Physician Shoshana Ungerleider pairs TED talks with interviews on aging, drug prices, and menopause.
TED Health treats health as something lived in bodies, families, systems, and culture. Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider guides talks and interviews that connect medical knowledge to ordinary choices, from friendship and menopause to drug prices and end-of-life care.
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TED Health is built around a recurring two-part interview format: a TED, TEDx, or TED-Ed talk on a health topic is presented first, then Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider interviews a physician or researcher who deepens or applies that talk's argument. Recurring subject areas include aging and longevity (biological age markers, social connection as a longevity factor), menopause and women's health, U.S. drug pricing and health policy, and mental health topics such as boredom, ADHD, and self-advocacy in medical settings. Guests are typically Harvard- or hospital-affiliated physicians and researchers, though the show also features non-clinical guests like stylist and author Stacey London discussing menopause and midlife identity. Some episodes are recorded live at the TED Conference in Vancouver rather than as remote interviews. Dr. Ungerleider draws on her own background as a physician, including her own experience with surgical menopause, to frame follow-up questions. The tone is educational and conversational rather than clinical or academic, with an emphasis on translating research into concrete takeaways or action steps for listeners. Episodes often cite specific studies, statistics, and named research programs (e.g., PORTAL at Brigham and Women's, University of Virginia boredom research) rather than speaking in generalities. Episode lengths vary from under 30 minutes for single-topic explainer-style episodes to nearly an hour for extended conference interviews. Listeners interested in evidence-based, TED-adjacent health content with a policy and self-advocacy angle are the core audience. The show is part of the TED Audio Collective and cross-promotes other TED podcasts such as How to Be a Better Human.
Made for: Listeners who want evidence-based health explainers on aging, women's health, and healthcare policy, paired with physician-led interviews rather than lifestyle-guru advice.
What sets it apart: Unlike most health interview podcasts, each episode is structured around a specific existing TED, TEDx, or TED-Ed talk, which the host then unpacks with a clinician or researcher rather than conducting a standalone interview.
What does exercise do to your brain? Can psychedelics treat depression? From smart daily habits to new medical breakthroughs, welcome to TED Health, with host Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider. TED speakers answer questions you never even knew you had, and share ideas you won't hear anywhere else, all around how we can live healthier lives.Follow Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider on Instagram at @shoshanamd and LinkedIn at @shoshanaungerleidermd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
TED Health turns medical systems and bodily change into clear, humane conversations grounded in everyday consequences.
TED Health gives large health questions a human-scale entry point, pairing TED talks with interviews led by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter. Its range runs from menopause and aging to boredom, prescription costs, and the physical process of dying.
TED Health turns insulin prices and the last breath into questions you can face without flinching.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded TED Health conversation on aging well through simple habits, pleasure, and stronger everyday social ties.
TED Health treats aging well as something more ordinary than the wellness industry often makes it sound. Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider frames the problem plainly: people want to feel good, stay sharp, and enjoy their lives, but the advice can start to feel like another job. Dr.
A humane look at a TV drama's realism around dying, grief, and everyday detail.
This episode treats a TV drama's realism as a way into one of the harder questions on screen: how people die, and what families hold onto at the bedside. The host keeps the focus on care, grief, and the small, ordinary details that make loss feel lived in rather than polished.
A calm, practical episode about what dying can look like, and why clear explanations can help families stay present.
TED Health turns a frightening subject into something more legible. Kathryn Mannix describes dying as a physical process families can often understand: reflex breathing that changes pace, pauses that may come and go, throat sounds, and small pools of fluid that can look alarming…
Stacy London makes menopause feel specific, less hidden, and tied to grief, style, calm, and reinvention.
Stacy London turns menopause into a whole-body story: mood changes, weight gain, hair loss, chin hairs, palpitations, food sensitivities, grief, recovery from spine surgery, and the unsettling moment when work stopped coming as she began to look different.
