The Art Of Kindness Podcast: Making The World A Better Place

 I first reviewed The Art of Kindness (AOK) in May 2023. In that review, I recommended the show and called it "a kind of soul-cleansing experience." 

Since then, the host Robert Peterpaul has gotten married, interviewed the legendary Carol Burnett last November on the show's 100th episode, again celebrated World Kindness Day, and just started his fourth season in early November.

The Art of Kindness (AOK) bills itself as "A positively star-studded podcast that converses with and celebrates artists from all areas of the entertainment industry (Film, TV, Broadway, etc.) who use their platform to make the world a better place. Join The AOK as we sprinkle positivity around like confetti and get to the bottom of what kindness really means through compassionate conversations."

In every episode, host Robert Peterpaul elicits tales from Broadway people and celebrities about how they sprinkle kindness throughout their world. Peterpaul always asks each guest, "What does kindness mean to you?" He also asks guests how they react to people praising them.

 Robert Peterpaul is an award-winning actor, writer, and celebrity interviewer with a passion for storytelling and spreading kindness.

He and his family formed the nonprofit THE THOMAS PETERPAUL FOUNDATION in honor of his late brother Thomas, who passed away from cancer. TPF has helped countless pediatric cancer patients and their families since its inception. Peterpaul notably teamed up with Novartis and spoke before Congress at the US Capitol on behalf of TPF to get the CAR T Cell Therapy approved.  In addition, he works for the nonprofit Women In Entertainment, which assists women both working in and aspiring to work in the entertainment industry.

 During episodes of the show, Peterpaul has the foresight to offer listeners a brief summary of the guest's career (usually Broadway), and that is helpful for non-Broadway listeners. In a fun episode with stage actor Stephanie Block, his summary before the interview gave me an intimate sense of how much she has accomplished in her career. 

The Art Of Kindness is part of the Broadway Podcast Network, which offers listeners everything from a vast range of theatre, TV, and film-related programming, in addition to original radio plays, audio dramas, and even an original soap opera. Podcasts include As The Curtain Rises (a soap opera), The Musicals of Tomorrow, and The Great Game Broadway Game Show.

Recent guests of note include Iain Armitage is most recognized for his role as the title character in the hit CBS comedy YOUNG SHELDON, the prequel to THE BIG BANG THEORY which wrapped its 7th and final season in May 2024. 

In August, Paul Feig, who has directed Bridesmaids, Last Christmas, The Heat, Ghostbusters, Spy, and A Simple Favor, was a guest and discussed a creating a kind environment on a TV or movie set. That's a topic that needs a lot of reflection. 

Last week was Happy World Kindness Week,
 and the nonprofit organization, kindness.org,  gave Robert Peterpaul the honor of guest hosting a very special episode of their Why Kindness? podcast where he spoke with kindness.org CEO & Co-Founder Jaclyn Lindsey, as well as the Kindlab team- Dr. Oliver Scott Curry & Dr. Chloe San Miguel about the organization and the science of kindness. On the episode a groundbreaking kindness measurement tool (KQ) was introduced.

Do you know your KQ? Visit kindness.org/KQ to get your KQ today. We should all try it. Then, we can find out if we are truly kind or just kind of a jerk.

I recommend listening to The Art Of Kindness podcast. I think Robert is on to something here beyond podcasting. It's about interacting with the external world and other people. Are we in competition with everyone else like in a zero-sum universe, or do we collaborate, cooperate, and support each other? 

Which Ebenezer Scrooge are you? The one before being visited by three ghosts, or the one who wakes up on Christmas morning? 

Even if you know nothing about Broadway or the celebrities being interviewed, I suggest checking out Robert Peterpaul as he hosts The Art Of Kindness. He is the sunshine that overcomes the darkness of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and racial, ethnic and gender hate. 

As writer Maya Angelou once said, "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."