TEDMED Conversations

Artificial intelligence is often described as a faster way to process information. But in healthcare, its deeper impact may come from how it changes the interactions between patients, clinicians, caregivers, systems, and synthetic agents.In this TEDMED Conversation, computer scientist Deborah Estrin joins Jay Walker to explore AI’s promise and risk as it becomes more embedded in care. Together, they examine personalization, mobile data, mental health, synthetic conversation, and the need to pair speed with judgment.Visit TEDMED.com for the full video episode and show notes.

This is Part 2 of a two-part TEDMED Conversation with investigative journalist Katherine Eban. In this companion episode, host Jay Walker and Eban move from foundational questions about trust into the real-world consequences of its erosion.Building on the themes introduced in Part 1, the conversation examines how breakdowns in oversight, transparency, and accountability manifest in practice—shaping everything from global clinical trials to the everyday safety of medicines. Eban draws on her reporting to reveal how systems intended to protect can fail under pressure, and what those failures mean for patients, practitioners, and the future of scientific credibility.Together, they explore what it takes to restore trust once it has been compromised—and whether today’s institutions are equipped to meet that challenge.Key Discussion Points & TimestampsFrom theory to reality: how institutional breakdown shows up in practice (01:42)The hidden complexity of global clinical trials and oversight (04:18)Where accountability breaks down—and why it’s hard to fix (07:55)The role of fear, pressure, and silence inside institutions (10:27)What patients assume vs. what systems actually guarantee (14:03)Can trust be rebuilt once it’s been compromised? (18:46)Quotes of the Episode“We like to believe there are safeguards at every step, but in reality those safeguards depend on people—and people can be under pressure, they can be constrained, or they can choose not to act.” — Katherine Eban“The system isn’t designed to fail, but it also isn’t always designed to catch failure when it happens.” — Katherine Eban“If trust is the foundation, what happens when that foundation begins to crack?” — Jay WalkerReferences + ResourcesBelow are links to references, books, articles, and resources mentioned during the conversation.Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom — Katherine Eban Katherine Eban’s reporting on the Guinea-Bissau hepatitis B studyNIH — Clinical Trials BasicsTuskegee Syphilis Study (Encyclopaedia Britannica overview)The Belmont Report — Ethical Principles and Guidelines for ResearchPew Research Center — Public Trust in GovernmentMore from Katherine and JayKATHERINE EBANKatherine Eban is an investigative journalist known for her work on public health, pharmaceuticals, and institutional accountability. She is the author of Bottle of Lies, a widely acclaimed exposé on the global generic drug industry, and has written for publications including Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, and Fortune. Her reporting often examines the intersection of science, ethics, and systemic failure.JAY WALKERJay Walker is the curator of TEDMED and a lifelong innovator focused on advancing ideas that improve health and medicine. Through TEDMED Conversations, he engages leading thinkers in deep, exploratory dialogue.Connect with the GuestsKATHERINEWebsite: https://www.katherineeban.com/Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/KatherineEbanBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/katherineeban.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherineebanJAYWebsite: https://www.tedmed.com/about/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-walker-5187453/ Join the ConversationWe'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Comment, or send us an email at conversations@tedmed.com. Follow our social media channels @tedmedcommunity on Instagram/Threads and @tedmed on X and LinkedIn for updates.

After declaring at TEDMED in 2011 that she would one day complete the Cuba-to-Florida swim, Diana Nyad returned in 2014 having done just that — at age 64.In this Conversation, hosted by TEDMED’s Kelly Thomas, Diana reflects on what resilience truly requires: preparation over bravado, the courage to fail publicly, and the team that makes “five more strokes” possible when the will begins to falter.GuestsDiana Nyad, Open Water Swimming ChampionKelly Thomas, PhD, Biomedical Science TranslatorKey Discussion PointsThe Resilience Study (00:01:53)Resilience Under Pressure (00:09:02)Returning at 60 (00:14:08)The Courage to Fail (00:16:58)A Broader Perspective (00:23:38)Five Strong Strokes (00:26:46)Quotes of the Episode“You don’t say, ‘I’m tough. I can withstand a 90-mile-an-hour wind.’ You’ll be blown off the mountain. You get real. And you turn around.”– Diana Nyad“By the time I got into my sixties, I had a broader perspective — gratitude, patience. I never would have reached that other shore without that team.”– Diana Nyad“I have the courage to fail. I’d rather chase something big and not make it than never find out who I am.”– Diana NyadResources MentionedStudy mentioned:Discover Magazine: “The Brain Basis of Extraordinary Feats of Will” — an article exploring research into how high performers sustain cognitive function under physiological stress.https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-brain-basis-of-extraordinary-feats-of-will-17521Diana Nyad — TEDMED TalksCan you still swim with the sharks at 61? (2011)https://www.tedmed.com/talk/extreme_swimming_with_the_sharks No Shortcuts to Victory (2014)https://www.tedmed.com/talk/no-shortcuts-to-victoryChristopher & Dana Reeve Foundationhttps://www.christopherreeve.org/Irukandji Syndrome (Box Jellyfish Envenomation Overview)https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22608-irukandji-syndromeEd Viesturs — Mountaineering Philosophyhttps://www.edviesturs.com/More from Diana + KellyDiana Nyad is an endurance athlete, journalist, and author whose story continues to reach new audiences through speaking, performance, and film. Following the release of the 2023 feature film Nyad, she remains active in public conversation about resilience, aging, and what it means to pursue unfinished dreams with preparation, humility, and team.Kelly Thomas is Director of Scientific Content at TEDMED, where she curates and translates breakthrough ideas at the intersection of science, medicine, and human potential. As a host of TEDMED Conversations, she explores resilience, behavior change, and the ways evidence-based science can shape longer, healthier, more meaningful lives.Connect with the GuestsDiana NyadWebsite: https://www.diananyad.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diananyad/X: https://twitter.com/DianaNyad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianaNyadKelly ThomasTEDMED: ⁠https://www.tedmed.com/person/kelly-thomas/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-thomas-ph-d-416b356/⁠ Join the ConversationWe'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Comment, or send us an email at conversations@tedmed.com. Follow our social media channels @tedmedcommunity on Instagram/Threads and @tedmed on X and LinkedIn for updates.

