Blue Sky

Gill Hasson has a wide range of interests and areas of study, exemplified by the fact that she has authored thirty-six different books. In this Blue Sky episode, she shares her thoughts and advice on everything from the pros and cons of social media, to how to effectively parent at a time when so many kids are struggling, and how we can better deal with people we find to be difficult. (A preview – she says they're not going to change so this challenge is on us!)

For the 50th episode of Blue Sky, Bill is 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 disease left her with a greater sense of empathy for others with similar hardships. She also explains why she thinks intellectual humility is a key ingredient for an optimistic outlook and also that "there's not feeling as good as being useful to someone." Links: Listen to the Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast Watch Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan on PBS

Alison Jones Webb has spent her career studying and working in the public health sector. Several years ago, a combination of the opioid crisis and a realization that her own extended family had battled various substance use disorders, she decided to turn her attention here and began deeper work into addiction and recovery. One outgrowth of these efforts is her book, Recovery Allies: How to Support Addiction Recovery and Build Recovery-Friendly Communities. On this Blue Sky episode, Alison shares surprising and encouraging insights into addiction recovery – which she says is the norm, not the exception – and explains the vital role we can all play by being allies to people battling this difficult disease.

In this episode, Bert describes how he and his brother grew from a challenging upbringing to create Life is Good, the original positive outlook brand. He explains why he believes that optimism is a superpower and suggests that in all of history, there's never been a successful pessimist. Links: Browse Life Is Good here: https://www.lifeisgood.com/

Chris Anderson was inspired by the growth of TED once they expanded from being simply a conference company to adding the concept of offering their talks free to the world over the internet. He's now calling on us all to "reclaim the internet" and use it as a force for spreading less hate and division and more kindness and generosity. His new book, Infectious Generosity, lays out clearly the reasons why generosity is good for the world – as well as for us as individuals – then details a plan by which this movement can spread virally. Chris's views on these subjects are aligned perfectly with the work of The Optimism institute and he shares them with great enthusiasm in this uplifting and inspiring episode of Blue Sky. Links: Order Infectious Generosity: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059372755X Learn more about TED: https://www.ted.com/

Dr. Kenneth (Ken) Harris is an experienced practitioner of holistic medicine and author of the book, Synchronicity. In this Blue Sky conversation, Ken describes the subtle but important difference he sees between coincidence and synchronicity and tells why he thinks it's important for all of us to connect actively with others, leaving ourselves open to the mysterious and positive connections that can be made between people. As someone who was once clinically dead following a heart attack and had an "out of body" experience, Ken describes his appreciation for life and how fleeting our time here is. His enthusiasm and positivity are infectious and the ideas and anecdotes he shares here are thought-provoking and uplifting. Links: Order Dr. Ken's book, Synchronicity

When Ilze Thielmann learned of the steady stream of refugees and asylum seekers entering New York City, she felt compelled to get involved and help. This led her to connect with, volunteer for, and ultimately take over leadership of an organization called Team TLC. Here, Ilze and her colleagues greet asylum seekers – many of whom have been sent to New York from the state of Texas – and help them find food, clothing, and shelter. The organization has grown to now have more than 1,400 names on its active roster of volunteers and they have assisted more than 60,000 asylum seekers as they arrived at New York's Port Authority. Over time, the organization expanded to include "The Little Shop of Kindness," designed to be a store loaded with clothing and accessories offered free of charge to immigrant customers. And today, Team TLC is also offering legal and other professional services to their constituents. The story that Ilze tells in this Blue Sky conversation is fascinating and her optimistic outlook and desire to serve others is an inspiration. Links: Learn more about Team TLC: https://www.ttlcnyc.org

The life of Jonathan Conyers is full of junctures where it appears he's not going to make it. Both of his parents battled addiction to crack cocaine, yet somehow managed to instill in their son a desire to be educated and advance in the world. As he grows, Jonathan is surrounded by teachers and mentors who take special interest in him and encourage him to reach high, including "Dico," his transgender debate coach, whose support ultimately alters the trajectory of his life – and Jonathan changes Dico's in return. In this Blue Sky conversation, Jonathan details some of the highlights of his remarkable memoir, his reasons for writing it, and what continues to motivate him today.

KM DiColandrea says he works with young people because he can't imagine doing anything else. In high school, he developed a love for speech and debate which has led to a passion for teaching and coaching young people to develop these skills. We first met KM DiColandrea, aka "DiCo," in our Blue Sky episode with Jonathan Conyers. There, we heard of him helping turn around Jonathan's life at Frederick Douglass High School. With Jonathan's help, DiCo went on to co-found the Brooklyn Debate League in 2019 and is currently developing speech and debate opportunities for kids throughout greater New York and across the country. In this episode he describes why he thinks speech and debate programs are so good for developing young people and how he hopes that someday they will be included in schools' core curriculum.

Sara Guillermo's family immigrated to the United States when she was a small child. She grew up with an appreciation for this country and a desire to serve that expressed itself as early as the 1st grade, when she ran to be her "classroom organizer." From there, she has held several leadership positions and now serves as the CEO of IGNITE, an organization dedicated to train girls and young women with the skills they need to understand how their government works and arm them with the skills they need to actively participate, up to and including running for office. At a time when so many of us are disillusioned with government and politics, the enthusiasm that Sara brings to her work, and the impressive results that IGNITE has had, is sure to inspire. Links: Learn more about IGNITE: https://ignitenational.org/