- 42 minutes 53 secondsWhat the data shows about youth mental health (w/ Candice Odgers)
“Social media and screen time aren’t the most important factor in teen mental health,” says development psychologist Candice Odgers. While this claim sounds counterintuitive, Candice shares why it’s so pervasive—scary stories sell. They always have. In this episode, Candice joins Chris to discuss social inequity and the five areas that would be more effective in helping improve teens mental health than banning social media.
Featured guest
- Follow Candice Odgers on LinkedIn and at https://candiceodgers.com/
- Watch Candice's TED Talk
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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20 July 2026, 4:00 am - 37 minutes 19 secondsSummer Fridays: How to get your sense of wonder back (w/ Nate DiMeo) (re-release)
How do you make sense of the present? Nate DiMeo might suggest you look at the past. Nate is the host of the podcast and book, The Memory Palace. Nate joins Chris to discuss how the past can teach us to live life in a new, rich, and complex way. Nate shares how to exercise the muscle of curiosity, how to tap into your sense of wonder to escape algorithmic filters, and urges you to seek moments of meaning in between life’s biggest plot points.
This is an episode of TED's How to Be a Better Human podcast. Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://tedtalks.social/4gmAZt3
For the full text transcript, visit https://go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio from THE MEMORY PALACE by Nate DiMeo; excerpt read by Nate DiMeo. © 2024 Nate DiMeo ℗ 2024 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.
This episode originally aired in 2025.
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17 July 2026, 4:00 am - 41 minutes 40 secondsHow to think fast and talk smart (w/ Matt Abrahams)
Matt Abrahams is a communication expert who teaches strategic communication at Stanford University, hosts the podcast Think Fast Talk Smart, and wrote the new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter. In this episode, he joins Chris to share his insights on mastering communication on the spot. From breaking down the four-step format on how to give an excellent speech to identifying which peers would be most effective as your test audience, Matt’s tips demonstrate the clues you can use to help you communicate better and deliver messages worth remembering.
Featured guest
- Follow Matt Abrahams on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://mattabrahams.com/
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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13 July 2026, 4:00 am - 43 minutes 55 secondsWhy you are starved for creativity—and how to fix it (w/ Katina Bajaj)
Katina Bajaj is a scientist studying “creative health.” She looks at the role of play, fun, art, and creativity in our overall wellbeing. When was the last time you’ve gone on an “awe walk?” For Katina, carving out time where she’s not listening to music or podcasts on her walks but instead smelling the hydrangeas or allowing her mind to wander is a key way to destress. Katina joins Chris to talk about why adults are starved for creativity and why it’s important to push through the discomfort when trying something new for the first time.
Featured guest
- Follow Katina Bajaj on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://www.katinabajaj.com/
- Subscribe to Katina's Substack Creative Health
- Watch Katina's TED Talk
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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6 July 2026, 4:00 am - 40 minutes 44 secondsHow play is the secret to success at work (w/ Maxwell Pearce)
Why is it so fun to watch your team win in the World Cup or to be a Knicks fan as they finally get an NBA championship? There’s a collective joy in sports that can also be found in art, theater, and comedy. In this episode of How to Be a Better Human with Maxwell Pearce, Chris talks to him about his accomplishments as a mixed media artist and a Harlem Globetrotter. Maxwell integrates playfulness into his art and in sports—whether it’s using shoelaces as texture in his artwork or training his body to perform a basketball trick shot. Maxwell shares how play is the secret ingredient in his career and how changing the way he thinks about the rules and mistakes allows him to have more fun and more successes.
Find more ways you can make more room for play in your life with PLAY@TED. Learn more from conversations, ideas and moments at ted.com/play
Featured guest
- Follow Maxwell Pearce on Instagram and at https://theartofanathlete.com/
- View Maxwell's Harlem Globetrotter's profile
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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29 June 2026, 4:00 am - 41 minutes 13 secondsHow to give up control - advice from neuroscientist Heather Berlin
Heather Berlin is a a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience who studies the science of giving up control. She joins Chris to talk about finding the balance between knowing when to hold on to control and when to let go and be present in the moment. They also discuss why you don’t need to always be productive or in a constant state of self-optimization, and how there are benefits in learning to lose track of time and practicing boredom.
