Kelly talks to Mary Murphy, professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University and founding director of the Summer Institute on Diversity at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Her new book is called “Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams and…

Kelly connects with Stanford professor of psychiatry, Elias Aboujaoude, to talk about his provocative new book, “A Leader’s Destiny: Why Psychology, Personality, and Character Make All the Difference.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4864449/Elias_Aboujaoude_2024-05-22-021349.64kmono.mp3 “Coaches may be ‘treating’ people who should be receiving me…

Please enjoy this bonus podcast as Kelly interviews opera legend Renee Fleming live for the Chicago Humanities Festival as they discuss her new book “Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4864443/Renee_Fleming_2024-05-22-013643.64kmono.mp3 “We humans likely sang before we spoke.” “I believe t…

Kelly welcomes the prolific author Cass Sunstein back to the show to talk about his new book, “How to Become Famous: Lost Einsteins, Forgetting Superstars and How The Beatles Came to Be.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4863785/Cass_Sunstein_2024-05-21-002725.64kmono.mp3 “Success and failure are exceedingly hard to predict.” “Excessive familiarity…

Kelly has a compelling conversation with Jerry Colonna, the Co-founder of Flatiron Partners, one of the most successful, early-stage investment programs; former partner with J.P. Morgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase. Jerry is the author of two books: REBOOT: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up and his latest book – w…

Kelly speaks to journalist Tricia Romano who has published a vast oral history of the Village Voice newspaper called “The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of The Village Voice, the Radical Paper that Changed American Culture.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4847616/Tricia_Romano_2024-05-07-145116.64kmono.mp3 “The paper was called …

Want a productivity hack that will change your life? Kelly connects with Marc Zao-Sanders, the co-founder and CEO of filtered.com to discuss his new book “Timeboxing: The Power of Doing One Thing at a Time.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4756680/Marc-Zao_Sanders_2024-04-30-054620.64kmono.mp3 “Timeboxing is the flexible friend of any and all othe…

Is your spouse a tightwad or a spendthrift? Kelly talks to Scott Rick, marketing professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, about his new book “Tightwads and Spendthrifts: Navigating the Money Minefield in Real Relationships.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4679400/Scott_Rick_2024-04-23-004500.64kmono.mp3 “Too much dissimi…

Kelly connects with best-selling author Emily P. Freeman to talk about her new book, “How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4640278/Emily_P_Freeman__2024-04-16-163618.64kmono.mp3 “We all walk through exits and endings throughout our lives.” “The mistake we make is to assume…

Kelly sits down at The Second City with Harvard business professor Michael Norton to discuss his new book “The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4604011/Michael_Norton_2024-04-09-032311.64kmono.mp3 “A ritual is not a habit.” “Taken to the extreme, pre-performance…

Kelly talks to Elaine Lin Hering, a former managing partner of Triad Consulting Group and a lecturer at Harvard Law School, specializing in dispute resolution, mediation, and negotiation. Her new book is called “Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4587652/Elaine_Lin_Herin…

Kelly connects with Keith Boykin, a New York Times bestselling author, TV and Film producer, and former CNN political commentator. Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition and taught at Columbia University. He is the author of seven books and his most recent is called “Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race…

Kelly goes deep with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel de Vise about his new book, “The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4506516/Daniel_de_Vise_2024-03-19-004316.64kmono.mp3 “Belushi was a violent teddy bear, a cuddly monster, lovable and vulnera…

Kelly talks to tech entrepreneur Tobias Dengel about his new book “Sound of the Future: The Coming Age of Voice Technology.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4504334/Tobias_Dengel_2024-03-12-051934.64kmono.mp3 “Speed is the ultimate weapon in business.” “You cannot create the world’s best products if everyone in the room looks the same.” “Your firs…

Kelly welcomes Cal Newport back to the podcast. Cal is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. He is the author of many books, including “Deep Work.” His latest book is called “Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.” https://serve.castf…

Kelly connects with Malissa Clark, an associate professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of Georgia. Her new book is called “Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture is Bad for Business – and How to Fix it.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4499933/MALISSA_CLARK_2024-02-27-064533.64kmono.mp3 “Today, almost half of…

Kelly has an insightful conversation with sociologist Corey Keyes about languishing, flourishing, and mental health. His new book is “Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4497243/Corey_Keyes_2024-02-19-015743.64kmono.mp3 “Games are a microcosm of adulthood.” “We humans often get foole…

Kelly speaks to Alison Taylor, a clinical professor at NYU Stern School of Business and the Executive Director of Ethical Systems, a research collaboration of prominent business school professors working on ethical culture founded by Jonathon Haidt. They discuss her new book, “Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World.…

Kelly bridges the world of Navy Seals training and Second City improv training with performance psychologist and retired US Navy commander Eric Potterat and executive communication expert Alan Eagle. They’ve co-written a new book: “Learned Excellence: Mental Disciplines for Leading and Winning from the World’s Top Performers.” https://serve.castfir…