Conversation GuestsHost, Bruce Schneier, Health Data WatchmanGuest, Dr. Leana Wen, Transparent PhysicianArtificial intelligence is already making medical decisions—often without patients realizing it. In this episode of TEDMED Conversations, Bruce Schneier and Dr. Leana Wen unpack where AI is quietly saving lives, where it falls short, and why it may be “better than no doctor at all” in many settings. They challenge the idea of AI as a replacement for clinicians, arguing instead that the real stakes lie in how power, trust, and accountability are built into these systems. The conversation cuts through the hype to ask a harder question: how do we use AI to expand care without losing the human judgment medicine depends on?Key Discussion Points & TimestampsAI is already embedded in healthcare (00:00)Predictive AI vs. generative AI (02:13)Speed, scale, scope, and sophistication (06:09)Will AI widen or reduce health inequities? (13:23)How AI changes medical training and roles (18:03)Trust, transparency, and accountability (25:21)How patients should use AI today (29:17)Quotes of the Episode1. On access and scale“AI may not be a perfect replacement for a doctor — but in many places, it’s a powerful replacement for no doctor at all.” — Leana Wen2. On augmentation vs. replacement“The future of medicine isn’t AI instead of clinicians — it’s clinicians who know how to use AI replacing those who don’t.” — Leana Wen3. On trust and transparency“You can’t have trust without transparency — and transparency alone isn’t enough.” — Bruce SchneierMore from Leana and BruceDr. Leana WenDr. Leana Wen is a practicing physician, healthcare executive, and one of America’s leading public health experts. She is a columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes a twice-weekly column on medicine and public health and anchors the Post newsletter, "The Checkup with Dr. Wen". Previously, she served as Baltimore’s Health Commissioner. She has authored two critically-acclaimed books, including most recently Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.Recent articles and columns: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/leana-s-wen/Aggregated bibliography of recent published work: https://muckrack.com/leana-s-wen/articlesAdditional background, books, and media appearances: https://drleanawen.comBruce SchneierBruce Schneier is an internationally recognized security technologist, author, and public-interest advocate whose work focuses on security, technology, and society. He is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and has advised governments, corporations, and civil society on cybersecurity, privacy, and emerging technologies. Schneier has written more than a dozen influential books and publishes the long-running blog Schneier on Security. His most recent book, Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship , examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping democratic institutions and argues for building trustworthy, accountable systems that serve the public interest.More of Bruce Schneier’s writing and research on security, trust, and technology: https://www.schneier.comConnect with our GuestsDr. Leana WenWebsite: https://drleanawen.comX: https://x.com/DrLeanaWenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drleanawen/ Bruce SchneierWebsite: https://www.schneier.comX: https://x.com/schneierblogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/bruce.schneier/Join the Conversation!We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Comment, or send us an email at conversations@tedmed.com. Follow our social media channels IG/Threads: @tedmedcommunity and X/LinkedIn: @tedmed for updates.

Psychologist and bestselling author @jonathanhaidt joins Kelly Thomas, to unpack the youth mental health crisis—and how smartphones, social media, and a culture of overprotection are fueling it. Drawing from his latest New York Times bestselling book, The Anxious Generation, Haidt reveals how today’s kids are digitally connected but developmentally deprived—and what parents, educators, and policymakers can do to help.Related Resources: ⁠Free the Anxious Generation⁠⁠The Anxious Generation⁠⁠After Babel⁠The Let Grow Experience Free The Anxious Generation Guide - a toolkit, created in collaboration with Dr. Becky/Good Inside for what parents can actually doState Policy Map - a conversation about the work being done to establish phone-free schools across the country#MentalHealth #DigitalWellbeing #YouthMentalHealth #TheAnxiousGeneration #JonathanHaidt #Parenting #SocialMedia #Smartphones #KidsAndScreens #TEDMED

Dr. Anne Marie Albano discusses the mental health challenges faced by today's youth, particularly due to social media exposure and societal pressures with TEDMED's Director, Scientific Content, Kelly Thomas, Phd. She emphasizes the importance of: open communication building trust modeling healthy coping skillsTogether parents, caregivers and educators need to create supportive environments that foster independence and resilience. We can do this by: setting boundaries around social media use promoting empathy encouraging lifelong learningDr. Albano stresses the significance of addressing anxiety early, listening to children, and gradually increasing their independence. She advocates for a balanced approach to technology to supports rather not prevent skill development.