"The minister of loneliness" | Sarah Kay
Host Elise Hugh introduces poet Sarah Kay, who performs a spoken word piece about loneliness, connection, and curiosity. Kay begins with a real statistic about suicide and COVID-19 in Japan and the creation of a government role called the "minister of loneliness." She then imagines, in poetic detail, what such a minister might do to reweave social bonds, from buddy systems and intergenerational contact to shared art, hotlines, and his own shy crush that keeps listeners engaged with life.
Sunday Pick: How to love your hometown (w/ Hanif Abdurraqib & Sarah Kay) | How to Be a Better Human
Host Chris Duffy visits writer and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, joined by poet Sarah Kay, to explore what it means to love where you are from. Through stops at a record store, sneaker shop, public park, and bookstore, Hanif shows how everyday interactions, generosity, and attention build a sense of home and community. He also shares a personal story about being unhoused and the quiet kindness that shaped his understanding of care and shared time.
Graffiti: So Cool It's A Pillar of Hip Hop
Josh and Chuck explore graffiti as a core pillar of hip hop culture, tracing its development from early Chicano mural influences and Philadelphia tagger Cornbread through New York City's subway writing scene of the 1960s-80s. They break down key styles (tags, throw-ups, pieces, wild style, Cholo style), tools and techniques, the subculture's rules and rivalries, and the ongoing tension between graffiti as art and as vandalism. The hosts also highlight how photographers, films, gallery shows, and a few star artists helped move graffiti into the global art world while authorities simultaneously tried to eradicate it from city infrastructure.
Wicked's costume designer on how to tell stories with clothes | Paul Tazewell
Host Elise Hu introduces Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell, who explains how clothing functions as a subconscious storytelling language that shapes our perceptions of heroes, villains, and marginalized people. Drawing on his work in Hamilton, West Side Story, and Wicked, he shows how design choices around color, silhouette, and texture can reinforce or challenge cultural narratives about power, identity, and "wickedness." A brief Q&A touches on how costumes will continue to evolve in the sequel Wicked for Good and hints at his future work on Broadway and film.
572. Navigating Education, Ideology, and Children | Answer the Call
Michaela hosts a call-in episode with her father, where they answer listener questions about homeschooling, the corruption of K-12 education, ideological capture of schools, art education, and the limits of changing IQ. They discuss how parents can socialize homeschooled children, evaluate and supplement institutional schooling, inoculate kids against woke ideology through broad political and historical education, and the importance of teachers explaining why subjects matter. The episode closes with a reflection on IQ as largely stable, the difficulty of increasing it directly, and the greater importance of building character, wisdom, and motivation through challenging experiences.
"RE-RELEASE: Jenny Slate"
The hosts talk with Jenny Slate about her life split between Los Angeles and a small coastal town in Massachusetts, where her husband owns a general store and she records voice work from various closets due to poor internet. She discusses her need for tidiness rooted in a messy childhood, stories of extreme mess-related consequences, quitting weed after an accidental massive THC overdose, and adjusting to motherhood while navigating performance anxiety in stand-up comedy. The conversation also covers the long creative process behind Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, from its improvised origins to the seven-year production of the stop-motion feature film.
"David Duchovny"
The hosts talk with David Duchovny about his path from top-tier academic studies in English literature at Princeton and Yale to a multifaceted creative career as an actor, novelist, screenwriter, musician, and director. Duchovny describes how his family's literary background shaped his love of reading and writing, his early acting experiences and commercial work, the rise of The X-Files and its global impact, and his later work in music and fiction. They also discuss the challenges of reading discipline, managing multiple creative pursuits, fandom around The X-Files, and Duchovny's thoughts on the likelihood of extraterrestrial life.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Masterpiece
The hosts take a deep dive into the 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, exploring why it is widely regarded as a masterpiece despite its low budget and brutal subject matter. They walk through the full plot beat by beat, then detail the movie's origins, inspirations, difficult production, and chaotic distribution history, including mob-linked financing and rating battles. The conversation also covers the film's critical reevaluation, influence on the horror genre, and why they believe its particular mix of naivete, constraint, and inventiveness can never truly be replicated.
