on drugs in a rock and roll hot tub.” “Bottom line, humor isn’t some obscure concept that only the chosen few can master.”  “Shared pain makes us […]
Kelly speaks to journalist Jason Del Rey to discuss his new book, “Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart and the Battle For Our Wallets.” “You can either choose to disrupt yourself or be caught flatfooted when disruption chooses you.”  “This might not have been move fast and break things, but it was at times, move fast and fake things.”  “A world where one […]
