Kelly sits down with old friend Mike Thomas to talk about “Carson the Magnificent,” a book about the iconic talk show host Johnny Carson. The legendary Bill Zehme began the book but never finished it. Years after Bill’s death, Mike was brought on board to complete the book. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/7020407/mike_thomas_2024-11-04-153007.64km…

Dan and Callum continue to voyage through the endless black void of the international break by bringing you 'The Regardless XI' for Blues and Villa. The rules are simple: pick the best Blues or Villa XI, regardless of how good those players actually were in the Second City, but rather by taking their whole career in to account. For example, does Dw…

Kelly talks with Lindsey Cormack, a tenured professor of Political Science at Stevens Institute of Technology about her latest book “How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It).” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/7020387/Lindsey_Cormack_2024-11-04-154927.64kmono.mp3 “Politics doesn’t have to feel as dire as it sometimes does.” “The syst…

Kelly connects with journalist Sarah Jaffe who wrote the best seller “Work Won’t Love You Back.” They talk about her new book “From The Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/7008702/Sarah_Jaffe_2024-10-28-162602.64kmono.mp3 “In accepting loss we make possible the future.” “We carry our ghosts with us ever…

Kelly talks to business leader, author and podcast host Mo Bunnell about his new book, “Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6999921/Mo_Bunnel__2024-10-22-002021.64kmono.mp3 “It’s amazing how creative we can be to avoid acting.” “Showing someone attention is one of the most …

Kelly connects with Michael Morris of Columbia University to talk about his timely book “Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6984190/Michael_Morris_2024-10-14-161430.64kmono.mp3 “Tribal living is what made us truly human.” “Our species became wiser thanks to our tribes.” “K…

After an unexpected break, The Second City Podcast returns to break through the black void that is the international break. Dan and Callum reflect on a monumental few weeks for both sides of the Second City, including Villa's monumental Champions League win against Bayern Munich, and Blues' continued dominance of League One. The duo also look at th…

Kelly connects with Karen Brooks Hopkins, the former president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), to discuss her book “BAM…And Then It Hit Me” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6847911/Karen_Brooks_Hopkins_2024-10-08-042811.64kmono.mp3 “In an odd way, there is a kind of nobility in fundraising.” “The first thing you need to know about fundraisi…

Kelly welcomes Dr. Kathleen Smith back to the podcast. Dr. Smith is a licensed therapist and associate faculty member of the Bowen Center for Study of the Family. She is the author of “Everything Isn’t Terrible.” Her new book is called “True to You: A Therapist’s Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself.” https://serve.castfire.com/au…

Kelly talks to former FBI Hostage Negotiator Chip Massey about his new book “Convince Me: High-Stakes Negotiation Tactics to Get Results in Any Business Situation.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6468167/Chip_Massey_2024-09-19-035007.64kmono.mp3 “You may have truth on your side, but persuasion does not hinge on what is true.” “Business is all abo…

Kelly connects with Yumi Kendall, Assistant Principal cellist for the Philadelphia Orchestra to talk about the power of the arts and her experiences as a student in the Waldorf educational system. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6431947/Yumi_Kendall_2024-09-16-000647.64kmono.mp3 “I didn’t decide until the day after my SATs, because all of my frien…

Kelly talks to Sandra Steinbrecher, a Chicago documentary photographer whose new book captures the transformation of the Morton Salt factory into The Salt Shed, a premier music venue in Chicago. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6431989/Sandra_Steinbrecher_2024-09-16-000229.64kmono.mp3 “We protect our past so we are connected to what came before us …

Callum and Dan attempt to fill the remaining days of the international break by discussing their best loan signing XIs for Aston Villa and Birmingham City from over the years. On top of their trip down memory lane, they discuss Blues' simultaneous draw and loss to Walsall in the EFL Trophy, Villa's new third kit and Champions League ticket prices, …

