TED Talks Daily

Most of us assume data-driven people make data-driven decisions. Not quite. Adam Grant has built a career helping others think more clearly — but when it comes to his own career, the most important calls he’s made didn’t have clear data behind them. So how did he decide? In this first episode of WorkLife with Molly Graham, Adam joins Molly to talk about how he actually navigates uncertainty — the four questions he asks before committing to any big project, what he calls “deliberate then dive”, and how he measures success when the numbers don’t tell the whole story.Featured guestFollow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/Subscribe to Adam’s substackConnect with the teamFollow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/Subscribe to Molly’s Substack LessonWatch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollectiveFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTokLearn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Success in your career looks different for everyone — but no matter your industry, you'll need to take risks. Company and community builder Molly Graham took to the TED stage two years ago to share three key skills to learn before jumping off a metaphorical cliff, outlining a path off the corporate ladder and into true professional and personal growth -- and these key skills are more relevant today than ever.Today, Molly has returned to TED as the new host of the podcast, WorkLife. WorkLife is a show where Molly and her expert guests talk through the messy feelings we all experience at work—conversations that delve into our ambitions and failures. Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, caught up with Molly to look back at her talk and how those ideas continue to evolve in today's world. They discuss the importance of embracing the emotional side of work, how to tell the difference between good fear and bad fear, aging, why so many successful things feel messier than we think they’re supposed to, and so much more. Listen to WorkLife with Molly Graham wherever you get your podcasts. Molly's talk originally aired in 2024. Elise and Molly’s conversation was recorded in April 2026.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in uncomfortable positions.)(This episode originally aired in 2012)Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 2025, Neal Kumar Katyal was asked to do what no US Supreme Court litigator had ever done: convince the justices to strike down a sitting president's signature initiative. After enlisting the help of four unlikely coaches — and one secret weapon he hasn't told anyone about until now — he walked into the courtroom ready for anything. What he discovered about winning and connecting might just change how you think about performing under pressure.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mothers undeniably impact and shape history -- but their stories are often left out or misrepresented, says sociologist and author Anna Malaika Tubbs. This erasure limits policies to support mothers and their essential roles in society. Citing the remarkable lives of Alberta King, Louise Little and Berdis Baldwin (the mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin, respectively), Tubbs emphasizes the need to shift the perspective on motherhood at a cultural level -- to better reflect the presence, power and influence of moms as our first leaders, caretakers and teachers. "Would the world be different today if we had been telling their stories all along?" she asks.(This episode originally aired in 2022.)Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know it's important to take care of your physical and mental health. But what about your social health? Social scientist Kasley Killam shows how feeling a sense of belonging and connection has concrete benefits to your overall health — and explains why it may be the missing key to living a longer and happier life.This episode originally aired in 2025.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former senior US national security official Miles Taylor shares a personal account that raises a broader civic concern: the growing cost of dissent in American public life. Drawing on his experience inside government and living the consequences of speaking openly, he says that the real threat to US democracy isn't the politicians or hard-liners — it's the two-thirds of Americans who don’t speak up. (This talk contains mature language.)Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your hardest emotional challenges could be solved by talking to a stranger? A person who has gone through the exact same situation or something very similar. That’s the premise of Proxy, a podcast that investigates your niche emotional conundrums with host Yowei Shaw. In this episode, Yowei and Chris talk about the power of knowing you’re not the only person going through something, however specific. Whether it’s losing your job, a friend breakup, or an alternate version of your life that you can’t let go of, Yowei has a method to make it all make more sense.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you hear when you sit in silence? For artist Rose B. Simpson, that question is the beginning of all art. She comes from a line of ceramic artists stretching back generations and, as part of her multidisciplinary work, she also builds custom lowrider cars. (If that sounds like a contradiction, that's kind of the point.) In conversation with "Design Matters" podcast host Debbie Millman, Simpson invites you to find your own aesthetic — not by searching, but by listening.