Kelly Corrigan Wonders

Kelly shares a beautiful eulogy from listener Jody Antypas which she wrote for her Greek immigrant father George—a man who came to America with one suitcase and built a life from scratch. From his wartime childhood to becoming "Pappou" the pancake-making, Monopoly-playing, sand castle-building grandfather, George's story will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. It's a reminder of why immigrants have always been such a gift to this country, and why the small moments with the people we love matter most. (Previously aired)

Somewhere between what we're taught and what we actually believe, there's a gap—and someone is always ready to fill it. Kelly sits down again with America's government teacher, Sharon McMahon, recorded live on stage at the Aspen Ideas Festival, to trace the invisible architecture of how a country teaches itself what's true. They talk about the seduction of confidence and the strange new authority of the comment section, circling a bigger question: whether the most dangerous thing in a democracy is ignorance, or charisma without accountability. It's a conversation about the discomfort required to actually think for yourself, and what happens to a nation when no one can agree on the story it's telling.
Check out Sharon's book which Kelly mentioned: The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what a new series on For the Love with Jen Hatmaker is all about, the Sacred Yes. It's choosing delight, rest, and pleasure on purpose because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else.
In this episode, Jen sits down with writer, poet, and community-builder Jess Janz to talk about the social experiment that grew into the phenomenon known as Dinner With Strangers. What began as a gathering around a table with a few curious questions has now welcomed more than a thousand people into conversations that move past small talk and into the territory we all secretly long for: belonging.
Come find your Sacred Yes with Jen. Follow and listen to For the Love with Jen Hatmaker wherever you get your podcasts.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks set out to profile a government bureaucrat and found something closer to fiction: Jarod Koopman, a fit, tattooed IRS agent who teaches jiu-jitsu three mornings a week, built his own house (including a wine cellar because he also happens to be a certified sommelier), and has personally helped return billions of dollars to American taxpayers while freeing children from exploitation and dismantling criminal empires hiding behind cryptocurrency. Kelly and Geraldine talk about why Jarod turned down the kind of salary the private sector would gladly pay him, and what it costs a country when talented, mission-driven people walk away from public service. This fifth and final episode of our Unsung series is a conversation about what fairness in America actually requires to survive—and why we should be paying much closer attention to the people making sure it does.

This week, a quiet goodbye. Kelly remembers Glen Hansard—musician, actor, and the beating heart of the lovely independent film Once—who died this week at 56. It's a short reflection on presence, authenticity and making art against the odds. Raise a glass.