TED Talks Daily

Rainn Wilson was a late bloomer: he landed the role of Dwight Schrute on The Office after over a decade of struggling as an actor. But success didn’t solve all of his problems -- and it even created some new ones. In this live conversation for the Authors@Wharton series, Adam asks Rainn about his unlikely journey to stardom and how it led him into exploring the insights that philosophy, psychology, and the world’s great spiritual traditions can offer on modern life’s existential questions. They also discuss Rainn’s favorite moments from The Office and do some improv when Dunder Mifflin invites a certain organizational psychologist to talk to Dwight. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

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

How does studying the end of time change your perspective of life on Earth? Cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack joins designer and podcaster Debbie Millman to talk about the story of the cosmos — from the Big Bang's ancient light still glowing across the universe to the five ways it might all come to an end — plus what aerobatic flying taught her about staying present.

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

Did progress on your next big project stall out? Transformation expert Mary Martin refers to this moment as the "messy middle" — the frustrating gap between starting and finishing a goal, when you might lose confidence or give up altogether. Offering three ways to find glimmers of progress when the going gets tough, she explores what to do when you feel stuck.

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

As a self-proclaimed radical street librarian, Storybook Maze makes books appear where they're scarce. Through initiatives like free, public book vending machines and street corner story times, she eliminates book deserts — or areas with limited access to literature — by making books accessible for children in underserved communities. (And in case you're wondering, she shares how you can become a radical street librarian, too.)

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

If you ate bread this week (or cooked with salt and oil), you probably benefited from something millions miss out on: food fortification. Social entrepreneur Felix Brooks-church is on a mission to solve "hidden hunger" — malnutrition caused by a lack of nutrients — by fortifying everyday foods for regions of the world hit hardest by food insecurity. Laying out a pragmatic vision to improve food systems globally, he reminds us that hunger doesn’t always look like an empty plate.

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