ReThinking

When Halla Tómasdóttir lost her bid for the Icelandic presidency in 2016, she wasn't sure she wanted to run again. But after battles with self-doubt, encouragement from her supporters and an epiphany about leadership, she ran again this year — and this time, she won. Halla joins Adam to discuss dealing with impostor syndrome, why leadership is worth the effort and how listening and asking question...

If you don't know Mark Rober, your kids do. He's best known for his viral engineering feats — like creating an obstacle course for squirrels, designing glitter bombs to get revenge on package thieves and building the world's largest Nerf gun. Before launching YouTube's most followed science channel, he was a NASA engineer, and he now runs his own company, CrunchLabs, designing monthly STEM subscri...

Have you ever felt like your work colleagues sometimes act like animals? In this conversation, Jane Goodall and Adam take that idea literally, exploring what Jane's expertise on chimp behavior can teach us about how humans relate and organize. With grace and wisdom, she shares primal insights on how we acquire and keep power, the difference between being a leader and being a boss, and the role of...

Nathan Myhrvold may be the closest thing we have to a modern-day Renaissance man. A cofounder, inventor, chef, photographer, dinosaur hunter, author and former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, Nathan infuses creativity and innovation into everything he does. Nathan and Adam dive into the science behind the creative process, discussing what it takes to spark imagination and fight groupthink....

Criminologist Nick Cowen doesn't just analyze crime — he studies how to prevent it. As a professor at the University of Lincoln in the UK, he explores the unexpected factors that influence crime rates. Nick joins Adam to discuss how social norms and incentives helped the UK curb drunk driving, and the two talk through the science behind what actually drives individuals and societies to change outd...

Malcolm Gladwell joins Adam for a lively discussion and debate, recorded live at the Authors@Wharton series. More than 20 years after releasing his blockbuster book The Tipping Point , Malcolm has decided to rethink his first famous ideas by writing his new book, Revenge of the Tipping Point . He and Adam riff on the value of acknowledging our past mistakes, strategies for coping with failure and...

Christina Tosi and Will Guidara have found many winning recipes — in food, business and love. Christina is the chef-owner at Milk Bar, a James Beard award winner and the author of multiple cookbooks. Will transformed Eleven Madison Park into a three-Michelin-star restaurant ranked among the world's best. The power couple joins Adam to share remarkable stories about their hospitality and food empir...

Niall Ferguson is an intellectual provocateur. His specialty is counterfactual history — imagining how events could have unfolded differently. And he and Adam disagree on nearly everything. In this episode, Niall and Adam have a vigorous debate about the vital qualities of effective leadership in government, sports, business, and education.  Available transcripts for ReThinking can be found at go....

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy thinks about public health holistically. Whether he's addressing youth mental health crises, the loneliness epidemic or serving on the White House's COVID-19 pandemic response team, Vivek is dedicated to improving well-being. In a live conversation, Vivek and Adam discuss the individual and collective foundations of belonging and wellness. Available transcripts for ReT...

You may think no leader could ever be too charismatic, but the evidence is clear: a dazzling personality doesn't always drive success. In this episode, Adam investigates why an excess of charm can actually be detrimental to people and organizations. He chats with bestselling author and executive coach Liz Wiseman and one of her clients, CEO Hazel Jackson, about how to spot baseless charisma — and...

Too many teams are less than the sum of their parts, and building a great team requires more than just picking an all-star roster or doing trust falls. Adam dives into the hard-hitting research on what makes teams work — with members of the “Miracle on Ice" Olympic hockey team and organizational behavior professor Anita Woolley. You’ll also hear some special tape from Adam’s late mentor Richard Ha...

Many workplaces hire, reward and promote on culture fit. But that can come with real costs to individuals and organizations. In this episode, Adam dives into the evidence on why overemphasizing fit can overlook promising people — and shows how organizations can fight conformity and support self-expression. Guests include Ellevest founder Sallie Krawcheck, IDEO innovators Jim Yurchenco and Diego Ro...

