Volunteer firefighter Mark Bezos kicks off the hour with a story of a small, seemingly insignificant act of heroism. Through a tiny act of kindness, he realizes the dozens of possibilities we have in a day to be heroes in our own humble ways. Next, self-named “renegade ecolutionary” Ron Finley describes the garden that he began on the sidewalk in front of his house in South Central Los Angeles, meant for anyone to eat from. Finley expresses the importance of the yin and yang of giving and receiving — one cannot simply take, but must create a cycle of giving.

The second half of the show continues with Dan Pallotta, who wonders why we are so much more willing to invest in a private company’s enterprises than we are to donate to a non-profit. Pallotta stresses the paradigm shift that we need to enact — away from viewing non-profits as things that must produce results in the here-and-now to seeing them as organizations that can grow and thrive on long-term investments. Amanda Palmer closes the show, sharing her experience as a musician in a budding economy built on trust. As she talks, she emphasizes the importance of the simple act of asking when you need something — and the joy that comes from the connection found through mutual support.

To hear TED Radio Hour’s “Giving It Away,” check your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today. Or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

What happens when you stick a computer in a wall, three feet off the ground, in a slum without so much as running water? “Unstoppable Learning” kicks off with TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra, who found that he had stumbled upon a new method of education — self-directed, with no adults around. He found that the children in the slum, who had little access to education, were able to teach themselves English and even biology just from a computer.

In the next segment, science writer Annie Murphy Paul asks, “When does learning begin?” She shares a startling answer: that learning begins not in preschool or kindergarten, but in the womb. Alison Gopnik then continues to examine the learning that happens during infancy — she finds that despite the drooling and baby talk, these little ones may in fact be geniuses.

Finally, teacher Rita Pierson — the star of today’s talk — expresses the value of establishing strong relationships between student and educator. This begins by being a positive presence, constantly inspiring students to look towards their potential. On Tuesday, May 7, this inspiring teacher will also appear in TED Talks Education — our first televised special — alongside Sir Ken Robinson and Geoffrey Canada. Make sure to tune in to PBS at 10/9c to see her in action.

To hear TED Radio Hour’s “Unstoppable Learning,” check your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today. Or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

Today’s TED Radio Hour asks this deceptively simple question. It begins with violinst Robert Gupta, reflecting on the instinct musicians have to know when something is simply lovely. Next, we hear from Denis Dutton, who looks at the universality of beauty as a gift from our ancient ancestors and the emotions they attached to the things that helped them survive. After, psychologist Nancy Etcoff explains why those we love are so beautiful to us.

In the second half of the show, model Cameron Russell talks about the decisions she made in her talk which went viral earlier this year, all about why she’s a model. Her explanation: “Because I won a genetic lottery.” Civic leader Bill Strickland describes how the magic of the potters’ wheel changed his life, and how he seeks to do the same for the youth of Pittsburgh through his arts education center. And designer Richard Seymour shares why beauty is not so much a thing in and of itself, but a feeling.

It’s an inspiring hour of great moments from TED Talks, embedded in a soundscape of music and fresh interviews. As Strickland says in the show, “When I think of beauty, I think of life and hope and all of its enormous possibilities. “

Check out your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today, or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Or head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

Photo: Sascha Burkard/iStockphoto.

Are people born violent, or is violence something learned? And what can be done to keep human beings from harming one another? These are questions on our minds as Congress debates gun control measures. Today’s episode of TED Radio dives into this dark end of human nature.

In this episode – the fifth in season two —  psychologist Philip Zimbardo tells us the story of his classic Stanford Prison Experiment and how easy it is for people to turn violent. Neuroscientist Jim Fallon uncovers the wiring of a psychopathic killer. Writer Leslie Morgan Steiner tells her personal story of being in an abusive relationship and shares why victims of domestic violence don’t leave. And finally, linguist Steven Pinker charts the whole of human history and says that, believe it or not, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence.

