The artists re-framing Chicago

This week on Far Flung we’re excited to introduce TED’s newest podcast, Good Sport, hosted by veteran sports producer Jody Avirgan. What can sports teach us about life – and each other? Good Sport brings you invigorating stories from on and off the field to argue that sports are as powerful and compelling a lens as any to understand the world – from what happens when you age out of a sport, to how we do or don't nurture talent, to analyzing how sports arguments have become the mode for all arguments. Good Sport launched on February 8th and you can find it anywhere you’re listening to this. TED Audio Collective+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts can hear the whole season early and ad-free. “Muck City”, Florida. Kinston, North Carolina. The courts of New York City in the 80s and 90s. These places share one unique trait: they found a way to produce a particular kind of great athlete, over and over. Is there something in the water – or is it something else? In our first episode, Jody talks to sports journalist Bomani Jones and Olympic table tennis coach Rajul Sheth about talent “hotbeds”, the role opportunity and access play in crafting success and the important distinction between having talent and achieving greatness. Transcripts for Good Sport are available at go.ted.com/GStranscripts

In 2017, Alex Honnold did what even the world’s best rock climbers thought was impossible. He climbed to the top of El Capitan– a granite rock mountain more than 3,000 feet high– without a rope, harness, or net. His audacious feat was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo." On this episode of ReThinking, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective, host Adam Grant explores with Alex what we can learn from his unique approach to managing fear. He opens up about how he regulates his emotions when he’s hanging on by just a few fingers, what still scares him, and how he stays motivated to pursue ambitious goals. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/RWAG2. For more conversations on the science of what makes us tick, follow ReThinking with Adam Grant wherever you're listening to this.

Where do you go to feel a sense of community? On the outskirts of Istanbul, one refugee community gathers to recreate a sense of home and empower themselves at a boxing gym. Listen to how the Uyghur community in Turkey is fighting in and outside of the ring to preserve their culture and identity, and to heal trauma at a time when their very existence is at stake. And hear how boxing has turned into a tool of resilience and connection that's helping Uyghurs forge a new home and future.

The Bean needs to move over—there’s a new art movement in Chicago, and it’s led by artists who are completely reimagining how residents think about the spaces around them. From an artist who turned abandoned homes into art by painting them in colors rooted in Black culture, to another who used a multimedia exhibit to examine segregation by connecting people who live on opposite sides of the city and more. Join Saleem on a bold, creative, and winding road trip to witness the power of place-based art, and the ideas that flow from the heartland.

Where do you go when you sleep? An enchanted forest…or haunted woods? Flying over a breathtaking mountain top… or in a crowd, wearing just your underwear?! According to the Bön Tibetan Buddhist tradition, wherever you “go” in your dreams matters, and dreams can tell you a lot about yourself–if you know how to listen. From “dream yoga,” to dream journals, to lucid dreaming, journey into a realm where the conscious and unconscious blend and the hazy border between reality and illusion can lead you on a wild adventure of self-discovery—without ever leaving your bed.

Barcelona is a city that can’t be separated from its art–you might picture Gaudí architecture, Picasso paintings, or flamenco and jazz spilling onto the streets and into the night. But there’s another art scene that’s breaking into the mainstream from the margins–led by the city’s street vendors, known as manteros. Listen to how this group of people, often immigrants without legal protections or rights to work in Spain, fought to form a union to gain the voice they needed, and ended up creating a global and people-centered fashion-label that highlights human rights in the process.

When was the last time you really took notice of the wind? Whether it’s a cooling breeze on a hot day, or a dust storm blowing into every crevice of your body, the wind is an unpredictable and constant, yet invisible force in our lives. Countries and cultures around the world even have names, gods, and ancient mythologies associated with the winds; in the Italian city of Trieste, there’s even a wind museum! From Italy to the Alps, Catalonia to your backyard, you never know where the wind is going to blow, or what it’s going to bring with it. Hear the soft whistles and roaring gusts that have inspired, driven mad, enchanted, and even sickened humans throughout time— from Salvador Dalí and Vincent Van Gogh to, perhaps, even you.

Icelandic is an ancient and iconic language. So iconic, in fact, it was a major inspiration to J.R.R. Tolkien when he was writing Lord of the Rings. Iceland even has institutes that promote its longevity, and this care has allowed the language to persevere over 800 years! But with the digital age, and the strict rules surrounding Icelandic grammar, the language is losing ground all over the country—specifically to English. Now Icelanders are navigating a world where social and online interactions happen in one language, while formal and academic conversations happen in another. Lunch with grandparents? Icelandic. Flirting with a crush? English. Menus at a restaurant, or signs at the airport? A mix of both! Listen to why some Icelanders are concerned about this linguistic tug of war, and why others are celebrating this new, multi-language way of communicating.

Sandy beaches, amazing wildlife, Caribbean blue seas—Puerto Rico is known as the Island of Enchantment for a reason. But it’s also one of the oldest colonies in the world. And as a U.S. territory, Puerto Ricans have very little say in the U.S. government. The island has a complicated history—but its people are constantly fighting to give Puerto Rico its place in the world. From building make-shift community networks after Hurricane Maria, to reconnecting with local cuisine, to making art that connects Puerto Ricans all over the diaspora, listen to how Puerto Rico is paving the way to a freer world through community-first approaches, delicious ingredients—and rhythmic, joyous, loving resistance. This episode was proudly co-produced with Manolo Lopez; check out Manolo’s podcast about Latinx culture called “Identity at Play” wherever you’re listening to this.

To get to school, work, or another town in Nepal, it helps if you don’t have a fear of heights. That’s because this mountainous terrain (it’s home to Mount Everest after all) is connected via THOUSANDS of bridges. Whether permanent or seasonal, made of bamboo and rope or pulleys and wire, suspended above incredible mountains or rapid waters, the Nepalese have networked their country through amazing, unique, and exhilarating engineering. Find out how building and re-building bridges became a part of the nation’s culture, and how trusting that a treacherous trip is worth the risk shapes the way the Nepalese perceive connection, community, and what in life we ought to hold onto.