How to Be a Better Human: How to challenge conventional wisdom -- and change any industry
Do you think Hollywood needs to change? How about your own industry? It's difficult to get decision makers to step outside of the tried-and-true and attempt something new. In this episode, host Chris Duffy sits down with Franklin Leonard -- founder and CEO of the Black List, a company that elevates great screenplays and the writers who create th...
How to Be a Better Human: ALOK is microdosing creativity and rejecting norms
ALOK doesn't quite get the term multihyphenate — but how else to describe the internationally acclaimed author, poet, comedian and public speaker? From exploring belonging and the human condition, to fighting to degender the fashion and beauty industries, ALOK is tapping into their creativity constantly. Today, they share their approach to the c...
Krista Tippett: 3 practices for wisdom and wholeness
How do we stand before the pain and promise of the world and keep hope and courage alive? Journalist and podcast host Krista Tippett has spent a career interviewing some of the world's wisest people in search of answers to that question. Listen along as she offers three practices to help you make sense of what it means to be human right now — an...
Tasha Eurich: Increase your self-awareness with one simple fix
We'd all like to believe we're self-aware, but in reality, the facts point to a more sobering truth. Organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich has spent the last 4 years researching what it truly means to be self-aware, and in the process, has made a surprising discovery about human perception. In this illuminating talk, Eurich dissects common mi...
Anne Scherer: Why we're more honest with machines than people
For a genuine conversation, consider talking to a robot; the less humanized, the better. Consumer researcher Anne Scherer shares her findings on why some machines get us to open up better than actual people, revealing fascinating insights about human nature that could lead to more honest interactions in our day-to-day lives.
Jared Diamond: How societies can grow old better
There's an irony behind the latest efforts to extend human life: It's no picnic to be an old person in a youth-oriented society. Older people can become isolated, lacking meaningful work and low on funds. In this intriguing talk, Jared Diamond looks at how many different societies treat their elders -- some better, some worse -- and suggests we ...
Alex Laskey: How behavioral science can lower your energy bill
Leila Takayama: What's it like to be a robot?
We already live among robots: tools and machines like dishwashers and thermostats so integrated into our lives that we'd never think to call them that. What will a future with even more robots look like? Social scientist Leila Takayama shares some unique challenges of designing for human-robot interactions -- and how experimenting with robotic f...
Dan Shipper: The unexpected key to boosting your productivity
Sarah J. Doherty: How aerosols brighten clouds — and cool the planet
Here's a conundrum: the same aerosol pollutants that harm human health also help cool the climate, says atmospheric scientist Sarah J. Doherty. Is there a way to clean up the air without warming the planet? Exploring the unintended consequences of reducing air pollution, she makes the case for a better understanding of marine cloud brightening —...
Tony Fadell: The first secret of design is ... noticing
Juliet Brophy: How a new species of ancestors is changing our theory of human evolution
In 2013, a treasure trove of unusual fossils were uncovered in a cave in South Africa, and researchers soon realized: these were the remains of a new species of ancient humans. Paleoanthropologist Juliet Brophy takes us inside the discovery of Homo naledi, explaining how this mysterious ancestor is forcing us to rethink where we come from -- and...
Juan Enriquez: Will our kids be a different species?
Tom Griffiths: 3 ways to make better decisions -- by thinking like a computer
If you ever struggle to make decisions, here's a talk for you. Cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths shows how we can apply the logic of computers to untangle tricky human problems, sharing three practical strategies for making better decisions -- on everything from finding a home to choosing which restaurant to go to tonight.
Joseph Shin: How doctors can help fix the broken US asylum system
Refugees fleeing persecution endure unimaginable hardships in search of a better life. Physician Joseph Shin explains the essential collaboration of doctors and lawyers working together to help asylum seekers in the United States, sharing promising pathways toward securing the human dignities they deserve.
Eric Topol: Can AI catch what doctors miss?
AI could propel the biggest transformation in the history of medicine, says physician-scientist Eric Topol. He explains how sophisticated AI models can interpret medical images as well or better than human experts can — and, beyond that, even pick up things that human eyes can't see. Learn all the ways AI is poised to make a difference for both ...
