5 Parenting Tips for Raising Self-Reliant Kids—with Tameka Montgomery
March 20, 2023
How do you raise kids to step outside of their comfort zones and unlock their inner potential? Mother and business owner Tameka Montgomery makes the case for cultivating an entrepreneurial outlook at an early age -- and offers five strategies for emboldening young minds to embrace opportunities and solve their own problems, no matter the path they choose. After the talk, Modupe shares practical advice on how to give feedback that helps people step out of their comfort zones -- and find their inner entrepreneurs.
The Most Powerful Yet Overlooked Resource in Schools—with Heejae Lim
December 19, 2022
"When teachers and families work together, everyone wins," says education technology entrepreneur and TED Fellow Heejae Lim. She shines a light on an underutilized resource in US public education -- a family's love for their children -- and shows that, with the right tools and tech, schools can remove language barriers, foster meaningful connections and help every student thrive. After the talk, educational tech entrepreneur Shani Dowell joins our host Modupe to share insights on tools that schools and families can use to work together.
What Capitalism Gets Right—and Governments Get Wrong—with Katherine Mangu-Ward
November 28, 2022
Is capitalism a good thing? Journalist Katherine Mangu-Ward makes the case that "weirdos" left alone to innovate and explore far-out ideas in a free market system are our best hope for the future. She asks us to reconsider our qualms about capitalism, failure and corporate death, analyzing the recent history of General Motors and Facebook to illustrate why we're better off with a lot less government intervention. After the talk, our host Modupe Akinola introduces an organization that encourages 'weird' ideas -- and shares insights on their unique process.
How to Support and Celebrate Living Artists—with Swizz Beatz
October 31, 2022
Legendary hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz is on a mission to revolutionize the way artists do business. In this glorious talk, he shares some of the ways he's helping fellow creatives thrive, including a roving art fair that gives artists 100 percent of their sales, a new commission system for galleries to fund living visual artists and Verzuz, online musical celebrations that bring joy to fans -- and sales to musicians. "If we're not protecting the arts, we're not protecting our future," he says. After the talk, join our host Modupe in conversation with art world expert Alexandra Giniger as they discuss the importance of supporting living artists.
What if You Could Help Decide How the Government Spends Public Funds?—with Shari Davis
August 1, 2022
What if citizens got more of a say in how public funds are spent? That's the idea behind participatory budgeting, a process that brings local residents and governments together to develop concrete solutions to real problems close to home. In this inspiring call to action, community leader Shari Davis shows how participatory budgeting can strengthen democracy, transform neighborhoods and cities -- and give everyone a seat at the table. "We've got to open the doors to city halls and schools so wide that people can't help but walk in," they say. Join Modupe after the talk to hear about how this can be done at a community level.
You Deserve the Right to Repair Your Stuff—with Gay Gordon-Byrne
May 2, 2022
A self-declared "repair geek," Gay Gordon-Byrne is a driving force behind the right-to-repair movement, which aims to empower people to fix their stuff. She describes how the movement is gaining legislative momentum and breaks down how the global shift away from "throwaway society" can literally turn trash into treasure in a circular economy -- so we can all experience that "Yes! I fixed it!" feeling.
A Close-to-Home Solution for Accessible Childcare—with Chris Bennett
March 14, 2022
Childcare needs a transformation -- but rather than investing billions in new buildings and schools, what if we could unlock the potential of people already nearby? Entrepreneur Chris Bennett offers an innovative way to tackle the shortage of childcare worldwide and connect families to safe, affordable and high-quality options in their own communities.
2022 Trends and Predictions—with After Hours
December 22, 2021
The end of another year is upon us, so it's time to take stock of where we've been and look ahead at where business is going. Today, Modupe talks to Harvard Business School professors and hosts of the TED Audio Collective podcast “After Hours” Youngme Moon, Mihir Desai, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee to reflect on this year’s learning opportunities and the conversations they are keeping an eye on for 2022. The trio also talk about how they got into the habit of making end of year predictions, what they’ve been wrong (or surprisingly right) about, and what and what our obsession with predicting the future says about us. Check out their full 2022 predictions on “After Hours” wherever you’re listening to this.
The Big Myth of Government Deficits—with Stephanie Kelton
November 29, 2021
Government deficits have gotten a bad rap, says economist Stephanie Kelton. In this groundbreaking talk, she makes the case to stop looking at government spending as a path towards frightening piles of debt, but rather as a financial contribution to the things that matter -- like health care, education, infrastructure and beyond. After the talk, Modupe talks about the scarcity mindset and how they can impede bold action.
When Your Job Makes You a Target of Online Hate—with Dylan Marron
July 26, 2021
Digital creator Dylan Marron has racked up millions of views for projects like "Every Single Word" and "Sitting in Bathrooms With Trans People"—but he's found that the flip side of internet success is internet hate. Over time, he developed an unexpected response that actually builds empathy on both sides: calling the people who leave him insensitive comments and asking: "Why did you write that?" After the talk, Modupe recounts her own experience with online hate, and offers her take on how to deal with angry outbursts online or in person.
Respect the Video Game—with William Collis
May 10, 2021
Why do we encourage kids to play sports? Why does writing “captain of the lacrosse team” mean anything on a résumé? And why don’t we extend that same respect to people who play video games at the highest levels? In this episode, William Collis, maestro of esports – aka competitive video games – makes the case that video games develop real, tangible and transferable skills. And it’s time that we appreciate them. After the talk, Modupe figures out how we can bring more video games into the workplace.