What 2025 Taught Us—And Where 2026 Is Taking Us
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What unusual themes connect foot massage parties, otters, and AI?
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. What do foot massage parties, otters, and AI robot tutors have in common? It all sounds a bit ridiculous, but I promise there's a through line. In this first of its kind episode of TED Talks Daily, I am excited to share with you a special conversation I got to host with hosts of some of TED's other podcasts in the collective. Manoush Zomorodi of TED Radio Hour, Madhupe Akinnola of TED Business, and Sherelle Dorsey of TED Tech. So the four of us got to sit down together to reflect on the year that was and look ahead to 2026. From pushing back against AI advances to sharing the TED Talks that inspired us, we discussed what we thought were some of the biggest news stories and ideas of the year and the lesser known insights that we wished got more attention.
I'm so excited to share this one with you. Hope you enjoy.
Hey, everyone. Welcome. I'm Elise Hu. I'm a journalist, author, and the host of TED Talks Daily, and I'm here with the most incredible group of people and friends. I am with the hosts of some of TED's flagship podcasts. If each of you could say who you are and talk a little bit about your show, Madhupe?
I am Madhupe Akinnola. I am the host of the TED Business Podcast, where we talk about exciting ideas in business and share a TED Talk with you.
Sherelle? I'm Sherelle Dorsey. I am a journalist and author and the host of the TED Tech Podcast. We talk about everything that, you know, sits at the intersection of both technology and humanity, while also introducing talks that you may or may not have heard from the TED stage.
I'm Manoush Zomorodi. I host NPR's TED Radio Hour. And every week we take a number of talks and go behind the scenes to speak to people about the research that they're doing, how they've done the work that they've done and what they're thinking about in the future and hopefully make you think more expansively about the world.
Hello, everyone.
Yeah, it's so nice to be with you all. I know.
Finally. I'm so excited to get to moderate this conversation because this is the first time we're all coming together like this. And we're getting together towards the end of 2025. What a year it's been. And so we're reflecting on the year that was and to offer some thoughts and projections on what might be coming up. But before we get there, I thought we'd do a little icebreaker. Okay. If you had $1,000 to spend on a party, what would you do?
I'll go first. It's Manoush. I think foot massages are really underrated. But part of the thing is if you ask someone you love to give you a foot massage, you like feel bad. There's guilt. So pay. Pay for foot massages and delicious snacks and just a total relaxation party. That's what I'm doing. After 2025, at least I need it. Yeah. Yeah. I love that.
It's it's self-care, but everyone else care to just have everyone else. And we don't have to talk as the introvert.
We don't have to talk.
How did the guests reflect on the significant events of 2025?
I love it. That's so good. That's so good. OK, so for the last couple of years, I focused my birthday parties like not on big grand dinners and fancy outfits. It's been about play and like getting 30 and 40 year old people like to play. And so I had a thousand dollars to spend on a party. I would do another beat the bomb party. party what's that and so you so you first of all you have to get dressed up in these hazmat suits and you split up into teams of two and you go into these dark rooms where you have to solve a puzzle in a certain amount of time and you gotta work together to solve the puzzle they're very tricky and you get a certain allotment of time for each room if you solve the puzzle early then you go into the next room and then you get to
come to my foot massage party. Exactly. Because, yes, because you've been working your brain and your body. You've got to go in and under lasers like Mission Impossible. And then at the end, when you have finished all the puzzles, you go into the last room, which is getting a robot through a maze, and you have to work together.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What unusual themes connect foot massage parties, otters, and AI?
0:07–3:26
2
How did the guests reflect on the significant events of 2025?
3:26–11:01
3
What icebreaker question sparked creativity among the hosts?
11:01–29:10
4
What major ideas emerged from the TED Talks discussed?
29:10–37:18
5
How do the hosts view the impact of AI on education and society?
37:18–56:12
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from TED Talks Daily
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