Kelly explores The Second City’s landmark college program Comedy Studies with its Director, Anne Libera. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4486120/Anne_Libera_2024-02-01-175920.64kmono.mp3 “We learn from failing as opposed to the yes/no or risk/failure binary.” “With comedy, you have to be culturally competent, you have to be aware, you have to be o…

Kelly welcomes the great Bob Sutton back to the podcast. Professor Emeritus at Stanford, Bob has a new book out called “The Friction Project” which he co-wrote with Huggy Rao. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4485165/Bob_Sutton_2024-01-30-040305.64kmono.mp3 “Piles of studies show, to do creative work right, teams need to slow down, struggle, and de…

Kelly talks to W. Russell Neuman, a specialist in new media and digital education at New York University – whose career has also taken him to MIT and the White House – to discuss his new book “Evolutionary Intelligence: How Technology Will Make Us Smarter.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4482629/W_Russell_Neuman_2024-01-23-164529.64kmono.mp3 “We …

Kelly takes a look at leadership through the lens of history with Moshik Temkin, a professor of history and leadership at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University and a faculty affiliate at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His new book is titled, “Warriors, Rebels & Saints: The Art of Leadership from Machiave…

Kelly connects with psychologist and professor Dr. Mariel Buque to discuss her new book “Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4477393/Dr_Mariel_Buque__2024-01-09-202633.64kmono.mp3 “No cycle breaker will ever feel fully ready to break the cycle.” “The higher self is not a perfectly healed s…

Kelly connects with Rajiv Shah, the President of the Rockefeller Foundation and a former government official who oversaw USAID from 2010 to 2015. His new book is called “Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4474603/4474603_2023-12-29-180103.64kmono.mp3 “For centuries, two factors determined an individua…

Kelly talks to Vulture Senior Editor Jesse David Fox who also hosts the “Good One” podcast about his new book, “Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture – And the Magic That Makes it Work.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4473090/4473090_2023-12-22-184530.64kmono.mp3 “Comedy only exists when both the comedian and audience are working together to …

Kelly chats with author Rob Kozlowski about a movie franchise that is dear to both of them and the subject of Rob’s latest book: “Becoming Nick and Nora: The Thin Man and the Films of William Powell and Myrna Loy.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4470720/Rob_Kozlowski_2023-12-15-052020.64kmono.mp3 “The characters of Nick and Nora Charles remain th…

Kelly welcomes Brad Stulberg back to the podcast, the well-being expert is on the faculty of the University of Michigan and his new book is called “Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing – Including You.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4469197/Brad_Stulberg_2023-12-11-030437.64kmono.mp3 “Our biggest personal and collective cha…

Kelly has a fun conversation with longtime Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus about her experiences at the legendary comedy show as well as her current work co-leading the platform and networking community “Woman Work F’ing Hard.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4467182/LINDSAY_SHOOKUS_2023-12-04-173722.64kmono.mp3 “Expecting perfection …

Kelly reminisces with Chicago-bred comedian and author Mike Bridenstine whose new book is called “The Perfect Amount of Wrong: The Rise of Alt Comedy on Chicago’s North Side.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4463789/mike_bridenstine_2023-11-28-024529.64kmono.mp3 “Chicago was an improv town and everybody knew it.” “None of it was glamorous. None of…

Kelly talks to best-selling author Morgan Housel whose book “The Psychology of Money” sold over 3 million copies. His new book, “Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes,” is a fascinating look at history’s most powerful lessons. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4460222/Morgan_Housel_2023-11-16-200922.64kmono.mp3 “Asking what the biggest risks a…

Kelly sits down with high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais to talk about his new book “The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What People Think of You.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4453405/michele_lamont_2023-11-07-154805.64kmono.mp3 “The sooner you fundamentally change your relationship with other people’s opinions, the sooner…

Kelly has a timely conversation with Harvard University professor Michele Lamont to discuss her new book “Seeing Others: How Recognition Works and How it Can Heal a Divided World.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4453405/michele_lamont_2023-11-07-154805.64kmono.mp3 “Identity is and has always been a basis for hateful attacks.” “Unlike optimism, ho…

Kelly spends time with Catalina Daniels and James Sherman, two entrepreneurs who met at Harvard Business School and have written a new book: “Smart Startups: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4449435/Catalina_Daniels_James_Sherman_2023-10-25-185535.64kmono.mp3 “Knowing you are meant to be an entrepreneur is a …

Kelly talks to Jill Stoddard, the founder and director of The Center for Stress and Anxiety Management, to discuss her new book “Imposter No More: Overcome Self-Doubt and Imposterism to Cultivate a Successful Career.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4448859/Jillstoddard_2023-10-24-142359.64kmono.mp3 “If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t worry about be…

