“Can We Talk?”: Teaching High Schoolers the Art of Civil Dialogue

Educators 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 mindset and skills needed for constructive dialogue across political, social, and cultural divides. Through full-day retreats held in schools across Maine (and now New Hampshire), students learn to move past their first instinct to react and their second instinct to rationalize, and instead reach what one student memorably called her “third thought”-genuine understanding… More

Return on Goodwill: Sam Demma on Why Doing Good Comes Back to You

Sam 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 injuries and a torn labrum ended that dream in his final year of high school. What came next is the subject of this conversation: how Demma rebuilt his sense of purpose, first through small volunteer garbage cleanups with a friend, then through public speaking, and eventually through writing… More

The Comedian's Mindset: Mike Goodwin on Laughter, Optimism, and Resilience, a Special Encore Presentation

Comedian, 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 volatile childhood in Camden, South Carolina sparked his lifelong instinct to use humor to ease tension - a skill that carried him through four years in the U.S. Army, a career in higher education and college counseling, and eventually onto stages with America's Got Talent, DryBar Comedy, Lifetime, BET, and Amazon Prime… More

Look for the Glimmers, a Special Encore Presentation

In this Blue Sky conversation, host Bill Burke sits down with Melissa Connelly, CEO of One Goal, a national organization working to ensure every young person can pursue education beyond high school. Melissa's path to this work started long before her career in education. Raised by a single mother on the south and southwest sides of Chicago, she missed more than 60 days of school in eighth grade and landed in her high school's truancy program, a labeling experience that nearly derailed her future… More