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TEDMED Conversations

TEDMED Conversations

TEDMED 11 Episodes Aug 11, 2026

Welcome to TEDMED Conversations, where we investigate stories in health and medicine to inspire curiosity and connection. Join the Conversation!

Episodes

When medicine measures the patient, what does it miss?
When medicine measures the patient, what does it miss? Aug 11, 2026 00:27:46 Medicine is very good at measuring what happens to the body. But how do you measure what illness feels like?Artist and patient advocate Ted Meyer has spent decades using art to make the parts of the patient experience that tests and charts can miss impossible to overlook.In conversation with TEDMED Executive Director Lindsey Lynch, Meyer explores patient-created works depicting invisible pain, iso
What Makes Psychedelic Therapy Work?
What Makes Psychedelic Therapy Work? Jul 14, 2026 00:37:37 What does it take to turn a powerful psychedelic experience into responsible clinical care?In this TEDMED Conversation, Heidi Allen joins Jay Walker to examine the rapidly changing future of psychedelic-assisted therapy: what patients may need, what clinicians must be trained to provide, and what could get lost as the field moves toward approval, reimbursement, and scale.Heidi looks beyond the exc
When AI Enters the Care Relationship
When AI Enters the Care Relationship Jun 9, 2026 00:31:42 Artificial intelligence is often described as a faster way to process information. But in healthcare, its deeper impact may come from how it changes the interactions between patients, clinicians, caregivers, systems, and synthetic agents.In this TEDMED Conversation, computer scientist Deborah Estrin joins Jay Walker to explore AI’s promise and risk as it becomes more embedded in care. Together, th
The Biology of Awe: Why Wonder Might Be Essential to Health
The Biology of Awe: Why Wonder Might Be Essential to Health May 12, 2026 00:30:37 What if awe is more than a feeling?Psychologist Jennifer Stellar joins Jon Ellenthal to explore how awe, compassion, and wonder may shape the body, influence stress and inflammation, and expand what we consider essential to health. Together, they examine whether awe can be intentionally cultivated, and why wonder may be one of health’s most overlooked ingredients.Episode: The Biology of Awe: Why W
Truth, Trust, and the Fragility of Scientific Institutions - Part 2
Truth, Trust, and the Fragility of Scientific Institutions - Part 2 Apr 21, 2026 00:25:58 This is Part 2 of a two-part TEDMED Conversation with investigative journalist Katherine Eban. In this companion episode, host Jay Walker and Eban move from foundational questions about trust into the real-world consequences of its erosion.Building on the themes introduced in Part 1, the conversation examines how breakdowns in oversight, transparency, and accountability manifest in practice—shapin
Trust, Truth, and the Fragility of Scientific Institutions (Part 1 of 2)
Trust, Truth, and the Fragility of Scientific Institutions (Part 1 of 2) Apr 14, 2026 00:25:54 This is Part 1 of a two-part TEDMED Conversation with investigative journalist Katherine Eban. Across these companion episodes, host Jay Walker and Eban explore what happens when the institutions we rely on to define truth, safety, and scientific credibility begin to falter.In this first installment, the conversation opens with a wide-angle lens: how trust in scientific and medical institutions is
What Resilience Really Requires
What Resilience Really Requires Mar 10, 2026 00:31:07 After declaring at TEDMED in 2011 that she would one day complete the Cuba-to-Florida swim, Diana Nyad returned in 2014 having done just that — at age 64.In this Conversation, hosted by TEDMED’s Kelly Thomas, Diana reflects on what resilience truly requires: preparation over bravado, the courage to fail publicly, and the team that makes “five more strokes” possible when the will begins to falter.G
Designing Pediatric Care for Access, Trust, and Time
Designing Pediatric Care for Access, Trust, and Time Feb 10, 2026 00:26:03 What if pediatric care were built around relationships instead of billing codes? In this episode of TEDMED Conversations, host Theresa Santoro speaks with Dr. Lauren Hughes, founder of Bloom Pediatrics, about direct primary care and why she chose to step outside the insurance system to better serve families. Dr. Hughes shares how this model allows for deeper access, lower costs, and more proactive
The Promise, and Limits, of AI in Medicine
The Promise, and Limits, of AI in Medicine Jan 13, 2026 00:30:22 Conversation GuestsHost, Bruce Schneier, Health Data WatchmanGuest, Dr. Leana Wen, Transparent PhysicianArtificial intelligence is already making medical decisions—often without patients realizing it. In this episode of TEDMED Conversations, Bruce Schneier and Dr. Leana Wen unpack where AI is quietly saving lives, where it falls short, and why it may be “better than no doctor at all” in many setti
Strategies to reduce community violence with Thomas Abt
Strategies to reduce community violence with Thomas Abt Sep 26, 2025 00:24:57 Thomas Abt, founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction (VRC) and associate research professor at the University of Maryland, is on a mission to reduce community violence in American cities. Drawing on rigorous research and real-world experience, Abt develops evidence-informed strategies that unite city leaders, law enforcement, public health officials, and com
Screens, Stress, and Struggling Kids—Jonathan Haidt Breaks It Down
Screens, Stress, and Struggling Kids—Jonathan Haidt Breaks It Down Apr 29, 2025 00:41:20 Psychologist and bestselling author @jonathanhaidt joins Kelly Thomas, to unpack the youth mental health crisis—and how smartphones, social media, and a culture of overprotection are fueling it. Drawing from his latest New York Times bestselling book, The Anxious Generation, Haidt reveals how today’s kids are digitally connected but developmentally deprived—and what parents, educators, and policym
Every Story is a Brain Story: The Future of Neurolaw
Every Story is a Brain Story: The Future of Neurolaw Mar 26, 2025 00:43:28 "Every story is a brain story." This motto from the Shen Neurolaw Lab challenges us to consider why understanding the brain is essential for responsibly integrating neuroscience into the legal system. By doing so, we can improve legal decision-making and outcomes while navigating the ethical and practical challenges involved.In this TEDMED Conversation, Francis Shen, JD, PhD, explores the dynamic

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