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If a bot relationship FEELS real, should we care that it's not?
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

If a bot relationship FEELS real, should we care that it's not?

Thanks to advances in AI, chatbots can act as personalized therapists, companions and romantic partners. The apps offering these services have been downloaded millions of times. If these relationships relieve stress and make us feel better, does it matter that they're not "real"?

If a bot relationship FEELS real, should we care that it's not?

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5 minute MOVE & GROOVE! DJ JP Labrosse will get you off your screen
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute MOVE & GROOVE! DJ JP Labrosse will get you off your screen

Today, we have an extraordinary episode to get you off your screen! Join mindful movement coach JP Labrosse for this guided 5 minute movement session that will get your blood flowing from your brain to your pinky toe. All you need is a quiet spot where you can move freely. It can be done standing or sitting. Enjoy!

5 minute MOVE & GROOVE! DJ JP Labrosse will get you off your screen

Listen · 8:37
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5 minute walk & talk: Manoush's journey to spend less time on her laptop
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute walk & talk: Manoush's journey to spend less time on her laptop

Today, Manoush takes a solo walk and shares what she does to spend less time scrolling, more time moving, including the story of forcing herself (and her kids) to take breaks. PLUS, she explains how setting aside our devices and allowing our minds to wander helps us tap into our most creative thinking. Join Manoush for this 5 minute walk and hear her (sometimes strange) internal monologue on the challenges of trying to get people moving.

5 minute walk & talk: Manoush's journey to spend less time on her laptop

Listen · 5:31
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Screen apnea: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

Screen apnea: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

Do you have "screen apnea"? Former Microsoft executive Linda Stone coined this term around 2007 after noticing she'd developed an unhealthy habit while answering emails: She held her breath. On this episode, she tells host Manoush Zomorodi how she tested her friends and colleagues for screen apnea and what she has done since.

Screen apnea: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

Listen · 24:26
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5 minute walk & talk: The professor who makes her students jog during sociology class
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute walk & talk: The professor who makes her students jog during sociology class

Professor Jennifer Lundquist has been taking movement breaks in her office and classroom for 13 years(!) and she's learned a thing or two. Move with her and Manoush as they discuss how she's changed her wardrobe, why sitting through a three-hour lecture isn't an option, and what students think when she gets them jogging around the lecture hall.

5 minute walk & talk: The professor who makes her students jog during sociology class

Listen · 5:35
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5 minute walk & talk: Uché Blackstock on how your neighborhood impacts your health
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute walk & talk: Uché Blackstock on how your neighborhood impacts your health

Even if we want to put our health first, it's not always within our control. Our genetics, environment, home life, work conditions, and systemic factors all impact our wellbeing. Today, Manoush takes a 5 minute walk with Dr. Uché Blackstock, who has dedicated her career to building a more equitable healthcare system. Uché shares what it means to take care of ourselves while acknowledging the limitations we all face.

5 minute walk & talk: Uché Blackstock on how your neighborhood impacts your health

Listen · 5:24
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Your earbuds and you: What all that listening is doing to us
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

Your earbuds and you: What all that listening is doing to us

Many of us wear earbuds for hours at a time, sometimes all day long, and all that listening is taking a toll on our hearing. This episode, host Manoush Zomorodi investigates our headphone habits. She speaks with exposure scientist Rick Neitzel, who has partnered with Apple to create a first-of-its-kind study into how our daily sound exposure and listening patterns are affecting our hearing. Neitzel offers advice on safe listening habits that can help protect our ears in the long term.

Your earbuds and you: What all that listening is doing to us

Listen · 21:33
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5 minute walk & talk: Why this listener failed at taking breaks—and her new approach
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute walk & talk: Why this listener failed at taking breaks—and her new approach

Remembering to get up and move can feel impossible, especially when you love your work and you're "in the zone." That was the case for listener Margot Cox when she signed up for our study with Columbia University last fall. As she put it, she "failed miserably." Today, Margot is ready to recommit to movement breaks. She takes a 5 minute walk with Manoush to talk through a new strategy.

5 minute walk & talk: Why this listener failed at taking breaks—and her new approach

Listen · 5:31
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5 minute walk & talk: Physiologist Keith Diaz hates timers and doesn't count steps
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute walk & talk: Physiologist Keith Diaz hates timers and doesn't count steps

It's time for another 5 minute movement break! This time, Columbia researcher Keith Diaz joins Manoush to chat about how he uses his treadmill desk to stay active—without getting bogged down by timers, step counters and strict rules. Spoiler alert: Keith doesn't follow his own recommendation of taking a five minute movement break every half hour! Listen to find out what he does instead.

5 minute walk & talk: Physiologist Keith Diaz hates timers and doesn't count steps

Listen · 5:32
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5 minute walk & talk: Writer Kelly Corrigan on making movement breaks productive
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

5 minute walk & talk: Writer Kelly Corrigan on making movement breaks productive

To kick off Season 2 of Body Electric, host Manoush Zomorodi takes a five minute walk with writer Kelly Corrigan. Kelly shares her tips for fitting movement into her busy work schedule—while also making time for rest.

