TED Talks Daily Folgen

Jennifer Egan is a journalist and writer whose novel "A Visit from the Goon Squad" won both the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Using a unique format -- including a whole chapter told through Powerpoint -- Egan nimbly explores the mystery and complexity of human life in the digital age. Her newest book, "The Candy House," poses similar questions around technology, memory and authenticity. In this excerpt from The TED Interview, the author talks candidly to host Steven Johnson about her creative process, considers the role of the novelist in a tech-driven world and makes an argument for how fiction can shift our consciousness. This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who are you, really? In conversation with TED science curator David Biello, neuroscientist Anil Seth lays out his fascinating new theory of consciousness and self, centered on the notion that we "predict" the world into existence. From sleep to memory and everything in between, he explores the reality we experience in our brains -- versus the world as it objectively might be. After the talk, stick around for a conversation between Elise and Anil about his new book "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness." This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"From populist demagogues, we will learn the indispensability of democracy," says novelist Elif Shafak. "From isolationists, we will learn the need for global solidarity. And from tribalists, we will learn the beauty of cosmopolitanism." A native of Turkey, she has experienced firsthand the devastation that a loss of diversity can bring -- and she knows the revolutionary power of plurality in response to authoritarianism. In this passionate, personal talk, she reminds us that there are no binaries, in politics, emotions and our identities. After the talk, stick around to hear a conversation between Elise and Elif about her new novel, "The Island of Missing Trees," an intergenerational story about forbidden love. Elise and Elif discuss how fiction creates empathy and how to avoid "falling into the trap of tribalism," even when the world might push us that way. This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.