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 "other-regarding," wired to care about what others think and feel. Through 6 million years of evolution, Sarah reveals why shared care isn't just helpful—it's how our species survived. But if babies will bond with anyone (or anything) that's reliably responsive and if AI can be programmed to respond faster and more consistently than exhausted parents, are we about to create a new species? This conversation wrestles with whether our defining human trait—empathy built through messy, imperfect relationships—might disappear before we even realize what we've lost. 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

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 anything is possible, this conversation will wake you up to the possibilities. 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

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 presence and the people who stay steady when everything else shifts. Through memories of a reliable GE clock and the man who gifted it, Jerry remembers someone who was steady, curious, funny and always there. 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

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 by over 1.5 million people. From questions about who profits when we share our deepest fears to whether perfect AI responsiveness might make us reject messy human relationships, this conversation explores what happens when technology enters our most vulnerable moments. Through reflections on business models, red lines and the surprising ways people use AI as practice for real conversations, Kelly and Allison wrestle with whether these tools are helping us become more human or less—and how we might tell the difference before it's too late. 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

Most people run from danger. Raymond Ansotegui spent a decade running toward it. In the final episode of our Great Coaches series, Kelly talks with a retired rodeo bullfighter about what happens when your job is to step between a thrown rider and an animal the size of a car. Through stories about learning to read personality in a bucking bull, finding connection in the most chaotic moments and understanding when getting closer is actually safer than staying back, Raymond reveals lessons that reach far beyond the arena. This conversation explores commitment, presence and the strange grace that emerges when you stop trying to control everything and just learn to move with what's in front of you—whether that's a 1,800-pound bull, an addiction or a father slipping away to Alzheimer's. Raymond's organization is petriCORE Compass: https://petricorecompass.com/ The aversion therapy program Raymond mentioned is the Schick Shadel Hospital which stopped providing behavioral healthcare services as of June 30, 2022. 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

Sometimes the people we think we're teaching end up being our greatest mentors. Kelly shares a letter from Rachel Hicks—longtime collaborator on Kelly Corrigan Wonders—written to her younger self who spent seven years coaching high school volleyball. Through reflections on tough losses, difficult conversations with parents, and players who taught her more than she ever taught them, Rachel reveals how coaching changed her understanding of success. This is about the shift from measuring wins to protecting the joy that brought young players to the game in the first place—and caring more about who they're becoming than what they're achieving. 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

Can a machine love a child the way a parent does? Kelly introduces a special GOTO series exploring one of the most unsettling questions of our time: as AI becomes more capable, what is a parent actually for? After curating a session at TED 2025 on parenting and technology, Kelly shares an episode she hosted of TED Talks Daily featuring her own TED Talk about the unglamorous, unmeasurable bravery required in family life—the kind that happens when someone says "tell me more" instead of trying to fix everything. Then she takes us behind the scenes of her work with six speakers who helped her wrestle with whether AI could ever replace the messy, imperfect, irreplaceable work of raising a human. From technologists who insist AI could breastfeed better than humans to psychologists warning about developing intolerance for real people's limitations, this conversation looks at what we might lose if we optimize away all the friction and failure that actually shapes us. 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

How do you lead when every decision affects someone's dream? Kelly talks with Yael Averbuch West, general manager of New Jersey/New York Gotham FC, about the tricky business of managing professional athletes whose careers are both precious and finite. This conversation explores the difference between coaches who see your strengths versus those who fixate on your weaknesses, why high EQ matters more than tactical brilliance and how fairness and transparency can cut through the noise when egos are fragile and everyone's happiness seems to depend on you. To learn more about Gotham FC, visit: https://www.gothamfc.com 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

A very special coach can change your life in a single practice. Kelly shares listener Tiffany Hogue's letter to her high school track coach—a letter written decades after one small act of kindness set everything else in motion. This is about a coach who understood that last place can still be the starting line for something remarkable and the decision to include someone can have positive repercussions throughout a lifetime. Through Tiffany's words, we're reminded that the people who believe in us when we're slowest, newest and most uncertain often end up mattering more than anyone else. 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

What makes a leader stay grounded? Kelly sat down with Maryland Governor Wes Moore at the Aspen Ideas Festival to talk about power and humility, loss and faith, and the forces that shape who we become. Moore shares stories from his childhood—losing his father at three, finding himself caught between worlds as a teenager, getting sent to military school—and reflects on how those early experiences inform the way he leads today. This conversation explores big questions about fairness and opportunity, asking what we owe each other and how much context matters when we're measuring success. Books by Governor Moore mentioned in this episode: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-other-wes-moore-wes-moore/1101000890 Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-days-wes-moore/1134703904?ean=9780525512387 Special Thanks to 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

