What this musician’s identity crisis teaches us about navigating change

TED Radio Hour

NPR

Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Science, Technology

4.4 • 21.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since childhood, Joshua Roman's life revolved around the cello. But when long COVID forced him to set his cello aside, he had to rethink his approach to life, faith and music.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the TED Radio Hour.
0:04.4	Each week, groundbreaking TED Talks.
0:06.8	Our job now is to dream big.
0:08.2	Delivered at TED conferences.
0:09.9	To bring about the future we want to see.
0:12.0	Around the world.
0:12.9	To understand who we are.
0:14.8	From those talks, we bring you speakers and ideas that will surprise you.
0:20.0	You just don't know what you're going to find.
0:21.9	Challenge you.
0:22.7	We truly have to ask ourselves, like, why is it noteworthy?
0:25.1	And even change you.
0:26.3	I literally feel like I'm a different person.
0:28.4	Yes.
0:29.4	Do you feel that way?
0:31.2	Ideas worth spreading.
0:33.4	From Ted and NPR.
0:38.9	I'm Mano Shumerote.
0:53.1	Were you one of those lucky people who knew exactly what you wanted to be when you grew up?
0:56.1	Cellist Joshua Roman was.
1:01.0	You know, I went through a phase when I was 10 or so a few of these kinds of things was like, oh, I could be a fighter pilot or a firefighter or it was always something heroic,
1:07.8	the fastest man in the world. But only if I break my arm and can never play the cello again.
	...

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