8 Simple Mindset Shifts to Feel Gratitude Even When Your Life Isn't Where You Want it To Be
Jay Shetty explores how to practice authentic gratitude when life is not where you want it to be, emphasizing that gratitude should coexist with pain rather than deny it. He shares several mindset shifts and practical exercises, such as emotional granularity, contrast with your past self, microgratitude, embracing waiting seasons, borrowing others' joy, and thanking your past self. The episode focuses on using gratitude as a tool for resilience, self-compassion, and perspective rather than forced positivity.
The daily practice that could rewire your brain | Timm Chiusano
Emotional intelligence coach Timm Chiusano shares how noticing a manhole cover on one of the worst days of his career led him to realize he is 'addicted to appreciation.' He explains what appreciation is, how it differs from gratitude, and how consistently noticing and valuing everyday things and people has transformed his life and work. He offers simple practices for cultivating appreciation and argues it can make us happier, more present, and better able to connect and create change together.
The Power of Family Stories
Host Shankar Vedantam first speaks with psychologist Robin Fyvush about how family stories shape children's memories, emotional development, identity, and resilience. They discuss research on parent-child reminiscing, different styles of family storytelling, and why knowing intergenerational stories predicts better well-being. In the second part, philosopher Massimo Pagliucci answers listener questions about stoicism, clarifying common misconceptions and showing how stoic ideas can help people handle anxiety, grief, relationships, and large-scale problems like climate change.
Jay & Radhi Talk About Why People Feel the Need to Overshare
Jay and Radhi discuss the modern phenomenon of oversharing, especially online, and explore how to decide what to share, with whom, and why. They examine the intentions behind vulnerability, how oversharing can drain energy or create confusion, and how selective, intentional sharing can foster genuine connection and protect personal wellbeing. They also talk about normalizing relationship struggles, the duality of people's lives, and why authenticity doesn't require exposing everything to the public.
How to unlock your flirting superpowers | Francesca Hogi
Host Elise Hu introduces a TED talk by love coach Francesca Hoagie, who reframes flirting from a manipulative game into a practice of making others feel seen, special, and acknowledged. Drawing on her experience as a matchmaker and dating coach, Hoagie shares how presence, enthusiasm, and three simple flirting styles-attentiveness, compliments, and playfulness-can deepen connection, support dating, and rekindle chemistry in existing relationships. She also addresses common fears about flirting and offers practical guidance on how to flirt in a respectful, responsible way.
How to Move On When You Still Miss Your Ex (4 Hard Truths That Will FINALLY Set You Free)
Jay Shetty explores why breakups can feel so difficult to move on from, connecting the pain of missing an ex to brain chemistry, identity, and emotional needs rather than to the person themselves. He debunks common myths about time and closure, reframes what we actually miss in a relationship, and offers specific practices to stop romanticizing the past, rebuild structure, and focus on self-worth and personal growth. He closes by normalizing setbacks in healing and encouraging listeners to see heartbreak as a meaningful chapter that can humanize and strengthen them rather than define them.
Short Stuff: Third Man Syndrome
Josh and Chuck discuss "third man syndrome," a phenomenon where people in extreme, often life-threatening situations report sensing a distinct, guiding presence that feels like another person with them. They explore classic accounts from Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, mountaineers like Frank Smythe and Joe Simpson, and survivors of the 9/11 attacks, then consider possible explanations ranging from an innate survival mechanism to the bicameral mind hypothesis. The conversation stays grounded in reported experiences while acknowledging that science has no definitive explanation yet.
My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee | A.J. Jacobs (re-release)
Author A.J. Jacobs describes how his tendency to focus on negatives led him to experiment with gratitude by thanking all the people involved in making his daily cup of coffee. What began as a family mealtime ritual evolved into a global quest to thank more than a thousand people along the coffee supply chain, yielding five key lessons about attention, savoring, invisible work, behavioral change, and global interconnectedness. He argues that genuine gratitude not only improves personal well-being but also inspires concrete action to help others, such as supporting access to safe water.
