TED Talks Daily

What’s dirtier: your phone or your hands? Molecular biologist Lotti Tajouri says there’s a gaping hole in our hygiene routine. We scrub our hands clean, then reach right for the phone — a warm, humid and mobile home for bacteria and viruses. He explores the unnervingly vibrant microbial world living on your phone and shows how you can keep this “third hand” clean. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When life gets uncertain, do you grip a little tighter? Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explores a surprising paradox: the harder you try to control everything, the more likely you are to get in your own way. Drawing on brain research and her own struggles with uncertainty, she shares practical ways to let go and make room for creativity, calm and flow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When does normal aging end and something more concerning begins? In this episode Shoshana invites neurologist Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to discuss their studies on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. They debunk myths around Alzheimer, discuss what a brain-healthy way of eating looks like, and share why good sleep hygiene is more crucial for brain health than you think Learn more about TED Health at https://link.mgln.ai/kqazoj Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Granholm steered Michigan through the auto industry's near-collapse and later ran the US Department of Energy during the largest clean energy investment in the country's history. In conversation with climate investor Ryan Panchadsaram, she explains why the next chapter of clean energy is all about construction — and why local communities have more power than they may think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most people hate mosquitoes, but biotechnologist and TED Fellow Felix Hol thinks they're beautiful. He takes us inside his lab, where his team developed some unusual ways to study how these blood-sucking insects find us and feed so fast. He also explains why insecticides may send certain mosquitoes into overdrive — and how we can find smarter ways to curb the diseases they spread. (Following his story, pulled from a short film he made for TED, Hol speaks with Lily James Olds, director of the TED Fellows program, on why he’s relying on open source to share data and how he’s excited to learn more about mosquitoes navigating different temperature landscapes.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth — two of the rock stars behind the legendary band Van Halen — sit down with visual artist Robert Vargas to reveal the two-step recipe for great art: do your homework, then break every rule. Along the way, they swap stories about heartbreak, good luck charms and why you should rehearse for what goes wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should the US Constitution protect your DNA? Your voice? Your data? Entrepreneur Jeff Maurer spent his youth fighting fires alongside World War II veterans, and he thinks the spirit that united them can power America's next 250 years. He proposes five new amendments to the US Constitution — from protecting privacy to holding politicians accountable — and shares what it would take to get them passed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When was the last time you played, just for fun? Eleven-year-old Mila Rojas has noticed that adults — buried under schedules, expectations and the pressure to be serious — often see play as unproductive. In this delightful talk, she shows why having fun is key for families to connect and shares some simple ways to bring more joy into everyday life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Couples therapists Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt spent decades teaching the world how to love well … even as their own marriage was falling apart. In this candid, funny talk, Hendrix recounts the yearlong experiment in listening that saved their relationship — and shows how any couple can break the cycle of criticism to rediscover joy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does making friends as an adult feel like mission impossible? In today’s Sunday Pick, Corner Piece, host Melissa Fernandes explores what it means to be a friend while grappling with a friendship break up. Along the way, she interviews Anna Goldfarb, journalist and author of “Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valuable Connections,” and Dr. Marisa G. Franco, professor and author of “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—And Keep—Friends”. They explain why friendship can get so complicated as you get older and how to build closer bonds. Melissa also explores with her co-hosts Taha Khan and Sabrina Cruz what their different types of friendships mean to them. Find more episodes of Corner Piece on your favorite podcast app or here: https://link.mgln.ai/9hQ2JB Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ghost stories reveal much more than the ghouls and spirits that haunt them. Settle in for a spooky delight as theater educator Coya Paz Brownrigg lays out three types of bone-chilling tales and exhumes the grave truths they hold about longing, meaning and the cultural value of eerie encounters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rituals for the dead span much of the natural world, seen in practices from humans and elephants to bees, dolphins and beyond. With charm and playful insight, animal behaviorist Kaeli Swift delves into the life (and death) habits of crows and shares what their responses could reveal about our own relationship to mortality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a mysterious wave of tics and twitches swept through a small-town high school in New York, documentary podcaster Dan Taberski set out to investigate what was really happening. Drawing on extensive research and intimate interviews with the people involved, he explores the roots of mass hysteria — and what it reveals about the line between illness and belonging. What happens when the very thing that makes us sick ... is also what connects us? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientist Saad Bhamla is on a mission to answer a question most people don't think to ask: How do insects pee? Taking inspiration from the incredible "butt flickers" of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Bhamla presents a fascinating study of the physics behind how bugs take care of business and invites us to be more curious about the seemingly mundane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this fascinating, hilarious and ever-so-slightly creepy talk, science writer Ed Yong tells the story of his favorite parasites -- animals and organisms that live on the bodies (and brains!) of other organisms, causing them to do their bidding. Do humans have them too? Maybe ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who could you call at 2am when everything’s gone wrong? Friendship expert Sheridan Voysey believes we’re in a friendship recession, with many of us forgetting how to foster meaningful relationships. He explores three hidden barriers keeping us apart, why it feels harder to make friends as an adult — and how to nurture the deep connections that sustain us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solar energy and storage are the fastest, cheapest ways to add electricity to