TED Radio Hour

Original broadcast date: Friday, October 16, 2020. Sound surrounds us, from cacophony even to silence. But depending on how we hear, the world can be a different auditory experience for each of us. This hour, TED speakers explore the science of sound. Guests on the show include NPR All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly, neuroscientist Jim Hudspeth, writer Rebecca Knill, and sound designer Dallas Taylor.

MLK Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin are household names, but what about their mothers? This hour, author Anna Malaika Tubbs explores how these three women shaped American history.

From workplaces to schools to national governments, leaders everywhere are being called on to solve complex problems with humility and bravery. This hour, we consider what it takes to be a leader. Guests include executive coach Patrice Gordon, organizational psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, and educator Shabana Basij-Rasikh.

Original broadcast date: July 24, 2020. How do spaces shape the human experience? In what ways do our rooms, homes, and buildings give us meaning and purpose? This hour, TED speakers explore the power of the spaces we make and inhabit.Guests include architect Michael Murphy, musician David Byrne, artist Es Devlin, and architect Siamak Hariri.

Original broadcast date: May 8, 2020. Many of us were taught biological sex is a question of female or male, XX or XY... but it's far more complicated. This hour, TED speakers explore what determines our sex. Guests on the show include artist Emily Quinn, journalist Molly Webster, neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi, and structural biologist Karissa Sanbonmatsu.

Giving and receiving care—it's a natural part of life. But how do we offer the best possible support for our loved ones? This hour, TED speakers share ideas on reimagining caregiving. Guests include dementia care advocate Yvonne van Amerongen, attorney Diana Adams, inclusion advocate Sara Jones, and comedian Bill Bernat.

Original broadcast date: September 3, 2021. Food is one of life's greatest pleasures, yet many of our food systems are flawed. This hour, TED speakers look to the past to reconnect with what we eat, and the present to reimagine our food future. Guests include forager Alexis Nikole Nelson, chef Sean Sherman, social entrepreneur Jasmine Crowe, and environmental journalist Amanda Little.

In the last century, human life expectancy has doubled. This hour, we talk with writer Steven Johnson on the many breakthroughs that made this possible — and where we go from here.

Original broadcast date: October 30, 2020. False information on the internet makes it harder and harder to know what's true, and the consequences have been devastating. This hour, TED speakers explore ideas around technology and deception. Guests include law professor Danielle Citron, journalist Andrew Marantz, and computer scientist Joy Buolamwini.

From our planet's underwater caves to its ancient soils, there are entire worlds right beneath our feet. This hour, we explore the subterranean forces that shape our lives above the ground. Guests include cave diver Jill Heinerth, death care advocate Katrina Spade, soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, and paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim.

Original broadcast date: April 30, 2021. Migration is a part of everyone's history. This hour, TED speakers explore ideas about places we call home — and how these experiences continue to reshape our culture, countries, and species. Guests include bioarchaeologist Carolyn Freiwald, journalist Isabel Wilkerson, comedian Maeve Higgins, and ecologist Sonia Altizer.

Original broadcast date: September 17, 2021. Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.

Rest is so much more than just a good night's sleep. From human hibernation to ASMR to the science of dreams, we explore how to nourish our minds and bodies with different forms of rest. Guests include physiologist Craig Richard, psychologist Dylan Selterman, hibernation researcher Matteo Cerri, and journalist Celeste Headlee.

As kids, play comes naturally. But over time, it gets replaced with work. This hour, TED speakers explore how to reconnect with play—to spark creativity, combat despair, and find our way in the world. Guests include musician Jacob Collier, human rights activist Yana Buhrer Tavanier, and web developer Stuart Duncan.

The past few years have shaken the fundamental ways we live. It's... disorienting. But it's also an opportunity to reexamine how we spend our time. Over the next three episodes, TED speakers will investigate evolving notions of what it means to pay our bills, feel joy in play, and rest our minds and bodies. This hour: Work. Guests include labor organizer Jess Kutch, social entrepreneur Irma Olguin, and tech reporter Kevin Roose.

Original broadcast date: November 15, 2020. Cities are never static; they can transform in months, years, or centuries. This hour, TED speakers explore how today's cities are informed by the past, and how they'll need to evolve for the future. Guests include archaeologist Alyssa Loorya, architects Marwa Al-Sabouni and Rahul Mehrotra, and landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom.

Fiction can serve as a window into multiple realities—to imagine different futures or understand our own past. This hour, author and TED speaker Dave Eggers talks technology, education, and the healing power of writing.

Original broadcast date: Friday, March 19, 2021. Our senses can only take us so far in understanding the world. But with the right tools, we can dig deeper. This hour, TED speakers take us through the looking glass, where we explore new frontiers. Guests include astrophysicist Emily Levesque, wildlife filmmaker Ariel Waldman, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist Rick Doblin, and science fiction author Charlie Jane Anders.

New innovations in gene and stem cell technology have the power to shape ecosystems and even change humanity. This hour, TED speakers share the breakthroughs heralding the next scientific revolution. Guests include biochemist Jennifer Doudna, physicist and biotech entrepreneur Nabiha Saklayen, and conservation innovator and biotech entrepreneur Ryan Phelan.

Original broadcast date: June 25, 2021. For centuries, humans have relied on the oceans for resources and food... but even the deepest sea has its limits. This hour, TED speakers discuss how we can save our seas to save our planet.