This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.
So you're telling me that the AI that's meant to make everyone's job easier to manage? Just adds more to manage, on top of the thousands of apps the IT department already manages. Funny how that works. Any business can add AI. IBM helps you scale and manage AI to change how you do business.
Let's create smarter business. IDM Okay. Hear that? That's what it sounds like when you plant more trees than you harvest. Work done by thousands of working forest professionals like Adam, a district forest manager who works to protect our forests from fires.
Keeping the forest fire resistant is synonymous with keeping a forest healthy, and we do that through planting more than we harvest and mitigate those risks through active management. It's a long-term commitment. Visit WorkingForestsInitiative.com to learn more. This is Kate Max from Post Run High with Kate Max. Degree Advanced, the world's number one antiperspirant, provides up to 72 hours of protection against sweat and odor that comes with life.
Degree is the wake-up, workout antiperspirant, the dashing, darting, carpool honking, get the kids off to school antiperspirant. The work from home and do the laundry, grocery shop on your lunch hour, never take a break, antiperspirant.
So do what you need to do, work how you need to work. Sweat moves you forward. Degree is here to make sure it doesn't hold you back. Degree, here for sweat. Yeah.
Psh. You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs. Is your child having conversations you never imagined? Are they learning without realizing it? It's not a tablet.
It's not a toy. It's Miko Mini Plus, the AI-powered companion that turns curiosity into endless learning. Hear the future of playtime. Meet the extraordinary Miko Mini Plus. Only at Costco.
The following ad is sponsored by PetsBest Insurance Services. You knew right away he's perfect. The one for you. Those puppy dog eyes, that cute little button nose. You don't even mind the drool.
When you find your perfect match in a dog or cat, the love is unconditional. Your budget, on the other hand, has realistic limits. Help protect your heart and your wallet with pet insurance from PetsBest. With plans starting from less than a dollar a day, you can get up to 90% cash back on eligible vet bills. PetsBest makes it easy to pick a plan that works for you and your bank account.
Find the perfect match for your perfect match at PetsBest.com. Pet Insurance products offered and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company. For terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com backslash policy. Products are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company, or MS Transverse Insurance Company and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC. $1 a day premium based on 2024 average new policyholder data for accident and illness plans pets age 0 to 10.
This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. Research for the Our American Stories podcast. Go to the iHeartRadio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. And up next we bring you Blair Cornell.
to tell you the story of his family. their experience with special needs. and what Blair is doing as a result. Went off to college to Ohio University. And that's where I met my wife Kat.
Uh We met freshman year and were good friends for those first couple of years, and then took that plunge and decided: are we going to take this risk to To jeopardize our friendship and maybe date, and I'm so glad that we did because we started dating and never looked back. have been best friends ever since. We graduated in college in 2004. And I convinced Kat to move back to my hometown here in Dayton, Ohio, where I knew I was going to be working in a family business, financial advising, wealth management business that I had wanted to work in since I was a little kid with my dad. And she trusted me and believed in that.
And so she followed me back to Dayton, and that's kind of how we ended up here. Kat and I got married in 2006. Kat is a CPA, so she was in the accounting field for a couple of years, and then she went on to work with a larger firm, LexisNexis, as a financial analyst. Did that for a couple of years. 2008 came and we had our first child.
Caitlin was born and changed our lives forever. Shortly thereafter, then, we welcomed our second child. Into the world, and that was Carter. And that's really where our lives changed significantly. In two thousand and 10.
on August 23rd, 2010. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Kat and I were driving in for our 20-week ultrasound. And we found out some exciting news that we were having a little boy, but we also found out some devastating news that he was going to be born with moderate to severe special needs, if in fact he would even survive. For us, We had made a decision that we were going to make the most of this.
For several weeks, then we continued to try to find answers and figure out what was going on. We went down and had very good care down in Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's. And that's a top hospital in the country, and we had a great team of physicians that answered a lot of questions and helped to get us kind of on track for what we were going to be expecting.
Meanwhile, Kat was very sick. She didn't really. eat much for about four or five months while she was pregnant with Carter. She was not able to keep any food down. She had extreme hyperemesis, which is extreme nausea.
And that's what prevented her from really being able to eat much.
So she was on a lot of supplemental nutrition, which was taxing for her and for me. you know, caring for our daughter Caitlin at the time too, before Carter was born. And so that was a tough time as our family had to adapt to that and figure that out. But we were also excited for the journey that God was going to put us on when Carter was born. And in 2011, January 4th, 2011, we welcome Carter Thompson Cornell into the world.
That's really when the journey began for what God had in store for us and the plan that He had for us that we couldn't have foreseen. back when we had just Caitlin or before when we were just getting married, do you think you are gonna be heading down one path and you realize quickly that there's a bigger plan that we don't all know the answers to. And so Carter was born in January 4th, 2011. and was in the NICU at the hospital for 10 days. And um then he came home.
