Blue Sky

The family of Anh Vu Sawyer were among the small number of South Vietnamese who successfully fled Saigon in the final days and hours of the Vietnam War. After describing this harrowing ordeal, Anh explains how these events inspired her to lead a life of inspiring service and social entrepreneurship here in the United States.

In the late 1990's, John Wood was living a great life. As a senior executive at Microsoft, his job took him to exotic places and he was experiencing an ideal post-MBA experience. His life would forever change on a getaway vacation in Nepal, when he had an experience that led him to quit his job and become a social entrepreneur. Since then, John Wood has created two successful non-profits and has written several books, including Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. In this Blue Sky episode, John explains the business discipline and drive that he brings to his work, which he says he simply could not do if he weren't an optimist. Links: Order John's book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

David Bornstein has a long history in journalism and founded the Solutions Journalism Network out of his belief that the hard work that people all over the world do to solve tough problems is history's most under-reported story. His organization trains journalists around the country on how to pursue and write stories not just about our problems, but also on the encouraging solutions emerging to solve them. David's vision is both logical and inspiring, and his efforts are paying off with a growing network of journalists and outlets embracing his philosophy and practice.

Matt Ridley's seminal book, The Rational Optimist, has inspired many since its publication in 2010 and greatly influenced the creation of The Optimism Institute. In this far-ranging discussion, Matt will describe an early education that he said was steeped in pessimism but how later in life he found that much of what he'd been taught was simply not true. This led him to set on a nearly evangelical quest to spread the word that interaction and trade between people and nations, including the free exchange of ideas, will continue to set us on an inexorable path towards increasing prosperity. Links: Order Matt's book The Rational Optimist

In her new book, The Power of a Few Kind Words, author Tracey Gates tells the story of how she decided to write a handwritten note of appreciation to someone every day, for an entire year. 365 letters later, she's concluded that telling people how much you appreciate them can do as much for your own state of mind as it does for the recipients, and she's encouraging her readers to take up the practice themselves. While she doesn't expect anyone else to do this every day, just starting the practice of writing to people and letting them know you were thinking about them and are thankful that they are in your life will do wonders for your mindset, giving feelings of warmth, hope, and optimism. Links: Order Tracey's book The Power of a Few Kind Words

Ritah Kabanyoro knows what it's like to go to bed hungry. Growing up in a household of 20 people, she was used to receiving just one meal a day, until fainting spells alerted others to the malnutrition she was suffering. After being placed in a private school – and improving her diet, she thrived and today leads Uganda's chapter of Action Against Hunger. Ritah's home country is the largest recipient of refugees in all of Africa. They come primarily for Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and when they arrive in Uganda, they are welcomed with relief programs up to and including the gift of land and instruction of farming techniques. The Ugandan government, working with agencies like Ritah's, is striving to help these refugees become self-sufficient, contributing members of their society. Ritah Kabanyoro's work is inspiring and her optimistic take on the future of her country is infectious.

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, a nonprofit working to tell the stories of individuals who are unhoused, in hopes of connecting and reuniting them with estranged friends and family. To date, they have facilitated more than 800 people and have created a phone buddy system where volunteers communicate weekly with their assigned partner, building relationships where none existed before. Kevin Adler tells this story in his new book, When We Walk By, and shares many of these stories in this episode, while also describing his optimistic views on basic income and affordable housing programs. Links: Order Kevin's book, When We Walk By Learn more about Miracle Messages

Dr. Howard Koh's story is inspiring. His immigrant parents raised him to be grateful for and contribute to their adopted country. And he has certainly made his contributions, serving first as a practicing oncologist, then moving into the field of public health. After treating too many patients who were dying from cancers caused by tobacco use, Howard Koh turned his attention to tobacco cessation, and his determined efforts there resulted in great success. After serving in the Massachusetts state government, Dr. Koh was named as Assistant Secretary for Health for HHS in the Obama administration, and in that role found himself in the middle of the White House's efforts to overhaul the US healthcare system, as well as other ambitious initiatives. Today, Howard teaches and researches at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is turning much of his considerable talent, energy, and optimistic mindset towards impacting another vexing challenge in our society, homelessness. In this episode, he discusses this work, as well as his research and writing on the role of spirituality in our well-being and his passion for music and baseball.

Adam Mastroianni says he likes to "study how people perceive and misperceive their social worlds, from the person sitting across the table to the whole country buzzing around them." In this Blue Sky conversation, Dr. Mastroianni describes research he and a colleague conducted that demonstrates that human beings falsely assume that the world used to be better, and that we continue to decline in terms of moral standards and civil behavior. This cognitive "bug" he has detected can lead us to develop a more pessimistic view of the world and also leaves us more susceptible to believe in the message of autocrats who promise to take us back to a time when the world – and people – were somehow better than they are today. Adam's insights are fascinating, as are the techniques he uses in his research, and he explains his findings and observations with great wit and wisdom. https://www.experimental-history.com/

LaTosha Brown has been described by many as a "force of nature," and from the first seconds of this Blue Sky episode, you will understand why. Raised in Selma, Alabama she grew up surrounded by family members who were at the center of the civil rights movement in the United States. Being close to grandparents who spent much of their adult lives unable to vote led her to appreciate this franchise and their example continues to inspire her "get out the vote" work today. LaTosha describes being raised by strong women and not experiencing overt sexism until she ran for office in Alabama, but instead of letting this get her down, she channeled these experiences into the creation of the Southern Black Girls & Women's Consortium. LaTosha Brown also happens to be a talented singer and performer, and she shares this gift with us here as well.