Kelly meets up with writer, teacher and philanthropist Randy Fertel to talk about this new book “Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/6373791/Randy_Fertel_2024-09-09-234831.64kmono.mp3 “Improv seeks to widen our mental bubble.” “Improvisation is the discourse of paradigm shifts.” “Innovation a…

Dan reacts to an overwhelming week at Blues, involving a last-gasp winner in front of the Tilton against Wigan and, of course, the club obliterating the League One transfer record. Callum looks back on Villa's away victory over Leicester and gives his take on the Champions League draw, before the duo take a look at goings-on elsewhere in the West M…

Live from The Second City in collaboration with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Kelly interviews Alison Fragale, the Mary Farley Ames Lee Distinguished Scholar of Organizational Behavior at the Kenen-Flagler Business School at the University of North Caroline Chapel Hill. She has an incredible new book, it’s called “Likeable Badass: How Women …

Kelly talks Yes, And with Dr. Frederik Pferdt, Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist. He founded Google’s Innovation Lab, where he trained tens of thousands of Googlers to develop cutting-edge ideas and taught groundbreaking classes on innovation and creativity at Stanford University for more than a decade. His new book is called “What’s Next …

Dan and Callum are joined by special guest, friend of the pod and Arsenal fan Will, as the duo take the SCP on the road and talk in-person from Will's abode in Essex, not much more than a stone's throw from Leyton Orient. The trio discuss Blues' win at Brisbane Road, Villa's defeat to The Gunners, and the rest of the action across the West Midlands…

Dan and Callum return to react to two successful away days for Birmingham's football clubs, as Blues truly get the Chris Davies era running and Villa start 24/25 with a Premier League victory. The duo also react to the latest transfer rumours, look across at the fortunes of West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Walsall, and the local non-league teams this w…

Kelly sits down with Robert Wolcott, adjunct professor of innovation at the Booth School of Business and adjunct professor of executive education at the Kellogg School of Management and Kaihan Krippendorff CEO of Outthinker Networks to talk about their new book: “Proximity: How Coming Breakthroughs in Just-in-Time Transform Business, Society and Da…

The Second City Pod finally returns for the 2024/25 season, covering all things football-related in and around Birmingham. Callum previews Villa's upcoming season as they prepare for Champions League football, whilst Dan reacts to Blues' first steps back in the third tier for the first time in 30 years. The duo also preview West Brom, Wolves and Co…

Kelly talks to Emmy award-winning former broadcaster Jessica Chen who is now the CEO of Soulcast Media and the author of “Smart Not Loud: How To Get Noticed At Work For All The Right Reasons.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5678642/Jessica_Chen_2024-08-13-030642.64kmono.mp3 “Growing up, I was never taught the importance of making myself visible.”…

Kelly catches up with Stephanie Harrison, former leaning executive with Thrive. Her company, The New Happy, has revolutionized the way that people understand and pursue happiness. Her new book is called “New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That’s Got It Wrong.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5551028/Stephanie_Harrison_2024-08-06-032028.…

Kelly explores the history of play and games with Kelly Clancy, a neuroscientist and physicist who has held research positions at MIT, University of California – Berkley, University College London and the AI company DeepMind. She has a new book, it’s called “Playing with Reality: How Games Have Shaped Our World.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/54…

Kelly connects with Matt Beane, University of California professor, to discuss his new book: “The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5362825/Matt_Beane_2024-07-23-032825.64kmono.mp3 “If it’s going to flourish, the future of skill needs the very technologies we’re concerned abou…

Kelly welcomes Jo Boaler back to the podcast. Jo is the Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education at Stanford University. She is the author of nineteen books and numerous research articles. Her latest book is called “Math-Ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5305657/Jo_Boaler_2024-07-16-…

Kelly connects with Jessica Calarco, a Sociologist and Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. to discuss her latest book “Holding it Together: How Women Became America’s Social Safety Net. “ https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5280252/Jessica_Calarco_2024-07-08-225452.64kmono.mp3 “Care flows through networks, and we all exist in n…

