We often think that scientific research is reserved for PhDs and other experts. But now that's changing. This hour, TED speakers on how ordinary citizens are helping make groundbreaking discoveries. Guests include tech entrepreneur Joi Ito, biomedical researcher Sharon Terry, astronomer Tabetha Boyajian, and journalist Mary Ellen Hannibal.

Citizen Science

It's likely to be the biggest purchase of your life, and there are so many ways it all can go sideways. Our experts will help you find a home you'll love.

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping

Life Kit is excited to bring you more episodes but we're making some changes to how we organize things. Starting in the new year, this three-part guide will disappear, but all of the episodes will still be available — they are just moving to our main Life Kit feed. Search your podcast app for Life Kit from NPR and subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Special Announcement From Life Kit

Based on your feedback, we've created new ways to listen to Life Kit. If you never want to miss an episode, subscribe to Life Kit: All Guides. We also divided our guides by subject — health, money and parenting - and more to come in the future — so you can subscribe to only the topics you want to learn about.

Who should get to keep secrets, and who should demand to know them? In this hour, TED speakers talk about the damage secrets can do, and the shifting roles we play when we keep, or share them. In a special updated interview, Global Witness co-founder Charmian Gooch explains how secrecy and corruption have changed in the five years since she gave her TED talk. Other guests from the original 2015 episode include PostSecret founder Frank Warren, equality advocate Ash Beckham, and journalist Glenn Greenwald.

Keeping Secrets

Original broadcast date: July 29, 2016. Failure can be devastating, but it can also make us stronger and smarter. This week, TED speakers explore how failure clears the way for success, in our everyday work, and our innermost lives. Guests include entrepreneur Astro Teller, economist Tim Harford, author Casey Gerald, and writer Lidia Yuknavitch.

Failure Is An Option

If you know where to look, you might find a mortgage that will save you thousands of dollars a year or discover that you qualify for a loan when you didn't think you could.

Citizen Science

Download our free app to listen on your phone