1: The Chain of Events. "We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about wildfires, school shootings, and love."

Part 2: Life and Death. "In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department."

Part 3: Grit vs Quit. "Giving up can be painful. That’s why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. Part of the series."

Part 4: Extreme Resiliency. "Everyone makes mistakes. How do you learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease."

"Poet and author Maggie Smith isn’t sure where she falls on the spectrum from optimism to pessimism. But her viral poem 'Good Bones' and her bestselling books have inspired countless readers with profound insights on the messiness of being human. In this episode, Maggie and Adam discuss strategies for handling complex emotions, sustaining hope while acknowledging reality, and accepting ambiguity in life and art. They explore the value of asking questions that may not have a satisfying answer — or any answer at all."

"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."

"In life and work, we have a hard time changing course. When we wind up in a miserable job, a failing project, or a floundering romantic relationship, we rationalize, make excuses, and stick with our bad decisions—even when the writing's on the wall. Why? Usually we assume the driving force is sunk costs: we don't want to admit we've wasted that time or money. But in fact, the root of our stubbornness is a psychological trap called 'escalation of commitment.' Once we understand that, we can start taking steps to protect ourselves from… well, ourselves."

"Emotions are like opinions — everyone has them...We know that it’s possible to transform our feelings by changing how we think and talk about them...In this episode, Lisa and Adam bust myths about how emotions are constructed in the brain and experienced in the body. They discuss the surprising evidence that language doesn’t just describe emotions — it shapes them. And they examine how managing your emotions is easier than you may realize."

"...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 ways to avoid the traps of homogeneous cultures."

Why you should define your fears instead of your goals "The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss encourages us to fully envision and write down our fears in detail, in a simple but powerful exercise he calls "fear-setting." Learn more about how this practice can help you thrive in high-stress environments and separate what you can control from what you cannot."

The Tim Ferriss Show: Susan Cain. "Transforming Pain, Building Your Emotional Resilience, Exploring Sufi Wisdom, Tapping into Bittersweet Songs, and Seeking the Shards of Light." [KJ Note: Susan Cain curated a very eclectic Spotify playlist to accompany the release of her most recent book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. You can find the playlist here]

TED2022: Why art is a tool for hope. "Famed for enormous black-and-white portraits that are pasted on surfaces ranging from the Louvre to the US-Mexico border wall, multimedia artist JR continues to tackle ambitious projects. In this powerfully moving talk, he shares how he made a giant mural on the courtyard floor of a maximum-security prison -- with the help of guards and prisoners alike -- and ended up with much more than a compelling image."

TED2022: You don't actually know what your future self wants. "You are constantly becoming a new person," says journalist Shankar Vendantam. In a talk full of beautiful storytelling, he explains the profound impact of something he calls the 'illusion of continuity' -- the belief that our future selves will share the same views, perspectives and hopes as our current selves -- and shows how we can more proactively craft the people we are to become."

TED Radio Hour: Rosanne Cash: The Rhythm and Rhyme of Memory. "For decades, Rosanne Cash has soared through the ranks of music with her powerhouse poetic skills and wistful reflections on her past...We explore Rosanne's life and legacy through her music."

 "In a breathtaking, jazz-inflected spoken-word performance, TED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph shares a Black father's tender and wrenching internal reflection on the pride and terror of seeing his son enter adulthood." 

"How much do you think about your future self? If your answer is not much, you're not alone. It can be difficult to plan for a version of yourself you haven't met yet, says psychologist Meg Jay. Sharing how to close the empathy gap between you and your future selves, she outlines courageous questions to ask about how your present and future can align, so you can begin to achieve your goals."

Part 1 of 2 with Adam Grant & Simon Sinek.
Part 2 of 2 with Adam Grant & Simon Sinek.
"What’s happening in the workplace right now?...We talk about what we are seeing in organizations across the world—and there are definitely some trends that emerge. And so much learning. We talk about disconnects between what we know from data and what we’re seeing practiced. We also talk about what high performers actually look like and the most meaningful way to succeed."

TEDVancouver: Do we see reality as it is? "Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? In this ever so slightly mind-blowing talk, he ponders how our minds construct reality for us."

On Being with Krista Tippett: adrienne maree brown: “We are in a time of new suns.” "'What a time to be alive,' adrienne maree brown has written. 'Right now we are in a fast river together — every day there are changes that seemed unimaginable until they occurred'...This conversation shines a light on an emerging ecosystem in our world over and against the drumbeat of what is fractured and breaking: working with the complex fullness of reality, and cultivating old and new ways of seeing, to move towards a transformative wholeness of living."

The Knowledge Project: Seth Godin: Failing On Our Way To Mastery. "Seth and Shane chat about creative work, fear, shame, trusting yourself, what it means to be a professional, how to become an observer of reality, emotional labor, how we learn and so much more."

The Ezra Klein Show: Timeless Wisdom for Leading a Life of Love, Friendship and Learning. “Today, we are supercompetent when it comes to efficiency, utility, speed, convenience, and getting ahead in the world; but we are at a loss concerning what it’s all for,” Leon Kass writes in his 2017 book “Leading a Worthy Life.” “This lack of cultural and moral confidence about what makes a life worth living is perhaps the deepest curse of living in our interesting time.”

John Green reviews an Icelandic hot dog stand and the act of signing your name 250,000 times in a four-month period.

Commencement Speech to Kenyon College class of 2005 written by David Foster Wallace

“What does a good day look like?” That question — when asked of both terminally-ill and healthy people — has transformed Atul Gawande’s practice of medicine. A citizen physician and writer, Gawande is on the frontiers of human agency and meaning in light of what modern medicine makes possible. For the millions of people who have read his book Being Mortal, he’s also opened new conversations about the ancient human question of death and what it might have to do with life.

"Dr. Bob talks about the importance of leadership, whether it's during a pandemic or a flight that's lost all engine power, with Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. The parallels between the two might not seem obvious, but Sully points out that the basic elements of good leadership can be applied in any situation."

"Have you ever found yourself scrolling mindlessly through Netflix unsure of what to watch? While infinitely browsing, you stumble upon half-watched TV shows you were peer-pressured into trying and leftover documentaries you never got around to…This is what Harvard law student Pete Davis calls ‘the defining characteristic of our generation’. This inspiring speech will change the way you view life."