TED Health

What does a warming planet mean for the foods you love? Hosting a dinner party that features a menu of foods that could disappear within our lifetimes, culinary entrepreneur Sam Kass invites us to chew on the reality of climate change by exploring the things — like chocolate and coffee — it puts at risk.

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Exploring the history and evolution of vampire lore, author Eric Nuzum traces the origins of these spooky stories, from misunderstandings of death to the sparkly pop culture icons we know today. Beyond the fangs and garlic, he digs into the deeper, everyday fears that vampires reflect.

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This is an episode of TED Talks Daily, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. It's a special episode of the TED Talks Daily Summer Book Club series. Join host Elise Hu as she interviews TED speakers about their books and their ideas beyond the page.

As a sex educator and author, Emily Nagoski is renowned for dismantling the sexual myths that surround us, and replacing them with healthy ideas, backed by science. And then…her own sex life fell apart. Her latest book, “Come Together, the Science (and Art!) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections,” is Emily’s attempt to research her way out of her own sexual desert. The result is a book that delights with humor and insights for anyone looking to improve their own relationship to pleasure and intimacy.

This interview was recorded live as part of the TED Membership program. TED Members are invited to attend our live recordings and participate in Q&As with authors. To join in on the fun, sign up at go.ted.com/membership.

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Data isn’t just about numbers or trends — it’s about capturing the stories that shape our lives, says information designer Giorgia Lupi. Following a long COVID diagnosis, she tracked her symptoms meticulously over four years, the data culminating in a visual “New York Times” narrative that resonated deeply with many others suffering from chronic illness. Lupi invites us to consider data not as a rigid or objective truth, but as a living language used to better understand ourselves, offering a surprising shift in perspective — depending on where you look.

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What we eat is less about what we choose and more about what’s offered to us, says food and climate expert Sarah Lake. Unpacking how governments and companies have driven up meat consumption in the US through extensive marketing, she explains how we could employ these same forces to incentivize plant-based eating — for the sake of the planet, public health and global food security.

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It's time to make psychiatry more psychedelic, says psychiatrist Benjamin Lewis. Sharing results from his clinical trial on psychedelic-assisted therapy, he highlights how group therapy paired with the safe use of psilocybin, a compound found in magic mushrooms, has the potential to improve mental health conditions like depression and burnout. After the talk, Dr. Anthony Back, a palliative care physician, joins Shoshana to discuss his study on using psilocybin-assisted therapy to treat burnout among frontline healthcare workers.

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We all know a good night’s sleep is essential, but for many people, sleeping well (or falling asleep at all) can be difficult and even stressful – and there’s no shortage of tales about what prevents people from catching their ZZZs. In this episode of Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter, Dr. Jen digs into "how to sleep'' culture – from blue light blockers to sleep hygiene enthusiasts, to the 8 hours a night rule to… witches?! Don’t sleep on this episode–because it might just have you skipping the melatonin supplements and rethinking sleep rituals – before jumping into bed for a well-deserved snooze. Read the full transcript for this episode at https://go.ted.com/BSTscript11

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In the 5th century, a shipmaster was suffering from a nasty infection that caused his jaws to press together, his teeth to lock up, and the muscles in his neck and spine to spasm. Today we know this account to be one of the first recorded cases of tetanus. So, what causes this peculiar infection? Louise Thwaites explores how tetanus affects our bodies, and how we can prevent it. This lesson was directed by Andrew Foerster, Rewfoe, narrated by Pen-Pen Chen and the music is by Jason Stamatyades.

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What if animals like dogs, ferrets, mice and raccoons could help sniff out the next pandemic? Exploring the science of smell, neurobiologist Glen J. Golden delves into the development of a "mechanical nose" that could detect diseases by identifying specific odor profiles. Until that technology is fully developed, he explains how we can train humanity's furry allies to identify illnesses — and help stop the spread in its tracks.

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Legendary actor and mental health advocate Glenn Close is on a quest to change how we think about mental health, starting with her decision to speak out about her own family's struggles — a brave choice considering the stigma that pervades the topic. This week, we're revisiting this sweeping conversation with TEDWomen curator Pat Mitchell, where Close shares the inspiration behind the advocacy group she founded to combat the crisis, underscoring the transformative power of community and the critical need for comprehensive mental health care systems.

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