Why Following Your Dreams Isn't Enough
Host Shankar Vedantam first speaks with Stanford professor Hagi Rao about why bold visions and passion often fail without careful attention to operations, using examples like the Fyre Festival, North Korea's unfinished "Hotel of Doom," and the rollout of healthcare.gov. Rao introduces the contrast between "poetry" (inspiring visions) and "plumbing" (execution, routines, and details), and explores how good leaders and organizations cultivate plumbing through practices like field visits, premortems, and empowering unsung "Sherpas." In the second segment, sociologist Rob Willer answers listener questions about bridging political divides, explaining why debate-style arguing backfires, how empathy and correcting misperceptions can reduce partisan animosity, and how structured conversations and role modeling from leaders can support healthier democratic engagement.
Psychic Medium Laura Lynne Jackson: 3 Signs From the Universe You Have Been Missing (The Answers Are Right in Front of You!)
Psychic medium Laura Lynn Jackson returns to discuss how to move from merely noticing signs to actually living a guided life. She explains the concept of a "team of light," how intuition differs from the analytical "monkey mind," and how to work with signs, inner knowings, and everyday moments to feel supported, make decisions, and reframe past experiences. The conversation gives listeners practical ways to cultivate trust in their inner guidance, especially during periods of confusion, grief, or major life transitions.
My identity is a superpower - not an obstacle | America Ferrera (re-release)
In this re-released 2019 TED Talk, actor and activist America Ferreira recounts her journey from a nine-year-old dreaming of being an actress to confronting the systemic stereotypes and limitations placed on her as a brown, poor, fat Latina in Hollywood. She explains how her breakout roles in Real Women Have Curves and Ugly Betty revealed the power of authentic representation, both for audiences and for her own sense of worth. Ferreira argues that her identity is not an obstacle but a superpower, and calls for individuals and systems to stop resisting what the world actually looks like and to align their values and actions with genuine inclusion.
3 tips to make your world beautifully wild | Isabella Tree
Host Elise Hu introduces environmentalist and conservationist Isabella Tree, who shares how rewilding-allowing nature and animals to restore ecosystems-can be done not only on large estates but also in ordinary gardens and urban spaces. Tree describes the transformation of her family's debt-ridden, intensively farmed land into a thriving, biodiverse rewilding project through free-roaming animals and habitat change. She then offers three practical tips for rewilding any green space and concludes with examples of urban rewilding and the mindset shift required to embrace messier, less controlled landscapes.
How to empower the next generation of pilots | Refilwe Ledwaba
Airline and helicopter pilot and educator Refilwe Ledwaba shares her journey from flight attendant to becoming the first Black woman helicopter pilot in South Africa, highlighting how a supportive instructor redesigned training around her background and learning needs. She explains how those experiences inspired her to found Girls Fly Africa, which prepares young people-especially girls from rural and traditional communities-for careers in aviation and aerospace through information, skills training, financial support, networks, and long‑term mentorship. In a follow‑up conversation, she and TED Fellows Program Director Lily Jameson Olds discuss systemic barriers for women in aviation, the importance of community and role models, and her vision of normalizing women's presence in high‑level aviation roles.
Reframing the Battle of Wills
Host Shankar Vedantam talks with psychologist Stuart Ablon about why attempts to change others' behavior often fail when we assume the problem is a lack of motivation or willpower. Ablon explains how many challenging behaviors arise from lagging cognitive, emotional, and social skills, and describes his collaborative problem solving approach that emphasizes empathy, identifying unmet concerns, and jointly generating solutions. He illustrates the method with cases from psychiatric hospitals, juvenile detention, families, and workplaces, and discusses research showing it reduces challenging behavior and builds skills in both the people being helped and the helpers themselves.
The surprising science of adolescent brains | Jennifer Pfeifer
Neuroscientist Jennifer Pfeiffer argues that adolescence is not a period of dysfunction but a transformative stage of growth spanning roughly ages 10 to 25. She explains how puberty, brain development, and social context shape adolescent behavior, debunks common myths about smartphones and mental health, and highlights the far greater importance of relationships and caregiver well-being. The talk calls for changing the cultural narrative about young people from doom and blame to respect, support, and shared opportunity.
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.
