The TED Interview

To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, visit ted.com/generosity. From Taiwan to Rwanda, artist Lily Yeh has traveled all over the world in pursuit of more than just aesthetic pleasure — and she’s activating local communities on this journey. Chris and Lily chat about Lily’s artistic evolution, discuss how art encourages growth and healing, and examine the positive effect that art can have on individuals long, even long after a work has been completed. Transcripts for The TED Interview are available at: go.ted.com/TTIscripts.

To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, visit ted.com/generosity. Daryl Davis is a Black musician and actor who regularly enters white nationalist spaces. That’s because Daryl is determined to understand the source of bigotry – by actually talking to the humans he disagrees with. Chris interviews Daryl about his unique approach, from attending KKK rallies to joining all-white country bands. Then, Daryl shares why he chooses curiosity over fear and why he still believes, despite our current divisions, humanity is in a bright spot. Transcripts for The TED Interview are available at: go.ted.com/TTIscripts.

To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, visit ted.com/generosity. It may feel like the world is running low on a seemingly crucial human trait: empathy. But Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, thinks that empathy is not the best measure of goodness. Paul’s work focuses on exploring some of the most puzzling aspects of human nature, including pleasure, religion and morality. He argues that empathy can actually lead to inequality because it muddles our judgment and narrows our prejudices. Chris and Paul talk about the biological evolution that led to our modern human psyche, discuss the perils of acting emotionally and break down the relationship between empathy, generosity and what Paul calls "rational compassion." Transcripts for The TED Interview are available at: go.ted.com/TTIscripts.

To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, visit ted.com/generosity In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when misinformation and fear was spreading rampantly, one optimistic community was forming... on Facebook. Catherine Barrett started "The Kindness Pandemic" Facebook group as a way to combat the negativity and aggression she was seeing online. Members participated in campaigns where they engaged in kind acts — and then they posted about it. The group went from dozens of members in its first day to more than 50,000 members joining every day. In this episode, Chris and Catherine chat about bringing humanity back into our digital worlds, discuss what it takes to make kindness go viral, and make a case for being loud about generosity. Transcripts for The TED Interview are available at go.ted.com/TTIscripts

To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, visit ted.com/generosity. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is one of the top 10 richest people in the world. But since 2008, he has traded his day-to-day role with Microsoft to focus full-time on his foundation's work to expand opportunity around the world. Chris interviews Bill about his philanthropy philosophy and digs into the opportunities and challenges that face one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world. The two also discuss The Giving Pledge, the movement Bill co-founded with Warren Buffet, which encourages wealthy individuals to commit the majority of their wealth to charitable causes within their lifetimes. Chris and Bill examine the importance of solving the world’s most pressing problems efficiently, talk about why meaningful change requires scale and compare notes on how to best encourage collective excitement about giving back. Transcripts for The TED Interview are available at: go.ted.com/TTIscripts.

The TED Interview is back for a special season. Chris Anderson, Head of TED, returns as host to investigate the ultimate idea worth spreading: Infectious Generosity. Inspired by Chris’s book of the same name, this season will explore how even small acts of kindness have the potential to spread and impact millions – and ultimately build a more hopeful future for all. Listen in as amazing people and great thinkers share how they aim to change lives at a scale never experienced before. And in the spirit of infectious generosity, listeners can receive a free copy of Chris’s book in e-book or audio format. Just visit ted.com/generosity and fill out the short form to receive yours. Tune in next week for the first episode of this new season.

A professor at Harvard Business School and expert in work culture, Frei goes into companies like WeWork and Uber with the goal of turning toxic environments into healthy, inclusive spaces. She shares why authenticity, logic, and empathy are the most vital skills an employee can have — and how the measure of a true leader can be seen not just in their presence, but in their absence, too. Find Frances's new show Fixable, wherever you get your podcasts!

This week on The TED Interview we’re excited to introduce TED’s newest podcast, Good Sport, hosted by veteran sports producer Jody Avirgan. What can sports teach us about life – and each other? Good Sport brings you invigorating stories from on and off the field to argue that sports are as powerful and compelling a lens as any to understand the world – from what happens when you age out of a sport, to how we do or don't nurture talent, to analyzing how sports arguments have become the mode for all arguments. Good Sport launched on February 8th and you can find it anywhere you’re listening to this. TED Audio Collective+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts can hear the whole season early and ad-free.

Curious about 2023? Youngme, Mihir and Felix from the podcast After Hours are back with their celebrated predictions episode. Who will acquire Spotify? Will Twitter implode? What’s the trend in inflation and energy prices? Who will top the music charts? Space travel for all? Listen in as the hosts outguess each other what the new year will bring. After Hours is another podcast in the TED Audio Collective. If you'd like to hear more, follow the show now wherever you're listening to this.

David Byrne views life through many lenses. He’s a musician, author, filmmaker, curator, conservationist, digital music theorist, bicycle advocate, visual artist... the list goes on. But through his many trajectories – from co-founding the acclaimed band Talking Heads to his later solo career, moving into theater and beyond, David is always trying to capture the indescribable. In this episode, he shares how he meshes art, technology, and point of view to tell one-of-a-kind stories, move audiences, and invoke all of us to create masterpieces of our own. David’s latest experiential theater project “Theater of the Mind” is running now through December 18 at York Street Yards in Denver, Colorado.

