How to Be a Better Human

“We have tried to create a system devoid of beauty, and it has failed. We have never tried to create a system that is replete with beauty and ask us what it might do.” Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, a lawyer, and a prison reform advocate. In this episode, he joins Chris to discuss the detrimental effects of prison systems and how lack of resources and the lack of beauty in prison perpetuates dehumanization. Reginald and Chris also share their favorite poems and books and discuss Reginald’s work with the Freedom Library to bring books to prisoners and correction officers.

Poems and Books Mentioned

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

won’t you celebrate with me by Lucille Clifton

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

Failing and Flying by Jack Gilbert

The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart by Jack Gilbert

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

under a soprano sky by Sonia Sanchez

For Freckle-Faced Gerald by Etheridge Knight

Featured guest

• Follow Reginald on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at FreedomReads.org
• Buy Felon: Poems and Doggerel: Poems

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Keith Diaz is an exercise scientist who studies the importance of movement to combat a sedentary lifestyle. He joins Chris to talk about how you can build better habits, and why simple alarm alerts might be more effective in motivating people to move than savvier tech like smart watches. Keith also shares why you need to activate your muscles to help you fight diseases and stay healthy.

Featured guest

• Follow Keith Diaz on LinkedIn
• Watch Ketih's TED Talk

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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How do you bring up difficult topics—especially when it involves a loved one? In this episode, Emerson Whitney, author of the book O Mother, talks about the grief of losing his mom to suicide. Emerson shares delicate topics such as growing up neurodivergent with ADHD and autism and how he continues to show up as his authentic self. Then Emerson and Chris discuss finding community and how to cultivate more joyful friendships.

Featured guest

• Follow Emerson Whitney on Instagram and at https://emersonwhitney.com/
• Buy O Mother

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Harlan Coben doesn’t think so. The mega-best-selling author talks suburbia, impostor syndrome, and what he learned from his college friend David Foster Wallace.

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For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Roleplaying games and the Marvel universe may be fictional, but they can also teach us a lot about morality in the real world. Christopher Robichaud is a Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In this episode, he shares ways we can explore important, everyday issues in fun, safe, and unexpected ways. Christopher has made a career out of teaching ethics and philosophy using pop culture, dissecting moral questions using anything from zombie apocalypse simulations to superhero narratives. He received his doctorate in philosophy from MIT. In 2015 he won the Innovation in Teaching Award at the Harvard Kennedy School for creating a day-long simulation--using design elements from old school tabletop roleplaying games like D&D--where policy students wielded their leadership skills and confronted ethical dilemmas to deal with a zombie pandemic.

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and producer, but you probably know him best as the host of the podcast Song Exploder. Hrishikesh has a new album out, “In the Last Hour of Light,” and he shares with Chris his creative  process. Hrishikesh also talks about his definition of success and why he values the act of creating over the insecurity of whether his work is “good enough.” Finally, Hrishikesh shares his advice for how people can become more attuned to their creative side.

Featured guest

• Follow Hrishikesh Hirway on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and at https://hrishikesh.co/
• Subscribe to Hrishikesh's Substack, accept cookies
• Buy Hrishikesh's album, In the Last Hour of Light

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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If you found yourself doodling or writing a lot as a child but then lost the hobby as you grew up, Wendy MacNaughton and Laurel Braitman want to help you recapture your spark. Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator, the author of “How to Say Goodbye”, and the creator of Draw Together, an art and learning community. Laurel Braitman is a TED Fellow, the author of the memoir “What Looks Like Bravery”, and the founder of Writing Medicine, a community of writing healthcare professionals. Together, Wendy and Laurel created Attention Club, a group of people pursuing creativity by practicing focus with one another. In this episode, Wendy and Laurel join Chris for an in-person chat at the 2024 TED Conference where they discuss the feelings that arise when sharing art with an audience and why embracing mistakes can lead to more meaningful work.

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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What is natural sound in an increasingly noisy world? asks sound recordist and audio engineer Matt Mikkelsen. Matt travels the world recording natural sounds in places where you can’t hear anything made by humans: no planes, no cars, no ringing phones. In this episode, Matt joins Chris to talk about the difference between quiet and silence. Matt shares his adventures and work with Quiet Parks International and even shares a story about the time he was struck by lightning. They also talk about the importance of choosing our acoustic environment and why it’s important to unplug and sit still in nature.

Featured guest

• Follow Matt Mikkelsen on Instagram and at matthewmikkelsen.com

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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If you ask Christian Cooper, a science writer, editor, and the host of the show “Extraordinary Birder With Christian Cooper”, birding can teach us all kinds of lessons about life, self-acceptance, and joy. In this episode, Christian shares what he deems as the seven pleasures of birding, why inclusion is especially important in life-affirming pursuits, and how anyone (city-dwellers and countryside-residents alike) can commune with nature to unlock the awe and wonder of the world around us.

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The conversation around climate change is often bleak and terrifying, but it doesn’t have to be that way, says climate behavior scientist Jiaying Zhao, or JZ. In this episode, JZ and happiness researcher Elizabeth Dunn join Chris to discuss why we need to account for happiness in climate solutions. JZ and Elizabeth argue since happiness is contagious, making happiness-driven decisions go further in influencing behavioral change than fear-based tactics. They also talk about an anesthetic gas that releases more carbon than CO2 and why you should google if your bank is investing money in fossil fuels.

Featured guest

• Follow JZ on X, LinkedIn, and at psych.ubc.ca/profile/jiaying-zhao/
• Follow Elizabeth Dunn at https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/
• Learn more at https://happyclimate.org/
• Buy Leave the Light On

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6

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