The Connection Effect with Bill Groner

Bill Groner
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Relationships
  • Updated Weekly

In an era of extraordinary division, we often focus on winning arguments rather than building understanding. But what if the key to our future as a society isn't about who is right, but about how we best connect with one another. How despite our differences, we each matter and feel we belong. Hosted by Bill Groner, a former trial lawyer who spent a decade representing over 10,000 9/11 responders in their fight for justice, The Connection Effect explores the profound impact of being truly heard. Drawing from a career witnessing the costs of silence and the power of resilience, Bill sits down with researchers, thinkers, and practitioners to discuss their life's work, lived experiences, and how they relate to the science, soul, and practice of connection. Join us as we explore how to bridge differences, listen deeply, and reconnect with ourselves and one another—especially when it feels most out of reach. Add your voice to the conversation by following us and chiming in at: connection.net/substack

  1. 4d ago ·  Bonus

    The Aftershow: An Invisible Thread (with Laura Schroff)

    In this aftershow episode of The Connection Effect — the final episode of Season One — host Bill Groner reflects on his conversation with Laura Schroff, author of An Invisible Thread. Bill is joined by three fellow alumni of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology program: Harry Hofer (Executive Coach), Gaia Uman Borrero (Operations Manager), and Paty Cantú (Psychologist).  While the main episode told the story of one moment that changed two lives, this conversation turns it back on the group: what gets in the way of noticing our own invisible threads, and what it actually takes to follow one. Together, the group explores the real challenges: The dispositional balance it takes to stay open to strangers, and how quickly we can tell when we're "off" Whether authenticity means waiting for the right mood, or whether a small, imperfect gesture still counts How destiny, spirituality, and a family story of kindness that came full circle all bump up against the idea of an invisible thread Topics of Discussion: 00:00 After Show Kickoff 00:52 Why Laura Schroff 01:57 Bill Gets Emotional 02:58 How It Made Us Feel 05:05 Kindness Without Pressure 07:52 Reciprocity And Ego 13:22 Fear And Other Obstacles 17:55 Authenticity Versus Intention 23:59 Destiny And Vulnerability 30:54 Invisible Thread Stories 36:58 VIP Bracelet Ripple

  2. Sep 29

    An Invisible Thread: A 40-Year Friendship That Changed Everything (with Laura Schroff)

    What if the person who impacts you most is a stranger? In our Season 1 finale, Bill Groner sits down with Laura Schroff, New York Times bestselling author of An Invisible Thread, who shares the story of the day she turned around to help a hungry 11-year-old boy on a New York City street — and the 40-year friendship that followed. Laura reflects on how one small act of connection reshaped both of their lives, and what she's learned since from the thousands of readers who've shared their own "invisible thread" stories with her. Connect with Laura Schroff Website: https://lauraschroff.com/  Facebook: facebook.com/LauraSchroffAuthor  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/laura-schroff-a239635  Books (An Invisible Thread, An Invisible Thread: Young Readers Edition, Angels on Earth): https://lauraschroff.com/books/  Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack: connection.net/substack  Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net  Topics of Discussion: 00:00 Season Finale Setup 00:31 Why Strangers Matter 02:38 Meet Laura Schroff 03:15 Labor Day Encounter 05:16 Lunch Turns Into Bond 10:14 A Weekly Tradition Begins 12:10 Invisible Thread Destiny 14:14 Trust Test At Home 16:58 Lessons In Poverty 18:51 Kindness And Brown Bag 23:35 Maurice Grows Up 26:58 Book And Hard Years 31:40 Invisible Thread Origin 33:43 Book Ripple Effects 35:05 Readers Share Stories 38:48 Kindness Creates Family 42:11 Tiffany Chance Reunion 46:58 Hope in Divided Times 53:10 Closing Reflections

  3. Sep 7 ·  Bonus

    The Aftershow: The Mattering Instinct (with Rebecca Goldstein)

