Until two weeks ago, I had never listened to a podcast. Since I started, I am been spending hours listening to talks from the various TEDx conferences. If you don’t know, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are collectively shaping our world. But a TED conference is broader still, showcasing important ideas from any discipline, and exploring how they all connect.

So basically, these talks feature passionate people talking about creative ideas covering everything from “How to start an Ice Bucket Challenge” to “Raising a 17 year Nobel peace prize recipient”, and even “new bionics that can change the lives of amputees”. If this sounds somewhat random, that is because it is. So I suggest you take some time and explore all the new advancements in technologies, and all the stories shared in all the talks. Some are funny, some are sad, others are technical, but they are all entertaining.

One of my favorite talks was given by a Detroiter, Shake Senghor.

Why your worst deeds don’t define you – Shaka Senghor

In this talk Shaka Senghor tells the story about growing up in Detroit, family troubles, and getting shot three times in his neighborhood. All of these life events, led to him to make some poor decisions, and ultimately shooting and killing a man in 1991. He was sentenced to prison for 20 years, and during his tenure he fell into even more criminal activities, landing him in solitary confinement. Without giving too much away from his talk, he had a transformational experience and now teaches at the University of Michigan. His goal now is working with people who came from similar circumstances as his own, and letting them know that these past experiences should not define you. I definitely recommend watching it, to gain more perspective on the prison system and what issues inmates tackle. There is a lot of literature about the various problems that inmates face reintegrating in society, but usually it focuses on employment and the difficulties they face. (Visit Recovery Park’s page for an organization looking to employ people with these barriers) One thing he jokes about is how much the world changed in his 20 years of imprisonment (from brick cell phones to texting, face timing iPhones), which is something I had never really considered.

My favorite podcasts have been the TED Radio hour with Guy Raz, which take a certain topic and puts together a compilation of relevant TED talks, and Guy Raz interviews each speaker about their talks. Some of my favorites have been:

“Courage”  : What does it mean to be courageous? Is it an automatic response or a conscious choice? This hour, TED speakers examine the nature of courage and what it takes to risk everything to do the right thing.

“Predicting the Future”: In this hour, TED speakers make bold predictions about our future and what our future lives might look like

“The Violence within us”: Violence and brutality are grim realities of life. In this hour, TED speakers explore the sinister side of human nature, and whether we’re all capable of violence.

There are so many great talks out there, and no matter what your interests are, I am sure you find something you will enjoy.