Sunday Pick: Matt Damon on solving one of the planet’s biggest problems, in partnership with Gary White | from ReThinking with Adam Grant

Matt Damon is best known as the Hollywood icon from movies like Good Will Hunting and The Martian, but he has another passion offscreen: ensuring access to clean, safe water around the world. When he met social entrepreneur Gary White in 2008, they realized they could combine their efforts to reach more people and created water.org, which Gary leads as CEO. In this episode, Adam sits down with Matt and Gary at the World Economic Forum in Davos to talk about their innovative approach to problem-solving, handling rejection in high-stakes work environments, and Matt’s knack for forging strong partnerships. Adam also invites the two to office hours to tackle one of their ongoing challenges.Host & GuestAdam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/)Matt Damon (Website: https://water.org/about-us/founders-board-team/matt-damon/)Gary White (Website: https://water.org/about-us/founders-board-team/gary-white/)Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when the world declares something impossible? When physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease and social entrepreneur Kiah Williams was confronting the realities of economic hardship, they began asking a different question: What can I do today? In this conversation, they discuss how turning hope into action can drive meaningful change — one step at a time. (This conversation is hosted by The Audacious Project’s Alexandra Tillmann)Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the solution to feeding humanity has been hiding in the soil for millions of years? Bioengineer Karsten Temme discovered a remarkable answer to this question: for eons, crops relied on soil microbes to convert atmospheric nitrogen into food — until modern farming severed that ancient partnership. He shows how we can reawaken those dormant microbes using gene editing, creating “living fertilizer” that delivers nutrients to crops in real time and transforms farms around the world.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legendary music producer Jermaine Dupri pulls back the curtain on how hit songs really get made in TED’s rapid-fire Q&A format, “On the Spot.” Answering a stream of unexpected questions, he covers what makes a good hook, why he doesn’t chase “cool,” how he helped build Atlanta’s sound and more.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The race to build smarter AI is crashing into a physical limitation: the power grid simply can't keep up with the energy demands of data centers. Computer scientist Ayșe Coskun shows how we could turn this problem on its head, transforming AI facilities into virtual batteries that help stabilize the grid and accelerate clean energy. Learn why the technology causing this crisis might be the only thing smart enough to fix it.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If a company plants trees to offset its pollution, is that climate progress — or is it greenwashing? Critics of carbon markets say it’s the latter. But Sandeep Roy Choudhury, who’s spent two decades financing climate projects from rural cookstoves to coastal forests, says the real failure is discouraging companies from even trying. Hear his case for why we shouldn’t let perfection block meaningful action on climate change.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the best defense against misinformation isn’t panic, but a punchline? Journalist and comedian Dave Jorgenson explores how misinformation has proliferated throughout history — from the age of Plato to the era of viral TikToks. With his own short, absurdist sketches that explain the news, he shows how humor can cut through fear, spark curiosity and explore nuanced truth.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From negotiating food choices to limiting screen time, raising healthy kids is complicated—but it doesn’t have to be, says pediatrician Dr. Shari Barkin. Dr. Barkin joins Shoshana to talk about the ways caregivers can carve out 10 minutes of their day to model a healthy lifestyle and help everyone in the family thrive.Talk featured:Inside the mind of a newborn baby - Claudia Passos FerreiraLearn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drawing on clinical research and psychological studies, writer and psychologist Emily Esfahani Smith shows why pursuing meaning — the experience of connecting to something beyond yourself — creates a deeper sense of well-being than comes from chasing happiness. Learn about the steps you can take to move from feeling stuck to living with intention.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feeling burned out? You may be spending too much time ruminating about your job, says psychologist Guy Winch. Learn how to stop worrying about tomorrow’s tasks or stewing over office tensions with three simple techniques aimed at helping you truly relax and recharge after work.This episode originally aired on December 9, 2019.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.