ReThinking: The emotions you’ve felt but never named with John Koenig

Worklife with Adam Grant

TED

Management, Worklife Podcast, Worklife With Adam Grant, Work Life Balance, Ted Talks, Podcast About Work Life, Ted Adam Grant, Adam Grant Podcasts, Ted Podcasts, Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist, Business

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you heard of the word sonder? It’s the realization that each “random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.” John Koenig introduced it in his book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows—a compilation of new words aiming to capture the nuance and complexity of emotions that can be hard to put a finger on. In this vocabulary-expanding episode, John and Adam explore the sense of loss upon finishing a great book or movie, the dread of chasing a dream, and the awe of human existence. They discuss John’s method and motivation for inventing new words and consider the profound capacity for language to show people that they’re not alone.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, TED Podcast listeners. It's Elise Hugh here from TED Talks Daily. Thanks for making our
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0:22.2	Head to the episode description to find the link. Thank you again for listening and for taking
0:27.1	the time to help our shows.
0:34.0	Hey, it's Adam Grant from Worklife, a podcast from TED.
0:39.8	This episode is brought to you by FreshWorks.
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1:18.4	This episode is sponsored by Greenhouse, the leading hiring platform helping companies get measurably better at hiring.
1:20.6	In today's world of work, time is precious, and talent is everything.
1:24.7	But too often, hiring gets bogged down in administrative tasks that slow teams down.
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1:45.0	interviews using AI tools that handle the busy work, and make faster, more confident,
	...

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