What happens when the body is pushed to its limits—and the mind refuses to stop?
What does it take to continue when the body is telling you to stop? In this episode, we explore Diana Nyad’s decades-long pursuit of a 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida—and the science of neuroplasticity, resilience, and how challenge and failure can rewire the brain to persist.
After achieving her lifelong goal, Diana Nyad reflects on the discipline, preparation, and mindset required to endure the seemingly impossible. In this Talk, she makes the case that true success isn’t about talent—it’s about how you prepare, adapt, and continue when progress feels impossible.
What are humans truly capable of? In these TEDMED Talks, Diana Nyad, Kathleen O’Donnell, Sarah Outen, Charity Tillemann-Dick, and Nate Ball explore the limits of endurance, performance, and recovery—revealing how the body and mind can adapt, push further, and achieve the extraordinary.
Positive psychology researcher Jennifer Stellar illuminates how truly awe-inspiring experiences may mean more than we realize for our physical and mental health.
Psychiatrist, author, advisor to the White House, and professor at Georgetown Medical School, James Gordon is a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and…
Tomás Ryan, an assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin, focuses his work on understanding the basic neurobiology and neuroarchitecture of our memories. In his 2016 TEDMED Talk, Tomás…
Johannes Haushofer, an assistant professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University, conducts research at the intersection of neurobiology, behavioral economics, and development economics. In Johannes’s 2016…
Stanford professor, athlete, and psychologist Alia Crum investigates how our mindset can affect health behaviors and outcomes. In her 2016 TEDMED Talk, Alia shares her research on placebos…
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