How to Be a Better Human

What does the pressure to be more efficient, more productive, and more useful do to us? Priyanka Mattoo is an author whose new book, How to Be Less Useful, addresses the joys of being inefficient and giving up control. Priyanka and Chris also discuss how traditional gender roles show up in marriage and why it’s important to give your partner space to lead in their own way.

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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Chris Gethard is a comedian and the host of the podcast Beautiful Anonymous, an unscripted, unpredictable show where one anonymous person calls in and shares their family woes, secret confessions, or anything at all they want to talk about for 60 minutes. The only rule is that Chris Gethard can’t hang up. Gethard shares what he has learned from the show about how to talk to literally anyone, the life skills he mastered through improv comedy, and why making people laugh has been so important for his own mental health.

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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How does someone who claims having zero tolerance on watching scary movies come to host a podcast on supernatural stories? That’s the question Chris asked Glynn Washington, host of the podcast Snap Judgment and his new show, Spooked. Glynn shares how he grew up in a cult and later moved to Japan. He also talks about the traits in great storytellers and recounts paranormal stories.

Featured guest

• Follow Glynn Washington on Instagram
• Listen to Snap Judgmentand Spooked

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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Why does making friends as an adult feel like mission impossible?

Today, we’re sharing a special episode of a new TED podcast, Corner Piece. Friendship is hard, especially in adulthood, and this episode explores just that with personal stories from host Melissa Fernandes of her experience grappling with a friendship break up. Along the way, she interviews Anna Goldfarb, journalist and author of “Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valuable Connections,” and Dr. Marisa G. Franco, professor and author of “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—And Keep—Friends”. They explain why friendship can get so complicated as you get older and how to build closer bonds.

Corner Piece is hosted by the trio behind the YouTube channel, Answer in Progress, who start small on life’s biggest questions and follow their curiosities about human connection down rabbit holes to help you, and themselves, understand the world around them a little bit better.

Hear more episodes of Corner Piece on your favorite podcast app or here: https://link.mgln.ai/XDcPEc

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

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How long do you want to live? 75 years? 90? Over 100?! In this episode, oncologist and bioethicist Zeke Emanuel joins Chris to discuss why he’s suspicious about medical establishments and their push to treat illness and disease rather than teaching patients how to be healthy. They also talk about the beauty of spontaneous conversations with strangers. Finally Zeke shares the three foods you need to cut from your diet immediately… and why ice-cream is not on that list!

Featured guest

• Follow Zeke Emanuel on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and at his website
• Buy Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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Monica Lewinsky is an anti-bullying activist and host of Reclaiming with Monica, a podcast that shines her guests’ unguarded conversations about how they make sense of the world. In this episode filmed in front of a live audience at TED 2026, Chris interviews Monica on how she finds healing throughout the years. They discuss the role of public shaming in an online world, the differences between cancel culture and accountability culture, and how to have more empathy after surviving trauma.

Featured guest

• Follow Monica Lewinsky on Instagram and X
• Subscribe to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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“We have tried to create a system devoid of beauty, and it has failed. We have never tried to create a system that is replete with beauty and ask us what it might do.” Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, a lawyer, and a prison reform advocate. In this episode, he joins Chris to discuss the detrimental effects of prison systems and how lack of resources and the lack of beauty in prison perpetuates dehumanization. Reginald and Chris also share their favorite poems and books and discuss Reginald’s work with the Freedom Library to bring books to prisoners and correction officers.

Poems and Books Mentioned

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

won’t you celebrate with me by Lucille Clifton

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

Failing and Flying by Jack Gilbert

The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart by Jack Gilbert

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

under a soprano sky by Sonia Sanchez

For Freckle-Faced Gerald by Etheridge Knight

Featured guest

• Follow Reginald on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://freedomreads.org/
• Buy Felon: Poems and Doggerel: Poems

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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Keith Diaz is an exercise scientist who studies the importance of movement to combat a sedentary lifestyle. He joins Chris to talk about how you can build better habits, and why simple alarm alerts might be more effective in motivating people to move than savvier tech like smart watches. Keith also shares why you need to activate your muscles to help you fight diseases and stay healthy.

Featured guest

• Follow Keith Diaz on LinkedIn
• Watch Ketih's TED Talk

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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How do you bring up difficult topics—especially when it involves a loved one? In this episode, Emerson Whitney, author of the book O Mother, talks about the grief of losing his mom to suicide. Emerson shares delicate topics such as growing up neurodivergent with ADHD and autism and how he continues to show up as his authentic self. Then Emerson and Chris discuss finding community and how to cultivate more joyful friendships.

Featured guest

• Follow Emerson Whitney on Instagram and at https://emersonwhitney.com/
• Buy O Mother

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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Harlan Coben doesn’t think so. The mega-best-selling author talks suburbia, impostor syndrome, and what he learned from his college friend David Foster Wallace.

If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube orApple Podcasts.

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Roleplaying games and the Marvel universe may be fictional, but they can also teach us a lot about morality in the real world. Christopher Robichaud is a Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In this episode, he shares ways we can explore important, everyday issues in fun, safe, and unexpected ways. Christopher has made a career out of teaching ethics and philosophy using pop culture, dissecting moral questions using anything from zombie apocalypse simulations to superhero narratives. He received his doctorate in philosophy from MIT. In 2015 he won the Innovation in Teaching Award at the Harvard Kennedy School for creating a day-long simulation--using design elements from old school tabletop roleplaying games like D&D--where policy students wielded their leadership skills and confronted ethical dilemmas to deal with a zombie pandemic.

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Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and producer, but you probably know him best as the host of the podcast Song Exploder. Hrishikesh has a new album out, “In the Last Hour of Light,” and he shares with Chris his creative process. Hrishikesh also talks about his definition of success and why he values the act of creating over the insecurity of whether his work is “good enough.” Finally, Hrishikesh shares his advice for how people can become more attuned to their creative side.

Featured guest

• Follow Hrishikesh Hirway on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and at https://hrishikesh.co/
• Subscribe to Hrishikesh's Substack, accept cookies
• Buy Hrishikesh's album, In the Last Hour of Light

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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If you found yourself doodling or writing a lot as a child but then lost the hobby as you grew up, Wendy MacNaughton and Laurel Braitman want to help you recapture your spark. Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator, the author of “How to Say Goodbye”, and the creator of Draw Together, an art and learning community. Laurel Braitman is a TED Fellow, the author of the memoir “What Looks Like Bravery”, and the founder of Writing Medicine, a community of writing healthcare professionals. Together, Wendy and Laurel created Attention Club, a group of people pursuing creativity by practicing focus with one another. In this episode, Wendy and Laurel join Chris for an in-person chat at the 2024 TED Conference where they discuss the feelings that arise when sharing art with an audience and why embracing mistakes can lead to more meaningful work.

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

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What is natural sound in an increasingly noisy world? asks sound recordist and audio engineer Matt Mikkelsen. Matt travels the world recording natural sounds in places where you can’t hear anything made by humans: no planes, no cars, no ringing phones. In this episode, Matt joins Chris to talk about the difference between quiet and silence. Matt shares his adventures and work with Quiet Parks International and even shares a story about the time he was struck by lightning. They also talk about the importance of choosing our acoustic environment and why it’s important to unplug and sit still in nature.

Featured guest

• Follow Matt Mikkelsen on Instagram and at http://matthewmikkelsen.com/

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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If you ask Christian Cooper, a science writer, editor, and the host of the show “Extraordinary Birder With Christian Cooper”, birding can teach us all kinds of lessons about life, self-acceptance, and joy. In this episode, Christian shares what he deems as the seven pleasures of birding, why inclusion is especially important in life-affirming pursuits, and how anyone (city-dwellers and countryside-residents alike) can commune with nature to unlock the awe and wonder of the world around us.