A useful reframing of boredom as a cue to question snap judgments and protect attention.
TED Health uses Kevin H. Gary's talk to make boredom feel less like a dead end and more like a warning light. His point is simple but useful: when something feels dull, the judgment may say as much about our attention as it does about the person, task, or moment in front of us.
A clear, patient-centered explainer on why U.S. drug prices stay high, with insulin as the most concrete case study.
TED Health takes the sticker shock of a prescription refill and traces it through the machinery that keeps U.S. drug prices hard to understand.
Practical answers for everyday pet trouble.
Where your pet has a voice.
Blunt veterinary advice for real pet problems.
Real-life dog training, tested on walks.
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This episode features physician and social entrepreneur Johannes Reich discussing his journey from cattle herder to doctor and his work founding YoCare to bring primary healthcare to remote communities in South Sudan.
Palliative care physician Kathryn Mannix delivers a TED talk explaining that modern medicine's success at treating acute illness has come at the cost of a collective understanding of what natural dying actually looks, sounds, and feels like.
TED Health host Dr.
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TED Health presents a TED-Ed lesson by Kiah Williams explaining the three main drivers of high US drug prices—patent gaming, lack of national price negotiation, and opaque supply chain intermediaries—followed by an interview with Dr.
Surgeon Mohamed Aburawi discusses his vision for a 'hospital in the cloud' using AI to provide accessible, culturally-aware healthcare to remote and underserved communities while addressing equity in medical AI development.
This TED Health episode explores the science behind afterimages and optical illusions, explaining how our eyes and brain process visual information and what this reveals about our overall health.
This episode explores how our perception of time is linked to our heartbeat and the mind-body connection, with a special interview on microplastics solutions.
A TED podcast exploring health and medical topics through expert talks and interviews.
A couples therapist challenges conventional wisdom about love and relationships, offering a healthier approach to connection.
This episode explores the science of sleep deprivation and its impact on memory, mood, and long-term health.
Culinary entrepreneur Sam Cass discusses how climate change is reshaping the foods we love and what that means for our well-being.
This episode explores how vampire myths may have originated from real medical conditions, blending folklore with epidemiology.
An interview with sex educator Emily Nagoski about her book on the science and art of creating lasting sexual connections.
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This episode explores psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression and burnout, and also touches on microplastics pollution.
This episode explores the anxiety and obsession around sleep, questioning whether the pursuit of perfect sleep through technology and advice has gone too far.
This episode explores how AI chatbots are being used to improve mental health therapy, featuring a personal story and expert discussion.
Host Dr.
This episode features a conversation with Ira Bedzo about redefining success through aligning personal values with purpose, navigating urgency culture, preventing burnout, and prioritizing inner flourishing for overall well-being.
This episode explores innovations in medicine and health, featuring discussions on exercise, psychedelics, and medical breakthroughs.
This episode features an interview with Dr.
A cardiologist shares insights on managing cholesterol through diet and preventive measures, based on the host's personal health journey.
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Diabetes advocate Brooke Bennett shares her personal struggle with type 1 diabetes and calls for affordable medication and humane treatment for chronic illness patients.
This episode explores the concept of embodiment and the interconnectedness of our minds and bodies, featuring therapist Prentice Hemphill to discuss healing and self-transformation.
Food waste expert Dana Gunders discusses the staggering impact of food waste and offers simple solutions to reduce it.
A TED Health episode featuring a scientist discussing innovative solutions to the microplastic pollution crisis.
This episode explores the gap between personal achievement and life's deeper meaning, featuring a TED Talk by Stanford professor Brian Lowry.
This episode features psychologist Becky Kennedy discussing the concept of 'repair' in parenting, followed by a conversation with economist Emily Oster on using data in parenting decisions.
Urban studies researcher Nusha Ghali explains how wastewater analysis provides valuable data for tracking infectious diseases and understanding community health patterns.
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