In our world of urgency, certitudes, and immediate access to a flood of information, could it be that a humble curiosity, inspired awe, and delightful wonder might give us the strength to heal and thrive? Using an expansive emotional vocabulary matched with wit and care, TV host, podcaster, and author Kelly Corrigan is inviting the world to relational vulnerability, compassionate curiosity, and stalwart bravery to face our biggest problems through listening and loving wonder. In this conversation with Kelly Corrigan, we discuss: - Her approach to having conversations that feel transformative—the kind that unlock and open us up - How wonder grounds her spirituality and personal vocation - The profound lessons she learned from her mother and father, and how each showed up for her when she was at her lowest - How to learn wisdom and leadership through coaching and mentoring - How to build the emotional container of home for a family - What it means to be brave in our world today - And how to communicate love through the simple act of listening through three simple invitations: “Tell me more!, What else?, and Go on.” About Kelly Corrigan Kelly Corrigan is a journalist of wonder. Through hundreds and hundreds of conversations with some of the world’s most interesting people, she approaches both timeless questions and contemporary problems … through focused and generous listening, an attitude of awe, and a joyful expectation to be surprised and delighted, even in life’s most challenging and painful circumstances. She’s the author of four New York Times bestselling memoirs: *Tell Me More, The Middle Place, Glitter and Glue, and Lift.* Her most recent offering is a children’s book, Hello World, which celebrates the people in our lives and explores the meaningful connections that come from asking each other questions. Her podcast, *Kelly Corrigan Wonders*, is a library of conversational wisdom ranging from current events, to arts and entertainment, to psychology and philosophy, and an approach to spirituality and transcendence through the gift of everyday, ordinary life. A master of conversational hospitality, downright funny storytelling, and journalistic listening, she’s also the PBS television host of *Tell Me More*, and recently spoke on Bravery at the 40th annual TED Conference. You can find her podcast, Kelly Corrigan Wonders wherever you listen to podcasts and her full library of resources at kellycorrigan.com. Books and Media by Kelly Corrigan - Listen to [Kelly Corrigan Wonders](https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/kelly-corrigan-wonders/id1532951390) - Visit [KellyCorrigan.com](http://KellyCorrigan.comhttps://www.kellycorrigan.com/) - Watch [Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan](https://www.kellycorrigan.com/media) (PBS) - Read Kelly’s books, such as [Tell Me More, The Middle Place, Glitter and Glue, Hello World!, and Lift](https://www.kellycorrigan.com/books). Show Notes - Kelly Corrigan’s storytelling and journalism - Kelly’s interviews with famous figures like Bono, Bryan Stevenson, David Byrne, and Melinda Gates. - Celebrities are just people. - “What happens almost instantly… is that they become people.” - “You are a never-to-be-repeated miracle.” - Core questions to know a person: ”Who raised you, and where, and what happened that you still remember vividly.” - Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary - ”All the quotidian facts of their life that make us equals in some weird way, it puts you at ease.” - “There's this story about how being an adult is holding in one pocket that you are ashes to ashes, dust to dust, one of billions And holding in the other pocket that you are a never to be repeated miracle. And that adulthood is knowing when to pull out which piece of paper.” - Childhood and parental influence reveal deep insights into a person’s adult self. - Vivid childhood memories help shape storytelling and personal understanding. - “A strong, detailed memory of an experience is an indicator that there’s a lot there for you.” - Famous people also deal with everyday concerns, which makes them relatable. - “They’re just looking for a sandwich at lunchtime.” - Perspective shifts with age, realizing that many things once thought important aren’t. - “There’s 8 billion people here. It doesn’t matter what I say and do.” - Embracing the paradox of being both insignificant and uniquely valuable. - “Being an adult is holding in one pocket that you are ashes to ashes, dust to dust… and in the other pocket that you are a never-to-be-repeated miracle.” - Kelly’s father, George Corrigan, was an enthusiastic listener and deeply engaging with others. - “The thing you need to know about me is I’m George Corrigan’s daughter.” - Her father’s ability to find something lovable in everyone influenced her deeply. - “He wasn’t looking for people just like him… he