Kelly talks to Harvard Professor Todd Rogers about his book “Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World” that he co-wrote with Jessica Lasky-Fink. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5272093/TODD_ROGERS_2024-07-02-151633.64kmono.mp3 “Modern writers need extra help breaking through all the distractions.” “Use fewer words.”…

Kelly welcomes back Yale professor Emma Seppala to the podcast to discuss her new book: “Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty and Chaos.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5232335/Emma_Seppala_2024-06-24-011635.64kmono.mp3 “Regardless of race, nationality, religion, gender, or social status, at our…

It's finally here! Callum and Dan are back in the studio for their 2023/24 Season Reviews for Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Join them as they give their thoughts on everything that went right this season for their teams (mainly a Villa section) and everything that didn't (basically everything with Blues), discussing their favourite games, goals,…

Ahead of their full end-of-season review, Dan and Callum have a quick catch-up on all the goings on in the Second City's football scene, including Chris Davies' arrival at Blues, and Villa's latest transfer dealings. However, we begin with a brief tribute to former Villa and Blues goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, who tragically passed away this week aged …

Kelly welcomes back fan-favorite Kim Scott to the podcast to discuss how she decided to reframe and significantly rewrite her book “Just Work” to turn it into “Radical Respect.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5139854/Kim_Scott_2024-06-18-025154.64kmono.mp3 “Collaboration is essential to any great human accomplishment.” “Words matter. You are not …

Kelly sits down with philosophy professor Christopher Wong Michaelson and management professor Jennifer Tosti-Kharas to talk about their fantastic new book, “Is Your Work Worth It? How to Think About Meaningful Work.” https://serve.castfire.com/audio/5088264/Christopher_Wong_Michaelson_Jennifer_Tosti-Kharas_2024-06-11-132004.64kmono.mp3 “Sometimes …

Someone get me a thermometer, I think I've got Euros fever! Callum and Dan temporarily detour away from Second City football as they look ahead to Euro 2024 in Germany, giving their thoughts and predictions on the runners and riders, whilst also looking back on some of their favourite memories from Euros of yesteryear. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Countdown …

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…

With the domestic season done and dusted, Dan and Callum react to the latest news going on in the Second City, including Blues' search for Tony Mowbray's successor, Unai Emery's new Villa contract, and, elsewhere, Wayne Rooney's return to management. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Catch-Up 03:02 - What We’re Wearing (Aston Villa) 05:52 - What We’re Wearing (Bi…

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…

This week on the SCP, Callum looks back on a huge week for Villa, which saw them both eliminated from this season's Europa Conference League, but also finally qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. Meanwhile, Dan gives his thoughts on which players Blues should release and retain this summer following relegation, and elsewhere, the duo lo…

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 …

It’s been a chastening week in the Second City. After 13 years in the Championship, Blues finally ran out of luck and are confirmed to play their football in the third tier next season for the first time in 30 years. Whilst Dan dissects where it all went wrong, Callum looks at Villa’s surprise 4-2 Europa Conference League Semi-Final defeat to Olymp…

We’re well in to the home straight for 23/24 — as Villa prepare for a huge European Semi-Final against Olympiacos, Blues prepare for their biggest match in years as they face Norwich on Survival Saturday. As well as discussing the weekend’s results, Dan and Callum talk Dion Sanderson, Unai Emery’s contract extension, spending caps and the Blues Wom…

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…

Morale could not be more different on each side of the podcast. Whilst Villa reach a European Semi-Final and continue their charge towards a Champions League place, yet another poor performance for Blues sees them on the brink of relegation to League One for the first time in 30 years. Callum also discusses a significant new sponsorship deal for Vi…

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…

The Second City Podcast returns in high spirits, as both Blues and Villa post some of their best results of their respective seasons as we hit the run-in. As well as previewing this week's games, Callum and Dan also discuss new stadiums, Blues Women, Lille fans and Sunjic's tears. 01:35 - What We’re Wearing (Birmingham City) 06:35 - What We’re Wear…

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…