TED Talks Daily Book Club: You are not alone in your loneliness | Jonny Sun (re-release)
Host Elise introduces a re-release of Johnny Sun's 2019 TED talk, framing it within a current TED Talks Daily virtual read-along of Oliver Berkman's book about embracing limitations and the feelings of loneliness that can surface when we sit with ourselves. In his illustrated talk, writer and artist Johnny Sun uses the story of an alien named Jomny and his own experiences of feeling alienated to explore how vulnerability, online sharing, and small moments of connection can make us feel less alone in our loneliness. He reflects on both the harms and the redemptive potential of social media, emphasizing the power of micro-communities and brief human connections as tiny slivers of light in a chaotic world.
Give yourself permission to be creative | Ethan Hawke (re-release)
Host Elise Hu introduces an archive TED talk from 2020 in which actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke explores why giving yourself permission to be creative is essential. Hawke argues that creativity is not a luxury but a vital way humans make sense of love, loss, and meaning, sharing stories from his own life and family to illustrate how following what you love reveals who you are and connects you to others. He encourages listeners to embrace feeling foolish, follow their genuine interests, and express themselves as a way to heal and help their communities.
"Edgar Wright"
The hosts talk with filmmaker Edgar Wright about his lifelong obsession with movies, from sneaking into age-restricted screenings as a kid and making Super 8 and video projects, to creating the TV series "Spaced" and the films in the so‑called Cornetto trilogy. Wright discusses his visual and musical style, his early DIY feature "A Fistful of Fingers," long‑time collaborations with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and the development of "Baby Driver." He also breaks down his new adaptation of Stephen King's "The Running Man," his writing process, formative British comedy influences, and his core philosophy of making the films he himself would want to see.
Judd Apatow: Fear of Rejection Holding You Back? THIS Trick Will Silence the Inner Critic & Help You Feel Confident to Create
Jay Shetty interviews Judd Apatow about his life in comedy, from his early days as a teenage interviewer of stand‑up comics to creating influential films and television shows. Apatow describes learning to treat failure as part of the path to success, developing his voice as a writer and director, and navigating ego, rejection, and collaboration in Hollywood. He also talks about parenting, long‑term marriage, therapy, meditation, psychedelics, and the importance of kindness, mentorship, and doing work that feels meaningful rather than merely successful.
A pastry chef works his chocolatier magic - live | Amaury Guichon
Pastry chef and chocolatier Amaury Guichon speaks with Latif Nasser at TED 2025 about how he uses chocolate to create intricate edible sculptures that inspire wonder around the world. He explains his journey from struggling student in France to Vegas-based pastry artist, his focus on taste and texture as much as visual impact, and his mission to showcase the hidden labor behind pastry. During the talk he live-assembles his elaborate "coffee clock" dessert on stage, revealing both the artistic process and the multi-layered flavors inside.
"RE-RELEASE: Paul Thomas Anderson"
Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson joins the hosts to talk about his upbringing as the son of a legendary ABC promo voice, his early obsession with movies, and how he learned to write and direct by making a short mockumentary about Dirk Diggler that later evolved into Boogie Nights. He discusses his collaborative process with production designer Jack Fisk and composer Jonny Greenwood, his views on theatrical exhibition versus streaming, and his work in film preservation alongside Martin Scorsese. The conversation also covers his love of comedy, how he met Maya Rudolph at Saturday Night Live, what he saw in Adam Sandler, and how he balances a demanding career with being a father of four.
#2389 - Sal Vulcano
Joe Rogan and Sal Vulcano talk about getting older, becoming parents, and reworking their lifestyles around health, training, and stand-up touring. They swap stories about humiliating youth sports experiences, dangerous stunts and punishments from Sal's show, brushes with possible ghosts, and the terror of the ocean and tsunamis. The conversation also ranges into archery and bowhunting, modern art and alleged CIA influence, UFO-like drone swarms, AI tools, and how energy, mindset, and the people you spend time with shape your life.