the grid. So why are small towns across the US pausing or banning these projects? Clean energy entrepreneur Jon Powers shows how fossil fuel companies are waging disinformation campaigns at the local level — and calls for a rapid-response team that sends trusted messengers (like firefighters and farmers) to get communities straight answers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many people fear AI is eroding our humanity, replacing real relationships with synthetic ones that leave us lonelier than ever. Digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns believes the opposite may be true. After talking to hundreds of people who turn to AI for grief, love, friendship and more, she pokes holes in this familiar fear — and hints at what these strange new relationships can teach us about ourselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Parenting an eye-rolling teenager glued to a gaming system is not a simple feat, but what if you could turn screen time into an opportunity for connection? Hannah Boquet shares how she decided to play video games with her kids and discovered the power of esports to foster trust, communication and essential life skills. Dive deeper into how you can strengthen family bonds, support your child’s development — and maybe even be considered “cool” by your kid. (This episode originally aired in 2025.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice advocate Payton M. Wilkins thinks we can protect both workers and the planet with an age-old solution: unions. He digs into the economic fallout of ditching fossil fuels and shows why unions are well-positioned to push the transition to clean energy and green jobs. (This episode originally aired in 2024.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No matter where you fall on the corporate food chain, you have power at work—you just might not know how to use it. In this new series on Unlocking Your Power at Work, Anne and Frances dig into how to discover, build, and use your power, explore common power dynamics in the workplace, and learn from people who use their full power with honesty and swagger. Kara Swisher is one of the most influential voices in media and has built a career holding the powerful accountable. In this episode, she reflects with Anne and Frances on her own path to power and what she’s learned from watching some people become corrupted by power while others learn to wield it for good. She also argues that people don’t leave jobs early or often enough, and makes the case for pursuing more than just the opportunities that are offered to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you feel short on time? Writer and work expert Danielle Roberts would like to help you with that. In this quick talk, she makes the case that free time isn't a reward you earn but a civil right you're owed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Smythe spent years in legacy newsrooms, and she thinks the habits journalists use to vet information should belong to all of us. Using Fyre Festival as a cautionary tale, she explains why media literacy is a vital skill in our age of deepfakes and algorithmic feeds — and describes the country that’s already found a way to start teaching it in elementary school. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Irwin is many things: a photographer, artist, author, performer. She also happens to be nonverbal, born with cerebral palsy that affects the muscles she needs to talk. Speaking through a device that turns her typed words into speech, she gives a sharp, funny and urgent reminder that being unable to speak has nothing to do with intelligence — and shares a few easy ways anyone can better communicate with nonverbal people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Urban planner James Rojas has led hundreds of workshops where participants creatively design their ideal communities with small objects — and he's noticed that people of every age, income and background build strikingly similar places. Through play and storytelling, he shows how we can use our childhood memories and imaginations to shape the places we live and love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With more information at our fingertips than ever before, learning should be getting easier ... yet the opposite seems to be true, says cognitive scientist Tania Lombrozo. Drawing on her research into how our minds understand and reason, she explores why more information can actually make learning harder — and shares the critical skill all great learners possess. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For all of human history, a baby's DNA was determined by chance at conception: the so-called genetic lottery. "That era is over," says Noor Siddiqui, whose company builds screening tools to read the whole genome of embryos in an effort to give parents more genetic information than standard IVF. She makes the case that this kind of technology helps families understand and reduce health risks, raising the question: How much should we know about our children's DNA before birth? (Followed by a brief Q&A with TED’s vision steward Sal Khan) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Monica Lewinsky is an anti-bullying activist and host of Reclaiming with Monica, a podcast that shines her guests’ unguarded conversations about how they make sense of the world. In this episode filmed in front of a live audience at TED 2026, Chris interviews Monica on how she finds healing throughout the years. They discuss the role of public shaming in an online world, the differences between cancel culture and accountability culture, and how to have more empathy after surviving trauma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Activist Leopoldo López learned the true value of freedom in a solitary confinement cell, when someone else decided if he would eat or see sunlight. In this searching conversation, he explains why democracy is losing ground across the globe, the state of Venezuela's transition after Maduro's capture and the 2026 earthquakes — and why he founded the World Liberty Congress to unite activists in the fight against autocracies. (This conversation, hosted by TED's Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more, visit ted.com/membership.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does confidence look like? Public speaking expert Cara Hale Alter studies how to project confidence and credibility — and she's pinpointed two key behaviors that shape how others see you. In this actionable talk, she explains how to make sure you're showing your true potential at work and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Homelessness can feel like an issue that’s too big and complicated to fix, something we've learned to walk past. Jen Loving, who leads the nonprofit Destination: Home, has spent her entire life proving that mindset is wrong. She shows why we must stop waiting until someone is pushed outside before intervening — and introduces Right at Home, a proven model helping communities across the US keep people from becoming homeless in the first place. