The debate about masculinity needs less drama, more pragmatism

VPM | By Manoush Zomorodi, Rachel Faulkner White, Avery Keatley and Sanaz Meshkinpour

Published May 29, 2026 at 2:01 PM EDT

What does it mean to be a man today? Author Richard Reeves says if we want to create a better path for men, we have to start to acknowledging the unique issues they face.

About Richard Reeves

Richard Reeves is a policy researcher, author and the founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. He is the author of Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It, and Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It.

This episode of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Rachel Faulkner White and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour and Manoush Zomorodi.

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Richard Reeves

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Manoush Zomorodi

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

See stories by Manoush Zomorodi