Share

cover art for TED Business

TED Business

Every Monday, host Modupe Akinola of Columbia Business School presents the most powerful and surprising ideas that illuminate the business world.


Latest episode

  • The counterintuitive secret of leadership | Jessica Kriegel

    15:47|
    Control is an illusion — and the leaders who chase it are holding their teams back. Workplace culture expert Jessica Kriegel explores the tactic that leaders who want to achieve extraordinary results should try instead. After, Modupe challenges listeners to reflect on what's something they can surrender in their lives?

More episodes

View all episodes

  • How to give feedback that lands | Renee St Jacques

    16:04|
    Most managers give feedback. Few give feedback that actually works. Drawing on her background in psychology and executive coaching, Renee St Jacques breaks down what so many well-intentioned leaders get wrong — and introduces a three-part framework to help teams rebuild trust and perform at their best. After the talk, Modupe shares her best practices for giving feedback.
  • Why the smartest person in the room is asking the “dumb” questions with Molly Graham

    31:30|
    One of our favorite TED talks on TED Business is from company builder Molly Graham. She’s also the new host of WorkLife with Molly Graham, another podcast from TED. Modupe sits down with Molly at TED2026 to talk about her journey from Facebook to giving her first TED Talk to now joining TED as a podcaster. Molly shares how she quietens her inner critic whom she affectionately calls “Bob the Monster,” what she learned from working alongside influential leaders to scale companies, and why she always advises  managers to “give away their Legos.”
  • Why you should stop chasing your “dream job” (w/ Emily the Recruiter) | from Fixable

    44:30|
    Does your “dream job” really exist? You may know Emily Durham as Emily the Recruiter on social media, where she shares practical, refreshingly honest career advice and coaches people through the biggest professional decisions of their lives. Emily doesn’t believe in the idea of a dream job. In this episode, she joins Anne to make the case for the “awake job” that actively fits into your purpose, lifestyle, and financial needs. Emily reflects on how her own purpose has evolved over time, and answers questions from listeners about how to gracefully quit a job, find a path forward when you feel stuck, and communicate your values to a potential employer.Find more episodes from a special series on finding more purpose at work only on Fixable: https://link.mgln.ai/SVuDJo
  • Is inviting everyone to the meeting holding back global cooperation? | Qahir Dhanani

    13:55|
    International collaboration expert Qahir Dhanani makes the case for rebuilding public trust in broken institutions by embracing small, focused coalitions that can move faster and act bolder — offering a hopeful, practical vision for updating diplomacy to meet the world’s toughest challenges. Then, Modupe shares why it's useful to identify "coalitions of the willing,” in your own workplace.
  • Why the world is still not built for women | Virginia Santy

    16:42|
    Design consultant Virginia Santy set out to create an office space built specifically for women, flipping the script on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways that workplaces and cities still fail them. The results were striking: greater productivity, deeper collaboration and an environment where women felt genuinely valued, leading her to ask a simple question: What would the world look like if we designed with women in mind? After the talk, Modupe shares what managers and male coworkers can do to help improve the workplace environment for their female colleagues.
  • The surprising origins of Southwest Airlines with Jacob Goldstein

    25:41|
    In this special TED Business episode, Modupe is in conversation with Jacob Goldstein, reporter and co-host of the Business History podcast, to dig into the origin story ofSouthwest Airlines. From debunking the airline's founding myth, about a triangular route sketched on a napkin to discussing why Southwest chose to only fly Boeing 737s, Jacob shares the decisions that made Southwest stand out from its competitors—and why healthy egos might make for better business.