The Kindness Chronicles

What can happen when two families reach across racial lines and choose friendship in a divided world? 

In this episode of The Kindness Chronicles, author Eric Christianson shares the remarkable true story of the Davids and Sims families—one white, one Black—whose friendship began in 1959 and grew through letters, visits, and a shared belief in the goodness of people. Told through the families’ actual correspondence, South Bend to Spring Valley: The Davids-Sims Story captures a powerful chapter of American history and reminds us that meaningful connections can challenge prejudice, bridge differences, and bring people together. 

For Eric, telling this story was also a deeply personal journey. He wrote the book to fulfill the final wish of his wife, Joyce, a member of the Davids family, who wanted their family’s extraordinary friendship with the Sims family to be remembered and shared. More than a story about the past, this is a reminder of what kindness, courage, and human connection can make possible—and how one generation’s actions can inspire the next. Join us for a conversation about friendship, faith, family, and the enduring power of choosing connection over division. 

About our guest: Eric Christianson is the author of South Bend to Spring Valley: The Davids-Sims Story, which preserves the history of two families whose friendship crossed racial boundaries during a pivotal period in American history.

 #TheKindnessChronicles #Kindness #Friendship #HumanConnection #DavidsSimsStory

What happens when you’ve spent decades building a successful career, only to find yourself asking, “What comes next?” 

In this episode of the Kindness Chronicles Podcast, we sit down with Michael Dempsey to explore the pursuit of happiness, the search for meaning, and the next chapter of life after retirement. Michael shares stories from his professional journey, including the early career moment when he realized he had made it.  But as retirement approaches, a new question emerges: How do we find purpose when the career that has defined so much of our lives comes to an end? 

Together, we explore the power of human connection, the importance of listening and mentorship, and how kindness can shape not only our careers but the lives of the people we encounter along the way. Because maybe happiness isn’t a destination we finally reach. Maybe it’s a lifelong pursuit—one that evolves as we do. 

Join us for a conversation about letting go of old definitions of success, embracing the unknown, and discovering what meaningful opportunities might lie ahead. 💛 

Subscribe to the Kindness Chronicles Podcast and join the Kindness Nation as we continue our mission to find humanity’s best, one story at a time. 

#KindnessChronicles #ThePursuitOfHappiness #Retirement #FindingPurpose #MeaningfulLiving #KindnessMatters

The school cafeteria can be a lonely place, where cliques and social status shape who feels welcome. 

In this episode of The Kindness Chronicles, we share stories that show how one small act of inclusion can stay with someone for years. Oliver Foit remembers choosing a classmate who was usually picked last for a basketball team. When she asked, “Are you sure?” he told her, “Absolutely.” Years later, she told him it was the only time anyone had picked her first. 

John shares a memory from his 40-year class reunion, where a former classmate thanked him for acknowledging the theater students when they were often separated from the athletes. 

We also share the story of Joe Mauer noticing Mike Hally, a blind student who wasn’t getting many lunch invitations, and asking him to join his table. That simple invitation grew into a daily friendship—and a reminder of how much it can mean to be welcomed. 

The conversation looks at how phones and social media can make bullying more public, while also helping stories of kindness reach more people. We close with a student club that introduced itself to classmates sitting alone and helped turn a divided cafeteria into a more welcoming community. Notice who’s sitting alone. Say hello. Invite them to join you. A simple gesture can make someone feel seen—and remembered. 

#KindnessChronicles #LunchroomKindness #TheRightThingToDo #JoeMauer #OliverFoit

What happens when you take the price off a restaurant menu and simply trust people?

When South Minneapolis restaurant owner and chef Dylan Alverson removed the prices from Modern Times Cafe, he thought he was responding to a crisis in his neighborhood. Instead, he launched an unexpected experiment in human nature.

Over the next seven months, more than 30,000 meals were served with no prices attached. People donated. Strangers showed up to help. Farmers brought food. Tradespeople fixed things for free. People from very different walks of life sat together at the same tables.

And then things got complicated.

Dylan discovered that removing the price tag didn't remove the challenges. It forced him and his staff to confront questions about dignity, fear, addiction, generosity, community, and what it really means to welcome people.

What started as a gamble became something much bigger: a real-world experiment in what happens when we choose trust over transactions.

In this episode of the Kindness Chronicles Podcast, Dylan shares what he learned—and why, after everything he witnessed, he still says:

“I have hope for humanity, strangely.”

🎙️ The Kindness Chronicles Podcast
Stories about kindness, character, community, and the people reminding us there’s still plenty of good in the world.

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#TheKindnessExperiment #KindnessChronicles #Kindness #Humanity #Community #ModernTimesCafe #DylanAlverson

This week on The Kindness Chronicles, the KCP Crew welcomes Robert “Briggsy” Briggs: second-grade teacher, coach, musician, husband, and father of three.

Robert shares how great teachers inspired him to enter the classroom, why second grade is such a special age, and how social-emotional learning helps kids build empathy, gratitude, and confidence.

