Kelly Corrigan Wonders

What does it take to truly see someone before they're gone? Kelly shares an essay she wrote for an evening celebrating awe, reflecting on attention as a practice—learning to notice in wild places with a guide who...

How much can we blame DNA for our depression and anxiety? Is something about our mental health pre-written into our genetic code? How much trauma carries over from one generation to the next? How should we think about...

Wendy Childress shares the story of losing her beautiful daughter Chloe in the devastating Camp Mystic floods in Texas, and writes a deeply moving tribute to her parents, Joanie and Da. She takes us through that...

After 700 episodes, Kelly distills what matters most: the places where old wisdom meets new science, what eulogies teach us about greatness, and why vulnerability means showing the wound before it heals. She reflects on...

For anyone with gift anxiety, for anyone who feels like you can’t win for losing, this is the conversation for you. Full of reminders and insights as we gear up for the season, Anna and Kelly ask all the right...

In this episode, writer Megan Cathlin shares a eulogy written four decades after her father's death by suicide when she was five years old. She reflects on the man he was—a musician, philosopher, and deep thinker whose...

Journalist and author Amanda Ripley cuts through the noise with a startling fact: America is on track for its lowest murder rate since 1960, yet most Americans believe the opposite. Kelly shares insights from Amanda's...

Anna Quindlen and Kelly share readings, stories and insights on the art of holidaying, regular-people style - and focus on why showing up for those we love matters so very much. Special dro- in by Kelly’s brother...

Kelly shares a grandson's eulogy that captures the essence of an extraordinary relationship with his grandmother. Through William Wallace's memories, we see how his "Grams" created magic through simple but meaningful...

A father in Dublin watches through a car window as his five-year-old son talks to his mother in the front seat—the pale face in the glow of headlights, the hands clasped to the seatbelt, the bare arm raised to point at...

Anna Quindlen and Kelly work through pre-game jitters about the holidays and how they might turn out okay after all. Kelly shares a reading on the ever-present need for forgiveness. Special guest appearance by Kelly’s...

What happens when you show up for someone else's joy while carrying your own grief? A mother steps away from caregiving for 72 hours to witness a bat mitzvah, and discovers that being woven into someone else's...

A scientist and entrepreneur built an AI to intercept every interruption in family life—the basketball emails, the field trip forms, the play rehearsal schedule buried at the bottom of a message. Then, an investor...

A text arrives: want to help build a movement around Jonathan Haidt's new book? Within a week, Alexa Arnold is sitting in his NYU office discussing how to change the world—and then she's in a hot tub with friends having...

In 1974, a suburban housewife named Pat Tiehel (aka PT), submitted an essay to a women's magazine about being angry at a system that gave her education and aspirations, then kept her pinned up at home. The magazine...

Andy Laats thought parenting was a complete alphabet—he did A through M, his wife Liz handled N through Z. After she died of ovarian cancer, he learned he'd underestimated the N through Z work, and then discovered there...

What's underneath mom rage and why does it keep happening? In this second episode of The Tryhards—a 3-part series for ambitious parents trying to be the best version of themselves day by day—Kelly talks with Alexa...

A mother stands to speak about her son Pierce—the boy who had style, a memorable laugh, and a way of making ordinary moments feel like love. Lesley Hu delivered this eulogy after Pierce was shot and killed by his father...

A Maasai girl grows up milking cows at dawn, walking ten kilometers for water, sleeping eight to a bed, surrounded by 38 siblings and five mothers who all knew her name and sang her song. Then she leaves for the...

In this first episode of "The Tryhards"—a three-part series for ambitious parents trying to be the best version of themselves day by day—Kelly talks with social impact entrepreneur Alexa Arnold and leadership coach Kate...

A woman named Karen Burke listened to an episode of Thanks For Being Here and felt an overwhelming sense of certainty about something she'd never considered before. Kelly shares a remarkable full circle story that began...

Babies attach to whoever responds to them—mother, father, grandmother, or machine. Kelly shares anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's TED talk about what makes humans fundamentally different from other apes: we're...

As a 19 year old, Letitia Hanke took a job as a receptionist at the local roofing company. Within 10 years, she bought the business she has now been running (and growing) for 2 decades. If you want to remember that...

A kitchen clock keeps perfect time for 55 years, witnessing countless conversations and quiet moments above a kitchen table. Kelly reads Jerry Kinkead's tribute to her brother-in-law Huck, a story about enduring...

When someone admits they're struggling at 2 AM, should they have to wait until morning to talk to another human? Kelly shares her TED stage conversation with Dr. Allison Darcy, creator of Woebot, an AI therapy tool used...