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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

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Be a Better Human

“Social media and screen time aren’t the most important factor in teen mental health,” says development psychologist Candice Odgers. While this claim sounds counterintuitive, Candice shares why it’s so pervasive—scary stories sell. They always have. In this episode, Candice joins Chris to discuss social inequity and the five areas that would be more effective in helping improve teens mental health than banning social media.

Featured guest

 • Follow Candice Odgers on 
LinkedIn • and at 
https://candiceodgers.com/ • Watch Candice's 
TED Talk

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

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What the data shows about youth mental health (w/ Candice Odgers)

How do you make sense of the present? Nate DiMeo might suggest you look at the past. Nate is the host of the podcast and book, The Memory Palace. Nate joins Chris to discuss how the past can teach us to live life in a new, rich, and complex way. Nate shares how to exercise the muscle of curiosity, how to tap into your sense of wonder to escape algorithmic filters, and urges you to seek moments of meaning in between life’s biggest plot points.

This is an episode of TED's How to Be a Better Human podcast. Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://tedtalks.social/4gmAZt3 

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

 

Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio from THE MEMORY PALACE by Nate DiMeo; excerpt read by Nate DiMeo. © 2024 Nate DiMeo ℗ 2024 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

This episode originally aired in 2025.

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

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer Fridays: How to get your sense of wonder back (w/ Nate DiMeo) (re-release)

Matt Abrahams is a communication expert who teaches strategic communication at Stanford University, hosts the podcast Think Fast Talk Smart, and wrote the new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter. In this episode, he joins Chris to share his insights on mastering communication on the spot. From breaking down the four-step format on how to give an excellent speech to identifying which peers would be most effective as your test audience, Matt’s tips demonstrate the clues you can use to help you communicate better and deliver messages worth remembering.

Featured guest

 • Follow Matt Abrahams on 
Instagram • , 
LinkedIn • , and at 
https://mattabrahams.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

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to think fast and talk smart (w/ Matt Abrahams)

Katina Bajaj is a scientist studying “creative health.” She looks at the role of play, fun, art, and creativity in our overall wellbeing. When was the last time you’ve gone on an “awe walk?” For Katina, carving out time where she’s not listening to music or podcasts on her walks but instead smelling the hydrangeas or allowing her mind to wander is a key way to destress. Katina joins Chris to talk about why adults are starved for creativity and why it’s important to push through the discomfort when trying something new for the first time.

Featured guest

 • Follow Katina Bajaj on 
Instagram • , 
LinkedIn • , and at 
https://www.katinabajaj.com/ • Subscribe to Katina's Substack 
Creative Health • Watch Katina's 
TED Talk

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 
TEDAudioCollective • Follow TED on 
X • , 
Instagram • , 
Facebook • , 
LinkedIn • , and 
TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why you are starved for creativity—and how to fix it (w/ Katina Bajaj)

Why is it so fun to watch your team win in the World Cup or to be a Knicks fan as they finally get an NBA championship? There’s a collective joy in sports that can also be found in art, theater, and comedy. In this episode of How to Be a Better Human with Maxwell Pearce, Chris talks to him about his accomplishments as a mixed media artist and a Harlem Globetrotter. Maxwell integrates playfulness into his art and in sports—whether it’s using shoelaces as texture in his artwork or training his body to perform a basketball trick shot. Maxwell shares how play is the secret ingredient in his career and how changing the way he thinks about the rules and mistakes allows him to have more fun and more successes.

Find more ways you can make more room for play in your life with PLAY@TED. Learn more from conversations, ideas and moments at ted.com/play

Featured guest

 • Follow Maxwell Pearce on 
Instagram • and at 
https://theartofanathlete.com/ • View Maxwell's Harlem Globetrotter's 
profile

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 
TEDAudioCollective • Follow TED on 
X • , 
Instagram • , 
Facebook • , 
LinkedIn • , and 
TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How play is the secret to success at work (w/ Maxwell Pearce)

Heather Berlin is a a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience who studies the science of giving up control. She joins Chris to talk about finding the balance between knowing when to hold on to control and when to let go and be present in the moment. They also discuss why you don’t need to always be productive or in a constant state of self-optimization, and how there are benefits in learning to lose track of time and practicing boredom.

