I'm Manoush Zomorodi, host of the TED Radio Hour. We have been working on a new series set to launch on Tuesday: Body Electric is a 6-part investigation into the relationship between our technology and our bodies.
This topic has been on my mind for YEARS, including every time my eyes burn or my back aches after sitting and looking at a screen for hours. But it’s more than feeling physically drained after a day spent attached to our devices.
In the last 20 years, the rate of young people with Type 2 diabetes has doubled. It’s predicted that by 2050, half the world’s population will be nearsighted. These are just some of the effects of the Information Age on our bodies.
So, in the first couple episodes, we’ll explain how we got ourselves into this slow moving health crisis and how we have physically adapted to economic eras in the past. We’ll also introduce an interactive twist to the series: We will be asking you to join us in a scientific study, to see if we can take things into our own hands and counter some of the harms of our sedentary and screen-filled lives.
We'll explain more on Tuesday. Until then, please be sure to take breaks while reading newsletters this weekend! Get outside, go for a stroll, and scan the horizon. Your brain, eyes, and blood sugar levels will thank you.
Listen to the trailer here, then follow Ted Radio Hourand enable notifications so we can let you know when these new episodes publish:
🔌 Episode 1: The Body Through the Ages: How Economic Eras have Morphed Us 🔌 Episode 2: The Information Age: Human Meets Desk 🔌 Episode 3: Shapeshifting: Why Part of You is Elongating 🔌 Episode 4: Below the Belt: The Demise of Our Posture? Or ergonomics Are Bullshit 🔌 Episode 5: Overloaded: The Mind, Body, Tech Connection 🔌 Episode 6: Your Future Self: From Avatars to Augmented Anatomies
As part of this special series, NPR is partnering with Columbia University researchers. They’ve found the least amount of movement needed to offset the harms of our sedentary habits. But, can their recommendations work in the real world? We want your help to find out. Sign up for the study starting Tuesday, Oct. 3. The results will be shared in the series finale on Nov. 7.
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