TED Radio Hour TED Radio Hour

Original broadcast date: January 27, 2023. Information feels more accessible than ever, but the ways we store data are surprisingly fragile. Can we save anything forever? This hour, TED speakers explore preserving our past, present and future. Guests include artist CM Ralph, digital librarian Brewster Kahle, molecular biologist Dina Zielinski and archaeologist Chris Fisher.TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

Writer Pico Iyer crisscrossed the globe looking for paradise and different cultures' notions of it. The journey took him to holy cities Iran and India, stories which appeared in our episode "Paradise Lost and Found" (https://n.pr/3GitofB). It also took him high in the mountains of Japan to a mysterious place called Koyasan. In this bonus episode for TED Radio Hour+, Pico and Manoush explore the kind of paradise he found there and how it blurs the line between the land of the living and the deceased. We also hear Pico Iyer read from his book, the Half-Known Life.

To get access to this and other bonus episodes, sign up for TED Radio Hour+. When you do, all your episodes also become sponsor-free. That's because you are directly supporting our work at NPR. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted

Around the world, democratic ideals are being tested in surprising ways. As the curtains rise on a big election year, TED speakers explore what can keep people united and what drives them apart. Guests include journalist and Broadway producer Jose Antonio Vargas, civil war expert Barbara Walter, and political scientist Yascha Mounk. TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted

Original broadcast date: September 3, 2021. Food is one of life's greatest pleasures, yet many of our food systems are flawed. This hour, TED speakers look to the past to reconnect with what we eat, and the present to reimagine our food future. Guests include forager Alexis Nikole Nelson, chef Sean Sherman, social entrepreneur Jasmine Crowe, and environmental journalist Amanda Little.TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted

Waste is built into our economy, but Garry Cooper is trying to change that. Cooper is the CEO of Rheaply, a company that keeps used business supplies, medical equipment and more out of landfills by connecting these goods to people who can use them. He spoke to Manoush for our episode, Abandoned Places (https://n.pr/49y25v7). In this extended interview, they go deeper into the world of circular economies, figuring out how to find new value in old goods.

To get access to this and other bonus episodes, sign up for TED Radio Hour+. When you do, all your episodes also become sponsor-free. That's because you are directly supporting our work at NPR. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted

We often view paradise as a place of safety, beauty, tranquility. It's an ideal we long for, but one we can rarely find. This hour, TED speakers search for utopia and come to terms with reality. TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted