NPR/TED Staff

Psychologist Susan Pinker explains why face-to-face connection is a human necessity. But during this period of isolation, she says some ways of connecting online are better substitutes than others.

For Jonny Sun, loneliness felt like being an alien on a distant planet, alone in the universe. But when he shared those feelings online, he found a community of people who felt precisely the same way.

Over the past weeks, we've been reaching out to TED speakers to ask how their lives have changed since COVID-19. On this episode, we hear from writer Pico Iyer, at his home in Nara, Japan.

More than ever, we need to make time for joy. This hour, Manoush and TED's Head Curator Helen Walters explore talks that surprise, inspire, and delight.

Over the past weeks, most us have had to adapt to a new normal. We reached out to a few TED speakers to ask how their lives have changed and what they're thinking about these days.

MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19—the viruses that cause these diseases likely have the same patient zero: bats. For researcher Daniel Streicker, the key to preventing an outbreak is the bats themselves.

Anupam Jena has made a practice of looking at big data and natural experiments to ask questions others overlook. He describes how the COVID-19 pandemic could have several unexpected consequences.

A century after the 1918 flu, we see similar patterns in the ways we're responding to COVID-19. Laura Spinney reflects on the Spanish flu and how societies learn to move forward after pandemics.

In 2003, polio reemerged in twenty countries that had long been declared polio-free. Anthropologist Heidi Larson says to stop the spread of disease, we need to first build trust in vaccines.

Novelist Jacqueline Woodson is a slow reader. Taking her time lets her savor each word brings her closer to each story, and it lets her pay respect to her ancestors who weren't allowed to read.

When one of Liz Kleinrock's fourth grade students made a cringeworthy comment about race, rather than change the subject, she chose to turn the moment into a teachable one—and start a conversation.

Many students feel unrelenting pressure to be... perfect. Social psychologist Thomas Curran warns that striving for perfectionism isn't just impossible—it's also dangerous to children's health.

What does a global pandemic mean for our education system? Educator Richard Culatta discusses the ways we can teach for better humans virtually... and the opportunity this moment presents.

When we shop in a store, we're used to having options. But in a digital economy controlled by tech monopolies, choice isn't built in. Margrethe Vestager is on a mission to change that.

How does a set of misleading videos online turn into a dangerous health crisis ... all in the span of three days? Claire Wardle discusses the real life consequences of misinformation online.

With so much data collected on our online behavior, it's bound to be misused. Sociologist Zeynep Tufekci says to rebuild trust in the internet, we need to entirely restructure how it operates.

Within the last decade, we've opted to replace time spent on hobbies, exercise, and conversation with screen time. Social psychologist Adam Alter describes ways we can reclaim our attention.

Edward Snowden revealed government programs that collected our private data. Today, he says private corporations have become just as intrusive—but without the restraints placed on government.

Billionaire entrepreneur Nick Hanauer says that today's inequality results from decades of bad economic theory. He argues for a reinvention of our capitalist system and our definition of prosperity.

Michael Tubbs has been saying "reinvent Stockton" since he was elected. Having grown up in Stockton himself, Tubbs takes a community-oriented approach to creating positive change in the city.