A cosmologist's guide to the end of the universe | Katie Mack and Debbie Millman

Did progress on your next big project stall out? Transformation expert Mary Martin refers to this moment as the "messy middle" — the frustrating gap between starting and finishing a goal, when you might lose confidence or give up altogether. Offering three ways to find glimmers of progress when the going gets tough, she explores what to do when you feel stuck. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a self-proclaimed radical street librarian, Storybook Maze makes books appear where they're scarce. Through initiatives like free, public book vending machines and street corner story times, she eliminates book deserts — or areas with limited access to literature — by making books accessible for children in underserved communities. (And in case you're wondering, she shares how you can become a radical street librarian, too.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you ate bread this week (or cooked with salt and oil), you probably benefited from something millions miss out on: food fortification. Social entrepreneur Felix Brooks-church is on a mission to solve "hidden hunger" — malnutrition caused by a lack of nutrients — by fortifying everyday foods for regions of the world hit hardest by food insecurity. Laying out a pragmatic vision to improve food systems globally, he reminds us that hunger doesn’t always look like an empty plate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most of the technology powering life in Europe today — chatbots, the cloud, digital infrastructure — is owned by companies in the United States. Writer and curator Bruno Giussani makes the case that Europe's reliance on American technology has crossed the line from convenient to risky. His answer isn't to go it alone, but to build something the continent currently lacks: a real alternative, rooted in a different model. "Technology that does not spy on you — that should be Europe's digital difference,” he says. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Netflix cofounder and Anthropic board member Reed Hastings joins TED's Sal Khan to give a look inside the race to build AI. Hear his take on how the technology could accelerate education — including the possibility of an AI tutor for every student — and reshape the economy faster than anyone expects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.