What happens when the design of everyday things misses the mark? People fill in the blanks. Designer Kate Canales has spent more than 20 years photographing the handmade, improvised signs that appear when the original falls short. From perplexing bathroom directions to our struggles with doors and point-of-sale machines, her photos capture something technology can't replace: our instinct to look out for each other and leave a few instructions behind.

If you've got a photo you've taken of a makeshift sign like the ones Kate discusses in her talk, she'd would love to see it! Please visit www.thereifixedit.design to learn more.

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Andy Weir is the bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary. He?s known for weaving deep, carefully researched science into his novels, building intricate sci-fi worlds that have captivated millions of readers. But here?s a plot twist: Andy doesn?t actually love the act of writing itself ? so how does he motivate himself to do it anyway? Adam talks with Andy about the creative process, the skills involved in discarding bad ideas, finding joy in worldbuilding and research, and why you should never be writing with a sequel in mind.

This episode originally aired on ReThinking in 2023.

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A hand-built camera with suction cups captured something no one had ever seen: two sperm whales communicating and swimming together in the deep ocean. Engineer Eric Stackpole shares the story of how a scrappy, DIY tool revealed this intimate glimpse into the lives of these giants ? and makes the case that the only limit to what we can discover is what we're curious enough to explore.

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Shonda Rhimes, the titan behind Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, is responsible for some 70 hours of television per season, and she loves to work. "When I am hard at work, when I am deep in it, there is no other feeling," she says. She has a name for this feeling: The hum. The hum is a drug, the hum is music, the hum is God's whisper in her ear. But what happens when it stops? Is she anything besides the hum? In this moving talk, join Rhimes on a journey through her "year of yes" and find out how she got her hum back.

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Everyone experiences loss, but how do you cope with the tough moments that follow? Resilience researcher Lucy Hone shares three hard-won strategies for developing the capacity to brave adversity, overcome struggle and face whatever may come head-on with fortitude and grace.

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What separates struggling artists from successful ones? Looking to creative geniuses like Mozart, Edison and Monet, video creator Jon Youshaei explains why aiming to be prolific ? despite flops and failures along the way ? is the key to unlocking your creative success.

This episode originally aired in 2025.

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Ever had a hard time doing daily household tasks -- cooking, cleaning, laundry -- and felt like a terrible person for struggling in the first place? Therapist KC Davis is here to flip that negative internalized script with a simple yet perspective-shifting fact that may change your approach to life. Learn a gentler, more practical approach to mental health as Davis shares hard-won wisdom and helpful shortcuts on how to get by when you feel like you've barely got it together.

This episode originally aired in 2024.

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Burnout shouldn?t be the price of success, but setting boundaries at work is easier said than done. Tarveen Forrester, who oversees workplace culture at Kickstarter, shares practical strategies for protecting your time and cultivating ?sustainable ambition,? so you can crush your goals ? without letting them crush you.

This episode originally aired in 2025.

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What stops you from speaking up when it matters most? Healthcare leader Sarah Crawford-Bohl offers a practical, compassionate framework to have difficult conversations with clarity and heart ? and shows how it can lead to stronger teams and real impact.

This episode originally aired in 2025.

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Don't second-guess what "distracts" you, says actor-producer Yara Shahidi; that's your curiosity coming through. The star of hit shows like "black-ish" and "grown-ish" tells how she learned to spot clues to her own future ? and how you can, too.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

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In a talk packed with wry wisdom, pop culture queen Bevy Smith shares hard-earned lessons about authenticity, confidence, mature success and why, if you put in the work, "life gets greater later."

This episode originally aired in 2022.

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Luvvie Ajayi Jones isn't afraid to speak her mind or to be the one dissenting voice in a crowd, and neither should you. "Your silence serves no one," says the writer, activist and self-proclaimed professional troublemaker. In this bright, uplifting talk, Ajayi Jones shares three questions to ask yourself if you're teetering on the edge of speaking up or quieting down -- and encourages all of us to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

This episode originally aired in 2018.