    In this aftershow episode of The Connection Effect, host Bill Groner reflects on his recent conversation with philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein. Bill is joined by three fellow alumni of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology program: Harry Hofer (Executive Coach), Sonya Looney (World Champion Athlete and Performance Coach), and Ilene Schaffer (Executive Coach).   While the main episode laid out Rebecca's "mattering map" in theoretical detail, this conversation — dedicated to the late mattering scholar Isaac Prilleltensky — brings it into everyday life, with each guest locating themselves on the map in real time and offering their own ideas about where it could expand.   Together, the group explores: Where each of them falls on Rebecca's four-part map — socializer, transcender, heroic striver, competitor — and how that's shifted across different stages of their lives A friendly pushback on the map itself: whether "giver" or "impacter" deserves to be a fifth category Practical, concrete ways to help someone else feel valued in conversation, and why it's worth asking whether the other person felt like they mattered   Topics of Discussion:   00:00 Aftershow Kickoff 01:17 Why Mattering Matters 02:28 What Lights You Up 03:29 Giving and Receiving Value 09:13 Mattering Personas Explained 10:48 Transcender Calling and Legacy 13:17 Heroic Striver and Giving Back 17:26 Competitors and Core Needs 20:10 Coaching When Achieving Feels Empty 21:18 Reframing the Competitor Persona 22:44 Competition Reframed 24:40 Mattering Map Agency 26:12 Bill on Striving 27:38 Eileen Finds Her Mix 29:27 Sonya Venn Diagram 32:18 From Theory to Practice 33:12 Helping Others Matter 37:40 Sonya on Bespoke Value 39:08 Closing Reflections   Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack: connection.net/substack Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net

    The Aftershow: The Mattering Instinct (with Rebecca Goldstein)

  4. Aug 31

    The Mattering Instinct (with Rebecca Goldstein)

    In this episode of The Connection Effect, Bill Groner sits down with philosopher, novelist, and MacArthur Fellow Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, whose new book, The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, distills over 40 years spent asking people one question: what makes you feel like your life counts? Rebecca's answer is the "mattering map" — a framework for the different ways we try to earn a sense of mattering, whether through the people in our lives, something transcendent, our own standards of excellence, or how we measure up against others. She brings each type to life with stories that stick, from a man who devoted himself to leprosy patients after one moment of shame, to a poet who spent 20 years perfecting his craft in total secrecy. This conversation is an invitation to ask yourself: which mattering project is actually running your life — and whether you chose it, or inherited it. Connect with Rebecca Goldstein Website: https://rebeccagoldstein.com/ Substack: https://rebeccanewbergergoldstein.substack.com/ Books (The Mattering Instinct, Plato at the Googleplex): https://rebeccagoldstein.com/category/books/  X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/platobooktour Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack: connection.net/substack Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net Topics of Discussion 00:00 Welcome and guest intro 01:56 Defining mattering 05:24 Mattering map overview 07:54 Socializers explained 11:39 Transcenders and faith 17:24 Heroic strivers and excellence 22:07 Internal vs external validation 25:28 Competitors and zero sum 26:31 Competitor Mindset Costs 28:16 Primary Type Shifts 29:24 Murray McClelland Types 31:13 Bespoke Life Design 33:40 Know Thyself Practice 35:15 Inherited Mattering Scripts 37:37 Hope Through Self Evaluation 40:19 Do Others Matter 44:07 Love And Human Oneness 45:10 Hope For Humanity 48:50 Rumi And Closing Reflections 49:46 Host Outro Takeaways

  5. Aug 18

    The Aftershow: Putting a Number on Happiness (with John Helliwell)

    In this aftershow episode of The Connection Effect, host Bill Groner reflects on his recent conversation with economist John Helliwell on the World Happiness Report. Bill is joined by three fellow alumni of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology program: Harry Hofer (Executive Coach), Ava Shahi (Talent Development, ALO), and Gaia Uman Borrero (Operations Manager). While the main episode explored what the World Happiness Report has learned about trust, generosity, income, and connection, this conversation brings it into everyday life, with personal stories and honest reflection on what gets in the way. Together, the group explores the real challenges: The discomfort of putting a number on your own happiness, and what it reveals about how we compare ourselves to others Which of John's four levers (someone to count on, freedom, generosity, corruption) the group feels the most agency over, and why generosity and social support keep coming out on top Why reaching out to a stranger or an old friend does more for a happy life than almost anything else, and what "architecting" that life actually looks like day to day Topics of Discussion: 00:00 Aftershow Setup 00:48 Why John Helliwell 02:43 Rate Your Life Today 08:21 Bill's Happiness Framework 12:55 Comparisons and Sharing Joy 19:49 Low GDP High Happiness 22:08 Four Drivers of Happiness 26:41 Agency and Civic Trust 31:22 Architecting a Happy Life 34:07 Strangers and Old Friends 37:48 Future of Humanity 44:32 Closing Thanks and Next Steps   Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack: connection.net/substack Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net

    The Aftershow: Putting a Number on Happiness (with John Helliwell)

  6. Aug 10

    Putting a Number on Happiness (with John Helliwell)

    How do you put a number on something like happiness? For John Helliwell, it starts with one deceptively simple question: on a scale of zero to ten, how would you rate your life today? In this episode of The Connection Effect, Bill Groner sits down with John Helliwell, an economist, Rhodes Scholar, and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report. Helliwell spent his early career in the traditional lanes of economics before discovering, in his words, data "economics had been waiting for two centuries" — real numbers on how people actually feel about their lives. He's spent the thirty years since proving those numbers predict not just how long we live, but how happily, and that the strongest predictor of all isn't income, it's whether we have someone to count on. Drawing on survey data from more than 140 countries, Helliwell walks through what the Report has learned about trust, generosity, and inequality, including the wallet-drop studies showing that people everywhere underestimate a stranger's kindness by about half. He and Bill also cover why in-person friendships track with happiness while Facebook networks don't, what rose in the data during COVID that helped cushion people's wellbeing, and what the research on youth and social media does (and doesn't) explain about declining happiness among young people. The conversation closes on what Helliwell calls realistic optimism — the case for believing the future can improve, built on data rather than wishful thinking. Connect with John Helliwell Website: https://blogs.ubc.ca/helliwell/  Faculty page: economics.ubc.ca/profile/john-helliwell Research: Google Scholar World Happiness Report: worldhappiness.report Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack: connection.net/substack Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net  Topics of Discussion: 00:00 Intro 00:22 Meet John Helliwell 01:39 Economics Meets Happiness 03:57 World Happiness Report Origins 06:27 How Happiness Is Measured 11:26 Subjective vs Objective Data 12:51 Social Capital Beats Income 15:36 Wealth Inequality Effects 18:44 Altruism and Wallet Study 22:48 Strangers and COVID Kindness 24:53 Social Media and Youth Decline 30:40 Engineer a Happier Life 36:08 Realistic Optimism Future 41:13 Host Wrap Up Takeaways

  7. Jul 28

    Special Episode: Practicing Curiosity on a Divisive Topic (with Dan Levin)