Constantly Overthinking or Doubting Yourself? (Do THIS 5-Minute Reset to Break Your Negative Spiral!)
Jay Shetty delivers a solo episode about how to interrupt negative self-talk and the inner critic that sabotages progress. He explains why self-criticism feels like control but actually undermines performance, how shame differs from guilt, why our brains focus on mistakes, and why progress and healing are non-linear. Through research references, practical reframes, and examples, he offers seven mindset shifts to replace self-beating with self-compassion, accountability, gratitude, and strategic rest.
The art of reading minds | Oz Pearlman
Host Elise Hu introduces mentalist Oz Perlman, who explains that he does not read minds but reads people by carefully observing behavior and patterns. Through live demonstrations with audience members, he shows how mentalism relies on psychology, attention, and structured guessing, and then teaches a practical technique-"listen, repeat, reply"-to help people remember names and build better connections. He closes by discussing risk, confidence, and belief, culminating in empowering an audience member to apparently read another person's mind on stage.
Love 2.0: How to Move On
Host Shankar Vedantam speaks with psychologist Antonio Pascual Leone about why breakups are so difficult, the emotional mistakes people commonly make when relationships end, and practical therapeutic tools such as structured grief lists, narrative reframing, letter writing, and empty-chair dialogues to help people process loss and create their own sense of closure. In the second half, cognitive scientist Phil Fernback discusses the illusion of knowledge-why we routinely overestimate how much we understand, how this affects domains like politics, medicine, and everyday decision-making, and how to cultivate greater intellectual humility and curiosity in conversations with others.
TED Talks Daily Book Club: Why change is so scary - and how to unlock its potential | Maya Shankar (re-release)
Host Elise Hu introduces a live virtual book club around Oliver Berkman's book "Meditations for Mortals" and frames a replay of cognitive scientist Maya Shankar's 2023 TED talk about navigating unexpected change. In her talk, Shankar shares her own story of losing her dream of becoming a concert violinist, along with the experiences of others, to illustrate how change can be frightening because of uncertainty and loss but can also expand our capabilities, values, and identities. She offers three guiding questions to reframe disruptive events and describes how she is using them in her own current struggle with pregnancy losses and uncertainty about becoming a mother.
You're Manifesting Wrong! Follow THIS 3-Step Alignment Formula That Actually Works (This is Life Changing!)
Jay Shetty breaks down common myths about manifestation and reframes it as a process of clarity, belief, and aligned, consistent action rather than magical thinking. He walks through seven specific misconceptions-about magic, positivity, journaling, wanting, a smooth path, passivity, and material goals-using research, analogies, and personal stories. The episode emphasizes building systems, taking concrete steps, and aligning goals with deeper values and purpose.
What it's really like to win the lottery | Matt Pitcher
Former financial advisor Matt Pitcher shares stories from his work with UK National Lottery winners to explore how sudden wealth affects people's lives. Through three contrasting case studies, he shows how a lottery win can strain relationships, fuel fleeting consumerism, or be used to buy precious time and memories with loved ones. He concludes by urging listeners to reflect on how they already spend their limited budgets of time and money, arguing that those able to listen to this talk have effectively already "won the lottery of life."
How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Update)
Stephen Dubner interviews Arthur Brooks about his argument that American politics has fallen into an addictive cycle of contempt, driven by media incentives, populism, and habits of communication, and that the most effective antidote is deliberately practiced love and warmheartedness. Brooks, drawing on economics, neuroscience, psychology, and his own varied career, explains how contempt differs from anger, how financial crises fuel polarization, and why media and political structures amplify division. He offers concrete techniques for individuals and leaders to reduce contempt, cultivate love as a verb, and reorient politics toward a competition over opportunity rather than mutual hatred.
TED Talks Daily Book Club: Essential questions to ask your future self | Meg Jay (re-release)
Elise Hu introduces a re-released TED Membership conversation featuring clinical psychologist Meg Jay on the concept of the empathy gap between our present and future selves. In her talk, Jay explains how difficulty imagining our future selves can lead us to neglect long-term well-being, and she offers practical questions and thought exercises to build a connection with who we will be at around age 35. She then speaks with Whitney Pennington-Rogers about how these ideas apply not only to people in their 20s but at any stage of life, and how to turn a one-time reflection into an ongoing practice.
