Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, MacArthur “genius” Angela Duckworth explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success. Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.  “Grit is a persuasive and fascinating response to the cult of IQ fundamentalism. Duckworth reminds us that it is character and perseverance that set the successful apart.”
—Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and the author of The Power of Habit about the science of habit formation. In The Power of Habit, Duhigg explained why we do what we do. In Smarter Faster Better, he applies the same relentless curiosity, deep reporting, and rich storytelling to explain how we can improve at the things we do. It’s a groundbreaking exploration of the science of productivity, one that can help anyone learn to succeed with less stress and struggle, and to get more done without sacrificing what we care about most—to become smarter, faster, and better at everything we do. 

Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has shown how carefully crafted short talks can be the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement, spreading knowledge, and promoting a shared dream. Done right, a talk can electrify a room and transform an audience’s worldview. Done right, a talk is more powerful than anything in written form.

Faith Salie is an Emmy-winning contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning and a panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! She also hosts the PBS show, Science Goes To The Movies. Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much is a collection of daring, funny essays chronicling her adventures during her lifelong quest for approval.

Marie “KonMari” Kondo is the New York Times best-selling author of The Life- Changing Magic of Tidying Up which has sold more than three million copies worldwide. One of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2015, she and her method have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping,The TODAY Show, and more.

In 2012, Felicia Day launched a YouTube channel called Geek & Sundry which has garnered more than 1.3 million subscribers to date and more than 200 million views. She is an actress who has appeared in numerous mainstream television shows and films, including a two-season arc on the SyFy series Eureka and The CW show Supernatural. She is best known for her work in the web video world, behind and in front of the camera. She co-starred — along with Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion — in Joss Whedon’s Emmy Award-winning Internet musical, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. She also created and starred in the hit web series The Guild, which ran for six seasons.

Colm Tóibín wrote the introduction to upcoming Everyman’s Library edition of James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, marking the 70th anniversary of it’s publication.  Tóibín is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning author. His novels include The Master, Brooklyn,  The South, The Heather Blazing, The Story of the Night, and The Blackwater Lightship, which was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize. 

Cameron Diaz made her feature-film debut at age twenty-one. Since then she has appeared in small-budget and blockbuster films alike. She supports numerous causes that advocate environmental concerns, education, and the empowerment of women and girls. Cameron Diaz follows up her #1 New York Times bestseller, The Body Book, with a personal, practical, and authoritative guide that examines the art and science of growing older and offers concrete steps women can take to create abundant health and resilience as they age.

Join us for an hour long conversation with Don Cheadle including clips from the movie, Miles Ahead, marking the directorial debut of Academy Award® nominee Don Cheadle. Miles Ahead is an entertaining and moving exploration of one of 20th century music’s creative geniuses, Miles Davis, featuring a performance by Oscar nominee Don Cheadle in the title role. Working from a script he co-wrote with Steven Baigelman, Miles Ahead is not a conventional bio-pic but rather a unique, no-holds barred portrait of a singular artist in crisis. Cheadle’s credits include Bogie Nights, Traffic, Hotel Rwanda, Crash, Ironman 2 and 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.  Cheadle also stars in, executive produces, and occasionally directs Showtime’s House of Lies, for which he has earned a Golden Globe.

Padma Lakshmi is the host of the Emmy Award-winning Bravo series Top Chef, and the author of two cookbooks: Easy Exotic and Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet. She is  first internationally successful Indian supermodel, and has appeared in numerous fashion spreads.  Love, Loss, and What We Ate  is a vivid memoir of food and family, survival and triumph; and traces the arc of Lakshmi’s unlikely path from an immigrant childhood to a complicated life in front of the camera—a tantalizing blend of Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone and Nora Ephron’s Heartburn.