Trigger warning - this episode contains mention of suicide and severe depression.

For years, the warning has been: smartphones are destroying a generation. But developmental psychologist Candice Odgers says that decades of data on teens tells a different story — violence, alcohol use and pregnancy are at historic lows, and research shows social media may not actually be the culprit for mental health problems. Hear her analysis of what’s really troubling kids these days, and why banning them from online spaces may make things worse. And stick around after her talk for a deep dive conversation with our guest host for the week, author and podcaster Manoush Zomorodi, into the ideas she shared on stage and beyond.

This is episode two of a seven-part series airing this week on TED Talks Daily, where Manoush — and the seven speakers she curated for TED2026 — explore how you can live a healthier life in our high-tech era.

To hear more from Manoush, listen to TED Radio Hour wherever you get your podcasts. Check out her new book, Body Electric, to learn more about the hidden health costs of the digital age.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can a five-minute walk change how you feel all day? Exercise scientist Keith Diaz shows how your body is built for the kind of movement that modern life has quietly erased — and suggests something refreshingly doable: making time for small doses of movement sprinkled throughout the day, as a way to boost your brain and body. And stick around after his talk for a deep dive conversation with our guest host for the week, author and podcaster Manoush Zomorodi, into the ideas he shared on stage and beyond.

This is episode one of a seven-part series airing this week on TED Talks Daily, where Manoush — and the seven speakers she curated for TED2026 — explore how you can live a healthier life in our high-tech era.

To hear more from Manoush, listen to TED Radio Hour wherever you get your podcasts. Check out her new book, Body Electric, to learn more about the hidden health costs of the digital age.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manoush Zomorodi, host of TED Radio Hour, takes over as guest host ofTED Talks Daily this week to answer a timely question: What does it mean to be human right now, as technology reshapes everything around us? She brings together seven thinkers — scientists, doctors, parents, an artist — to wrestle with how we stay connected to ourselves, and our bodies, in a world that keeps pulling us away. First up, Manoush is joined by Elise Hu to dig into the ideas that are going to be explored this week. They discuss her new book, Body Electric, which explores the hidden health costs of our sedentary lifestyle, and what we can all be doing to reverse the damages.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Algorithms and AI don’t show us reality, but that doesn’t stop people from treating ChatGPT and online bots as our personalized therapists, travel planners, and editors. In this episode, Sherrell is sharing two talks on how AI is changing the way we’re influenced. From shaping our language to becoming “middle managers of our own thoughts,” these speakers ask what happens when we offload critical thinking to a machine.

Talks featured

Why are people starting to sound like ChatGPT? | Adam Aleksic

How to stop AI from killing your critical thinking | Advait Sarkar

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Faced with the realities of current crises, it’s easy to assume our world is headed in a bleak direction. But there’s good reason to be hopeful— with developments in science and technology, a positive future is more viable than ever before. So, what if the future was awesome? Iseult Gillespie explores what three cities could look like in 100 years if we harness the tools we have at our disposal. [Directed by Devin Clark, Augenblick Studios, narrated by Alexandra Panzer, music by Tom Kaericher].

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Is space the “final frontier” — or the perfect place to revolutionize life on Earth? Space architect Ariel Ekblaw reveals how self-assembling structures could build orbiting real estate in space dedicated to solving humanity’s greatest dilemmas on Earth, leading to scientific and medical breakthroughs only possible in zero gravity.

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Could the key to a sustainable food system already be growing in the world’s farms? Plant scientist Giles E.D. Oldroyd explores how a special quirk of soybean plants allows them to naturally partner with networks of fungi and bacteria to access essential nutrients in the air and soil — eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers. He shows how harnessing these microscopic powerhouses could help scientists rewire crops to make their own fertilizer, reducing pollution, increasing yields and improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

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The emergence of data-driven mass surveillance "is threatening to turn privacy into a relic of the 20th century," says the anonymous YouTube creator known as Ordinary Things. Meanwhile, state-funded troll farms are spreading disinformation and curating chaos on platforms meant to connect us and revolutionize the way we live. This week, we're revisiting a talk in which Ordinary Things gives an enlightening account of the internet's strengths and weaknesses, warning that the fight for a free internet is a fight for our collective future.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.