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We see consciousness in AI the same way we see faces in clouds, says neuroscientist Anil Seth. He explores the all-too-human tendency to project inner life onto machines that are brilliant mimics, not sentient beings, and gives a definitive answer to the urgent question: Will AI ever gain consciousness?Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Architect Riyad Joucka believes your home should be a mirror of who you are. Using 3D printing and ancient architectural wisdom, he's designing efficient, personal homes that respond to context, climate and culture without sacrificing character. He makes the case that we should start designing for people, not the market.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Confidence doesn’t come before action — it comes from taking action, says business leader Kat Cole, who worked her way up from waitress to CEO of a global health company. She presents a simple yet powerful practice called the “hot shot rule” to help you step into a leadership mindset, break free from inertia and take decisive action when it matters most.This episode originally aired in 2025.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over two decades of interviewing countless creative people, Debbie Millman (host of the iconic "Design Matters" podcast) had a realization: the pride and joy of accomplishing something often evaporates almost instantly. She explains how to stop chasing external validation for your achievements and instead live for the act of creation itself.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does searching your symptoms online always leave you more frightened than before? As former chief medical officer of WebMD, physician John Whyte spent years believing more information meant better health — until he saw how too much of it was making people spiral. In a world of health influencers, algorithms and AI tools designed to keep you clicking, he reveals why clarity and context is a better prescription. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The author of the award-winning novels “Pachinko” and “Free Food for Millionaires,” Min Jin Lee, discusses her remarkable career and the long journey and intention behind her Korean diaspora novels.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Every conversation has the potential to open up and reveal all the layers and layers within it, all those rooms within rooms," says musician and host of the beloved podcast Song Exploder, Hrishikesh Hirway. In this profoundly moving talk from 2022, he offers a guide to deep conversations and explores what you learn when you take that same kind of close listening we often give to music, and turn it toward people.A lot has changed for Hrishikesh since this popular talk was released, and after more than a decade helping other artists tell their stories and helping us think about listening in new ways, he's got a new solo album that just came out, called In the Last Hour of Light, which he describes as a memoir of sorts. Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, caught up with him earlier this month to talk about his new album, how his ideas about listening have evolved since his talk, and what his own creative process looks like today. They also do a mini Song Exploder of sorts to take a peak into Hrishikesh's own songwriting process, breaking down one of the new songs on this album, "Things Change, Even Now," (co-written with Vagabon), which is shared in full at the end of the episode.This episode originally aired in 2022. The interview was recorded in April 2026.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Truth is the real oxygen for democracy,” says Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, the 6th President of the Republic of Kosovo. As a child of war, she once longed for someone to save her people. Now she’s been in the rooms where decisions are made — and she’s never forgotten what brought her there. In conversation with solutions journalist Angus Hervey, she reflects on what it takes to defend democracy in a world where truth itself is under threat. (Recorded on April 14, 2026)Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do the story of Oedipus and your insurance premiums have in common? They are both driven by self-fulfilling prophecies. Philosopher and TED Fellow Carissa Véliz traces the hidden power of prediction, from Roman emperors who banned prophets to the AI algorithms quietly making decisions about your life right now. We tend to associate predictions with knowledge, she says, but they're actually attempts to grab power. So the next time someone tells you a specific outcome is inevitable, remember: they aren't describing the future — they're selling it.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the Fukushima disaster shut down Japan's nuclear reactors, the coal industry rushed in to fill the energy gap. As climate advocate Kimiko Hirata watched dozens of new coal plant proposals quietly surface across the country — each one locking in decades of future emissions — she resolved to make them impossible to ignore. She shares how a small, scrappy civil society movement took on a fossil-fuel-dependent economy and got people to say "yes" to a renewable future.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Family life often requires extraordinary bravery, from navigating the daily challenges to surviving the unexpected crises. Author and podcaster Kelly Corrigan offers profound wisdom (and seven key words) to help you focus in on what matters most.This episode originally aired in 2024.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.