Blue Sky
by Bill Burke
Latest episode
Stephen Minix on Optimism as Fuel
Stephen Minix on Optimism as Fuel
About this podcast
Hosted by Bill Burke, founder of The Optimism Institute, this weekly podcast will feature inspiring leaders, authors, researchers, and big thinkers who are taking on some of our world's toughest challenges with an infectious sense of optimism. Blue Sky takes its name from the meditation reminder that there's always blue sky above, sometimes you just have to get your head above the clouds to see it.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 182 episodes
- Stephen Minix on Optimism as Fuel · 55 min · Episode 178Stephen Minix calls himself "Optimus Prime," but he's quick to say optimism doesn't mean life will always get better. It means believing that showing up today still matters. He…
- The Optimism Doctor Is In: Dr. Deepika Chopra on The Power of Real Optimism · 46 min · Episode 177Dr. Deepika Chopra, known as the Optimism Doctor, makes a surprising admission: she isn't a natural optimist. In this conversation, she explains why optimism is a learned skill…
- A Potluck Prescription for Loneliness — Margaret Hathaway & Karl Schatz on Food, Stories, and Community · 42 min · Episode 176Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz traded New York City for a goat farm in Maine. Then a pandemic-era cookbook project led them to create Community Plate, a series of…
- Mebane Rash: Journalism in the Business of Hope · 46 min · Episode 175News can feel relentlessly negative, but as this week's guest points out, that's a choice about what gets covered, not a reflection of what's actually happening in our…
- Introships – Career Optimism for College Students, With Joe Fiveash · 38 min · Episode 174Joe Fiveash, a longtime digital media executive with stops at the Weather Channel, IBM Watson, and Raycom Media, joins Bill Burke to talk about Introships, the nonprofit he now…
- "Can We Talk?": Teaching High Schoolers the Art of Civil Dialogue · 46 min · Episode 173Educators John Holdridge and Lowell Libby join Bill Burke to talk about the Can We? Project, a Maine-based initiative launched in 2018 that teaches high school students the…
- Return on Goodwill: Sam Demma on Why Doing Good Comes Back to You · 40 min · Episode 172Sam Demma had his sights set on a professional soccer career from age five — training in Italy at 13, playing for one of Canada's top club teams by 17 — until three major knee…
- The Comedian's Mindset: Mike Goodwin on Laughter, Optimism, and Resilience, a Special Encore Presentation · 51 min · Episode 171Comedian, speaker, and humor coach Mike Goodwin joins Bill Burke for this special summer encore presentation of a classic Blue Sky episode. Mike shares how a difficult, sometimes…
- Melissa Connelly: Look for the Glimmers, a Special Encore Presentation · 53 min · Episode 170In this Blue Sky conversation, host Bill Burke sits down with Melissa Connelly, CEO of OneGoal, a national organization working to ensure every young person can pursue education…
- Ted Johnson: "I'm the Product of Optimism" — Race, Democracy, and the Courage to Believe in America · 50 min · Episode 169Ted Johnson's life reads like several careers stitched into one: raised in a mostly white Raleigh suburb while attending a Black church several times a week, a Hampton University…
- "Why Not Me?" — Lee Woodruff on Turning Tragedy Into Purpose, a Special Encore Presentation · 44 min · Episode 168Lee Woodruff's life reads like fiction — a college meet-not-quite-cute with her future husband Bob, a front-row seat to the Tiananmen Square crackdown that redirected Bob's…
- "Carnegie with a Yak": John Wood's Journey from Corporate Executive to Global Educator, a Special Encore Presentation · 51 min · Episode 167More than twenty-five years ago, John Wood was a rising Microsoft executive with a demanding job and a packed passport. A trek through Nepal changed everything. After…
- Human-Centered Capitalism: Alan Murray on Why Business Has Fundamentally Changed · 42 min · Episode 166Alan Murray has spent four decades studying American business — as editor-in-chief and CEO of Fortune, Washington bureau chief at the Wall Street Journal, president of Pew…
- From Tragedy to Triumph: Kathy Eldon on Creative Visions Foundation and Finding Blue Sky After Loss · 41 min · Episode 165Kathy Eldon's son, Dan Eldon, was a young photojournalist working for Reuters in Somalia when he was killed at just 22 years old while documenting a famine and its aftermath…
- Climate Optimism: How to Stay Hopeful Without Looking Away — with Anne Therese Gennari · 39 min · Episode 164What if optimism about climate change isn't naive — but necessary? In this episode of Blue Sky, Anne Therese Gennari, TEDx speaker and author of The Climate Optimist Handbook…
- How to Use AI to Become More Human, Not Less — with Dr. Mark Bloomfield · 45 min · Episode 163If even the letters "A-I" are enough to spike your anxiety, this episode is for you. In this conversation, host Bill Burke sits down with Dr. Mark Bloomfield — a Cambridge Judge…
- Second Chances That Work: How Margo Walsh Is Transforming Lives Through Employment — and Changing Business in the Process — A Special Encore Presentation of Blue Sky · 42 min · Episode 162Margo Walsh is an entrepreneur on a mission to prove that second chances are good for business. As founder of MaineWorks — a certified B-Corp — she has built a model that…
- Your Brain on Nature: Dr. Marc Berman on the Surprising Science of Nature's Impact on Attention Restoration and Optimism · 55 min · Episode 161What if one of the most powerful tools for restoring your mental health, sharpening your focus, and cultivating optimism has been outside your door all along? In this episode of…
- Is the World Getting Better? The Economic Evidence Says Yes — An Encore Presentation with Charles Kenny · 49 min · Episode 160What if the relentlessly negative news cycle is giving us a distorted picture of reality? In this episode of Blue Sky, Charles Kenny from the Center for Global Development makes…
- Optimist Economy Co-Host Kathryn Anne Edwards on Why America's Best Economy Is Still Ahead · 47 min · Episode 159Kathryn Anne Edwards, a labor economist and co-host of Optimist Economy, discusses economic optimism, career paths, and the impact of policy on the American economy. She shares…
