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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

How To Be A Better Human isn’t your average self improvement podcast. Each week join Chris Duffy in conversation with guests and past speakers as they uncover sharp insights and give clear takeaways on how YOU can be a better human. From your work to your home and your head to your heart, How To Be a Better Human looks in unexpected places for new ways to improve and show up for one another. Inspired by the popular series of the same name on TED’s Ideas blog, How to Be a Better Human will help you become a better person from the comfort of your own headphones.

Follow Chris on Instagram and TikTok at @chrisiduffy. Buy his book Humor Me at https://t.ted.com/ZGuYfcL

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How to Be a Better Human

Harlan Coben doesn’t think so. The mega-best-selling author talks suburbia, impostor syndrome, and what he learned from his college friend David Foster Wallace.

If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts.

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For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Does it Take a Twisted Mind to Write Twisted Stories? | from Better In Person

Roleplaying games and the Marvel universe may be fictional, but they can also teach us a lot about morality in the real world. Christopher Robichaud is a Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In this episode, he shares ways we can explore important, everyday issues in fun, safe, and unexpected ways. Christopher has made a career out of teaching ethics and philosophy using pop culture, dissecting moral questions using anything from zombie apocalypse simulations to superhero narratives. He received his doctorate in philosophy from MIT. In 2015 he won the Innovation in Teaching Award at the Harvard Kennedy School for creating a day-long simulation--using design elements from old school tabletop roleplaying games like D&D--where policy students wielded their leadership skills and confronted ethical dilemmas to deal with a zombie pandemic. 

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Summer Fridays: How zombies, dragons, and superheroes could make you a better person (w/ Christopher Robichaud)

Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and producer, but you probably know him best as the host of the podcast Song Exploder. Hrishikesh has a new album out, “In the Last Hour of Light,” and he shares with Chris his creative process. Hrishikesh also talks about his definition of success and why he values the act of creating over the insecurity of whether his work is “good enough.” Finally, Hrishikesh shares his advice for how people can become more attuned to their creative side.

Featured guest

 • Follow Hrishikesh Hirway on 
Instagram • , 
LinkedIn • , 
YouTube • , and at 
https://hrishikesh.co/ • Subscribe to Hrishikesh's Substack, 
accept cookies • Buy Hrishikesh's album, 
In the Last Hour of Light

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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How to be creatively inspired (w/ Hrishikesh Hirway)

If you found yourself doodling or writing a lot as a child but then lost the hobby as you grew up, Wendy MacNaughton and Laurel Braitman want to help you recapture your spark. Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator, the author of “How to Say Goodbye”, and the creator of Draw Together, an art and learning community. Laurel Braitman is a TED Fellow, the author of the memoir “What Looks Like Bravery”, and the founder of Writing Medicine, a community of writing healthcare professionals. Together, Wendy and Laurel created Attention Club, a group of people pursuing creativity by practicing focus with one another. In this episode, Wendy and Laurel join Chris for an in-person chat at the 2024 TED Conference where they discuss the feelings that arise when sharing art with an audience and why embracing mistakes can lead to more meaningful work.

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Summer Fridays: The art of paying attention (w/ Wendy MacNaughton and Laurel Braitman)

What is natural sound in an increasingly noisy world? asks sound recordist and audio engineer Matt Mikkelsen. Matt travels the world recording natural sounds in places where you can’t hear anything made by humans: no planes, no cars, no ringing phones. In this episode, Matt joins Chris to talk about the difference between quiet and silence. Matt shares his adventures and work with Quiet Parks International and even shares a story about the time he was struck by lightning. They also talk about the importance of choosing our acoustic environment and why it’s important to unplug and sit still in nature.

Featured guest

 • Follow Matt Mikkelsen on 
Instagram • and at 
matthewmikkelsen.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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The last places without human sounds (w/ Matt Mikkelsen)

If you ask Christian Cooper, a science writer, editor, and the host of the show “Extraordinary Birder With Christian Cooper”, birding can teach us all kinds of lessons about life, self-acceptance, and joy. In this episode, Christian shares what he deems as the seven pleasures of birding, why inclusion is especially important in life-affirming pursuits, and how anyone (city-dwellers and countryside-residents alike) can commune with nature to unlock the awe and wonder of the world around us. 

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Summer Fridays: Why you should try birding (w/ Christian Cooper)

The conversation around climate change is often bleak and terrifying, but it doesn’t have to be that way, says climate behavior scientist Jiaying Zhao, or JZ. In this episode, JZ and happiness researcher Elizabeth Dunn join Chris to discuss why we need to account for happiness in climate solutions. JZ and Elizabeth argue since happiness is contagious, making happiness-driven decisions go further in influencing behavioral change than fear-based tactics. They also talk about an anesthetic gas that releases more carbon than CO2 and why you should google if your bank is investing money in fossil fuels.

Featured guest

 • Follow JZ on 
X • , 
LinkedIn • , and at 
psych.ubc.ca/profile/jiaying-zhao/ • Follow Elizabeth Dunn at 
https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/ • Learn more at 
https://happyclimate.org/ • Buy 
Leave the Light On

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 • , 
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TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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How increasing your happiness can help solve climate change (w/ Jiaying Zhao and Elizabeth Dunn)

Let’s face it: if chores were fun, they probably wouldn’t be called that. Because for most people, life can be overwhelming – and that means it doesn’t always look like a cleaning commercial where everyone is dancing their way to do laundry, take out trash, or smiling while washing the dishes. KC Davis is a therapist, author, podcaster, and TikToker who knows that caring for yourself can be a struggle. In this episode, she shares how radically rethinking “care” tasks –like not seeing a lack of cleanliness as shameful, or viewing messiness as a moral failure– can improve our quality of life. She also shares small strategies that could help us take better care of ourselves, because we deserve it.

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Summer Fridays: How to clean your house without losing your mind (w/ KC Davis)

What can we learn from trees? Robert Moor thinks that the path to a well-lived life lies in trying our best to live like a tree. Branch out, prune what doesn’t work, and make use of the spots where we’ve been injured or broken. Robert talks to Chris about his decade-long project to write a book about the wisdom of trees, which took him from a thousand year old bonsai in Tokyo to a tree-climbing teacher in England and living in the canopy of an old growth forest in Canada to try and prevent its logging. This is an adventurous, far-ranging episode about what it means to be a human and why the answer to that question might just lie in the top branches of the nearest tree.

Featured guest

 • Follow Robert Moor on 
Instagram • , 
X • , 
Bluesky • and at 
robertmoor.com/ • Buy 
In Trees: An Exploration

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 
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Facebook • , 
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TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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What trees can teach us about life (w/ Robert Moor)

Maurine “Mighty Mo'' Kornfeld will soon turn 102 years old, and most days, you can catch her doing laps in a Los Angeles public swimming pool. And that’s not just because she regularly competes in – and wins – world swimming championships! It’s because she loves being in the water, despite only picking up swimming as a hobby well into her sixties. In this special episode, Maurine shares what she’s learned from doing something she loves almost every day, why it’s never too late to start something new, and the three things anyone can do to improve their life, no matter their age. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

(This episode originally aired in 2023 when Mighty Mo was 102 years old. Mighty Mo is still swimming and will soon turn 106 years old in November!)

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Summer Fridays: Lessons from 102-year-old swimmer Maurine Kornfeld (re-release)

Widely recognized as a musical genius and once-in-a-generation talent, Jon Batiste is one of history’s most brilliant, prolific, and accomplished musicians. The Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar-winning star joins to discuss his legendary career, connecting people through a shared love of music. This episode originally aired on Design Matters March 31, 2025.

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Jon Batiste | from Design Matters

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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