Before John Legend was coaching The Voice and winning Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys, he was a twenty-something consultant living in Boston. In this episode, John sits down with Adam to share how he hustled from the boardroom to the studio and crafted the creative career that led him to the top of the entertainment industry. John also talks about how he maintains creative vision at the core of h...

Many people believe that success depends on gaining power, but it turns out that status is a more sustainable path to accomplishment and impact. Adam is joined by Survivor star Parvati Shallow, organizational psychologist and author Alison Fragale, and Chynna Clayton — former special assistant to Michelle Obama — to break down the best strategies for gaining and maintaining status at work, buildin...

Sarah Silverman is a stand-up comedian, actor and writer who doesn;t shy away from saying what she thinks. Her bold, distinctive voice has taken her from Saturday Night Live and Seinfeld to Broadway plays, late-night TV and Disney animated movies. Sarah shares surprising stories about turning haters into fans, and she and Adam discuss strategies for defusing anger, finding courage and forging conn...

Jay Van Bavel is an award-winning professor of psychology and neural science at NYU — and he's an expert on the causes of and cures for division. Adam and Jay discuss the science of virality, why bad news often commands our attention, and how we can find common ground around more uplifting content. Jay's latest book, The Power of Us , is out now. ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard . Our Sen...

Danielle Allen thinks and writes about the institutions that hold society together. As a professor of public policy and political philosophy at Harvard, she's one of the most insightful voices on improving education and renovating democracy. Danielle and Adam discuss the current culture of college campuses, steps for promoting critical thinking and vigorous debate, and avenues for enriching the li...

Trevor Noah is widely admired for his quick wit. He's hosted The Daily Show and the Grammy Awards, sold out huge arenas around the world, had numerous hit comedy specials on Netflix, and published a bestselling memoir, Born a Crime . One of the keys to his success is his ability to read people and communicate clearly. In a lively discussion with Adam, Trevor dives into the importance of context in...

Before becoming the director of major films like Crazy Rich Asians , In the Heights and the upcoming Wicked , Jon M. Chu wondered if he missed his chance to make it big. After a great deal of trial and error, his path to success is its own cinematic hero's journey. Jon and Adam discuss what it takes to reach your own potential, the creative process, and how to find the courage to tell new stories....

How can we reduce hostility between people and groups? Social psychologist Betsy Levy Paluck has done groundbreaking work on an approach to fighting prejudice that's faster than trying to change institutions and more feasible than trying to change individuals. Betsy and Adam explore the origins of animosity, discuss her experiments in Rwanda and in schools, and unpack strategies for bridging our d...

At 27, long before he gained acclaim as the restaurateur behind Shake Shack and Gramercy Tavern, Danny Meyer launched his first venture, Union Square Cafe. More than 20 James Beard Foundation awards later, Danny shares the strategies and insights that fueled his restaurant empire. He and Adam discuss how to build a culture of excellence and care, how to hire people who treat others well, and how t...

Journalist Rafi Kohan says talking trash can do more than spice up a sport. His latest book, Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage , is a fascinating look at the art and history of competitive insults. From women's basketball to the Olympics to the TED stage, Adam and Rafi dissect the mind games that fuel performance — and dive into the science of why a li...

Julia Gillard served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. During her tenure as the first woman to hold that role, she gave an electrifying speech about sexism and how it impacts all women, even those in power. Since then, she has continued to fight for gender equality. In this interview, she opens up about the challenges faced by women in leadership positions and the reactions to...

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a rare psychological concept that has achieved pop culture fame. David Dunning -- the lead author and one of the world’s most-cited psychologists -- joins Adam to discuss his famous findings about the arrogance of ignorance, the challenges of knowing what you don’t know, and the dangers of “doing your own research.” Then David and Adam uncover strategies for overcoming...

Criticism rarely comes wrapped in a shiny gift box, tied with a bow. As a trailblazing leader, one of Mellody Hobson’s gifts is finding the diamond in the rough. She and Adam unpack how to look for the grain of truth in any critique, when to discount feedback, and what it takes to be honest without being brutal. Find the full text transcript at go.ted.com/T4G7 ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Stan...