

Kelly Corrigan Wonders
Kelly Corrigan
Welcome to Kelly Corrigan Wonders, a place for people who like to laugh while they think and find it useful to look closely at ourselves and our weird ways in the hopes that knowing more and feeling more will help us do more and be better. Author of 4 New York Times bestsellers about family life, Kelly wonders about loads of stuff: is knowing more always good? Can we trust our gut? How does change actually happen? We only book nice people who have a sense of humor and know things worth knowing. Each episode ends with Kelly’s shortlist of takeaways, appropriate for refrigerator doors, bulletin boards and notes to your children.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 29, 2025 • 8min
Go To on Saying No and Embracing "Good Enough"
In this episode, Kelly shares a piece of writing she's kept in her drawer for years about the power of choosing "good enough." She reflects on her mom's wisdom about saying "no" to the endless invitations and expectations that pile up in our daily lives and how learning to be selective creates space for what truly matters. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 28, 2025 • 35min
How God Works Bonus Episode
We're dropping in an episode of Dave DeSteno's podcast How God Works that explores the profound connection between craft and spirituality. Dave examines why making things with our hands can put us in a transformative state called "flow" - where time disappears, worries fade and we lose ourselves in he work. Through conversations with a Tibetan monk who creates intricate sand mandalas, a Native American glass artist and the former director of Maine's renowned Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, this episode reveals how the simple act of shaping materials can shape us in return. It's about finding meaning in the dialogue between maker and medium and discovering that sometimes the most sacred moments happen when our hands are busy and our minds are still. Enjoy!
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 26, 2025 • 55min
Deep Dive with Sheila Johnson on Walking Through Fire
Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET and the first African American woman to become a billionaire, sat down with Kelly at the Aspen Ideas Festival to talk about the power of rebuilding after devastation. From scrubbing floors to help her family get by after her father walked out, to being fired from her own company by her husband during a brutal divorce, Sheila reveals how she transformed repeated setbacks into stepping stones toward success and ultimately created a thriving hospitality business while discovering true love in her third act. Sheila's book is Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Triumph.
Recorded at the Aspen Ideas Festival (June 2024).
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 24, 2025 • 9min
Thanks For Being Here - Novak Djokovic, I Was Wrong About You
Kelly shares her New York Times opinion piece about tennis champion Novak Djokovic, confessing that while she and the rest of the world were busy swooning over more charming champions, she missed the man who was quietly grinding his way to greatness. Now, as she watches the 38-year-old Serbian fight for every point against younger players who will soon replace him, she recognizes something both humbling and beautiful: sometimes the person we overlook becomes exactly the role model we didn't know we needed. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 22, 2025 • 11min
Go To on Not Repeating the Past
Ron Shaich, the son of a man who died with a few regrets, started two super successful restaurant chains: Panera and Cava. Today Kelly shares a story from his book, Know What Matters, which describes a clarifying moment between father and son that transformed Ron’s intentions. (Previously aired) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 19, 2025 • 1h 10min
Deep Dive on Hard Conversations & the Art of Collaboration
In this finale of our Hard Conversations series, Kelly explores how making things together - singing, stitching, creating art - might be the key to deeper connections and better conversations across differences. Recorded in Bozeman, Montana, the day after our live collaborative event, Kelly is joined by musician Cava Menzies, who is a music educator and leads community singing experiences; artist Jen Bloomer, who has spent over two decades with her organization Radici Studios using art-making to help people connect across differences and embroidery artist Diana Weymar, known for her "tiny pricks" needlework (and popular Instagram account of the same name) which creates space for reflection and conversation. Together, they discover how the collaborative principles needed in all art forms - whether it's harmonizing voices, listening deeply to someone's story before making art about it or slowing down to stitch meaningful words - mirror what we need in our relationships, communities and democracy. It's about how art disarms us, creates space for surprise and vulnerability and reveals the surprising truth that you can't be cynical and creative at the same time. Listen in to hear soundbites from the live event.
