Kelly Corrigan Wonders
Kelly Corrigan
Welcome to Kelly Corrigan Wonders, a place for people who like to laugh while they think and find it useful to look closely at ourselves and our weird ways in the hopes that knowing more and feeling more will help us do more and be better. Author of 4 New York Times bestsellers about family life, Kelly wonders about loads of stuff: is knowing more always good? Can we trust our gut? How does change actually happen? We only book nice people who have a sense of humor and know things worth knowing. Each episode ends with Kelly’s shortlist of takeaways, appropriate for refrigerator doors, bulletin boards and notes to your children.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 17, 2026 • 1h 4min
Deep Dive with Dr. Matt Walker, W. Kamau Bell and Maya Shankar on Sleep
Dr. Matthew Walker, neuroscientist, UC Berkeley professor and author of Why We Sleep, joins cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and comedian W. Kamau Bell. They unpack sleep’s links to mental health, stages that matter for mood, naps and caffeine timing, tracker anxiety and alcohol’s sleep harms. They close with policy ideas and practical prioritization tips.
Feb 15, 2026 • 9min
Thanks For Being Here - Molly Merrihew's Essay for Cait & CeCe
Molly Merrihew, a writer who submitted a personal essay about loss, motherhood, and memory. She recounts her daughter Cecelia asking why an aunt died and how children sense adult rhythms. The piece traces February’s echo of grief, choosing words to explain death to a three-year-old, and how small moments keep the lost present.
Feb 13, 2026 • 23min
Go To on Curiosity in the Movies (WALL-E)
They dig into WALL‑E’s long, dialogue-free stretches and how silence can convey deep emotion. They explore a lonely robot’s habit of collecting human trinkets and what that yearning reveals. They contrast a frictionless, enfeebling life on a spaceship with the necessity of struggle. They celebrate slowing down, noticing small things, and why meaningful connection saves us.
5 snips
Feb 10, 2026 • 53min
Deep Dive with Pico Iyer on Curiosity
Pico Iyer, writer and travel observer who traded a Manhattan office for a simple room in Japan, explores paying attention as a radical act. He talks about choosing stillness to expand time. He urges noticing the ordinary, using retreats and walks to refresh perception. He contrasts busyness with beginner's mind and celebrates attention as a way to restore wonder.
25 snips
Feb 8, 2026 • 13min
Thanks For Being Here - Mary Hope's Letter to her Dad on his 90th Birthday
A heartfelt letter marks nine lessons learned across nine decades. Tales of elaborate pranks and backyard pyrotechnics meet steadfast friendship and quiet courage. Stories celebrate complementary partnerships, bold women, and curiosity sparked by travel. Generosity, showing up in hard times, and a rule to always have dessert round out the portrait.
Feb 6, 2026 • 22min
Go To on Curiosity in the Movies (Her)
They unpack Spike Jonze's Her as a case study in curiosity and nonjudgmental storytelling. They probe embodiment, consciousness, and whether physical presence matters for love. They discuss AI's rapid emotional growth, jealousy, and the pain of unlimited love. They reflect on human motives behind building AI and how art shapes public conversations about technology.
5 snips
Feb 3, 2026 • 1h 1min
Deep Dive with Gül Dölen on Curiosity
Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist who studies psychedelics, critical periods, and social behavior, shares wild lab stories and bold ideas. She describes MDMA experiments in octopuses, how windows for learning open and close, and ways curiosity, deprivation, or mystical practice can crack them back open. The conversation celebrates wonder and argues lasting change depends on what you learn while your mind is receptive.
7 snips
Feb 1, 2026 • 8min
Thanks For Being Here - A House Call from Doctor T
A woman faces sudden, stacked losses and navigates life on autopilot while caring for her children. A doctor shows up unannounced with comfort, gifts, and lived empathy that changes how grief is carried. The story highlights the power of presence and small, unexpected acts that sustain people through devastating times.
Jan 30, 2026 • 27min
Go to on Creativity in the Movies (La La Land)
They unpack La La Land's use of color as a storytelling language and the movie’s surreal opening that turns a traffic jam into magic. They probe how humiliation, persistence, and self-belief shape creative lives. They examine when love and ambition pull people apart and why the film’s bittersweet ending refuses easy comfort.
4 snips
Jan 27, 2026 • 58min
Deep Dive with George Saunders on Creativity
George Saunders, acclaimed novelist and professor known for Lincoln in the Bardo, shares his short reflections on craft and curiosity. They explore how precise language sharpens perception. Discussion touches on specificity reducing reactivity, the brain as a constant writer and reviser, constraints fueling creativity, and fiction as a dream of repair.