When she was just 18, scientist, industrial designer, animal behaviorist, and autism activist Temple Grandin created one of her most well-known inventions: the hug machine. Inspired by the squeeze chute–a device that holds and soothes cattle before they’re handled–Temple designed a device for her and other hypersensitive people who want to experience being held without overstimulation. In this episode, Temple talks about her long, multifaceted career, and how her neurodivergent mind and its gift for identifying patterns and thinking visually has helped her pioneer groundbreaking research. She also explains how all kinds of brains can contribute to creating knowledge, and shares how neurodiversity is a strength across many disciplines. Temple’s latest book, “Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions,” is out now.

Nearly every day for a year, American poet Ross Gay sat down and wrote about something that delighted him–from carrying a small tomato plant through an airport to playing a pickup basketball game.The result was his first nonfiction book, “The Book of Delights”, a collection of essays beloved by both critics and fans. These days, Ross is in pursuit of understanding another transcendent human emotion: joy. The author shares what his practice of seeking delight has taught him about life, writing and language, and why he thinks poetry is the best coach for philosophy, mindfulness and gratitude.

How many soulmates do you think people have? What if you tried to funnel all the water from Niagara falls through a straw? Do you think it’s possible? if you sold the whole planet for scrap–what parts would be most valuable? You might think these absurd questions are unanswerable, or even pointless, but these are the kind of questions Randall Munroe can’t stop thinking about. Randall is the bestselling author of the books “What If” and “What If 2” which provide serious, scientific answers to absurd questions. He’s also the Hugo-award winning cartoonist behind the popular xkcd webcomics. In this episode, Randall talks through the most intriguing scenarios from his new volume, and shares why absurdist thought experiments actually help us understand the world–and each other–a bit better.

In 2011, when medical doctor and epidemiologist Mark Smolinski was working as a science advisor for the blockbuster film “Contagion,” the film ran a campaign that asked communities: “What are you gonna do to prepare for the next pandemic?” A decade later, as the president of Ending Pandemics–a social venture that aims to predict, detect, and prevent disease outbreaks on our planet– Mark is still thinking about how we can rid the world of pandemic disease. In this episode, Mark shares why we use big data to track disease, explains how our interconnected ecosystems shape public health, talks about why ending pandemics is an achievable goal, and argues that local communities are the ones who can lead the way in understanding–and preventing–the spread of illness.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy in the United States was 79. Today it’s 76. When compared to other countries like the UK and Japan, where life expectancy is above 80, it’s clear that the U.S. has a lot of work to do. Today on The TED Interview, surgeon, writer, and the Assistant Administrator for Global Health as USAID. Atul Gawande talks about the obstacles the U.S. is facing and how investment in key areas like healthcare innovation, geriatric medicine, and accessible health education, could help Americans live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

When Linda Villarosa was the health editor of Essence Magazine, she says she had a one-track mind. A former college athlete, Linda grew up, like many of us, thinking about health on an individual level. But after reporting on environmental justice, the AIDS crisis, and black mother and infant mortality rates, Linda has uncovered just how much culture and public health infrastructure impact life expectancy – specifically for black Americans. Her 2018 cover story on “Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis" was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. In today’s episode, she highlights how structural racism impacts community health and talks about why she’s still optimistic about combating health disparities in the country and across the globe.

Eric Topol is a leading health expert whose writing and explainers about Covid-19 have helped people better understand the complexities of the global pandemic. As a doctor, author, and one of the most cited researchers in medicine, Eric has dedicated his time to thinking about the human genome and how digital tools like artificial intelligence can help us individualize and improve medicine. In this episode, he shares his thoughts why he believes healthcare and the doctor-patient relationship feel broken, and how AI can revolutionize–and save–the future of medicine.

Like any animal, humans understand the world through our senses. But unlike other creatures, we can't detect magnetic fields with our bodies, or the flow of water from a fish swimming hundreds of feet in the distance. But Ed Yong wants us to really imagine what it would be like to perceive the world in these ways. In this episode, the Pulitzer winning science writer shares the unique ways that other living species get information about the world–from the melodic data-loaded songs of treehoppers and cicadas, to the olfactory brilliance of an average dog. Listen in for a glimpse at the beautiful animal narratives that lie beyond our restrained worldview that Ed writes about in his new book "An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal The Hidden Realms Around Us", which is out now.

Mark Cuban has gone from selling garbage bags door-to-door to selling internet companies for billions, acquiring an NBA team, and becoming a beloved “Shark” on Shark Tank. Mark reveals to Adam how he turns problems into opportunities in entrepreneurship, basketball, and investing. They discuss his latest venture–disrupting the healthcare industry with an online pharmacy and a price-slashing philosophy that makes hundreds of drugs affordable–and why following your passion is not the best way to maintain your motivation. This is an episode of ReThinking with Adam Grant, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective. For episodes on the psychology of the world's most interesting minds, follow ReThinking wherever you're listening to this. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/RTWAG1

Pete Souza has taken some iconic photographs. A former Chief Official White House Photographer for both U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan AND Barack Obama, Pete’s career has taken him from teaching basic photography in Kansas to taking pictures for National Geographic, Life Magazine, and other dream outlets. In this episode, he talks about carrying out a vision for a project, how he built his unique path in the field, and why he sticks to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is an episode of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. For more conversations on how incredibly creative people design their careers and lives, follow Design Matters wherever you’re listening to this.