This episode, the Bozeman, MT live event and the entire Hard Conversations series were all made possible by a grant from Templeton Religion Trust. You can learn more by visiting templetonreligiontrust.org.
Check out the previous episodes from our Hard Conversations series:
Deep Dive with Bob and Amy Allnutt on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-bob-a nd-amy-allnutt-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000683888545
Deep Dive with Isaac Slade and Gregg Latterman on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/deep-dive-with-isaac-slade-and-gregg-latterman-on/id1532951390?i=1000684803329
Deep Dive with Simon Greer and Saad Soliman on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-simon-greer-and-saad-soliman-on/id1532951390?i=1000686080499
Deep Dive with Sisters Amy and Meg on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-sisters-amy-and-meg-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000688777654
Deep Dive with Karen McKinney and Joseph Herrera on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-karen-mckinney-and-joseph-herrera-on/id1532951390?i=1000691018234
Deep Dive with Rabbi Sharon Brous on Hard Conversations
http://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/deep-dive-with-rabbi-sharon-brous-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000704424738
Deep Dive with Ami Dar on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-ami-dar-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000705376939
Deep Dive with Amy Griffin on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-amy-griffin-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000708296163
Deep Dive with Brad Porteus on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-brad-porteus-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000709108674
Deep Dive with Miroslav Volf on Hard Conversations
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-miroslav-volf-on-hard-conversations/id1532951390?i=1000710067256
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 17, 2025 • 15min
Thanks For Being Here - Jenny's Eulogy for her Father Ivan
This week's episode features Jenny Rosenstrach's heartfelt eulogy for her father, Ivan, highlighting his unwavering dependability and his profound love for family. Jenny reflects on cherished memories from her childhood, illustrating her father's unique love language of 'being there,' and the impact his dependable nature had on her life. (Previously aired)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 15, 2025 • 11min
Go To on Political Cease-Fires
What if politicians could just agree to stop being so awful to each other?
Amanda Ripley (bestselling author and co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people reimagine conflict) thinks it's possible and she's got examples to prove it. This week's Go To digs into her idea for voluntary non-aggression pacts - basically giving politicians permission to step back from the brink without looking weak. Turns out, most people caught up in these conflicts are actually tired of fighting but don't know how to stop. We'll look at how we can reward the good behavior when we see it and why we need to be ready with real solutions before things get even worse. Sometimes the obvious answer is hiding in plain sight.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 12, 2025 • 55min
Deep Dive with Jennifer Wallace on Mattering & Making
In this conversation recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Kelly explores two fundamental human drives with panel moderator Dave DeSteno (host of the podcast How God Works) and author of the new book Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose, Jennifer B. Wallace - our deep need to feel valued and our instinct to create. Jennifer shares her research on "mattering" and why so many people today feel invisible, while Kelly makes the case that creativity isn't a luxury but essential for our wellbeing. Together, they uncover why showing genuine interest in others matters more than praise, how economic pressures are driving perfectionism in families and the surprising ways that making things with our hands can change how we see the world.
Kelly and Jennifer Wallace will be together in person, in New Caanan, CT on October 29th, 2025. We'll add the link for the event here in the show notes as soon as it becomes available.
Special thanks to our friends at the Aspen Ideas Festival. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 10, 2025 • 17min
Thanks For Being Here - Sara DuMond's Eulogy for her Mom
Listener Sarah DuMond shares the eulogy she gave for her mother - a woman who embodied the motto, "Take a Tylenol and wear the damn heels." Sarah reflects on navigating life in what she calls, "the sacred Venn diagram of daughter, mother, wife", while planning both a funeral and graduations in the same month. Her tribute captures a remarkable woman who was crowned West Virginia University's Mountaineer Queen, had a self-declared theme song and approached life's challenges with grace and practicality. It's a beautiful portrait of how the women of a certain generation lived with strength, sweetness and an unshakeable sense of what truly mattered - and a reminder that we're all leaving legacies whether we realize it or not.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices