Blue Sky

Updated: 05 Mar 2025 • 102 episodes
theoptimisminstitute.com

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.

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On 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. 

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Sal 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 Khanmigo.  At a time

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Leslie 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 th

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Business school professor and author Amy Edmondson shares her views on how we can make our workplace more productive, enriching, and positive for everyone.  By creating an environment with “psychological safety,” Amy says that organizations allow people to do their best work by not fearing to make the “right kinds” of

48 min
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On this installment of “A Bit of Blue Sky,” host Bill Burke describes five books he recommends that will help listeners be more optimistic (and hopefully, fulfill their New Year’s resolution to do so)!    Blue Sky Bookshelf: Link    Chapters:   00:00 Welcome to A Bit of Blue Sky  Host Bill Burke introduces the podcast

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Neal Foard is an accomplished marketing expert and storyteller. On this episode, Neal describes why, after helping build household name global brands like Budweiser, Lexus, and Sony, he has turned his attention to telling and teaching stories.  He’s inspired by what he describes as the kindness of everyday people and s

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