Kelly welcomes back Suneel Gupta to the podcast to talk about his new book “Everyday Dharma: 8 Essential Practices for Finding Success and Joy in What You Do.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4446255/suneel_gupta_2023-10-16-184755.64kmono.mp3 “For too long, we have fixated on the future of work and ignored the future of worth.” “It’s easy to recog…

Kelly interviews Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key live at the Chicago Humanities Festival to discuss their new book “The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey Through the Art and Craft of Humor.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4445744/Keegan-Michael_Key_and_Elle_Key_2023-10-13-232744.64kmono.mp3 “There is something about comedy that is primal.” “Jus…

Kelly connects with Liz Tran, the founder of Reset – an executive coaching and wellness company – to talk about her new book “The Karma of Success: Spiritual Strategies to Free Your Inner Genius.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4444059/Liz_Tran_-_The_Karma_of_Success__2023-10-10-025059.64kmono.mp3 “Our work selves and our home selves are not sepa…

Kelly welcomes Harvard professor Frances Frei back to the podcast along with leadership coach Anne Morriss to talk about their new book: “Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4441752/Frances_Frei_and_Anne_Morriss_2023-10-03-005452.64kmono.mp3 “The fastest way to mess up cha…

Kelly talks to Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross about the science behind art. The pair have written the book “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transforms Us.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4292549/Susan_Magsamen_Ivy_Ross_2023-09-26-132249.64kmono.mp3 “We now have scientific proof that the arts are essential to our very survival.” “Your brain loves a g…

Kelly connects with UCLA professor Hal Hershfield to talk about his new book “Your Future Self: How To Make Tomorrow Better Today.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4160087/Kelly_connects_with_UCLA_professor_Hal_Hershfield_to_talk_about_his_new_book_Your_Future_Self_How_To_Make_Tomorrow_Better_Today__2023-09-19-054427.64kmono.mp3 “Your fate is not …

Kelly welcomes back renowned Harvard professor Amy Edmondson to the podcast to discuss her new book “The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4157826/Amy_Edmondson_-_The_Right_Kind_of_Wrong__2023-09-12-024826.64kmono.mp3 “Most of us fail to learn the valuable lessons failures can offer.” “Everyone fail…

Kelly sits down with playwright and author Jeffrey Sweet to discuss the new edition of his legendary book “Something Wonderful Right Away,” an oral history of The Second City. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4154085/Jeffrey_Sweet_-_Something_Wonderful_Right_Away__2023-08-29-174825.64kmono.mp3 Second City Works presents "Getting to Yes, And" Recent…

Kelly reconnects with Second City alum Mike Lukas to talk about his new book, “Finding Your Funny Muscle: How to Create Laughs Like a Pro.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4153849/Mike_Lukas_-_Finding_Your_Funny_Muscle__2023-08-29-003049.64kmono.mp3 “A good laugh can feel better than sex on drugs in a rock and roll hot tub.” “Bottom line, humor is…

Kelly speaks to journalist Jason Del Rey to discuss his new book, “Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart and the Battle For Our Wallets.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4151146/jason_del_rey_2023-08-22-045046.64kmono.mp3 “You can either choose to disrupt yourself or be caught flatfooted when disruption chooses you.” “This might not have been move fas…

Kelly speaks with Christian Madsbjerg, co-founder of the consulting firm ReD Associates and professor of applied humanities at the New School in New York City. He has a new book called “Look: How to Pay Attention in a Distracted World.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4148950/_Christian_Madsbjerg_-_Look__2023-08-15-021850.64kmono.mp3 “Creativity i…

Kelly steps out of “Yes, And” mode to talk to University of Houston professor Vanessa Patrick about her new book “The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No That Puts You in Charge of Your life.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4146766/Vanessa_Patrick_-_The_Power_of_Saying_No__2023-08-08-132306.64kmono.mp3 “There is little upside to …

Kelly speaks with legendary Washington Post sportswriter Sally Jenkins about her new book, “The Right Call: What Sports Teach us About the Art of Decision Making.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4146483/Sally_Jenkins_2023-08-07-194023.64kmono.mp3 “No one succeeds alone, not even a LeBron James.” “The brain robs your body of the energy to think.” …

Kelly connects across the pond with Neil Mullarkey, who began his comedy career in a duo with Mike Myers, improvised with London’s legendary Comedy Store Players, and applied his knowledge of improvisation to the world of business management training. He has a new book, “In the Moment: Build Your Confidence, Communication and Creativity at Work.” Y…

Kelly has a fascinating conversation with scholars Morten Christiansen and Nick Chater to talk about their new book, “The Language Game: How Improvisation Created Language and Changed the World.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/4140137/Morten_Christiansen_and_Nick_Chater_-_The_Language_Game__2023-07-18-043837.64kmono.mp3 “Actual language is always…