Meetings often drain our joy and sap our focus – and meeting overload kills productivity. So why do we have so many of them, and is a better world possible? Adam investigates the science of improving meetings and explores how workplaces are fighting meeting bloat. Available transcripts for WorkLife can be found at go.ted.com/WLtranscripts

This is an episode of the latest season of WorkLife with Adam Grant. For more, find WorkLife with Adam Grant wherever you are listening to this.

Why Meetings Suck and How to Fix Them

As an organizational psychologist, Adam Grant believes that great minds don't think alike; they challenge each other to think differently. In Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, he has lively discussions and debates with some of the world's most interesting thinkers, creators, achievers, and leaders—from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Brené Brown to Mark Cuban, and Olympic medalists to Nobel laureates to Oscar winners. By diving inside their minds, Adam is on a mission to uncover bold insights and share surprising science that can make us all a little bit smarter. Tune in to Re:Thinking with Adam Grant. You might just be inspired to let go of some old ideas and embrace some new ones.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Do you pay attention to your attention? John Green is the beloved author of The Fault In Our Stars, and when he started tracking his attention, he realized he was obsessed with evaluating human progress. He decided to start rating everything — from the capacity for human wonder to Canadian geese — on a five-point scale. In this deeply thoughtful conversation with Adam, John shares what he learned from his series of Yelp-style reviews, the gift of a great book, and the unexpected life lessons found in the last lap of Mario Kart. Read the full text transcript at go.ted.com/T4G8This episode previously aired June 22, 2021.

John Green wants you to pay attention to your attention (bonus)

Brian Chesky, the CEO and cofounder of Airbnb, is firmly in the trust business. His focus isn't only on building a trusted platform for people to rent their homes to strangers — it's on earning the trust of his employees. Adam and Brian discuss how to lead with care in tough times, why it's better to overcommunicate than undercommunicate, what to expect for the future of work, and why a company should be treated as a community rather than a family. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

A company is not a family with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky

Years ago, Aza Raskin invented the infinite scroll – and yes, he regrets it. Today, Aza is the co-founder of the Center For Humane Technology and the Earth Species Project. Aza’s work focuses on creating and advocating for ethical technology that benefits collective well-being. For his latest project, he’s looking beyond humanity, using artificial intelligence to decode whale communication and see what lessons we might learn from the animal world. In this expansive conversation, Adam and Aza discuss ways to improve social media, how communicating with other species could change our world, and why everyone – including our governments – needs to upgrade our thinking about an AI world.  Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

Reimagining technology – and talking to animals – with Aza Raskin

David Duchovny knows a lot about success — he’s a Golden Globe-winning actor who has had iconic roles from The X-Files to Californication. But as a literature PhD dropout turned director turned songwriter and novelist, David is more interested in failure and what it can teach us. Adam and David discuss the value of falling short of our goals, the perils of success, and whether nice people really finish last. David’s new podcast Fail Better is out now. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

The art of failure with David Duchovny

Mae Martin is a comedian, improviser, screenwriter, and podcast host. Their work on Netflix includes the stand-up special Sap and the aptly named TV series Feel Good. Adam and Mae chat about the value of vulnerability in connection, snapping out of procrastination, shame spirals, and life lessons from the art of improvisation. 

Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

Why Meetings Suck and How to Fix Them

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