From there, we started to adapt to what it was going to be like to live with a child with special needs. Yeah, when you hear. That A child certainly is going to have challenges. You're heartbroken, and you go through that denial. and that uh feeling of of sadness and Kind of, you, I think, at least for me, you're a little selfish at first, wondering.
What's this going to mean for me? And how how much harder is this going to be for me? And how's this going to change our family and all the plans that we had, and how that's no longer going to be. exactly the way I had planned it. But then I think Over time, you start to evolve into this is no longer necessarily just about me and a challenge for me.
but there's an opportunity. for me and for others to To reshape us and to be able to say, hey, this is a positive and this is a blessing. Because at the time, I would have told you, I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to do this, and I'm not sure I can do this. But when you're in that moment when you have a child you'll do anything and you find a way Carter surpassed a lot of doctors' goals just from the fact that he was born full term. A lot of doctors thought he might have been preterm, which could present more challenges.
And the fact that he was full term was a big win and a big success. Then in the hospital, he you know, had a lot of things that we weren't sure about, like hearing and eyesight tests that seemed to be going okay. And so then when he came home there were certain things we didn't have to worry as much about and other things we had more to worry about. But Kat, who was staying home with our kids at the time, spent a lot of time researching and learning what she could. And then going to lots of doctor's appointments and meeting with different specialists.
And so there were lots of unknowns and a lot of uncertainties for those first few years. But that's really when Carter started taking on his own and really doing well. And started surpassing, quite frankly, what we had all had expected in those first few years of his life. Carter to this day is somebody that we. You know, always are wondering what's coming next, but he continues to surprise us in a lot of ways.
And you've been listening to Blair Cornell tell the story of his family. You're having a boy. And the bad news, as he saw it initially, His boy would have special needs. That is, if he survived at all. One thing we heard clearly though from Blair is that He was excited to find out what journey God had for him.
And clearly his faith life Had so much to do with how he handled this. His initial response was a selfish one. How would this affect me? as opposed to, well, might this be an opportunity? And when we come back, we're going to find out more about how young Carter changed Blair Cornell's life.
Here on Our American Stories. Hello, hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Smart Talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO, Arvind Krishna. And I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business? My one advice to them.
Pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, If anybody has more than Ten percent of what they had for customer service Ten years ago? They're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software, 30% more productive today.
with the goal of being 70% more productive. Yeah. Wow.
So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say, you can leverage what we did. We're happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change. in the process because the biggest change is not technology. is getting people to accept.
that there's a different way to do things. To listen to the full conversation, visit ibm.com/slash smart talks. Your pet is your bestie. Your therapist, your perfect match. It's easy to love them.
It's easy to protect them, too, with pet insurance coverage from PetsBest. Because it's all fun and games until they chew on something they shouldn't. And you get a vet bill to match. With perfect timing, PetsBest helps protect your furry friend and your budget from this imperfect world. Get up to 90% cash back on eligible vet bills from less than a dollar a day.
PetsBest has plans to cover accidents, injuries, and more. From puppies and kittens to seniors. Find your perfect match plan and get a quote at petsbest.com. Pet insurance products offered and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company. For terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com backslash policy.
Products are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company, or MS Transverse Insurance Company and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC. $1 a day premium based on 2024 average new policyholder data for accident and illness plans pets age 0 to 10. Every generation, every sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our freedom, our families, and our future.
Now it's our turn to stand up for them. This year, you can honor their service in a deeply personal way by sponsoring a $17 Veterans Wreath. Each wreath is more than a symbol, it's a heartfelt tribute to the heroes who served and to the families who carry their legacy. Visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org to sponsor a wreath today. This isn't just a wreath, it's a personal gift to an American hero.
Is excuse me? Shh! You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs! Is your child having conversations you never imagined? Are they learning without realizing it?
It's not a tablet. It's not a toy. It's Miko Mini Plus, the AI-powered companion that turns curiosity into endless learning. Hear the future of playtime. Meet the extraordinary Miko Mini Plus.
only at Costco. This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture Eastas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Los Culturists with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Hey, Bowen, it's gift season. Oh, stressing me out.
Why are all the people I love so hard to shop for? Like me? Exactly. Honey, I'm easy. But you're right.
Holiday gifting is stressful. And all the gift guides out there are boring and uninspired. Wait, what about the guide we made? A partnership with Marshalls, where premium gifts mean incredible value? It's giving gifts!
A series of guides filled with premium gifts at great value for everyone on your list. Yeah, because if I see one more for the dad who likes golf list, I'm out. Right? How about something for the people who actually surprise you? With categories like best gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto, ps, she wants a pair of stilettos.
Or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful I really shouldn't have. Dying to see what those are. And you won't believe their prices. Just wait till you see what else is in there. It's basically a one-stop shop for everyone you know.