Check out your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today, or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Or head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

In this episode — the fourth in season two – Brian Goldman shares what happens when it’s a doctor who makes the mistake, Brené Brown reveals what we can hear when we listen to shame, Stefon Harris looks to jazz where there are no mistakes and Margaret Heffernan illuminates why conflict is simply a part of progress.

Check out your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today, or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Or head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?In this episode — the third in season two — Sherry Turkle explores whether the fact that technology allows us more points of communication actually makes us all feel more alone. Cynthia Breazeal predicts the rise of personal robots. Andrew McAfee imagines the future of work as droids take our jobs. And Abraham Verghese wonders if human touch may not be the best medical tool.

Check out your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today, or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Or head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

Gazing up at the night sky is always both humbling and thrilling. In this episode of TED Radio Hour, you’ll hear from speakers who share a sense of wonder and curiosity about our place in the universe. Phil Plait breaks down how we can defend Earth from an asteroid. Jill Tarter of the SETI Institute explains why it’s crucial for humans here on earth to continue searching for sentient beings in the cosmos. And Cosmologist Brian Greene unravels the strange tale of dark matter and why our universe may be one of the many in the “multiverse.”

Check your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today, or listen via NPR’s website »

Or head to iTunes where the podcast is available now »

We’ve all had that moment when you see or hear something and wonder: am I going crazy? In this episode, TED speakers share their experiences straddling the line between madness and sanity. Neurologist Oliver Sacks explains a peculiar condition called Charles Bonnet syndrome — when people of sound mind experience lucid hallucinations. Law professor Elyn Saks shares stories about her schizophrenic episodes and how she was able to rise above her grave diagnosis. Plus, author Jon Ronson goes psychopath spotting, and wonders who among us is truly completely sane.

Check your local NPR schedule to find out when the show premieres today. Or head to iTunes where the podcast is available now »

We called Raz in his office to talk about what’s new with TED Radio Hour, and about his deep love of pop music.

What will feel different about TED Radio Hour this season?

In short, everything. The core of the show is the same — it’s TED Talks. But what’s changed is the way we’re using sound and music and soundscapes. The first season was a different show — really good at finding awesome TED content and bringing on amazing TED speakers. Now we’re taking the opportunity to experiment, even radically experiment, with the way we deliver not just NPR content but TED content. It will still be mind-blowing — but even more so, enhanced with music and an experiential quality. We want to somehow replicate that feeling you get at TED. You actually feel it in your soul, right? We can get pretty close to that through this radio program.

So what’s your vision of how people will experience the show?

My “Barbie Dream House” vision of what a listener would be doing: you’re walking down the street, you would have your headphones on and you experience this show in a full 360-degree way. It’s designed to come and grab you and pull you in and take you on a journey. I know it sounds sort of new age-y and hokey — but that’s what it’s supposed to do. And we’re so excited about it. The first three shows are done and we just love them. We hope that people love them too.

Our goal is basically two things with every show: first, we want the person listening to somehow be changed every time they hear the show. That doesn’t mean that all of a sudden they become a Buddhist and move to Bhutan, right? It means that they will see something different about the world. It might be that they think about insanity in a totally different way, or they think about the stars in a different way. Second: we want to create a new way of telling stories on the radio. It’s this incredible opportunity for NPR because we’re this news organization with a huge following, and we’re respected. And TED is this huge thing that people are just obsessed with. Everywhere I go, I say I work for NPR and people say, “Oh my God! I love NPR. What do you do there?” And I say, “Well, I’m working on this new partnership with TED,” and they say, “Oh my God! I love TED!” There aren’t that many things in America that elicit that kind of response from people. It’s just incredible that we’ve got all these talented people on both ends of this thing.

I’m curious — what’s the one episode this season that you can’t wait to air?

The second episode. I love the first one, but the second one to me was such an incredible personal journey. It’s called “Peering Into Space” and it’s about the wonders of the skies above us. I wasn’t ever super interested in astrophysics but the way that Brian Greene can talk about it and the way that Jill Tarter's call to join the SETI search Jill Tarter can just create such a sense of wonder about what might be out there and the way that Phil Plait can talk about asteroids in this way that makes you really think about what’s right above us. I think people who haven’t taken the time to look at the stars recently are going to be amazed by what they hear. You look out at the brightest star in the sky — which is Polaris — and it’s eight and a half years ago. You are looking at the past in real time. That idea to me is so beautiful.

