How citizens (not politicians) are building the future | Jon Alexander

Have you ever wondered why you like sad music? Do you find comfort or inspiration in rainy days? In this profound, poetic talk, author Susan Cain invites you to embrace the feeling of longing -- or the place where joy and sorrow meet – as a gateway to creativity, connection and love. Accompanied by the splendid sounds of violinist Min Kym, Cain meditates on how heartache unexpectedly brings us closer to the sublime beauty of life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Space technologist Robbie Schingler cofounded a satellite company that images the whole planet every day, making visible changes on Earth. He shows how pairing that data with AI creates a "planetary intelligence" we can use to spot emerging threats we might not have seen otherwise. Now he asks: Can we close the gap between seeing a crisis coming and actually stopping it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Citizen strategist Jon Alexander spent a decade gathering stories of democracy in action — and found that most change doesn't come from politicians or institutions. He shares examples from across the globe of ordinary people working together to improve their lives and communities, showing why the key to fixing things may already be in your own hands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liana Finck’s cartoons explore life’s big predicaments: what to make for dinner, how to leave a party without being rude, how to feel like more than a snack machine once you have a child. In today’s episode, Liana shares how drawing has become a practice for her to answer questions, solve problems, and why creating art helps humans understand ourselves better. Liana also discusses why she’s not bothered by impostor syndrome (okay maybe it helps that she regularly contributes to The New Yorker) and how she navigates the feelings of doubt we all experience with honesty and humor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're living through oil wars, wildfire smoke and extreme weather driven by a warming planet. But environmentalist Bill McKibben says one thing is finally going right: the price of clean energy has plunged, making it cheaper than ever to power the world without burning fossil fuels. He breaks down how energy from the sun became the best option on Earth — and why this narrow window of time may be our last real shot at a different future. "Energy from heaven, not from hell," he says.(Following his talk, Elise Hu interviews McKibben on why the climate sector needs to stop calling affordable solutions as “alternative energy” and why he thinks recent wars have sped up the clean energy shift. They also discuss what cheap solar means for the balance of power around the world, his work to get plug-in solar legislation passed in the U.S., and why it’s more important now than ever before to have good neighbors today.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Epidemiologist and science communicator Jessica Malaty Rivera believes we're navigating a serious outbreak: health misinformation. She explores why the public's trust in science is wavering — and the importance of winning it back. In this conversation with TED’s Whitney Pennington Rodgers, Rivera maps out what it takes to become a trusted messenger in an era when expertise itself is up for debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a psychologist who studies well-being ends up with a brain tumor, what happens when she puts her own research into practice? Christina Costa goes beyond the "fight" narrative of cancer — or any formidable personal journey — to highlight the brain benefits of an empowering alternative to fostering resilience in the face of unexpected challenges: gratitude.(This episode originally aired in 2023.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artist Yinka Ilori believes that joy is inherited — handed down through the colors, rituals and gatherings of the people who raised you. In this vibrant tour of his work, he draws on what people say brings them joy and reveals the one surprising pattern that runs through almost every response. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all have a "thing" — the way we act when we're not at our best that we somehow can't see in ourselves. Leadership expert Chris Wheatley learned about his when his best friend at work called him on it. He shares how hearing that hard truth shattered a lifelong pattern of defensiveness, offering a practical framework for receiving feedback with tact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neutrality can get you through a tough conversation, but it rarely gets you anywhere. Joshua Johnson, actor/anchor for “The Onion” and former NPR host, makes the case instead for objectivity — parking your own opinions for a moment so you can focus on someone else’s story. He shares three quick ways to turn your most frustrating conversations into real understanding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.