I started bookmarking half the list for myself, honestly. This is the guide for the 2025 holiday gifting season. Check out the guide on marshalls.com. It's giving gifts. Gift the good stuff at Marshalls.
Habib here, the host of Our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country. Stories from our big cities and small towns. But we truly can't do this show without you. Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to make.
If you love what you hear, go to ouramericanstories.com and click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot. Go to ouramericanstories.com and give. Mm. And we're back with Our American Stories and Blair Cornell's Story.
After the birth of their first child, Caitlin, Blair and his wife, Kat found out that they were about to have another child. Boy who's going to be born with moderate to severe special needs. Let's pick up where we last left off. Uh In two thousand six years. I was driving home on a summer night.
And I came into the house And uh I looked at cat and She said, You've got to help me. I've had a really rough day. And I don't really know where to go or what to do or how to get Carter back on track. He's had a rough day. And I said, well, what can I do?
And she said, I don't really know.
So I walked over and sat down next to Carter, knelt down next to him and said, Carter, what's going on? And he couldn't really talk. He was. crying and tears running down his face, he was just very upset and frustrated. And I thought, well, maybe I could take him for a ride in my car.
And I had a fun convertible at the time. I said, Carter, do you want to go ride for a ride in Daddy's convertible? And he looked up at me like a light switch was flipped and said, Riding daddy's convertible? And then I said, Yeah, and he said, Let's go. And so I remember carrying him out to the garage that night.
I could just feel his chin resting on my shoulder as we bounced along the way out to the garage. and I strapped him into the convertible. and buckle them up. And away we went. And that night I watched all of his fears and tears and frustrations really.
go away. and it was a pretty incredible experience. to see just a simple car ride. really change his life. And I thought to myself, that was pretty incredible.
There's got to be something more to this. And as I talked with more people and cat, and we experimented, we realized that that was a big trigger for Carter. Kids with special needs have triggers, and some of them it may be cars. For Carter, it's certainly cars, but also music. Those are triggers that can kind of distract him and put him back on track and really kind of help reshape how that day is going to go.
So after I experimented with that, we realized there was more we could do with this and we went to work and creating a nonprofit that we formed that we call Joyride. And Joyride was formed at the end of 2016. and we launched our first event in 2017. And Joyride is all about kids, cars, and smiles. That's our tagline.
It's pretty simple. It's just getting together kids with some amazing cars to put a smile on their face. And it's a pretty simple thing when you think about it, but it's something that can be very moving not only to the kids, but certainly their families, but I think everybody that comes to our events, whether they're a car driver or they're a volunteer. It's a way for people to feel fulfilled in their life and giving back to a community of people that. tend to get overlooked.
Joyride started out at our very first event we had. 12 cars and about 45 kids. And our biggest event, we've had 30 cars and almost 150 kids.
So, probably five, six, seven hundred people that were there in total when you factor their families and friends and all the volunteers. It was so it's been a fun. function. way to see people gather and give back. In a big and meaningful way.
And as we continue to see Joyride grow, I don't know where it'll go. But I can tell you that with the impact that it's had just on me personally, it fuels me and continues to push me harder to have more events. bigger events and reach more kids. I've got four kids now. Brady and Davis were born.
when Carter was just three years old. And um Brady and Davis were born, they're twins, and I would tell you that they have. Even though they're several years younger than Carter. They've kind of become a big brother to him in some ways, and how they already help him and give back. And it's neat to see them be excited to come to Joyride events to want to give back.
the same way that Carter's older sister Caitlin does. And That's really what it's all about. is getting An event pulled together for the community to come together, but to realize we can all hit the pause button on us. and maybe find a way to give back to others. We're trying to make this the most high-end that we possibly can to make these kids truly feel like a VIP.
You want to try to bring cars in that aren't cars that you'd see every day on the street. That's what makes it special, makes it unique.
So, the cars that we have there are very unique. We have Really, typically, a lot of the exotic or really high-end cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris and McLaren's and You know, really, anything that you would probably turn your head at on the road and think that's not normal, that's not something you see every day, at least in most areas. That's what we have at our events. And I also kind of have a little chip on my shoulder when it comes to. Siblings of kids with special needs that they get to do.
All the sporting events and the sleepovers and everything else, and their sibling can't. And I think it's okay that they get to go to an event and they don't get to ride in these cars. But Carter does. And Carter's friends that also have special needs do. but their siblings don't.
And it's not that I'm trying to exclude them, I'm just trying to make it that much more special. For our members of Joyride, which are the kids that have special needs. But I'll tell you: the story that sticks out to me the most was at our very first event, believe it or not. At our very first event, there was somebody who came to our event, a driver that came to our event. He had probably the nicest car at the event.
He was driving a Lamborghini Aventador. which for those of you that don't know much about cars, it's a half a million dollar car.
