TED Radio Hour

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Exploring the biggest questions of our time with the help of the world's greatest thinkers. Host Manoush Zomorodi inspires us to learn more about the world, our communities, and most importantly, ourselves.Get more brainy miscellany with TED Radio Hour+. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted

  • 49 minutes 38 seconds
    Soundtracks of our lives
    From our favorite songs to our own voices, we're surrounded by sound all day. But how does all this noise affect our emotions and behavior? This hour, TED speakers explore how sound shapes our lives. Guests include musician and professor of songwriting Scarlet Keys, AI CEO Pierre Barreau, voice expert Rebecca Kleinberger and musician Snow Raven.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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    21 February 2025, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 35 seconds
    Retracing the steps of their ancestors
    To move forward, the United States must confront its history of racial inequality. This hour, three perspectives on looking to the past to build a better future for Black Americans. Guests include author Joseph McGill Jr., Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker and opinion columnist Charles Blow.

    Original broadcast date: February 23, 2024.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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    14 February 2025, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 37 seconds
    Who counts as a significant other?
    Finding "the one" can seem like life's ultimate goal—but should it be? This hour, TED speakers expand the definition of life partnership, whether it's with a friend, a spouse, a pet, or no one at all. Guest include journalist Rhaina Cohen, marriage and family therapist Stephanie Yates-Anyabwile, social psychologist Bella DePaulo and photographer Elias Weiss Friedman of "The Dogist."

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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    7 February 2025, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 39 seconds
    The shocking power of tiny things
    Original broadcast date: February 24, 2023. You don't need to be big and boisterous to pack a punch. This hour, TED speakers explore the surprising strength of all things minuscule and fleeting. Guests include microbiologist Anne Madden, cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky, former educator YeYoon Kim and former industrial engineer and Zen Buddhist monk Bart Weetjens.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted

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    31 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 39 seconds
    The future of our memories
    From creating "synthetic" memories to reviving ruined monuments, tech no longer simply stores the past—it can enhance it. This hour, we explore new ways to capture, share and even recreate our past. Guests include technologist Pau Aleikum Garcia, cartoonist Amy Kurzweil and digital archaeologist Chance Coughenour.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted

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    24 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 37 seconds
    Your brain is the next tech frontier
    We're entering a new era of brain monitoring and enhancement, but what are the ethical implications? This hour, TED speakers explore the potential and pitfalls of merging our minds with machines. Guests include legal scholar and AI ethicist Nita Farahany, neurotechnologist and entrepreneur Conor Russomanno, neuroscientist and physician Sergiu Pașca and sous chef Kate Faulkner.

    Original broadcast date: January 26, 2024.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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    17 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 39 seconds
    Navigating uncertainty in 2025
    In unpredictable times, how can we stay calm, grounded, and on course? This hour, TED speakers lead us through uncertainty. Guests include former medical clown Matt Wilson, psychologist Jamil Zaki, writer and filmmaker Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir and human rights activist Yifat Susskind.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted

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    10 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 50 minutes 4 seconds
    Learning from what others leave behind
    For millennia, humans have created artifacts of their lives — from art, to books, to music. This hour, we explore ideas about capturing the ephemeral human experience for future generations to find. Guests include paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, museum curator Ariana Curtis, music curator Alexis Charpentier and artist Katie Paterson.

    Original broadcast date: November 4, 2022.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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    3 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 51 minutes 32 seconds
    Searching for paradise
    We often view paradise as a place of safety, beauty, tranquility. It's an ideal we long for, but one we can rarely find. This hour, TED speakers search for utopia and come to terms with reality. Guests include wildfire expert George Whitesides, author Pico Iyer, physicist Ramón Méndez Galain, and tech entrepreneur Ramona Pierson. We also hear from two residents of Paradise, California, Richard and Zetta Gore.

    Original broadcast date: November 10, 2023

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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    27 December 2024, 8:00 am
  • 11 minutes 44 seconds
    New year, new habits: How to start writing with author Kelly Corrigan
    Writing can help you process thoughts, preserve memories, chronicle the stories of you and your loved ones. But that's only if you can get past the blank page. In this bonus episode, best-selling memoirist Kelly Corrigan offers advice for putting pen to paper. Corrigan has written four New York Times-bestselling books about her life and family in the last decade, including Tell Me More and The Middle Place. She was featured in the episode, "A guide to being brave in relationships."

    To get access to more bonus episodes like this one, sign up for TED Radio Hour+. When you do, all your episodes also become sponsor-free. That's because you are directly supporting our work at NPR. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted

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    25 December 2024, 2:34 pm
  • 51 minutes 33 seconds
    What one founder's past says about AI's future
    To understand AI, you need to hear Mustafa Suleyman's story. From youth hotline founder to DeepMind creator and Microsoft AI chief, his journey explains AI's evolution and his plans for its future.

    TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted.

    Correction: This story incorrectly states that DeepMind was one of the first AI companies. DeepMind was not one of the first AI companies, it was one of the first AGI—artificial general intelligence—companies.

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    20 December 2024, 8:00 am
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