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Helen Walters: Ideas That Bring Us Joy

Helen Walters
TED
Helen Walters

About The Episode

More than ever, we need to make time for joy. This hour, Manoush and TED's Head Curator Helen Walters explore talks that surprise, inspire, and delight.

About Helen Walters

Helen Walters is a British-born, New York City-based writer and editor. Since 2018, she has been TED's head of curation, leading the team that finds new generations of world innovators for the TED stage.

Her prior roles at TED include editorial director and ideas editor. Before that, she was an innovation and design editor for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Walters has written several books, including co-authoring the Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs. She graduated from Bristol University, in the U.K., earning degrees in English and Latin.

Featured Speakers

Simone Giertz: Why You Should Make Useless Things

How can we overcome fear of failure? For YouTuber Simone Giertz, it's working hard on a plan which you know is destined to fail. She finds joy and purpose by making useless machines and robots.

Benjamin Zander: The Transformative Power Of Classical Music

Benjamin Zander has conducted the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra since 1979. He says there is nothing like music to conjure and connect us with our innermost emotions.

Andrew Youn: 3 Reasons Why We Can Win The Fight Against Poverty

Andrew Youn has spent fourteen years learning from the successes and hardships of farmers in rural East Africa. His simple vision has helped hundreds of thousands lift themselves out of poverty.

Tim Urban: Inside The Mind Of A Master Procrastinator

Blogger Tim Urban is an extreme procrastinator. He knows the battle that wages inside our minds when we put things off—mainly between an instant gratification monkey and a panic monster.

Sophie Scott: Why We Laugh

Neuroscientist Sophie Scott studies laughter, specifically its effect on our body and brain. She explains laughter's contagious nature.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Christina Cala is a producer for Code Switch. Before that, she was at the TED Radio Hour where she piloted two new episode formats — the curator chat and the long interview. She's also reported on a movement to preserve African American cultural sites in Birmingham and followed youth climate activists in New York City.
Sanaz Meshkinpour