Creation Story
Host Latif Nasser interviews paleoanthropologist and evolutionary biologist Alaa Alshamahi about her journey from an ultra-conservative, creationist Muslim upbringing and teenage missionary work to becoming an evolutionary scientist. She describes studying evolution at University College London as a "double agent" intent on disproving Darwin, the specific genetic evidence that shattered her creationist worldview, and the personal cost of leaving her religious community. Alaa then connects her own experience of crossing worlds to the story of human evolution, including interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans, and explains how her crisis of faith now shapes a more empathetic approach to people who reject scientific findings.
Feel Behind in Your Career, Relationship or Life? THIS Is the Episode You Need To Stop Comparing Yourself
Jay Shetty delivers a solo episode about what to do when you feel behind in your career, relationships, or life. Drawing on psychological research, parables, and stories of public figures, he explains how social comparison, comfort, and misunderstood timelines create a false sense of lateness. He offers six key reminders to reframe progress, embrace struggle, and recognize the invisible skills and foundations you are building over time.
TIP759: The Art of Spending Money w/ Morgan Housel
Host Clay Fink interviews author Morgan Housel about his book "The Art of Spending Money, Simple Choices for a Richer Life," focusing on how money intersects with happiness, expectations, and independence. They discuss why more money only increases happiness under certain psychological conditions, the dangers of status-driven spending and social debt, and why contentment and autonomy matter more than sheer net worth. In a closing segment, Clay shares his own biggest lessons from the book, including using savings to buy optionality, the power of contrast, and the hidden costs of tying identity to possessions.
Love 2.0: How to Fix Your Marriage, Part 2
Host Shankar Vedantam talks with psychologist James Cordova about how blame and efforts to change our partners often trap couples in years-long conflicts, and how practices like genuine acceptance, "eating the blame," and lowering pride can restore intimacy. In the second part of the episode, public health researcher Victor Strecker discusses the science of purpose, how a clear sense of purpose supports health and resilience, and answers listener questions about burnout, caregiving, loss, empty nesting, and finding meaning at different life stages.
Your relationship expectations could be holding you back | Stephanie R. Yates-Anyabwile (re-release)
Host Elise Hugh introduces a TED Next 2024 talk by couples therapist Stephanie R. Yates-Anyabwile about how conventional expectations can make romantic relationships feel harder than they need to be. Yates-Anyabwile argues that many relationship struggles come from comparing ourselves to societal norms rather than designing arrangements that fit two unique individuals. Using examples from her clinical practice and her own family, she shows how redefining success in relationships-sometimes in unconventional ways like living apart or commuting separately-can reduce conflict and increase connection.
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.
The Auralyn with Blair Braverman
Survival correspondent Blair Braverman tells Sarah the little-known true story of Maurice and Marilyn Bailey, a British couple whose yacht Auralyn was sunk by a sperm whale in 1973, leaving them adrift on a liferaft for 118 days. Blair walks through their improvised survival strategies, the couple's contrasting mindsets, and how Marilyn's optimism, ingenuity, and traditionally "feminine" tasks became central to their endurance. Together, Blair and Sarah reflect on gender norms in survival narratives, the role of hope and realism, and what this story reveals about relationships, depression, and everyday forms of resilience.
How Dolly Parton led me to an epiphany | Jad Abumrad (re-release)
Host Elise Hume introduces a TED 2020 talk by Radiolab creator Jad Abumrad, in which he reflects on his evolution as a storyteller and journalist. Abumrad describes moving from science-driven stories that end in wonder, to conflict-driven narratives centered on struggle, and finally to seeking "revelation" by holding opposing truths together. Through his podcast series about Dolly Parton and a visit to her Tennessee mountain home, he discovers unexpected connections to his Lebanese immigrant heritage and embraces a new storytelling goal he calls finding "the third"-a shared space that emerges when differences are truly recognized.