He also talks about balancing family, teaching, coaching, and a busy summer of live music—and how his loop pedal turns a solo performance into a full-band experience.

Plus, Briggsy performs two original songs: “Going Strong,” a funny and heartfelt tribute to life with three young children, and “Hawaiian Shirt,” a moving remembrance of a teacher who made a lasting difference.

It’s an episode about connection, creativity, kindness, and the people who shape us.

Note: This episode includes a candid discussion of grief and cancer.

Listen, share, and join Kindness Nation for another oxytocin update from The Kindness Chronicles.

What if the most extraordinary thing about a life is how ordinary it was?

In this episode of the Kindness Chronicles, longtime Mahtomedi friend and author Bob Pechman joins us to talk about Hearts of Hickory—the story of his parents, Clarence and Barb, and the extraordinary legacy they built through ordinary acts of love.

Raising six children, they didn’t leave behind a life of fame or fortune. They left something far more meaningful: a legacy of faith, forgiveness, service, humor and showing up for the people they loved.

Bob shares the stories and family memories behind his book, the journals that inspired it, and the moment he realized that many of his own beliefs about life had been quietly passed down through the way his mother lived.

We also explore why “If everybody was perfect, we wouldn’t need kindness” might be one of the best definitions of kindness we’ve ever heard.

Funny, nostalgic and heartfelt, this is a conversation about family, friendship, faith, imperfection—and the extraordinary power of ordinary love.

You don’t have to live an extraordinary life to leave something extraordinary behind.

What if the movies we love are trying to tell us something about ourselves? 

Kevin Harris has spent the last decade exploring that question through his Meaning on the Screen YouTube channel, taking a deeper look at the stories, symbols, and themes hiding beneath the surface of the movies we love. In this episode of The Kindness Chronicles, Kevin joins us for a conversation about the movies that shaped him, the power of storytelling, and why films can sometimes help us understand ourselves a little better. 

From Field of Dreams and E.T. to Cast Away and even Dumb and Dumber, we explore the deeper meaning behind some familiar stories—and discover how movies can become mirrors for our own lives, relationships, fears, and hopes. Kevin also shares the fascinating story behind his Haunted House Exit Plan, an approach to confronting the fears and unresolved experiences that can keep us stuck. And then there's the mysterious book. 📖 Maybe the greatest stories aren't just the ones that entertain us. Maybe they're the ones that change us. 

🔗 Meaning on the Screen: https://www.youtube.com/@MeaningontheScreen 

🔗 Haunted House Exit Plan: https://tinyurl.com/hhexitplan

What if lowering your expectations could actually make you happier? 

Todd Smith has taken a pretty unconventional path. From forming the band Johnny Clueless with Steve Brown in the early ’90s, to stand-up comedy, becoming a licensed clinical therapist, and now sharing daily videos that blend humor, music and life lessons, Todd has spent a lifetime finding different ways to connect with people. 

In this episode of the Kindness Chronicles, Todd joins us from Austin, Texas, to talk about that journey—and what he’s learned along the way about happiness, kindness and being a little easier on ourselves. We dig into why expectations can make us chronically disappointed, the pressure we put on ourselves and our kids, the importance of letting go of perfectionism, comparison, fear and other emotional baggage, and why finding a creative outlet doesn’t require you to be Picasso—or even particularly good at it. Todd also shares the story behind his daily social media experiment, how his wife encouraged him to pursue a career in therapy, and how music has unexpectedly become an important part of his life again. 

And, of course, there’s plenty of nostalgia and laughs as Todd and Steve revisit their Johnny Clueless days—including some vintage footage from the band’s early years. Sometimes kindness starts with how we treat ourselves. And sometimes the best thing we can do is simply let go. 

📺 🎧 Join the Kindness Nation by subscribing on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

When an A/C emergency collides with podcast night, you invite the technician to pull up a chair. In this episode of The Kindness Chronicles, the crew meets Mitchell—the HVAC tech who arrived to rescue John’s aging air conditioner and unexpectedly became the perfect guest. 

What starts as a house call quickly becomes a conversation about working through brutal Minnesota heat, climbing into scorching attics, making late-night service calls, and helping stressed-out families get comfortable again. 

Mitchell shares what it’s like to be the person everyone is counting on when the temperature climbs, including why a home holding at 74 degrees during extreme heat may actually be doing just fine, the importance of changing a furnace filter, and how he handles frustrated customers with a simple philosophy: kill ’em with kindness. 

The night also delivers a true small-world moment when Mitchell reveals a surprising connection to Kevin Gorg’s family. Add in hockey talk with KG, golf, movie butter, and plenty of laughs, and you have an episode that reminds us how meaningful—and unexpected—human connection can be. 

It’s a funny, warm conversation about patience, gratitude, great customers, and why a little kindness goes a long way—especially when the A/C is out. 

Subscribe to The Kindness Chronicles for more stories that make the world a little kinder.