Kelly introduces The Lazy Genius podcast. October through December sometimes feels like a really fun roller coaster but you don’t always feel like you have time to buckle your seatbelt. This episode is going to help you not just survive a busy season but really enjoy it. 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

In Episode 4 of our Great Coaches series, Kelly talks with Ali Truwit, who went from Yale Division I swimmer to shark attack survivor to Paralympic silver medalist in just over a year. Two days after her college graduation, a snorkeling trip in Turks and Caicos ended with Ali losing her left foot and part of her leg as a result of a shark attack. What followed wasn't just a physical recovery but a complete reimagining of identity, guided by coaches who understood that rebuilding Ali meant helping her see what was still there, not what was lost. Please check out and consider supporting Ali's non-profit: Stronger Than You Think . https://strongerthanyouthink.org/ 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

What makes a coach unforgettable? Kelly reads listener Kathleen Ricketts' tribute to her high school basketball coach, Dave Greenberg—known simply as "DG". This isn't a story about championships or statistics. It's about a man who knew his players as individuals, who loved freely and built confidence that shaped the trajectory of their lives. Through Kathleen's words, we meet a coach who became a second father to young women who needed one, and we're reminded that the greatest legacies live not in record books but in the people we help become who they're meant to be. 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

Kelly's daughter Claire takes the mic to share her experience with Camp Kesem, an amazing organization that runs free summer camps for kids whose parents have faced cancer. As both a cancer survivor's daughter and the current director of UVA's Kesem chapter, Claire opens up about her personal story and shows how this incredible community creates pure magic for children going through tough times. (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

In the third episode of our Great Coaches series, Kelly sits down with Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin, whose three Michelin stars pale in comparison to his journey from surviving brutal kitchen culture to creating something entirely different. Through stories about the legendary cruelty of mentor Joel Robuchon and the moment Eric realized he was becoming someone he didn't recognize, he reveals how the restaurant industry's tradition of abuse nearly broke an entire generation of chefs. This conversation delves into the hard-won wisdom of a chef who discovered that kindness isn't weakness—it's the secret ingredient that changes everything. Eric's book (written with Veronica Chambers) which was mentioned in this episode is: 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line Also mentioned: A Return to Cooking 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

Kelly shares the legendary farewell memo that GQ Editor-in-Chief Jim Nelson sent to his staff when Andy Ward left for Random House in 2009. This is workplace appreciation turned up to eleven—a memo so effusive, so unabashedly emotional and so beautifully over-the-top that it became the stuff of publishing legend. Through Nelson's tribute to Andy's "Olympian generosity of spirit" and "Andy Ward-ness," we get a glimpse into what it looks like when someone's professional impact is so profound that ordinary words simply won't do. Check out Kelly's interview with Andy HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-andy-ward-on-great-coaching/id1532951390?i=1000728012046 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

Are you good with money? Or are you avoiding taking a close look at what you have and what you need? Kelly shares excerpts from the book Feel Good Finance: Untangle Your Relationship with Money for Better Mental, Emotional and Financial Well-Being by Aja Evans and discusses her own relationship with money. (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

How do you help someone see their own work more clearly without breaking their spirit? In this 2nd episode of our "Great Coaches" series, Kelly talks with her editor Andy Ward about the delicate art of literary coaching—knowing when to push a writer toward uncomfortable truths and when to step back and let them find their own way. Through stories about working with David Sedaris, George Saunders and the posthumous publication of When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Andy reveals how great editing is really about asking the right questions, building trust through close attention and helping writers discover what their book is truly about. This conversation covers the psychology of creative partnership, the vulnerability of sharing early drafts and why the best coaches never impose their vision but instead help others see their own more clearly. It's a "must listen" for anyone interested in writing. Books mentioned in this episode: Naked by David Sedaris Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Tenth of December by George Saunders Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg To Obama by Jeanne Marie Laskas When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi North Woods by Daniel Mason The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan 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

Lisa's eulogy for her beloved cousin Robby G. (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

We are storytelling beings, driven by a need for closure—or what our lit professors called denouement. Today’s Go To talks about the cost of this story-making habit of ours and a few specific ways we might mitigate the downside. 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