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Workers everywhere are quietly redesigning their jobs around AI, boosting productivity but also creating new kinds of problems. AI advisor Julie Bedard thinks she has a fix. She shares new research on three areas for leaders to focus on — including how to avoid "AI brain fry" — and why we need to shape this change rather than let it happen to us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you avoid talking to people you disagree with? Author and mediator Emily Kasriel thinks you should try it out. She explains why engaging with ideas that bother you is one of the most powerful things you can do — and presents her framework for “deep listening” that can help you form relationships across generations, cultures and political divides. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When parents first have kids, some risk entering “the loneliest decade,” where they fall out of touch with friends. Writer Stacey McLachlan decided to do something different when she had her daughter, refusing to let her social life slip away. In this witty talk, she shares her solution — and why it matters for all of us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Technology has been promising to revolutionize education for a long time. Online learning, smartphones, and even asynchronous classes during COVID seemed for a while like they might finally transform what learning can look like, but all we really learned was that changing education is slower and harder than anyone wants it to be. Could AI finally be the unlock we’ve been looking for? Leah Belsky has spent nearly 20 years at the intersection of education and technology. She helped lead Coursera during the rise of online learning, and is now the head of education at OpenAI. In this episode, Molly sits down with Leah to find out what AI really has to offer as a learning tool, and where it falls short of the hype. Leah shares what she’s learned as both a leader in the ed tech world and a parent of AI-curious kids, and offers tips for how to coach kids to use AI as an empowering tool without getting in the way of their learning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As AI reshapes work, school and love, what part of being human can't a machine take over? In a wide-ranging conversation, psychotherapist Esther Perel and TED's vision steward Sal Khan provide their unique takes on the answer. From personalized learning and AI companions to "emotional capitalism" and the rituals we create to live with uncertainty, the two explore if we're getting better at living or just getting better at optimizing. (This conversation is part of “TED Intersections,” a series featuring thought-provoking conversations between experts navigating the ideas shaping our world.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On paper, Blake Mycoskie is a glowing success story: he founded TOMS Shoes, building a global brand that has given away more than 100 million pairs of shoes to children in need. Yet despite his success, his struggle with depression nearly cost him his life. In this personal talk, he explores the all-too-common shame that keeps people suffering in silence — and shares his new mission to spread the simple yet powerful message that each of us is inherently enough. (Note: This talk includes discussion of suicide and depression.) More resources Resources for suicide prevention, post-attempt survivors and their families Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All children develop at different paces — so why do schools expect every student to learn the same way? Early education researcher Anna Rainio introduces "playworlds," a learning activity where adults and kids create imaginary stories together. She shows how pretend play helps students find their place — and the power of a teacher or parent starting with a simple question: Why not? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tami Pyfer has five kids who belong to five different political parties, and sometimes family conversations get heated. Drawing on her work as a former policy advisor to the governor of Utah, she wanted to find a healthier way for people to talk about politics without contempt. The result is the Dignity Index: an eight-point scale that measures the language we use to disagree, aiming to ease political divisions. What score do you think your last conversation would get? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With humor and hard science, obstetrician and gynecologist Jaime Seeman reveals why building muscle is one of the best ways to combat women’s top health risks. Learn the truth behind three weightlifting myths that prevent women from getting serious about strength training — and why your future self will thank you for picking up those dumbbells. (This episode originally aired in 2025.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social psychologist Eli J. Finkel has spent decades studying what makes partnerships successful. In a practical talk drawing on lessons from pop culture, he explores why so many of us struggle to be true to ourselves in our relationships — and what the happiest couples do differently. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From group chats to video calls, technology should make social connection easier than ever. So, why is everyone so lonely? In this special featured episode from the new TED podcast, Corner Piece, host Sabrina sets out to investigate the "loneliness epidemic" that is sweeping the globe and impacting her friends and cohosts. She interviews Professor Fay Bound-Alberti, author of "A Biography of Loneliness: The History of an Emotion" to understand what loneliness is, where it comes from, and whether there is a "cure". In the process, co-hosts Taha and Melissa challenge Sabrina to tackle her own loneliness through a sidequest that reveals just how hard connection can be in modern life. Hear more episodes of Corner Piece on your favorite podcast app or here: https://link.mgln.ai/G4KvuV Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a whole world of food growing right outside our doors — in our backyards, on sidewalks, in the parks we walk through every day — and most of us pass by it without a second glance. Alexis Nikole Nelson wants to change that. A self-described “ethnobotany nerd,” she’s spent years teaching people how to forage the wild food hiding in plain sight. She explores how paying closer attention to what’s already around us can reconnect us to the land, our communities and each other. (This conversation, hosted by TED’s Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more, visit ted.com/membership.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where you live shapes your relationships, your emotions and even how long you live, says community designer Zach DeBoer. After studying what a century of building cities around cars has done to downtowns in the US, he turned to lessons from some of the most walkable, carefully designed streets in the country: the ones inside Disney theme parks. With ideas ranging from narrower roads to buildings that pull you around the next corner, he offers a practical guide to turning ordinary downtowns into magical places people want to explore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Relationship expert Amy Chan believes we're in a relationship recession, fueled by modern daters constantly looking for what could go wrong. But what if your dealbreakers are the very thing keeping you from finding love? In this relatable talk, she reveals how to discover true connection — and why the right person for you might not be who you expect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.