#2388 - Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie discusses his new memoir, using the writing process to look back at a life and career he usually only approaches with a "race car driver" focus on the road ahead. He reflects on surviving the brutal music industry, his formative years with the Commodores and Motown, mentorship from legends like Marvin Gaye and Berry Gordy, and how he gradually discovered his own creative voice and unique sound. Richie also talks about navigating extreme fame, the impact of organized crime and corporate consolidation on the music business, the tension between creatives and executives, and the importance of humor, resilience, and authenticity in both art and life.
This TED Talk is full of bad ideas | Gabe Whaley
Host Elise Hume introduces a TED Talk by artist and mischief maker Gabe Whaley, founder of the New York art collective Mischief, about the surprising power of pursuing ideas that initially seem bad or impractical. Whaley walks through several of Mischief's projects, including a microscopic handbag, a robot dog with a paintball gun, the viral Big Red Boots, an ATM that publicly ranks users by bank balance, novelty objects, and a car shared via 5,000 keys, to show how the real artwork often becomes the interactions and communities that form around these experiments. He closes by encouraging people to give themselves permission to explore ideas that make them uncomfortable because they can evolve into something unexpected and meaningful.
"Michelle Pfeiffer"
The hosts welcome Michelle Pfeiffer for a wide-ranging conversation about her long acting career, from early roles like Fantasy Island and Grease 2 to iconic films such as Scarface and The Fabulous Baker Boys. She discusses how her approach to acting has evolved, learning to let go of perfectionism, the changing landscape for women in film and television, and balancing a busy career with family life and becoming a grandmother. Pfeiffer also shares anecdotes about working with Will on a recent series, her intense experience on Scarface, and her first attempts at acting while working in a supermarket and studying court reporting.
A Tribute To The Far Side
Hosts Josh and Chuck pay tribute to Gary Larson's single-panel comic The Far Side, tracing its origins from Larson's quirky family and love of biology through his break into syndication and eventual global success. They analyze what makes the humor work, walk through several iconic panels, and explore Larson's perfectionism, his choice to end the strip before it declined, and his deep connection with the scientific community and conservation. The episode closes with a listener correction about the relationship between dolphins, orcas, and whales.
EMMA WATSON EXCLUSIVE: The Story She Has Not Shared Until Now
Emma Watson joins Jay Shetty to have a long-form, personal conversation about stepping back from acting, disentangling her public persona from her private self, and learning to live more truthfully. She talks about growing up between two households, using acting as an escape, the emotional costs of fame and Hollywood, and the health and nervous-system burnout that forced her to pause her career. Emma also explores love and relationships, creative writing as therapy, friendship and interdependence, and how she holds nuanced positions on activism, including disagreements with J.K. Rowling and speaking about Palestine and Israel.
Passion vs. Paycheck
Host Shankar Vedantam speaks with organizational scholar Jennifer Tostekaris about the idea of work as a "calling" and how this concept has evolved from its religious roots to a modern secular ideal. They explore compelling examples like Paul Gauguin, Marie Curie, and Oprah Winfrey to illustrate how callings can inspire extraordinary dedication, creativity, and impact. The conversation also examines the psychological and economic downsides of callings, including distorted self-assessment, vulnerability to exploitation, burnout, and the collateral damage to families and other life domains, and concludes with a more tempered view of meaningful work that does not require everyone to have a grand vocation.
(#3) Elise's Top Ten: If I should have a daughter ... | Sarah Kay
Host Elise Hu introduces a special rebroadcast of Sarah Kay's 2011 TED performance as part of her "Top 10 TED Talks" playlist, highlighting the spoken word poem "If I Should Have a Daughter." In the talk, Sarah performs two poems and reflects on how spoken word poetry helps her and her students make sense of the world, move from self-doubt to self-expression, and build genuine connection. She shares her own journey into spoken word, her teaching practice with Project Voice, and stories like that of her student Charlotte to illustrate the power of vulnerability and personal storytelling.