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The conversation around climate change is often bleak and terrifying, but it doesn’t have to be that way, says climate behavior scientist Jiaying Zhao, or JZ. In this episode, JZ and happiness researcher Elizabeth Dunn join Chris to discuss why we need to account for happiness in climate solutions. JZ and Elizabeth argue since happiness is contagious, making happiness-driven decisions go further in influencing behavioral change than fear-based tactics. They also talk about an anesthetic gas that releases more carbon than CO2 and why you should google if your bank is investing money in fossil fuels.

Featured guest

• Follow JZ on X, LinkedIn, and at https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/jiaying-zhao/
• Follow Elizabeth Dunn at https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/
• Learn more at https://happyclimate.org/
• Buy Leave the Light On

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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Let’s face it: if chores were fun, they probably wouldn’t be called that. Because for most people, life can be overwhelming – and that means it doesn’t always look like a cleaning commercial where everyone is dancing their way to do laundry, take out trash, or smiling while washing the dishes. KC Davis is a therapist, author, podcaster, and TikToker who knows that caring for yourself can be a struggle. In this episode, she shares how radically rethinking “care” tasks –like not seeing a lack of cleanliness as shameful, or viewing messiness as a moral failure– can improve our quality of life. She also shares small strategies that could help us take better care of ourselves, because we deserve it.

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What can we learn from trees? Robert Moor thinks that the path to a well-lived life lies in trying our best to live like a tree. Branch out, prune what doesn’t work, and make use of the spots where we’ve been injured or broken. Robert talks to Chris about his decade-long project to write a book about the wisdom of trees, which took him from a thousand year old bonsai in Tokyo to a tree-climbing teacher in England and living in the canopy of an old growth forest in Canada to try and prevent its logging. This is an adventurous, far-ranging episode about what it means to be a human and why the answer to that question might just lie in the top branches of the nearest tree.

Featured guest

• Follow Robert Moor on Instagram, X, Bluesky and at https://www.robertmoor.com/
• Buy In Trees: An Exploration

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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Maurine “Mighty Mo'' Kornfeld will soon turn 102 years old, and most days, you can catch her doing laps in a Los Angeles public swimming pool. And that’s not just because she regularly competes in – and wins – world swimming championships! It’s because she loves being in the water, despite only picking up swimming as a hobby well into her sixties. In this special episode, Maurine shares what she’s learned from doing something she loves almost every day, why it’s never too late to start something new, and the three things anyone can do to improve their life, no matter their age. For the full text transcript, visit http://go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

(This episode originally aired in 2023 when Mighty Mo was 102 years old. Mighty Mo is still swimming and will soon turn 106 years old in November!)

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Perrin Ireland is an artist and environmentalist who draws science comics. She’s also the author of Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex. In this episode, Perrin discusses why learning about the kinky sex lives of animals is a form of biodiversity! From topics such as animal caregiving to how language tends to ascribe sexual characteristics onto non-objects, Perrin shares why openly talking about animal sex isn’t scandalous, but allows for better understanding of animal and human social organization.

Factcheck Notes

1. Reported estimates of same-sex pairings and divorce rates in penguins vary across species and populations. Some studies have found values similar to those mentioned here, although these should not be treated as general estimates.

2. Rostrum-to-genital interactions in dolphins have been interpreted in multiple ways. In addition to possible sexual functions, studies suggest they may facilitate the inspection of chemical cues, allowing dolphins to gather information such as identity or reproductive status. Therefore, describing this behavior solely as a form of oral sex may oversimplify its potential functions.

3. Although it has been suggested that dolphins may obtain information by listening to the echoes produced by another dolphin’s echolocation, there is currently insufficient evidence that dolphins can intentionally transmit complex 3D images or engage in "holographic communication". This remains mostly a speculative hypothesis rather than an established scientific theory.

Featured guest

• Follow Perrin Ireland on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://www.experrinment.com/
• Buy Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at https://chrisduffycomedy.com/
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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

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