Writing, comedy and storytelling in a messed-up world | Maeve Higgins

TED Talks Daily

TED

Creativity, Ted Podcast, Ted Talks Daily, Business, Design, Inspiration, Society & Culture, Science, Technology, Education, Tech Demo, Ted Talks, Ted, Entertainment, Tedtalks

4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On a list of the least funny topics imaginable, the global refugee crisis, border disputes and questions of citizenship are probably close to the top. And yet comedian Maeve Higgins has spent her career finding ways to make jokes about (and make sense of) the ways we draw lines across the globe. She's a stand-up comedian and writer who speaks from the point of view of an Irish immigrant in the United States. In this excerpt from How to Be a Better Human, a TED Audio Collective podcast hosted by Chris Duffy, Maeve talks about ways we can find funny and eye-opening vantage points to look at the realities and borders of the world, our place in it and how imagination and laughter can help us through tough times. We asked Chris to select a book that he thinks explores these topics more deeply, and he selected "There There" by Tommy Orange. Listen for his recommendation and why he thinks it's "like the best action movie and one of the smartest sociological and historical essays paired together." This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to Ted Talks Daily, I'm Elise Hugh.
0:06.6	Welcome back to the final episode of our Ted Talks Daily Summer Book Club.
0:11.0	I hope you've enjoyed these conversations and book recommendations as much as I have.
0:15.7	And we'll be back next week with our regular Ted Talk format.
0:18.2	We've got a special treat for you today because I'm sitting here with another Ted Audio
0:22.2	Collective host, Chris Duffy.
0:27.0	Before for Ted Talks Daily comes from AirBnB.
0:29.8	Okay, every time you stay at an AirBnB, do you ever wonder, could my place at home actually
0:35.8	be an AirBnB, could I rent it out?
0:38.4	And if I could, what would it earn?
0:40.5	I think about this sometimes, myself.
0:43.0	So I was pretty surprised to hear about Lucy and Worcestershire, who realized she could
0:48.0	convert her empty barn space into a one bedroom AirBnB.
0:52.4	How creative, right?
0:53.6	Now her extra income allows her to focus on her family as a new mom.
0:57.8	Find out what your place could be earning at airbnb.co.uk slash host.
1:06.0	Thanks to our partner destination Canada for sponsoring today's episode.
1:10.2	Connect with a place people from all over call home.
1:13.0	Enjoy vibrant multicultural cities like Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, I love all those cities,
1:19.0	and take in incomparable landscapes from the heights of the Rocky Mountains to the wide-open
1:23.7	prairies, search Canada Travel to learn more.
1:27.5	Hey Chris.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.