5 minute walk & talk: Writer Kelly Corrigan on making movement breaks productive

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TED Radio Hour: A More Walkable World
Dmytro Varavin/iStock

Body Electric

TED Radio Hour: A More Walkable World

We know walking is good for our bodies, our communities, and our planet. But our car-centric cities and screen-filled lives keep us sitting. Can we change? In this special bonus episode from the TED Radio Hour, we explore ideas to get us moving—including some special appearances from the Body Electric family.

TED Radio Hour: A More Walkable World

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How short gentle movement breaks transformed one woman's health
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

How short gentle movement breaks transformed one woman's health

The Body Electric challenge has inspired tens of thousands of listeners to incorporate more movement into their days. For some, this new lifestyle has been transformative. Host Manoush Zomorodi checks in with two key members of the Body Electric community: lead researcher Keith Diaz and listener Dana Lopez Maile on how it's going since the Columbia University study officially wrapped.

How short gentle movement breaks transformed one woman's health

Listen · 12:00
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New research sheds light on what Zoom does to our brains
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

New research sheds light on what Zoom does to our brains

We've all heard of "Zoom fatigue"—that feeling of depletion and exhaustion after a long video call. New findings explain what video calls do to our brains and why they leave us feeling drained. Host Manoush Zomorodi speaks with researcher Gernot Müller-Putz about the latest findings and tips for preventing Zoom fatigue.

New research sheds light on what Zoom does to our brains

Listen · 11:59
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Tips for building movement into your life—and how to stick with it
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

Tips for building movement into your life—and how to stick with it

Last fall, over 20,000 listeners joined our study with Columbia University to take movement breaks throughout the day. They reported that the more breaks they took, the better they felt. So what's the secret to sticking with it? In this episode, host Manoush Zomorodi shares the top 10 listener tips to start moving, and keep moving, in 2024.

Tips for building movement into your life—and how to stick with it

Listen · 15:41
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Over 20,000 joined the NPR/Columbia study to move throughout the day. Did it work?
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

Over 20,000 joined the NPR/Columbia study to move throughout the day. Did it work?

In part six: host Manoush Zomorodi digs into the preliminary results of the listener study with Columbia University researcher Keith Diaz. He shares the surprising — and encouraging — initial findings from more than 20,000 listeners who tried to incorporate movement breaks into their day.

Over 20,000 joined the NPR/Columbia study to move throughout the day. Did it work?

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Overwhelmed by doom scrolling? Time to check in with your body
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

Overwhelmed by doom scrolling? Time to check in with your body

In part five: host Manoush Zomorodi investigates what information overload does to our physical and mental health. Could our tech use be interfering with the critical dialogue that takes place between the body and the brain? Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Sahib Khalsa shares his latest research on interoception — the brain's ability to sense how the body is feeling — and how finding time to unplug from our devices can help us tune into our body's natural signals.

Overwhelmed by doom scrolling? Time to check in with your body

Listen · 26:16
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Stressed out? It might not just be in your head. How your muscles affect your mood
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

Stressed out? It might not just be in your head. How your muscles affect your mood

In part four: host Manoush Zomorodi explores the connection between our posture and our mood. A lot of us associate our neck and back pain with spending hours hunched over our phones and laptops. But what if that hunched posture is also making us feel tired, stressed, and anxious? Neuroscientist Peter Strick discusses his groundbreaking research on why exercising our core muscles lowers our stress.

Stressed out? It might not just be in your head. How your muscles affect your mood

Listen · 24:39
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The story behind soaring myopia among kids
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

The story behind soaring myopia among kids

In part three: host Manoush Zomorodi explores how our tech habits are causing our eyes to change shape—to elongate—which causes nearsightedness. She investigates why rates of myopia among kids are soaring. She also speaks with Maria Liu, an optometrist with a quest to slow down the progression of myopia in children by opening the first ever myopia control clinic in the United States.

The story behind soaring myopia among kids

Listen · 24:23
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When human met desk: a toxic relationship for the ages
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

When human met desk: a toxic relationship for the ages

In part two: host Manoush Zomorodi delves into how we met and fell hard for the personal computer—and why we continue to have this committed, yet tortuous relationship. We hear from historian Laine Nooney on how the computer revolution forever changed the way we use our bodies at work, at school and at home.

When human met desk: a toxic relationship for the ages

Listen · 23:31
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So much sitting, looking at screens. Can we combat our sedentary lives?
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric

So much sitting, looking at screens. Can we combat our sedentary lives?

In this special series, host Manoush Zomorodi investigates the relationship between our technology and our bodies and asks: How are we physically adapting to meet the demands of the Information Age? Why do so many of us feel utterly drained after a day spent attached to our devices?

So much sitting, looking at screens. Can we combat our sedentary lives?

Listen · 28:56
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