    Can you really understand someone's reasoning on a hot-button issue without agreeing with it? In this special edition of The Connection Effect, Bill Groner sits down with Dan Levin — an attorney who has spent decades inside the highest levels of American power, including chief of staff to FBI Director Robert Mueller (starting on 9/11), chief of staff to Attorney General Bill Barr at the Department of Justice, senior associate counsel to President Bush, and legal advisor to the National Security Council. He's also been Bill's friend since fourth grade. For the first time, the show breaks its usual format to do both process and content at once: rather than debating specific Supreme Court rulings, Bill uses curious inquiry and active listening to explore, through Dan's eyes, how justices decide — walking through the legal theories that divide the Court (originalism, textualism, and the living Constitution), and the human, non-legal pressures — political atmosphere, institutional protection, peer dynamics — that can creep in alongside them. Dan and Bill work through what makes a decision legal versus political, why the Court's reputation has taken a hit in recent years, and what concerns and encourages him about where it stands today. The takeaway is that healthy conversation about political issues can be about understanding-not about winning. Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack connection.net/substack Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net Topics of Discussion: 00:00 Episode Setup 01:26 Meet Daniel Levin 02:26 Inside FBI Leadership 03:32 Justice Department Role 04:46 DOJ In Government 06:20 Why Supreme Court 07:03 How Justices Decide 08:49 Three Legal Frameworks 11:59 Do Justices Evolve 15:42 Textualism Explained 20:13 Bias And Pressure 24:21 Protecting Court Legitimacy 25:55 Examples Of Legitimacy Calls 28:15 Justice Vote Trading 29:35 Legal Versus Human Factors 30:56 Ideal Judicial Mindset 32:59 Is The Court Political 35:38 Neutral Rules Examples 38:25 Lower Courts Politics 40:25 Executive Power Breakdown 44:13 Legitimacy And Polarization 49:19 Reform Ideas Term Limits 55:02 Closing Reflections

    Special Episode: Practicing Curiosity on a Divisive Topic (with Dan Levin)

  8. Jul 13 ·  Bonus

    The Aftershow: The Art of True Connection (with Christian van Nieuwerburgh & Robert Biswas-Diener)

    In this aftershow episode of The Connection Effect, host Bill Groner reflects on his recent conversation with Robert Biswas-Diener and Christian van Nieuwerburgh on radical listening. Bill is joined by three fellow alumni of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology program: Harry Hofer (Executive Coach), Ava Shahi (Talent Development at ALO), and Ilene Schaffer (Executive Coach). While the main episode explored the elements of radical listening — what it is, why it matters, and how to practice it — this conversation brings it into everyday life, with personal stories and honest reflection on what gets in the way. Together, the group explores the real challenges: How to radically listen to someone you deeply disagree with — and why respect isn't the same as agreement The difference between interrupting and interjecting, and how a well-timed jump-in can actually signal "I'm with you" What we bring, often unconsciously, into our most charged conversations — and how to pause on intention before we begin Topics of Discussion: 00:00 Aftershow Kickoff 00:55 Why These Guests 02:31 Listening Without Agreement 06:57 Respect as Strength 11:57 Interjection vs Interruption 20:17 Intentional Listening Mindset 21:40 Intention in Disagreement 23:10 Curiosity Without Judgment 23:50 Think Feel Do Framework 25:15 Managing Emotion and Timing 27:34 Building Intentional Habits 29:37 Right Time to Talk 34:15 Stress Regulation Practices 36:54 Personal Takeaways Round 41:39 Bill Closing Reflections Connect with The Connection Effect Join the community and conversation on The Connection Effect Substack: connection.net/substack Questions? Guest inquiries? Email: podcast@connection.net

    The Aftershow: The Art of True Connection (with Christian van Nieuwerburgh & Robert Biswas-Diener)
See All (28)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

In an era of extraordinary division, we often focus on winning arguments rather than building understanding. But what if the key to our future as a society isn't about who is right, but about how we best connect with one another. How despite our differences, we each matter and feel we belong. Hosted by Bill Groner, a former trial lawyer who spent a decade representing over 10,000 9/11 responders in their fight for justice, The Connection Effect explores the profound impact of being truly heard. Drawing from a career witnessing the costs of silence and the power of resilience, Bill sits down with researchers, thinkers, and practitioners to discuss their life's work, lived experiences, and how they relate to the science, soul, and practice of connection. Join us as we explore how to bridge differences, listen deeply, and reconnect with ourselves and one another—especially when it feels most out of reach. Add your voice to the conversation by following us and chiming in at: connection.net/substack

Information

You Might Also Like