Richard Saul Wurman – Wild Business Growth Podcast #254: Creator of TED

Ask great questions. That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Richard Saul Wurman. Richard is the Creator of TED. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 254: Richard Saul Wurman – Creator of TED

Richard Saul Wurman, the Creator of TED and other top conferences, Author of 90 books, Architect, and Artist, joins the show to share his journey from taking a triple course load at Penn to exploring challenging questions at age 88. Hear why he wishes he was a brain in a jar, his thoughts on being mentally sharp at his age, how to get better at listening and acronyms, how to decide what project to pursue next, and the most interesting documentary he’s ever watched. This episode covers everything from Yo-Yo Ma to telling the truth. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What would Richard’s ideal birthday party look like
• Why does he love acronyms
• What is obsidian
• Was Richard always driven by curiosity and fascination
• What’s the difference between an idea you pursue and an interesting thought
• Is Richard more different from how he was in his 40s or 20s
• How did I expect this conversation would go
• Synesthesia

Connect with Richard at Wurman.com.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Conversation with Richard Saul Wurman
  • [0:31] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:40] Connect with Richard at Wurman.com
  • [2:07] What a beginning
  • [5:18] Socrates
  • [5:43] Albert Einstein
  • [6:11] Protoplasm
  • [6:38] Why did Richard’s wife Gloria Nagy say he “wishes he was a brain in a jar”
  • [7:41] Dementia, Alzheimer’s
  • [8:26] Wild Business Growth Podcast
  • [9:03] Shoutout, March Birthdays
  • [9:16] What would Richard’s ideal birthday party look like
  • [9:31] Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
  • [10:49] Yo-Yo Ma, Frank Gehry, Moshe Safdie, Jon Kamen
  • [11:39] Carnegie Hall
  • [11:53] Disney Hall
  • [12:04] The Bilbao Effect
  • [12:17] Google
  • [12:42] Marina Bay Sands
  • [12:48] RadicalMedia, The Fog of War, Urban Observatory
  • [13:30] Firestone Estate
  • [13:43] Hydrangea
  • [13:56] Why thank you
  • [19:40] What does it mean to Richard to be 88-years-old and mentally sharp
  • [21:01] Hydrogen
  • [21:29] Franklin Institute
  • [21:43] Helium
  • [24:01] iPhones
  • [24:39] Fax Machine
  • [25:19] TED, TED Kobe, Kobe, Japan
  • [29:49] Bill Gates, John Sculley, Apple, Steve Jobs

• Richard Saul Wurman Cont’d
  • [31:08] Why does Richard love acronyms
  • [31:22] Thank you!
  • [31:57] University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Stuart Weitzman School of Design
  • [33:44] Hippies, Beatniks
  • [34:44] G. Holmes Perkins
  • [35:07] Walter Gropius, Bauhaus, Harvard University
  • [35:52] Planet Nine
  • [38:18] Synesthesia
  • [39:33] How do you decide what project to focus on next
  • [39:45] We did it
  • [40:14] Louis Kahn
  • [41:15] USC (University of Southern California), UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles)
  • [41:27] Charlie Eames
  • [42:03] Salary
  • [42:28] Too true
  • [43:02] Atlantic Richfield (ARCO)
  • [43:09] CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System)
  • [43:35] Johnson & Johnson (J&J), UnitedHealthcare, AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
  • [43:57] Kickstarter
  • [44:12] Facsimile
  • [44:47] Mortality by Richard Saul Wurman
  • [45:02] Monty Python
  • [46:23] Watson & Crick
  • [47:05] E = mc^2, Tinkertoy
  • [47:21] UnderstandingUnderstanding by Richard Saul Wurman
  • [49:00] Computational Biology
  • [50:11] What is obsidian
  • [53:07] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23
  • [53:11] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity

• Richard Saul Wurman Cont’d
  • [53:12] What’s the difference between an idea you pursue and an interesting thought
  • [54:39] Flying Anythings
  • [55:38] Was Richard always driven by curiosity and fascination
  • [57:02] Is Richard more different from how he was in his 40s or 20s
  • [57:27] Paycheck
  • [57:59] Information Anxiety by Richard Saul Wurman, Information Anxiety 2 by Richard Saul Wurman
  • [58:11] TEDMED, 1st Federal Design Assembly, AIA Conference
  • [58:21] PR (Public Relations)
  • [58:36] Guilty
  • [59:22] Amelia Island
  • [59:55] Coral Gables Museum
  • [1:00:20] Plastocene
  • [1:01:53] Cold Calling
  • [1:02:26] Zoom
  • [1:03:26] What’s the most interesting documentary Richard’s ever watched
  • [1:03:51] David Attenborough
  • [1:04:39] Hindenburg
  • [1:05:03] Mayans, Aztecs
  • [1:07:13] Information Anxiety 2 by Richard Saul Wurman, UnderstandingUnderstanding by Richard Saul Wurman, 33 by Richard Saul Wurman
  • [1:09:55] The Architect of Ideas, The Nantucket Project (TNP)
  • [1:10:35] Tommy Scott, Tom & Tom, Nantucket Nectars
  • [1:10:57] Snapple
  • [1:11:24] JetBlue
  • [1:11:32] Watch The Architect of Ideas at Wurman.com/Media
  • [1:12:32] What are Richard’s Final Thoughts
  • [1:13:55] Wealth Management
  • [1:18:04] This is not true
  • [1:19:01] How did I expect this conversation would go
  • [1:20:05] Very unique indeed
  • [1:20:34] Couldn’t resist
  • [1:20:41] Connect with Richard at Wurman.com
  • [1:21:33] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [1:21:48] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [1:21:50] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [1:21:52] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [1:21:57] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

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Thanks for listening to Richard Saul Wurman on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And send Richard a thought-provoking email. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!