Featured guest
- Follow Heather Berlin on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://heatherberlin.com/
- Buy Heather's book The Fine Art of Losing Control
- Tune in to Heather's TED Talk, coming soon in November 2026
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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22 June 2026, 4:00 am - 39 minutes 34 secondsWhy you should try improv comedy (w/ Rick Andrews)
What do radio personality Ira Glass, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, and your host Chris Duffy have in common? They all have practiced an unexpected skill that makes them more human—improv comedy. And they learned it from master improv teacher Rick Andrews. Rick joins Chris to discuss the life lessons they learn from giving up control and practicing how to “yes an” in conversations. They also modeled improv games such as “Alibi,” “7 Things,” “Fortunately and Unfortunately,” and more, so you can sprinkle some improvisational silliness to build better communication and trust in your work and personal life.
Featured guest
- Follow Rick Andrews on LinkedIn and at https://www.rickandrewsimprov.com/
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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15 June 2026, 4:00 am - 42 minutes 37 secondsWhy you need to get up and move—right now! (w/ Manoush Zomorodi)
How long have you been sitting today? If you’re still on the couch or the office chair, then this is your PSA to get up and move! In this episode, Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour, joins Chris to share the detrimental effects of sitting all day. They talk about the joy of adding more positive interruptions in your life, why going off-camera helps you improve your mind-body connection, and more!
Featured guest
- Follow Manoush Zomorodi on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://www.manoushz.com/
- Subscribe to Manoush Minutes on Substack
- Buy her book Body Electric
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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8 June 2026, 4:00 am - 53 minutes 5 secondsStressed, stuck, and overthinking? The science of moving forward w/ Ranjay Gulati | 10% Happier
In today’s special featured episode of 10% Happier with Dan Harris, hear from Ranjay Gulati, a Harvard professor and author whose pioneering work focuses on unlocking organizational and individual potential—embracing courage, nurturing purpose-driven leaders, driving growth, and transforming businesses. Find out how you can decipher courage and recklessness, build moral anchors for your decision-making, and take action when you’re feeling stuck.
10% Happier with Dan Harris is a show about how to do life better, hosted by a former ABC News anchor turned bestselling author. Drawing on a mix of ancient Buddhism and modern science, this podcast covers self-compassion, relationships , productivity, and more. Find out how happiness is not an unalterable factory setting; it’s a skill. You can find more episodes of 10% Happier with Dan Harris wherever you get your podcasts.
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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1 June 2026, 4:00 am - 37 minutes 10 secondsWhy you should take a risk every day with Julie Zhuo | from WorkLife with Molly Graham
When you think about risk, you probably think about big, dramatic moves: quitting your job, moving across the country, saying something controversial. But the people who are actually good at taking risks are the ones who practice small challenges every day. Julie Zhuo was one of the earliest product and design leaders at Facebook, and is now the co-founder of Sundial, a company that uses AI to help organizations make better decisions. In this episode, Molly and Julie dissect what it actually means to take a risk and how you can build your risk-taking skills through daily practice. Julie reflects on her own risk-taking journey, the ways she has honed her abilities to challenge fear, her thinking on when you shouldn’t take a leap, and the important distinction between courage and fearlessness.
WorkLife is a podcast from TED where host and company builder Molly Graham and her expert guests talk through the messy feelings we all experience at work. Ambition and failure, joy and burnout, confidence and self-doubt — this show digs into it all to help you build a career without losing yourself. Listen now: https://link.mgln.ai/9sBEHV
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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25 May 2026, 4:00 am - 41 minutes 27 secondsHow algorithms changed the way we communicate (w/ Adam Aleksic
A-1. Killer-diller. Outta sight. All that and a bag of chips. This slaps! From the 1940s to the early 2020s, these words and phrases are all generational slang that means the same thing—“excellent.” In this episode, Chris speaks with linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic on how technology and algorithms are changing language. They also discuss which age-group is experimenting the most with language, how social media is transforming how the deaf community communicates, and whether going completely offline does more harm than good.
Featured guest
- Follow Adam Aleksic on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and at etymologynerd.com/
- Subscribe to Adam's Substack, The Etymology Nerd
- Buy Adam's book Algospeak
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
- Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
- Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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