The TED talk that put writer Pico Iyer in “Marty Supreme”

TED Radio Hour

NPR

Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture, Technology

4.3 • 21.7K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Marty Supreme” stars Timothée Chalamet as a young, brash table tennis player in the 1950s trying to hustle his way to a world championship. One of the characters standing in Marty’s way is played by frequent guest, Pico Iyer, a TED speaker and travel writer who’d never acted before. In this bonus episode, Iyer shares how a TED talk unexpectedly landed him the role and reflects on how this simple game can teach us to play with someone, not just against them.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Manus Shumeroody, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour.
0:04.3	I love going to the movies.
0:08.2	Everything my life's falling apart, but I'm going to figure out.
0:10.1	And a few weeks back, I went to see Marty Supreme.
0:13.2	That's the film starring Timothy Chalame as a table tennis champion that's set in the 1950s.
0:19.2	But I'm telling you this game, it fills stadiums overseas.
0:22.9	So I'm watching this movie, right?
0:24.8	And I do a big double take when I saw who was starring as the head of the global table
0:32.6	tennis association in the movie.
0:35.5	Ron Semi, right?
0:36.7	Sorry, could you hold for a moment? It's a TED speaker who has been on our show numerous times.
0:42.5	So good to see you again, Manus.
0:44.2	Hey, Pico, writer Pico Iyer.
0:46.8	I am finding this whole exchange really offensive.
0:49.3	You're offended?
0:50.3	I am offended.
0:51.3	Not an actor.
0:52.3	Pico writes about travel and so much more.
0:55.0	He's been on the show talking about the day he lost everything, his house, every possession
1:00.4	in a fire, and how that experience led him to become the soulful explorer that he is.
1:08.0	But yes, Pico is also really big into table tennis. He even gave a TED talk about it,
1:14.4	which brings us back to the movie and the story of how Pico Iyer was cast in Marty Supreme.
	...

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