Featured guest

 • Follow Heather Berlin on 
Instagram • , 
LinkedIn • , and at 
https://heatherberlin.com/ • Buy Heather's book 
The Fine Art of Losing Control • Tune in to Heather's TED Talk, coming soon in November 2026

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 
TEDAudioCollective • Follow TED on 
X • , 
Instagram • , 
Facebook • , 
LinkedIn • , and 
TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to give up control - advice from neuroscientist Heather Berlin

How long have you been sitting today? If you’re still on the couch or the office chair, then this is your PSA to get up and move! In this episode, Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour, joins Chris to share the detrimental effects of sitting all day. They talk about the joy of adding more positive interruptions in your life, why going off-camera helps you improve your mind-body connection, and more!

Featured guest

 • Follow Manoush Zomorodi on 
Instagram • , 
LinkedIn • , and at 
https://www.manoushz.com/ • Subscribe to Manoush Minutes on 
Substack • Buy her book 
Body Electric

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 
TEDAudioCollective • Follow TED on 
X • , 
Instagram • , 
Facebook • , 
LinkedIn • , and 
TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why you need to get up and move—right now! (w/ Manoush Zomorodi)

In today’s special featured episode of 10% Happier with Dan Harris, hear from Ranjay Gulati, a Harvard professor and author whose pioneering work focuses on unlocking organizational and individual potential—embracing courage, nurturing purpose-driven leaders, driving growth, and transforming businesses. Find out how you can decipher courage and recklessness, build moral anchors for your decision-making, and take action when you’re feeling stuck.

10% Happier with Dan Harris is a show about how to do life better, hosted by a former ABC News anchor turned bestselling author. Drawing on a mix of ancient Buddhism and modern science, this podcast covers self-compassion, relationships , productivity, and more. Find out how happiness is not an unalterable factory setting; it’s a skill. You can find more episodes of 10% Happier with Dan Harris wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stressed, stuck, and overthinking? The science of moving forward w/ Ranjay Gulati | 10% Happier

When you think about risk, you probably think about big, dramatic moves: quitting your job, moving across the country, saying something controversial. But the people who are actually good at taking risks are the ones who practice small challenges every day. Julie Zhuo was one of the earliest product and design leaders at Facebook, and is now the co-founder of Sundial, a company that uses AI to help organizations make better decisions. In this episode, Molly and Julie dissect what it actually means to take a risk and how you can build your risk-taking skills through daily practice. Julie reflects on her own risk-taking journey, the ways she has honed her abilities to challenge fear, her thinking on when you shouldn’t take a leap, and the important distinction between courage and fearlessness.

WorkLife is a podcast from TED where host and company builder Molly Graham and her expert guests talk through the messy feelings we all experience at work. Ambition and failure, joy and burnout, confidence and self-doubt — this show digs into it all to help you build a career without losing yourself. Listen now: https://link.mgln.ai/9sBEHV

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

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why you should take a risk every day with Julie Zhuo | from WorkLife with Molly Graham

A-1. Killer-diller. Outta sight. All that and a bag of chips. This slaps! From the 1940s to the early 2020s, these words and phrases are all generational slang that means the same thing—“excellent.” In this episode, Chris speaks with linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic on how technology and algorithms are changing language. They also discuss which age-group is experimenting the most with language, how social media is transforming how the deaf community communicates, and whether going completely offline does more harm than good.

Featured guest

 • Follow Adam Aleksic on 
Instagram • , 
TikTok • , 
YouTube • , and at 
etymologynerd.com/ • Subscribe to Adam's Substack, 
The Etymology Nerd • Buy Adam's book 
Algospeak

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 
TEDAudioCollective • Follow TED on 
X • , 
Instagram • , 
Facebook • , 
LinkedIn • , and 
TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer Fridays: How to get your sense of wonder back (w/ Nate DiMeo) (re-release)

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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