Second City Works presents "Getting to Yes, And"

Kelly speaks to Adam Morgan, Director of Brand Marketing at Twilio, where he leads global brand strategy for one of the world’s most influential developer-first technology companies. His work focuses on making complex infrastructure brands culturally relevant by blending creativity, clarity, and storytelling at scale. He is the author of “Sorry Spock, Emotions Drive Business.” 

“To me, a safe idea was ineffective.” 

“A creative idea is basically an emotional idea.” 

“The idea that logic is king is saturated into western culture.” 

Kelly sits down with Dr. Jeremy Levin, Executive Chairman and founder of Ovid Therapeutics, a public company focused on medicines for epilepsies and seizure-related brain disorders. He has a fantastic new book titled “Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust.” 

“Misinformation spreads faster than corrections.” 

“Talented people learn that candor carries risk.” 

“Medicines do not exist in spreadsheets.” 

Kelly has a fascinating conversation with King’s College London professor Fay Bound-Alberti about her compelling new book, “The Face: A Cultural History.”

“The idea that a commoner would have their image captured for posterity was unthinkable.” 

“The average person today takes 450 selfies a year.” 

“Most people in the past didn’t spend as much time looking at themselves or worrying about their faces as we do.” 

Kelly connects with Amy Kurtz, a patient advocate, health coach, and author of the trailblazing book “Kicking Sick: Your Go-To Guide for Thriving with Chronic Health Conditions.” Amy has been featured on Good Morning America, Oprah Daily, The Boston Globe, Fox and New York Magazine. She has a new book, “But You Look Fine: Trapped in the Hell Between Sick and Well and How to Break Free.”

Kelly meets Daryl Davis, a noted musician who is even more widely known for his extraordinary journey seeking out conversations with members of the Ku Klux Klan – a feat made more astonishing when you learn that Daryl is a Black man. In this conversation, we learn why Daryl has made this work his life pursuit.

“Keep in mind that ignorance breeds fear.”

“Spend more time listening to the other person.”

“Keep your emotions of anger out of the conversation.”

Kelly welcomes Marcus Buckingham back to the podcast. For over 25 years, Marcus has been the world’s leading researcher on strengths, engagement, and human performance. He began his career at Gallup and was the co-creator, with Donald O. Clifton, of StrengthsFinder. He is a bestselling author with a brand-new book: “Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business.” 

“There is no such thing as loveless excellence.”

“You cannot love someone you don’t trust.”

“Clarity is power.” 

Nearly ten years ago, Kelly got connected with Stephanie Weaver, a speaking coach assigned to him for a TEDx-style talk in Chicago. Now, Stephanie has written a book, “Bitter, Sweet: How to Heal Yourself When Your Family is Broken.” Warning: this episode contains discussion of family sexual abuse. Please listen with care.

“I help people find their unique story.”

“In 2003, no one was using the term ‘invisible illness.'”

“Survivors are rarely believed.”

Kelly goes across the pond to speak to educator Daisy Christodoulou, whose provocative books on education take aim at a lack of teacher autonomy, fact-based curricula, and the misuse of technology in the classroom.

“You cannot unscramble knowledge and skills.”

“Modern technology can’t do the memorizing for us.”

“Good readers are those who tend to know a little bit about a lot.”

Acclaimed journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis joins Kelly to talk about his new book “You’ve Changed: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation.”

“Any identity is a kind of performance.”

“Humans are broken meaning-making machines.” 

“There’s no freedom without the perception of change.” 

Kelly welcomes Leidy Klotz back to the podcast, where they last talked about his book, “Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less.” He has a new book, “In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive.”

“Our inner and outer worlds are inseparable.”

“Many books tell us how to live our lives. This one takes on where.”

“Building together isn’t just part of culture; it may well have been the genesis.”