Fixable

Constraints often feel frustrating and limiting — but they can also create the friction that sparks creative breakthroughs, reveals better solutions, and leads to more thoughtful decisionmaking. In this episode, Anne and Frances are joined by David Epstein, an investigative reporter and bestselling author of the new book Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better. They discuss why limits are powerful tools for clarity and innovation, examining case studies of companies that used constraints to accelerate their success (and others that struggled after removing them). They also explore the constraints-based strategies elite athletes use in their training routines.

Featured guest
Follow David Epstein on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and at davidepstein.com/
Buy Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better
Subscribe to David's substack Range Widely

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For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/fixable-transcripts
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Can a five-minute walk change how you feel all day? Exercise scientist Keith Diaz shows how your body is built for the kind of movement that modern life has quietly erased — and suggests something refreshingly doable: making time for small doses of movement sprinkled throughout the day, as a way to boost your brain and body. And stick around after his talk for a deep dive conversation with our guest host for the week, author and podcaster Manoush Zomorodi, into the ideas he shared on stage and beyond.

This is episode one of a seven-part series airing this week on TED Talks Daily, where Manoush — and the seven speakers she curated for TED2026 — explore how you can live a healthier life in our high-tech era.

To hear more from Manoush, listen to TED Radio Hour wherever you get your podcasts. Check out her new book, Body Electric, to learn more about the hidden health costs of the digital age.
For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/fixable-transcripts
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Do you feel like you’re hitting a wall at work? This week, Anne and Frances are joined by Master Fixers Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao. Bob and Huggy are professors at Stanford University and authors of “The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder”. Together, the four discuss how anyone can eliminate the obstacles to doing their best work—and create constraints that make work even better.

This episode originally aired in 2024.
For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/fixable-transcripts
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Work today is a lot less stable than it used to be. Career paths that once seemed predictable are constantly being disrupted and reshaped, leaving many of us feeling unsteady. In this final episode of the Finding Purpose series, Anne and Frances are joined by Arun Gupta, CEO of the NobleReach Foundation, who has spent his career helping people find ways to serve causes bigger than themselves. Arun makes the case for why following your purpose can be a powerful antidote to instability and anxiety, and shares practical ways to discover your own purpose. Anne and Frances also reflect on what they’ve learned from guests throughout the series.

Featured guest

Arun Gupta

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Visit Anne and Frances’ website
Have a question you want Anne and Frances to solve? Email the team at fixable@ted.com or leave a voicemail at 234-349-2253
Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/fixable-transcripts
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In a world that won’t stop changing, knowing what matters most can make all the difference. Yara Shahidi and Keri Salter are a mother-daughter duo building a more inclusive and imaginative Hollywood through their production company, 7th Sun Productions. In this episode, Anne sits down with Yara and Keri at the TED Conference in Vancouver to dig into their “highest order” framework for aligning purpose with priorities. They also reflect on how purpose evolves over a lifetime and explore what today’s changemakers can learn from previous generations.

Featured guest
Follow Yara Shahidi on Instagram, TikTok, and her podcast The Optimistic Project
Follow Keri Salter on Instagram and LinkedIn
Learn more about 7th Sun Productions

Connect with the team
Follow Anne on Instagram and LinkedIn
Follow Frances on Instagram and LinkedIn
Watch Fixable videos on youtube.com/@TEDAudioCollective
Visit Anne and Frances’ website
Have a question you want Anne and Frances to solve? Email the team at fixable@ted.com or leave a voicemail at 234-349-2253
Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/fixable-transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.