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In athletics, in business, in life, everyone sets goals. But that's not the way to excel, according to former NFL player Emmanuel Acho, now an author and TV sports analyst. Here's what he says to do instead.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

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Profit, money, shareholders: these are the priorities of most companies today. But at what cost? In an appeal to corporate leaders worldwide, Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya calls for an end to the business playbook of the past -- and shares his vision for a new, "anti-CEO playbook" that prioritizes people over profits. "This is the difference between profit and true wealth," he says.

This episode originally aired in 2020.

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Everyone loses their temper from time to time ? but the stakes are dizzyingly high when the focus of your fury is your own child. Clinical psychologist and renowned parenting whisperer Becky Kennedy is here to help. Not only does she have practical advice to help parents manage the guilt and shame of their not-so-great moments but she also models the types of conversations you can have to be a better parent. (Hint: this works in all other relationships too.) Bottom line? It's never too late to reconnect.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

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No two people taste wine the same way, and science is starting to show us why. Sensory scientist Qian Janice Wang explores why experts and beginners experience complexity so differently ? revealing that what makes a wine great may have less to do with what's in the glass and more to do with what's happening in your brain.

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What does Parkinson's smell like? Ask nurse Joy Milne. Born with a hypersensitive nose, she spent a lifetime learning to recognize diseases through their scents. When she smelled Parkinson's on her husband years before his diagnosis, she decided to put her gift to the test. Today, her extraordinary nose has been translated into a non-invasive test ? helping researchers diagnose what was right under their noses all along.

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Tenelle Porter?s job is to study humility. Specifically, intellectual humility, the idea that we might be wrong or mistaken about some of our beliefs. Tenelle talks with Chris about why she thinks intellectual humility is so important, how to cultivate it, and why it?s the missing piece in so many conversations these days. Whether it?s in politics, academia or social media, Tenelle argues discovering you are wrong doesn?t have to be a painful realization, rather it can lead to positive discovery.

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

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Cherry blossoms and rainbows, bubbles and googly eyes: Why do some things seem to create such universal joy? In this captivating talk, Ingrid Fetell Lee reveals the surprisingly tangible roots of joy and shows how we all can find -- and create -- more of it in the world around us.

This episode originally aired in May 2018.

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You're about to hear the sounds of several different creatures ? from the voice of one single musician. In a spellbinding talk and performance, singer Snow Raven mimics the hoot of an owl, the grumble of a bear, the howl of a wolf and more.

This episode originally aired in November 2024.

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As the world races toward digital perfection, tech humanist Stephen Remedios tried to optimize the messiest and most imperfect of all human work: parenting. He shares the story of DaddyGPT, a digital version of himself built to help raise his kids ? until they began to prefer it over him. What unfolds is a personal look at the limits of AI, and a reminder that what matters most isn't getting it right every time but showing up with the authentic imperfection only humans have.

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You can't control the world ? but you can control you. That's the mantra that took Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, a once "unremarkably unremarkable 20-year-old," all the way to launching companies and interviewing presidents. He breaks down a career's worth of observations into five deceptively simple things you can control, and explores why mastering them can change the trajectory of your life.

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When fashion model Geena Rocero first saw a photo of herself in a bikini, "I thought ... you have arrived!" As she reveals, that's because she was born with the gender assignment "boy." In this moving talk, Rocero tells the story of becoming who she always knew she was.

This talk originally aired in 2014.

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Stress is contagious ? but so is calm. Psychologist Jenny Taitz explains why one stressful moment tends to snowball into the next, and shares small, immediate resets you can practice anywhere to break the spiral before it starts.

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When an organization lays people off , those who remain are often left scrambling to find their footing ? and hold other people up ? in an environment that no longer feels stable. In the wake of ongoing tech layoffs and the Trump administration?s efforts to reshape the public sector, Anne and Frances are back with a new Unsolicited Advice segment to set the record straight about what layoffs mean for an organization ? and the responsibility leaders have to own what went wrong.

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Finance doesn't have to feel like a foreign language. Wall Street trader-turned-financial educator Vivian Tu helps millions of people make sense of money, breaking down complex concepts into everyday terms you can understand. She shares how she broke free from the stress of living paycheck to paycheck ? and explores how we can shift power structures to give everyone a real shot at building wealth.

