Blue Sky
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.
Blayne Smith and Brandon Young are two US Army combat veterans who came together in civilian life to start their own company. They’ve now published a new book, co-authors of Perseverance > Endurance: Lead with Resilience. Grow Through Adversity. Win Together., in which they describe invaluable le
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206065This episode explores the work of Echoing Green, an international non-profit that invests in social entrepreneurs and their dreams and ideas. An accomplished leader and executive herself, Cheryl Dorsey explains how she first came to the organization and the great work they continue to do under her leadership.
Chapters:
02:22 Meet Cheryl Dorsey
Cheryl
In this very special edition of “the mini podcast with major optimism,” host Bill Burke confesses to falling off the optimism bandwagon. Yes, this can even happen to the founder of The Optimism Institute! He describes a doom-scrolling session that left him feeling lousy and explains how – with advice we can all use – he pulled himself up and out of his predicament.
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206075David McCullough got the idea for The American Exchange Project (AEP) after a cross-country trip showed him how diverse and accepting were the people he met. Today, AEP creates opportunities for recent high school graduates to experience life in a different part of the US, building bridges of understanding and creating lifelong friendships. It’s McCullough’s hope that these trips will someday be a
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206080While studying acting in college, Erica Halverson decided that while she loved the theater, being on stage would not be for her. Instead, she moved into different areas and now is teaching arts education at the University of Wisconsin. She also hosts a terrific podcast, "Arts Educators Save the World,” on which artists are joined by teachers and mentors to reflect on the transformative impact that thes
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206085When Earl B. Hunter’s son was seven years old, he took him on three-month, multi-state camping. It was a positive, life-changing experience for them both. But Earl was struck by the fact that over the entire trip, they saw just one other black family. As someone who was working in sales in the outdoor industry, Earl saw an opportunity and went on to found the for-profit company, Black Folks Camp Too. <
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206090On this month’s installment of “A Bit of Blue Sky,” and in honor of National Optimism Month, host Bill Burke reflects on lessons learned from two years of hosting the Blue Sky podcast.
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206095Sal Khan is one of the great innovators in education and in this Blue Sky episode, he discusses his book, Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing). He and his colleagues at Khan Academy are well on their way to creating powerful AI teaching assistant called
/episode/index/show/013f3aca-0bc6-43a4-b9b5-fedfec2d5acb/id/36206100Leslie and Richard Strauss are a husband-and-wife team who oversee Spirit Series, an innovative educational program in which young students perform plays about timeless stories. Through Spirit Series’ immersive and rigorous process, participants gain confidence in themselves and improve their teamwork, higher order thinking and focus in the classroom. The program has served more than 60,000 students and research shows that it has improved their cognitive and social/emotional skills and even lowered
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