TED Talks Daily TED Audio Collective

There's a mistaken belief in today's working world that leaders need to be serious all the time to be taken seriously. The research tells a different story. Based on the course they teach at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, behavioral scientist Jennifer Aaker and corporate strategist Naomi Bagdonas delve into the surprising power of humor: why it's a secret weapon to build bonds, power, creativity and resilience -- and how we can all have more of it.

When filmmaker Desiree Akhavan told her Iranian immigrant parents she was in love with a woman, she knew they would object. She explains why it's worth the risk to let people get to know the real you.

Our memories and bodies give us clues about who we are, but what happens when this guidance shifts? In this mind-bending talk, science writer Anil Ananthaswamy shares how the experiences of "altered selves" -- resulting from schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, foreign limb syndrome or other conditions -- shed light on the constructed nature of identity. He breaks down where our sense of self comes from and invites us to challenge our assumptions about who we are, with the aim of building a better you and a better world.

In a part of the United States with more than 17,000 years of human history, cultural preservation advocate Tracie Revis is working to turn the Ocmulgee Mounds into Georgia's first national park and preserve. This park would be co-managed by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, bringing the tribal voice back to an area they were forcibly removed from 200 years ago. Revis explores the complex feelings of caring for this land and shows how it's fostering healing in return.

Can AI help catch oceanic outlaws? From drug smugglers to modern-day pirates, maritime crime fighter Dyhia Belhabib introduces Heva: an AI-powered tool that aggregates international criminal records to detect and stop crime that might otherwise get swept away in the tide.

Each Sunday, TED shares an episode of another podcast we think you'll love, handpicked for you… by us. Today: an episode from TED Health, a podcast that shares ideas about your well-being -- from smart daily habits to new medical breakthroughs.


While doctors take an oath to do no harm, there's a good chance their unconscious biases can seep into how seriously they treat pain. Physician Sheetal DeCaria explains how perception impacts medical care and treatment -- and calls for health care professionals to check in with themselves before checking in with their patients. Stay tuned after the talk as Shoshana, our TED Health Host, digs deeper into how implicit bias impacts the quality of health care Black women receive.