(Following the talk, Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, interviews Tu on why financial literacy isn?t just about building generational wealth but rather is a way to pass on generational knowledge to your loved ones.)

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Design consultant Virginia Santy set out to create an office space built specifically for women, flipping the script on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways that workplaces and cities still fail them. The results were striking: greater productivity, deeper collaboration and an environment where women felt genuinely valued, leading her to ask a simple question: What would the world look like if we designed with women in mind?

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When monarch butterflies migrate, they produce one of the most iconic wildlife spectacles in the world ? and provide us with an important indicator of ecological health, says photographer Jaime Rojo. Telling a story about our relationship to the natural world, he shares his experience photographing these mesmerizing insects deep in their remote mountain habitats in Mexico, diving into the latest research into the mysteries of their multi-thousand-mile journey and sharing how each of us can join the growing movement to protect them.

This episode originally aired on October 2024.

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In this TED Talk gone wrong, comedian Mike Albo receives an unexpected call from his bank. The result: a hilariously uncomfortable tour of his purchase history, and a reminder that in the digital age, our data knows us a little too well.

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In a world where design trends are quietly converging ? same color palettes, same typography, same illustration styles ? how do you make work that actually looks different? Designer and TED Fellow Lope Gutierrez-Ruiz distills his answer into three sharp, counterintuitive ideas, ticking through his studio's own funky creations to show how you can make things that stand out.

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Covering global war stories can be hard and thankless ? but it's critical work if the rest of us are to understand what's really going on in the world. For nearly two decades, journalist Jane Ferguson has reported on hostilities across Africa and the Middle East, and she's witnessed firsthand the changing face of her profession. Via stories of her own experiences at the heart of complex conflicts, she shares fascinating details of how she and other female colleagues have changed the way that news is captured, shared ? and understood.

This episode originally aired in November 2023.

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For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits conversations with renowned poets Eileen Myles, Elizabeth Alexander, Sarah Kay, and Amber Tamblyn. These excerpts reflect on language, identity, memory, and the lived experience that fuels their work. Together, they reveal poetry as an intimate practice that resonates beyond the page.

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To calm the storm inside your mind, you must first understand it. Singer and actress Rhonda Ross shares her theory of "emotional sovereignty" ? the idea that your feelings aren't shaped just by your circumstances, but by the thoughts running on loop in your head. In conversation with scholar and TED Fellow Daniel Alexander Jones, Ross introduces the unexpected, music-rooted practice for taking control of your narrative.

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Author David Larbi recites a poem about the journey toward joy, reminding us of all the ways it can be found: having a conversation with a stranger, tasting the perfect bite of food or enjoying a good stretch. Joy is all around us ? you just need to know where to look.

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What are you wearing, and why? This is the question that writer and TED Fellow Mitchell S. Jackson asks as he unpacks the six eras of NBA style. Tracing an arc from Bill Russell to Lebron James and beyond, he explores how players use fashion on and off the court to challenge the limits placed upon them ? revealing a deeper story about culture, identity and power.

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What can happy rats teach us about human joy? Behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert describes how her team trained rats to drive tiny cars to earn treats ? and noticed something surprising about how effort and anticipation affect the brain. The experiment opens new questions about how reward, agency and "behaviorceuticals" might help build resilience and support mental health.

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When the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires destroyed his home and neighborhood, scientist Christian Busch encountered the opposite of serendipity: "zemblanity," or bad luck by design. Drawing on more than a decade of scientific research, he explores how people can navigate unpredictability by adopting a serendipity mindset that transforms setbacks into unexpected new beginnings. He asks: What if good luck isn't random but can actually be cultivated?

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When Doreen Orishaba helped build Africa?s first electric car in 2011, skeptics dismissed it as a ?toy for the Western world.? Now she?s running dozens of electric buses across Kenya and Rwanda, moving thousands of passengers to work every day on zero-exhaust vehicles powered by near-silent engines. She breaks down what it actually takes to scale clean transport ? and why skipping the gas station pit stop is closer than you may think.