In that show, we tell the story about how the expansion of the universe was discovered — through Brian Greene’s TED Talk and also through Brian’s conversation with me. Then it pivots 180-degrees. All of a sudden, it’s 1998 and two research teams discover that the expansion is happening faster — it’s not slowing down. And this completely revolutionizes physics. Brian tells the story in his TED Talk, so we hear lots of his talk, but then [for the show] we found two scientists, Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess and interviewed them. We use really interesting production techniques to bounce back and forth. That episode to me is about this universal sense of wonder and I can’t wait to hear that on the air. It’s totally changed my world. Even the way I look at the stars — it makes me think about how small we are, how small our lives are and problems are.

What else is in the works?

Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model.So we’ll do 30 shows this season. Right now we’ve got eight episodes in production. We’re looking at things like beauty — with Cameron Russell, Dan Dennett and Nancy Etcoff. We’re looking at violence with Phil Zimbardo and Steven Pinker. We’re looking at the question of whether we will need humans with Andrew McAfee, Cynthia Breazeal, Sherry Turkle. We’re going to do a show with Julian Treasure with sounds and music. The possibilities are infinite because there is so much amazing TED content. What we do is try to find a connecting thread between three or four TED speakers and then bring them together. Each show is a carefully thought-through hour. It can take, really, many weeks to put together an episode of the show but we hope that people will Julian Treasure: 5 ways to listen betterhear something that they’ll find inspiring, interesting, entertaining, even educational.

What’s your secret skill?

My secret skill is that I’m an incredible, unbelievable judge of pop music. I knew Carly Rae Jepsen was going to be awesome two weeks before she hit number one. I liked Taylor Swift before anyone else did. I love pop music. I’ve been an NPR reporter my whole life, going overseas and interviewing politicians and prime ministers and stuff, and this is my secret thing. Of course I like indie music and I love classical music and I listen to a lot of jazz, but no one in my peer group ever wants to admit that they listen to pop music and I think it’s a shame because it’s great now. We’re in this amazing time. I would say that right now, we are living in a pop music renaissance. I mean, “Scream & Shout,” the collaboration with Britney Spears and Will.I.Am — that song’s amazing — and electronic dance music folks like Calvin Harris and David Guetta working with Rihanna — it’s just awesome. Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, “Suit & Tie?” What’s happening is so interesting to me. So my secret skill is being able to identify awesome pop music.

What’s something that’s ignored when it comes to radio shows?

Silence. It sometimes is a really effective thing in radio. It’s like a car coming to a screeching halt and it just stops.

What are some of the things you’re most looking forward to at TED2013?

Taylor Wilson: Yup, I built a nuclear fusion reactorWhere do I begin? I’m going to need an intravenous feed of 5-Hour Energy to do everything that I want to do. I don’t know when I’m going to sleep. I’m really looking forward to hearing from Jared Diamond, Elon Musk, Bono and that kid who built the nuclear reactor in his bedroom. I’m also just really excited to experience that community because TED has built something that hasn’t been replicated. It’s something that everybody I know who goes or has been can’t quite articulate — they can only really say, “You know, you just have to experience it.” There’s so much energy and innovative thinking and inspiring ideas. I’m just really excited to be in that environment.

Each episode of TED Radio Hour will turn an extraordinary idea inside out, using incredible speakers from the TED stage as a jumping off point. With music and lush soundscapes, each episode takes you on a journey that may well flip your perspective. (Listen to the preview below.) The first two episodes of the 30-part season will be “The Unquiet Mind,” premiering on NPR on March 1, and “Peering Into Space,” debuting on March 8. Podcasts of the show will also be available through iTunes.

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Stay tuned to the TED Blog next week for an interview with Guy Raz, where we’ll share which episodes he’s most excited for this season … and his secret skill.