TEDMED Conversations

Artificial intelligence is often described as a faster way to process information. But in healthcare, its deeper impact may come from how it changes the interactions between patients, clinicians, caregivers, systems, and synthetic agents. In this TEDMED Conversation, computer scientist Deborah Estrin joins Jay Walker to explore AI’s promise and risk as it becomes more embedded in care. Together, t...

What if awe is more than a feeling? Psychologist Jennifer Stellar joins Jon Ellenthal to explore how awe, compassion, and wonder may shape the body, influence stress and inflammation, and expand what we consider essential to health. Together, they examine whether awe can be intentionally cultivated, and why wonder may be one of health’s most overlooked ingredients. Episode: The Biology of Awe: Why...

This is Part 2 of a two-part TEDMED Conversation with investigative journalist Katherine Eban . In this companion episode, host Jay Walker and Eban move from foundational questions about trust into the real-world consequences of its erosion. Building on the themes introduced in Part 1, the conversation examines how breakdowns in oversight, transparency, and accountability manifest in practice—shap...

This is Part 1 of a two-part TEDMED Conversation with investigative journalist Katherine Eban . Across these companion episodes, host Jay Walker and Eban explore what happens when the institutions we rely on to define truth, safety, and scientific credibility begin to falter. In this first installment, the conversation opens with a wide-angle lens: how trust in scientific and medical institutions...

After declaring at TEDMED in 2011 that she would one day complete the Cuba-to-Florida swim, Diana Nyad returned in 2014 having done just that — at age 64. In this Conversation, hosted by TEDMED’s Kelly Thomas, Diana reflects on what resilience truly requires: preparation over bravado, the courage to fail publicly, and the team that makes “five more strokes” possible when the will begins to falter....

What if pediatric care were built around relationships instead of billing codes? In this episode of TEDMED Conversations , host Theresa Santoro speaks with Dr. Lauren Hughes , founder of Bloom Pediatrics, about direct primary care and why she chose to step outside the insurance system to better serve families. Dr. Hughes shares how this model allows for deeper access, lower costs, and more proacti...

Conversation Guests Host, Bruce Schneier, Health Data Watchman Guest, Dr. Leana Wen , Transparent Physician Artificial intelligence is already making medical decisions—often without patients realizing it. In this episode of TEDMED Conversations , Bruce Schneier and Dr. Leana Wen unpack where AI is quietly saving lives, where it falls short, and why it may be “better than no doctor at all” in many...

Thomas Abt, founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction (VRC) and associate research professor at the University of Maryland, is on a mission to reduce community violence in American cities. Drawing on rigorous research and real-world experience, Abt develops evidence-informed strategies that unite city leaders, law enforcement, public health officials, and com...

Psychologist and bestselling author @jonathanhaidt joins Kelly Thomas, to unpack the youth mental health crisis—and how smartphones, social media, and a culture of overprotection are fueling it. Drawing from his latest New York Times bestselling book, The Anxious Generation , Haidt reveals how today’s kids are digitally connected but developmentally deprived—and what parents, educators, and policy...

"Every story is a brain story." This motto from the Shen Neurolaw Lab challenges us to consider why understanding the brain is essential for responsibly integrating neuroscience into the legal system. By doing so, we can improve legal decision-making and outcomes while navigating the ethical and practical challenges involved. In this TEDMED Conversation, Francis Shen, JD, PhD, explores the dynamic...

Dr. Anne Marie Albano discusses the mental health challenges faced by today's youth, particularly due to social media exposure and societal pressures with TEDMED's Director, Scientific Content, Kelly Thomas, Phd.  She emphasizes the importance of: open communication building trust modeling healthy coping skills Together parents, caregivers and educators need to create supportive environmen...

How does the culture of a school transform when the teachers, students, and staff are no longer on their phones? How does communication improve? How does the community come together? In this TEDMED Conversation, our Director, Scientific Content, Kelly Thomas, PhD, sits down with Bill Knauer, Head of The Harvey School, to find out what’s happening on campus since they’ve transitioned to a phone fre...