Martin Reeves: How to build a business that lasts 100 years
If you want to build a business that lasts, there may be no better place to look for inspiration than your own immune system. Join strategist Martin Reeves as he shares startling statistics about shrinking corporate life spans and explains how executives can apply six principles from living organisms to build resilient businesses that flourish i...
Harvey Fineberg: Are we ready for neo-evolution?
Medical ethicist Harvey Fineberg shows us three paths forward for the ever-evolving human species: to stop evolving completely, to evolve naturally -- or to control the next steps of human evolution, using genetic modification, to make ourselves smarter, faster, better. Neo-evolution is within our grasp. What will we do with it?
Alua Arthur: Why thinking about death helps you live a better life
As a death doula, or someone who supports dying people and their loved ones, Alua Arthur spends a lot of time thinking about the end of life. In a profound talk that examines our brief, perfectly human time on this planet, she asks us to look at our lives through the lens of our deaths in seeking to answer the question: "What must I do to be at ...
Tristan Harris: How better tech could protect us from distraction
How often does technology interrupt us from what we really mean to be doing? At work and at play, we spend a startling amount of time distracted by pings and pop-ups -- instead of helping us spend our time well, it often feels like our tech is stealing it away from us. Design thinker Tristan Harris offers thoughtful new ideas for technology that...
Douglas Rushkoff: How to be "Team Human" in the digital future
Humans are no longer valued for our creativity, says media theorist Douglas Rushkoff -- in a world dominated by digital technology, we're now just valued for our data. In a passionate talk, Rushkoff urges us to stop using technology to optimize people for the market and start using it to build a future centered on our pre-digital values of conne...
Melissa Fleming: A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea. The story of two survivors
Aboard an overloaded ship carrying more than 500 refugees, a young woman becomes an unlikely hero. This single, powerful story, told by Melissa Fleming of the UN's refugee agency, gives a human face to the sheer numbers of human beings trying to escape to better lives ... as the refugee ships keep coming ...
Stuart Kauffman: The "adjacent possible" — and how it explains human innovation
From the astonishing evolutionary advances of the Cambrian explosion to our present-day computing revolution, the trend of dramatic growth after periods of stability can be explained through the theory of the "adjacent possible," says theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman. Tracing the arc of human history through the tools and technologies we've...
Joshua Harvey: The evolution of the human eye
The human eye is an amazing mechanism, able to detect anywhere from a few photons to a few quadrillion, or switch focus from the screen in front of you to the distant horizon in a third of a second. How did these complex structures evolve? Joshua Harvey details the 500 million year story of the human eye. [Directed by Artrake Studio, narrated Ad...
Ioannis Papachimonas: How computers translate human language
Is a universal translator possible in real life? We already have many programs that claim to be able to take a word, sentence, or entire book in one language and translate it into almost any other. The reality, however, is a bit more complicated. Ioannis Papachimonas shows how these machine translators work, and explains why they often get a bit...
Tal Golesworthy: How I repaired my own heart
Matt Walker: 6 tips for better sleep
Paul A. Kramer: Our immigration conversation is broken -- here's how to have a better one
How did the US immigration debate get to be so divisive? In this informative talk, historian and writer Paul A. Kramer shows how an "insider vs. outsider" framing has come to dominate the way people in the US talk about immigration -- and suggests a set of new questions that could reshape the conversation around whose life, rights and thriving m...
Hannah Ritchie: Are we the last generation — or the first sustainable one?
The word "sustainability" gets thrown around a lot these days. But what does it actually mean for humanity to be sustainable? Environmental data scientist Hannah Ritchie digs into the numbers behind human progress across centuries, unpacking why the conventional understanding of sustainability is misleading and showing how we can be the first ge...
Sylvain Duranton: How humans and AI can work together to create better businesses
Here's a paradox: as companies try to streamline their businesses by using artificial intelligence to make critical decisions, they may inadvertently make themselves less efficient. Business technologist Sylvain Duranton advocates for a "Human plus AI" approach -- using AI systems alongside humans, not instead of them -- and shares the specific ...