Summer Fridays: How to clean your house without losing your mind (w/ KC Davis)

Summer Fridays: How to clean your house without losing your mind (w/ KC Davis)

Author: TED August 14, 2026 Duration: 35:13

Let’s face it: if chores were fun, they probably wouldn’t be called that. Because for most people, life can be overwhelming – and that means it doesn’t always look like a cleaning commercial where everyone is dancing their way to do laundry, take out trash, or smiling while washing the dishes. KC Davis is a therapist, author, podcaster, and TikToker who knows that caring for yourself can be a struggle. In this episode, she shares how radically rethinking “care” tasks –like not seeing a lack of cleanliness as shameful, or viewing messiness as a moral failure– can improve our quality of life. She also shares small strategies that could help us take better care of ourselves, because we deserve it.

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts


Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


You might find yourself wondering how small shifts in thinking or action could ripple out into your daily life, and that's precisely the space this How to Be a Better Human podcast occupies. Hosted by Chris Duffy, each episode is built from conversations with a range of insightful guests, including past speakers, who share practical wisdom that goes beyond typical advice. The discussions are grounded in real-world application, focusing on how we can all improve in tangible ways-not through grand gestures, but in the nuances of our interactions at work, within our families, and in our own internal dialogues. This isn't about abstract theory; it's about hearing specific stories and strategies that offer clear takeaways you can actually use. The How to Be a Better Human podcast, from TED, digs into those unexpected corners of life where genuine growth happens, exploring how we show up for others and ourselves with more intention. Listeners will find a thoughtful mix of humor, vulnerability, and sharp insights that challenge conventional self-improvement tropes, making the journey toward being better feel accessible and deeply human.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

How to Be a Better Human
Podcast Episodes
How to understand your family history (w/ Keith Rushing) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:58
Journalist Keith Rushing has spent years trying to report on his most difficult story - the history of his own family. Who do we come from? What do we inherit from the past? How can understanding our ancestors make us be…
What the data shows about youth mental health (w/ Candice Odgers) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:53
“Social media and screen time aren’t the most important factor in teen mental health,” says development psychologist Candice Odgers. While this claim sounds counterintuitive, Candice shares why it’s so pervasive—scary st…
How to think fast and talk smart (w/ Matt Abrahams) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:40
Matt Abrahams is a communication expert who teaches strategic communication at Stanford University, hosts the podcast Think Fast Talk Smart, and wrote the new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter. In this episode, he joins Ch…
How play is the secret to success at work (w/ Maxwell Pearce) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:44
Why is it so fun to watch your team win in the World Cup or to be a Knicks fan as they finally get an NBA championship? There’s a collective joy in sports that can also be found in art, theater, and comedy. In this episo…
How to give up control - advice from neuroscientist Heather Berlin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:13
Heather Berlin is a a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience who studies the science of giving up control. She joins Chris to talk about finding the balance between knowing wh…
Why you should try improv comedy (w/ Rick Andrews) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:34
What do radio personality Ira Glass, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, and your host Chris Duffy have in common? They all have practiced an unexpected skill that makes them more human—improv comedy. And they learned it…