Manoush Zomorodi
Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.
Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.
She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."
Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.
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The killing of George Floyd by a police officer sparked massive protests nationwide. Writer, teacher, and scholar Clint Smith reflects on that moment through conversation, letters, and poetry. -
It's easy to feel powerless against looming challenges we cannot control — like climate change. So what should we do? Political strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac says the power is in our mindset.
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Water is life. Yet in the eyes of the law, it remains largely unprotected. Legal scholar Kelsey Leonard says granting water bodies legal personhood can transform how we value this vital resource. -
Sea level rise will displace millions by 2100 — and the Louisiana bayous, where Colette Pichon Battle lives, may disappear entirely. She describes how we can avert the worst when disaster strikes. -
Flint, Michigan is the site of one of the worst ongoing water crises in recent U.S. history. Artist LaToya Ruby Frazier has spent years capturing the stories of life living with toxic water. -
To design the Bahá'í Temple of South America, architect Siamak Hariri had to reimagine what a sacred space looks like. He found his answer and design in illumination. -
How does a designer take an abstract idea and turn a space into an experience? Artist Es Devlin explores the influence of the spaces and structures we create—in theater, art, music, and beyond. -
David Byrne says "context has a huge effect on creativity." He draws on his time with Talking Heads, as well as Bach, Gregorian chant, even birds—to show how spaces affect the music we write and play.
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The playwright V, formerly known as Eve Ensler, survived horrific sexual violence as a child. Years later, she decided to write what she needed to hear most: a true apology in the words of her abuser. -
Are overdue library book fines necessary? Librarian Dawn Wacek wants all libraries to do away with overdue fines to make library services more inclusive and welcoming to all readers.