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Margaret Atwood is best known as the author of The Handmaid?s Tale, and she?s won a slew of awards for her novels, poetry collections, and children?s books. Now, at the age of 86, she?s written her first memoir, The Book of Lives. In this episode, Adam and Margaret break down her perspective on what creative jobs AI will and won?t threaten and discuss the evidence on the benefits of reading banned books. They also muse about why heroes need monsters and what it means to be delightfully disagreeable.

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The world is weird and hilarious ? if you know where to look, says comedian Chris Duffy. In conversation with "TED Talks Daily" host Elise Hu, Duffy breaks down three practical pillars of humor, showing how laughter can help you feel present, creative and connected, even when the world feels overwhelming.

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In the age of social media and wellness trends, the comments section is as good as a cult compound, says linguist and cultural commentator Amanda Montell. Using Taylor Swift?s throng of devoted Swifties as her guide, she exposes three sneaky language tactics that cults use to influence us (for better or for worse), revealing why none of us are as cult-proof as we?d like to think.

(Following the talk, Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, interviews Montell on parasocial relationships and how to have productive conversations with cult members by recognizing their humanity.)

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We're so entangled with our devices that online has started to feel more real than IRL, says journalist Nayeema Raza. As screens reshape how we connect and relate, she offers three practical habits to reignite curiosity, restore presence and break free from our phones.

(Following the talk, Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, interviews Raza on the best approach to discussing difficult topics ? whether it?s about screen addiction or gun control ? and how to get over the fear of asking dumb questions.)

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Where's the best free comedy show in town? Tom Sullam, cofounder of the annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, shares hilarious animal photos that dissolve the distance between humans and nature. The result? A joyful case for caring about what we're at risk of losing.

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What if the key to making better decisions today is getting to know the person you'll become tomorrow? Drawing on psychological research and real-life stories, private wealth advisor Lauren Deeley explores how building a meaningful connection with your "deathbed self" can bring more clarity, joy and intention to the life you're building right now.

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Your inner voice is a powerful tool for self-reflection and planning, but it can also trap you in negative thought loops ? ?chatter,? as psychologist and neuroscientist Ethan Kross calls it. He shares tips for quieting the less helpful aspects of the voice inside your head as well as how to harness chatter to overcome doubt, enhance your focus and transform your well-being.

This episode was originally published in February 2025.

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?My lens around style doesn?t have anything to do with style anymore ? it?s about physicality,? says stylist and fashion consultant Stacy London. ?What do I want to be able to do? How do I keep myself strong??

Stacy?s message has resonated for many women, and for this episode, she joins Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, host of TED Health, at TED2025 for a special live conversation about why women are so embarrassed to talk about aging. For Stacy, aging became a chance to reassess her relationship to her body, and her experience with menopause and spinal surgery shifted her focus to health and wellbeing. Her best advice on what you can do to feel good in your skin? Throw away the most painful pair of shoes you own.

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Relationships were never meant to be efficient, says sextech expert Bryony Cole, and yet AI companions are increasingly designed to be exactly that. As intimate relationships between humans and AI become more common, Cole challenges us to think more deliberately about how we shape our connections to machines ? and with each other. (This conversation, hosted by TED's Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more, visit ted.com/membership.)

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What if the key to saving nature isn't just about science or policy, but love? Love for the land, for the people who depend on it, for the world we leave behind. Artist Elsaphan Njora has journeyed across Kenya witnessing ecosystems vanish, from Indigenous forests to sacred lakes. But he's also seen communities breathing life back into rivers, forests and coasts in creative, unexpected ways ? showing that conservation can flourish alongside livelihoods, and that even the most threatened landscapes can be reborn.

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Storyteller Golriz Lucina recounts how the historic sacrifice of Iranian 19th-century poet and mystic Táhirih planted the seeds for the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests today, offering an inspiring lesson in the value of acting with conviction ? even if we don't live to see the results.

(This talk was originally published on January 2024)

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Are your workplace relationships quietly burning you out? Drawing on large-scale research across industries, organizational behavior researcher Eric Quintane reveals four hidden relational traps woven into the fabric of work ? and explores how connection shapes resilience, vulnerability and burnout.

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