Jul 3

Atomic Artifacts

Back in the 1950s, facing the threat of nuclear annihilation, federal officials sat down and pondered what American life would actually look like after an atomic attack. They faced a slew of practical questions like: Who would count the dead and where would they build the refugee ... Show More

40m 48s

Jun 26

The Gondolier

Back in 2017, reporters Kristen Clark and David Conrad came to us with a story that dug into the difficult and often dark places discrimination creates. We start in Venice, Italy, where they meet gondolier Alex Hai. On the winding canals in the hidden parts of Venice, we learn ab ... Show More

1h 13m

Jun 19

This is Your Brain on Hormones

After reading something that said her menstrual cycle changes her brain each month, Senior Correspondent Molly Webster goes on a reporting mission to see if that’s true, and, if so, how. This journey into sex hormones and the brain involves females and males, and exacting self-ex ... Show More

39m 43s

Jan 2020

Here Come the Warm Feels

There’s often a gap between feeling and understanding, but language and classification provide us with tremendous tools for self-reflection. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the concept of kama muta, a broad categorization of emotional states tha ... Show More

52m 42s

Dec 2023

Found In Translation

It's easy to focus on the nuances that get lost in translation, but what about the insights that are found? This hour, TED speakers reveal what we gain by adapting and translating information. Guests include textual scientist Gregory Heyworth, economist Ralph Chami, microbiologis ... Show More

50m 58s

May 2023

Found in Translation

It's easy to focus on the nuances that get lost in translation, but what about the insights that are found? This hour, TED speakers reveal what we gain by adapting and translating information. Guests include textual scientist Gregory Heyworth, economist Ralph Chami, microbiologis ... Show More

50m 24s

Feb 2024

Words, Words, Words 3: Puppers, Hell-Hounds, and the Dogs of War

Is the Message a good translation of the Bible? Is it even a translation? This is one of the questions I get asked all the time, and with good reason: people like the vividness of a more plainspoken translation, but they worry about the accuracy of bringing the Bible so far down ... Show More

37m 30s

Aug 2022

Lost In Translation

Today on the show, we're bringing you the stories of two families grappling with how best to communicate across linguistic differences. In the first story, a young man sorts through how to talk to his parents about gender in Chinese, where the words for "he" and "she" sound exact ... Show More

36 m

Mar 2021

The Story of Stories

<p>Why is my friend late? How does nuclear fission work? What occurs when I sneeze? We all need to understand why certain things happen. Some researchers think the drive to explain the world is a basic human impulse, similar to thirst or hunger. This week on Hidden Brain, we begi ... Show More

51m 15s

Feb 2024

This is What Language Means

Listen to Episode No.7 of All We Mean, a Special Focus of this podcast. All We Mean is an ongoing discussion and debate about how we mean and why. The guests on today's episode are Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis, professors at the University of Illinois. In this episode of the Focu ... Show More

58m 2s

Feb 2022

Mind Reading 2.0: Why Conversations Go Wrong

<p>Do you ever struggle to communicate with your mom? Or feel like you and your spouse sometimes speak different languages? In the final episode of our "Mind Reading 2.0" series, we bring back one of our favorite conversations, with linguist Deborah Tannen. She shows how our conv ... Show More

51m 56s