So it's a very expensive car that Lamborghini has. It handles and performs as well as anything out there. But this driver looked at it purely as it's just a car. And it's a car to be used here for today. to create happiness for these kids.
He didn't care if kids were standing on the seats, he didn't care if kids were rubbing up against it, he didn't care. It was just a car and it was not going to, he was not going to guard it and not let anybody really get to enjoy it. It was there for the kids to enjoy. And I'll tell you, I'm always walking around a little bit and making sure that parents and kids are respecting these cars because they are very expensive cars, and not everybody feels like this driver did. But on this particular day, this driver was there and I watched his interaction with these kids all day long.
And after the event, I remember watching him talking to one of the kids, the members from Joyride. And it was a scene that you would almost see from a movie. He was kneeling down next to this little boy that the boy was telling him About how he was scared because he had some treatments coming up that he wasn't sure how it was going to go. and this this little boy had challen all kinds of challenges. And he had some pretty intense medical treatments that were coming.
And this driver knelt down next to him, took his hat off that the boy had kind of taken a liking to. And said, Well, I've gone through a lot of medical challenges myself too. And this hat is my magic hat. That's helped me get through all of that. And when I wear this hat, it protects me to make sure that I don't feel any of that pain or I don't worry.
He goes, I'm going to give you my hat, and you wear this hat, and that's going to help get you through all those challenges. And You could see probably 10 volunteers watching that interaction, and they're all in tears watching this driver. And I pulled him aside at the end of the event and I I said, I just watched that and that's amazing that you have that outlook. And he said, look, I've gone through a really tough time in my life. I've gone through a divorce.
I faced a lot of medical challenges myself, and he said, I bought this car thinking it would bring happiness to me, and it has. It's been a fun toy to have. But I've never experienced joy with this car or joy like this in my life before. This is one of the best days of my life. And seeing that I can help somebody else.
has really moved me. He said, I can't wait to come back and do it again. And that's exactly what Joyride is all about. How about how do we go? And a terrific job on the storytelling and production by Robbie Davis.
And a special thanks to Blair Cornell for sharing his story, his family's story, and what he did about it, what he did about it in his own community, starting Joyride. Carter is having a rough day. and he thought maybe I can take him for a ride in Daddy's convertible. By the way, what parent hasn't thought this at some point or another to solve a problem? I watched all of his tears and fears go away, one simple car ride.
It was a trigger. While it can distract him, and put him back on track. Indeed, it did. And the scene I'll always have in my mind is the driver and his magic hat. with that young boy and what it did for the driver.
as well as the boy. A story of compassion, of love. of so much more Blair Cornell's story The Joyride story, Fast Cars and Big Smiles, here. on our American stories. Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
Where did that story come from? Book? Dream? Nope, it came from a conversation. Meet Miko Mini Plus, the AI companion that co-creates personalized story adventures with your child in real time.
What color was the hamster's cape? And what did he pack for lunch? Unlock your child's imagination. Discover Miko Mini Plus and the magic of AI exclusively at Costco. With Venmo Stash, a taco in one hand, and ordering a ride in the other.
Means you're stacking cash back. Nice. Get up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash on your favorite brands when you pay with your Venmo debit card. From takeout to ride shares, entertainment and more, pick a bundle with your go-to's and start earning cash back at those brands. Earn more cash when you do more with Stash.
Venmo Stash Terms and Exclusions apply. Max $100 cash back per month. See terms at Venmo.me slash stash terms. Every generation, every sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our freedom, our families, and our future.
Now it's our turn to stand up for them. This year, you can honor their service in a deeply personal way by sponsoring a $17 Veterans Wreath. Each wreath is more than a symbol, it's a heartfelt tribute to the heroes who served and to the families who carry their legacy. Visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org to sponsor a wreath today. This isn't just a wreath, it's a personal gift to an American hero.
This is Eva Longoria from Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez Rejon. Like the song says, it's the most wonderful time of the year and also a wonderfully busy one. All that merriment can weigh down even Santa Slay.
So keep it wonderful by keeping yourself wonderful with a crisp, cold Coca-Cola. Ugh. Pause for a fizzy joy. Look out for yourself and then look out for everyone else. And together, we'll make this season as wonderful as it's meant to be.
Enjoy a Coca-Cola. Refresh your holidays.
Sometimes you just need to be comfortable, you know? But that doesn't mean you don't want to look good, too.
Well, Old Navy, the kings of cozy, have done it again with Bounce Fleece. It's soft, stylish, and comes in elevated colors and look good anywhere. Basically, it's fleece reimagined for real life, made for moments when you want to be cozy but still need to look good. Call it airport chic, call it errand elegance. Either way, Bounce Fleece nails it.
Find Bounce Fleece and other holiday goodies now at oldnavy.com. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
Mm-hmm.
