How to Be a Better Human

The last places without human sounds (w/ Matt Mikkelsen)

Montag, 24. August 2026 · 43 min

MP3

Shownotes

What is natural sound in an increasingly noisy world? asks sound recordist and audio engineer Matt Mikkelsen. Matt travels the world recording natural sounds in places where you can’t hear anything made by humans: no planes, no cars, no ringing phones. In this episode, Matt joins Chris to talk about the difference between quiet and silence. Matt shares his adventures and work with Quiet Parks International and even shares a story about the time he was struck by lightning. They also talk about the importance of choosing our acoustic environment and why it’s important to unplug and sit still in nature.

Featured guest
• Follow Matt Mikkelsen on Instagram (instagram.com/matthewmikkelsen/?hl=en) and at matthewmikkelsen.com

Connect with the team
• Follow Chris on Instagram (instagram.com/chrisiduffy/?hl=en) and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me (t.ted.com/ZGuYfcL)
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at youtube.com/@TEDPods
• Follow TED on X (x.com/TEDTalks), Instagram (instagram.com/ted), Facebook (facebook.com/TED), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences), and TikTok (tiktok.com/@tedtoks)
For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
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