Forget the corporate ladder - winners take risks | Molly Graham (re-release)
Molly Graham challenges the traditional idea of a linear career "staircase" and argues that great careers are built by taking risks she calls "jumping off cliffs." She illustrates this with her own transition from a secure HR role at Facebook to a risky new project where she initially struggled, then grew into a far more capable version of herself. She outlines three skills needed for successful cliff jumps-learning to actually jump, surviving the emotional fall, and becoming a "professional idiot"-and urges people to question narrow definitions of success and dare to trade the known for the unknown.
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.
Dr. K: Feeling Lost in Your 20s or 30s? (THIS Mindset Shift Will Help You Find Direction & Purpose)
The host and Dr. K discuss why so many people in their 20s and 30s feel lost, behind, and purposeless despite external appearances of doing fine. They explore the difference between identity and identification, how ego and constant self-thinking drive depression and anxiety, and how observation, meditation, and emotional regulation can quiet the mind and reveal inner direction. The conversation also covers masculinity, dating, pornography addiction, spiritual evolution, and a practical framework for building purpose and resilience in a rapidly changing world.
(#1) Elise's Top Ten: The psychology of your future self | Dan Gilbert
Host Elise Hu introduces TED Talks Daily's first curated playlist of her top 10 TED Talks and sets up a 2014 talk by Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert. Gilbert explains the "end of history illusion," the tendency for people at any age to underestimate how much they will change in the future in their values, personalities, and preferences. He presents research evidence, illustrates how this illusion distorts long-term decisions, and concludes that change is the one constant in our lives.
(#2) Elise's Top Ten: You don't actually know what your future self wants | Shankar Vedantam
Host Elise Hu introduces a favorite TED Talk by journalist and podcast host Shankar Vandantam about how poorly we understand our future selves. Through personal anecdotes, a powerful medical case, and the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, Vandantam argues that our identities and preferences change far more than we expect, creating an "illusion of continuity." He closes with three recommendations-stay curious, practice humility, and be brave-to better relate to and care for our future selves.
(#8) Elise's Top Ten: Change your story, change your life | Lori Gottlieb
Host Elise Hu introduces a favorite TED Talk by psychotherapist and author Lori Gottlieb, which explores how the stories people tell about their lives shape their experiences. Gottlieb explains that most problems reduce to themes of freedom and change, and she illustrates how reframing our narratives, considering other perspectives, and accepting responsibility can open up new possibilities for connection and growth.
(#10) Elise's Top Ten: What almost dying taught me about living | Suleika Jaouad
Host Elise Hu introduces a talk by writer, teacher, and activist Suleika Jaouad, who recounts being diagnosed with leukemia at 22 and spending four years in treatment as "patient number 5624." She explains that surviving cancer did not end her struggle; instead, the hardest part was reentering life afterward, dealing with physical limitations, grief, PTSD, and the myth of the heroic, ever-grateful survivor. Jaouad describes a 15,000-mile road trip to visit readers who had written to her, and shares what she learned about meaning, hope, and living in the in‑between space between sickness and health.
How do you rethink how the world works? An entrepreneur and an engineer answer | Yancey Strickler and Jenny Du
Host Elise Hu introduces a conversation between writer and former Kickstarter CEO Yancey Strickler and engineer-chemist Jenny Du about how feeling like an outsider can shape unconventional careers and systems-level innovations. Strickler reflects on lifelong feelings of not belonging, how that pushed him to question institutions, and how his thinking about punk labels and the Royal Society led to his artist corporation idea. Du describes how a shocking statistic about global food waste set her on a mission to extend the life of healthy foods, and together they discuss resilience, working within entrenched systems, and staying optimistic and truth-focused in a world that often feels "doomy."
8 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Turned 30
Jay Shetty shares eight psychological and life lessons he wishes he had understood before turning 30, aimed at saving time, energy, and emotional stress. Drawing on research in psychology and human behavior, he explains concepts like the spotlight effect, the effort heuristic, socio-emotional selectivity, decision fatigue, social contagion, burnout, and affective forecasting. He then turns these ideas into practical guidance on how to think about other people's opinions, productivity, friendships, discipline, fear, community, meaningful work, and the unpredictability of future happiness and pain.