ReThinking

Women are frequently disenfranchised and discriminated against by systems that favor men, but these same systems hurt men, too. Luke Bateman is a former professional rugby player who has gained a following online making videos about his love of fantasy novels and the hidden costs of patriarchy for men and boys. In this episode, Luke opens up about how narrow ideals of masculinity led him into a cycle of addiction, and how he pulled himself out by deconstructing his beliefs about what it means to be a man. Luke and Adam discuss the psychology of “precarious manhood,” the power of vulnerability as a skill that builds resilience, and the strategies for helping men express their emotions and evolve their beliefs. Luke also reframes when it means to be a protector and provider, and encourages men and boys to find themselves in books.

Featured guest

• Follow Luke Bateman on Instagram and TikTok
• Listen to In the Good Books podcast

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

Harlan Coben has written 35 bestsellers in the past three decades, selling over 90 million novels and spawning some of the most popular miniseries on Netflix– including I Will Find You. He recently published his first nonfiction book, Plot Twist: a writing guide packaged inside a memoir. In this episode, Adam and Harlan take a closer look at the routines and habits that help Harlan stay so prolific with his writing, and Harlan emphasises the importance of being comfortable with boredom and treating writing like a job. Harlan also reflects on what he learned while collaborating with Reese Witherspoon on their novel Gone Before Goodbye, and the difference between equality and equity in relationships. Adam shares insights on the biggest mistakes people make while pursuing happiness, and why successful people aren’t free of doubts.

Featured guest

• Follow Harlan Coben on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and through his website
• Buy Plot Twist

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

You probably know Ke Huy Quan as the Academy Award-winning actor who played Waymond Wang in the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when he was just 12 years old. But for a long stretch of his career, Ke wasn’t acting at all. In this episode, Adam sits down with Ke to reflect on the winding story arc of his life, from his early childhood as a Vietnamese refugee to being thrust into Hollywood, only to be forced into a new career path before finding his way back to acting in his 50s. Ke shares the lessons he learned about persistence and resilience as he rethought his identity as an actor and built a career behind the camera. Adam also explains why refusing to ask for help is a disservice to those around you, and Ke explains how he maintains kindness and humility in a cutthroat industry.

Featured guest

• Follow Ke Huy Quan on Instagram
• Buy Ke's book, Never Say Die

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

If you or a loved one has suffered from severe illness, you know that recovery isn’t always as joyful as it sounds. In this episode, Adam’s wife Allison Sweet Grant is back to talk about her new memoir “Lump,” a collection of poetry and prose about her experience with breast cancer. Allison and Adam reflect on their experience as a family dealing with a difficult diagnosis in the middle of the COVID pandemic, and Allison shares her complicated relationship with being called a “survivor.” They discuss how many patients downplay their pain to appease their providers, explain why many patients feel more relief than joy during recovery, and address how we can provide better support to our loved ones. They also talk about Allison’s synesthesia, revisit their beloved driving debate (is the lead or following car responsible for staying together on a multi-car trip?) and open several new ones (is Seinfeld better than Friends, and is true crime scarier than fiction?).

Featured guest

• Follow Allison Sweet Grant on Instagram, LinkedIn, and https://www.allisonsweetgrant.com/
• Buy Allison's books!

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

The way leaders communicate can have a big impact on how we see ourselves. Vanessa Beasley is an expert on presidential rhetoric—and the president of Trinity University in San Antonio. In this episode, Adam and Vanessa take a closer look at how rhetoric used by past US presidents has shaped the identity of the American people, and explore some common rhetorical mistakes that leaders make when trying to persuade their audience. They also discuss why so many students are booing commencement speeches on AI, whether listening skills are declining, and how we can improve critical thinking on college campuses.

Featured guest

• Follow Vanessa Beasley on LinkedIn and at trinity.edu/president/beasley-bio

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

Dolly Parton's hit songs — like "9 to 5," "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" — have captured generation after generation. In this episode, recorded around the release of "Run, Rose, Run" (her novel co-written with James Patterson and paired with a full-length companion album), host Adam Grant talks with Dolly about her creative process, how she balances getting things right with getting things done and how she manages the hefty cup of ambition she pours herself each morning.

(This episode originally aired in 2022.)

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

 Julie Bowen is an Emmy Award-winning actress best known from her roles as Claire on Modern Family and Virginia in Happy Gilmore. She’s also a former host of the podcast Quitters, which she eventually quit. In this episode, Adam and Julie are joined by developmental psychologist Aliza Pressman for a delightful conversation about authenticity, emotional intelligence, and parenting. Julie makes the case for why sometimes quitting is the most mature thing to do, and shares what she’s learned from coaching her sons through commitments they no longer wanted to uphold. She interrogates Adam about his inability to get angry, and he and Aliza speculate on what would happen if everyone was perfectly emotionally regulated. The three also reflect on the difficult truth that you cannot change how others act, and explore strategies for teaching kids (and yourself) how to handle conflict between the values you hold and the way you actually behave.

Featured guests

• Follow Julie Bowen on Instagram and TikTok
• Follow Aliza Pressman on Instagram, LinkedIn, Substack, and at draliza.com/

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

Adam joins an improv comedy workshop and comes away with new insights about facing failure, building resilience, boosting creativity, and elevating collaboration. He takes the stage in Authors@Wharton with a pair of past Re:Thinking guests, data scientist Andrea Jones-Rooy and animal cognition researcher Justin Gregg, who happen to moonlight as improv comedy performers. In this unique episode, Andrea and Justin throw Adam headfirst into a series of improv exercises and lead a lively, often hilarious discussion of the practical lessons.

Featured guest

• Follow Andrea Jones-Rooy on Instagram, LinkedIn, and https://www.jonesrooy.com/
• Follow Justin Gregg on Instagram, Substack, and at justingregg.com/
• Listen to Andrea's podcast, Behind the Data
• Buy Justin's books here

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

Maria Sharapova is one of only 10 women to complete a Career Grand Slam in tennis, and was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025. After retiring in 2020, she has also become a mother, an investor, and podcast host. In this episode, Adam talks with Maria about resilience, motivation, and the evolution of her rivalry with Serena Williams. Maria reflects on the moments in her career that forced her to take a step back and rethink her mindset, from hard losses and wisdom from coaches to relationships with her peers and opponents. Adam offers insight on two different kinds of winning in psychology, and why sports aren’t really as zero-sum as they seem.

Featured guest

• Follow Maria Sharapova on Instagram, YouTube, and X
• Subscribe to Maria's Substack Pretty Tough
• Buy her book Unstoppable: My Life So Far

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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

Your beliefs about yourself and the world have a big impact on your mental health, relationships, and success. As a positive psychology evangelist, Shawn Achor has spent his career studying how to challenge and change the core beliefs that might be holding you back, and shares his insights in his new book, The Power of Beliefs. In this episode, Shawn and Adam dive into the surprising connections between happiness and success, and discuss the science of optimism and pessimism. Shawn also describes seven key important beliefs that underlie happiness, breaks down strategies for shifting beliefs, and asks Adam to weigh in on how to convince leaders to care about the well-being of their people.

Featured guest

• Follow Shawn Achor on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://www.shawnachor.com/
• Buy The Power of Beliefs

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/
• Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted
• Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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