
An idea is the one gift that you can hang onto even after you’ve given it away. Welcome to TED Radio Hour hosted by Guy Raz – a journey through fascinating ideas: astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, new ways to think and create.
Based on Talks given by riveting speakers on the world-renowned TED stage, each show is centered on a common theme – such as the source of happiness, crowd-sourcing innovation, power shifts, or inexplicable connections – and injects soundscapes and conversations that bring these ideas to life.
TED Radio Hour is a co-production of NPR and TED.
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown into a global platform for identifying and spreading those world-changing ideas. The annual TED Conference and TEDGlobal Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for up to 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com and through TED distribution partners. Follow TED on Twitter or on Facebook.
About Guy Raz
Guy Raz is the host of TED Radio Hour, a co-production of NPR and TED that tackles astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems and new ways to think and create. Each radio show is based on talks given by riveting speakers on the renowned TED stage, bound together by a common theme such as the thrill of space exploration, going to extremes, the source of happiness or ‘when rights goes wrong’ in our justice system.
Previously, Raz was weekend host of NPR News’ signature afternoon newsmagazine All Things Considered. Raz was named host of that program in July 2009. During his tenure, Raz transformed the sound and format of the program, introducing the now-signature “cover story” and creating the popular “Three-Minute Fiction” writing contest.
Raz joined NPR in 1997 as an intern for All Things Considered and he worked his way through the ranks of the organization. His first job was the assistant to NPR’s legendary news analyst Daniel Schorr. Raz then served as a general assignment reporter covering stories ranging from the early 2000 presidential primaries to a profile on the Doors’ song “Light My Fire.”
In 2000, at the age of 25, Raz was made NPR’s Berlin bureau chief where he covered eastern Europe and the Balkans. Later, he was transferred to London as the bureau chief and covered the war in Iraq. Raz left NPR in 2004, to work as CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent chronicling everything from the rise of Hamas as a political power to the incapacitation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Two years later Raz returned to NPR to serve as defense correspondent where he covered the Pentagon and the US military.
During his six years abroad, Raz reported from more than 40 countries, with a focus on Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He profiled and interviewed dozens of world leaders, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Shimon Peres, General David Petraeus and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen.
For his reporting from Iraq, Raz was awarded both the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Daniel Schorr Journalism prize. His reporting has contributed to two duPont Awards and one Peabody awarded to NPR. He’s been a finalist for the Livingston Award four times. For his reporting from Germany, Raz was awarded both the RIAS Berlin prize and the Arthur F. Burns Award. In 2008, he spent a year as a Nieman journalism fellow at Harvard University where he studied classical history.
Raz’s written work has appeared in Salon, Washington City Paper, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and the German daily, Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
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Based on her work for a CIA task force aimed at predicting civil wars, political scientist Barbara F. Walter examines the rise in extremism and threats to democracies around the globe and at home.
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Democracy is being challenged around the world. Political scientist Yascha Mounk says that to fight for democracy, we need to take a hard look at why so many nations are electing populist leaders.
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At 16, Jose Antonio Vargas learned he was living in the U.S. illegally. As an adult, Vargas came out as undocumented and dedicated his career to broadening the idea of who belongs in America.
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Following a devastating accident, a 22-year-old Ramona Pierson spent 18 months in a coma. She awoke unsure if she'd ever recover. But she did, in an unexpected safe haven — a group home for seniors.
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In five years, Uruguay transformed its grid. Now 98% of its energy comes from renewables. Former national director of energy, Ramón Méndez Galain, recounts his country's path and how to replicate it.
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Writer Pico Iyer has crisscrossed the globe looking for paradise and different cultures' notions of it. Amid conflict and difficulty, he asks if it can ever be found.
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Paradise is a real place, and for many, the California town was utopia--until the fire. We hear from residents and wildfire expert George Whitesides, who says a safer wildfire season is possible.
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The feminist punk music group, Pussy Riot, is a symbol of resistance against Putin's regime. Co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova tells the story of her arrest and her ongoing fight for a freer Russia.
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Sarah Jones' film Sell/Buy/Date explored different perspectives on sex work. Critics said she had no place in that conversation, sparking an important debate: Who is allowed to tell certain stories?
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When Lilly Singh became the first bisexual woman of color to host a late-night network TV show, she thought she got a seat at the table. But she found a situation where it was impossible to succeed.