could become engaged in something he knew nothing about.” - Kelly Corrigan's TED Talk, "To Love Is to Be Brave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ShZKR5Uo2I - Her mother, Mary Corrigan, was structured, disciplined, and devoted to family. “She went to church every single day.” - Passed away six weeks before the interview, leaving a strong legacy. - ”I felt like I had been loved and people cared about me. Not excessively, not obsessively, but you know, like I was safe in the world.” - Getting the love you need - Recognizing bravery in everyday family life and personal struggles. - Nick Hornby’s experience of receiving a book—that filled him with a sense of pride and recognition - Coaching JV Lacrosse in Piedmont, CA—and seeing the impact of “seeing people” and offering loving recognition—the power of making young girls feel seen - Parents handling difficult conversations with children require immense courage. - “There’s so much happening inside every house that’s deeply brave and very complex.” - Kelly Corrigan’s spiritual upbringing—raised Catholic and participated in church traditions but felt distanced from the institution because of patriarchy and abuse scandals - “The dominant feeling I had in Catholicism was that there’s this superstructure of men who tell you if you’re good or bad.” - Disillusionment with the Catholic Church following abuse scandals. - “My religion is wonder.” - Finds spiritual connection through nature, puzzles, painting, and observing small details. - “I mean, I can really go crazy on a leaf.” - Painting as a practice of attention: “ it slows you way down and you have to focus on something so minute.” - How to deal with emotional flooding through physical practices like walking - Kelly Corrigan on Thriving—deeply connected to being in service to others. - “I probably thrive best when I’m in service to something.” - “And then they say, ‘Okay, Kelly, we're ready. Action.’ And then it's just me and this other person and the fullness of our attention to one another is thrilling by virtue of the fact that it's so damn rare. And sometimes when I'm finished, I'm like, there's almost like a romance to it. You know, like where I'm like, I, I love you. I love the experience that we just had.” - Clarity and purpose often come in caregiving moments, like her parents’ passing. - “90 minutes of pure connection.” - Pam King’s experience of her daughter’s hospitalization after a rare infection - Kelly describes her experience of cancer in her thirties. - Be mindful of what you consume—both media and information. - “Junk in, junk out.” - Engage in hobbies that disconnect from screens, such as painting and cooking. - “Read poetry. Read it out loud.” - You should be really careful what you let in your head. - “If you're small in the frame, you're just going to move more freely. And if you're big in the frame, if you're the most important thing in your whole life, God help you.” - Politics and voting or acting against your own self-interests - [Kelly Corrigan’s conversation with April Lawson on abortion](https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/going-deep-on-reproductive-rights-with-april-lawson/id1532951390?i=1000645979365) - Redefining bravery - “And the reward is a full human experience.” - The meaning of family - The experience of selling her childhood home after 55 years and how that raised questions about the meaning of family and connection—“We bought it on July 7, 1969, and it sold on July 7, 2024.” - “Will it hold? … Is it durable? … A place of comfort?” - “I think most parents would say the biggest project they've ever undertaken was to try to build a family.” - “Is this thing that was the most important thing I ever built durable?” - The emotional container of home - An expansive emotional vocabulary - “More questions, fewer statements.” - Encouraging curiosity in her children as a lifelong tool - “Ask questions. Tell me more. What else? Go on.” - “Just ask questions. Nobody’s listening. So just be the person who listens. It’s like the lowest bar.” - Enabling someone to get over themselves - Creating space for another person’s life, story, and emotions to unfold - “So embrace intellectual humility and just assume that you do not have any relevant information to give them and that your only work is to keep saying, tell me more, what else go on? And they'll talk their way into a solution.” - “And so it's a little bit of like physiological adjustment. And then it's also this intellectual pause. And it's also a big emotional pause. So like, do your dishes slowly with a scent that you like. … It’s like a tiny reset.” - Live takeaways from Pam and Kelly - “Wonder is cheap and accessible and effective. It’s like, free!” - Embody wonder into the power of listening. - “Part of the reason why Christy Turlington is so beautiful is her posture. So sit up straight.” -
