Reviving a Marching Band Legacy: How Teachers Build Community in Forest Lake | The Kindness Chronicles Steve and Jeff fill in for John and discuss Steve’s volunteer experience at the Special Olympics USA Games ESPN Unified Sports Challenge at Allianz Field, where he accompanied producer Jimmy "Jam" Harris and various celebrity sideline coaches. They then welcome Forest Lake educators Jake Mathieson and Katie DuBois to discuss how music and marching band create belonging as the U.S...

Minnesota Nice at Lionel Richie & Earth, Wind & Fire + A Day with Jimmy Jam at Special Olympics The hosts recap attending the Earth, Wind & Fire and Lionel Richie concert in St. Paul, including memories of their first concert together decades ago, Earth, Wind & Fire’s energetic set and deep catalog, and a merch moment that coincided with seeing a recent KCP guest. Lionel Richie opened the tour with “Hello” but appeared unwell, sweating and dizzy, performed “Dancing on th...

In this episode, we welcome strategic executive leader and event producer Kelly Olson, joined by her husband Eric Scott Olson, to discuss her career in live events and television and her current work on the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in the Twin Cities. Kelly shares her origin story working on the 1991 Special Olympics opening ceremony, including an early assignment to find a piano for Prince, and traces her path through major productions, including Oprah (six years), LA events, an...

In this episode, the hosts reflect on KG’s father’s memorial and the support from family, friends, and organizations, then share details for the July 12 Semper Fi Flo hole-in-one challenge fundraiser at Loggers Trail Golf Course in Stillwater. The conversation features special guest Jeff Meslow, a 25-year NCAA football official and 10-year Big Ten line judge, who describes his path from starting as a college freshman to working major rivalry games and the Big Ten Championship, balancing...

At a Minnesota Masonic Charities scholarship event, the CEO explains a scholarship program designed to recognize everyday kindness by having students nominate a peer and share the award. The program’s purpose is to uncover and celebrate stories of service that often go unnoticed, highlighting how simple actions can create ripple effects across schools and communities. Throughout the night, several nominations are read and discussed, featuring special young people who consistently put others f...

On The Kindness Chronicles podcast, John Schwietz surprises Winona State student Addison Nash—called while she’s on a boat—after her friend Sienna nominates her for a Minnesota Masonic Charities Selfless Scholarship, awarding $5,000 shared between Addison and Sienna; they discuss Addison’s empathy, the death of her brother Tommy from sudden cardiac arrest, and the family’s Be Like Tommy nonprofit that provides acts of kindness and “joyful experiences,” including sending campers to YMCA Camp M...

KCP Crew Reacts to Eric Church’s “Six Strings of Life” UNC 2026 Commencement The KC Crew discuss graduation season and family updates, including a daughter graduating from the University of Minnesota, then do a “reaction video” to Eric Church’s 2026 University of North Carolina commencement speech. Church frames life like a six-string guitar, urging graduates to keep key “strings” in tune: faith, family, spouse/partner, ambition and resilience, community and belonging, and staying true to you...

The KC Crew learned that The Kindness Chronicles was ranked #2 on Feedspot’s “30 Best Kindness Podcasts for 2026,” THANK YOU, listeners! They quickly review the Masonic Children’s Hospital gala that raised about $2.5 million, as an example of kindness through philanthropy. The episode then focuses on an extended discussion of The Blues Brothers, including Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s origin story from Second City, the film’s role in reviving and spotlighting blues musicians and Chicago cult...

In the 200th episode of The Kindness Chronicles, the hosts welcome back storyteller and former advertising executive Neal Ford to discuss how his ad career shaped his focus on emotionally resonant communication and how a viral TikTok story launched his social media storytelling. Neal recounts a 1969 experience when strangers helped his family after a car breakdown near Bakersfield, restoring his father’s faith in people and later reframing it with the moon landing. The conversation explores s...

After a couple of “LONG Stories,” we explore the oxytocin-inducing storytelling of the late great Rob Reiner