How you can do more for others with Rutger Bregman | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED

What are you doing to make the world around you better? Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian and the author of the new book Moral Ambition. He joins Adam live in the Authors@Wharton series to discuss how to stop capable people from wasting their talents, lessons from great moral pioneers, and what it means to be a good person. They also consider how parents can encourage moral ambition in kids, debate the difference between cowardice and helplessness, and share actions you can take to make a difference. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Rutger Bregman (Instagram: @rutgerbregman | Website: https://rutgerbregman.com/) Links Moral Ambition Fellowships Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:47 Morality and ambition 02:45 Abolitionism 04:10 How to balance your ambitions 07:08 How do you know you're doing good? 11:08 Investing in your moral ambition 15:30 Moral responsibility vs. sanctimony 17:10 Fighting learned helplessness 23:58 Guilt is an important tool 25:03 Guilt vs. shame 28:20 Lightning round 29:06 Building the movement 30:48 How you can start making a difference 32:20 Credits

Rutger BregmanguestAdam Granthost

Aug 29, 202532mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 29, 2025
Duration: 32m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

What are you doing to make the world around you better? Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian and the author of the new book Moral Ambition. He joins Adam live in the Authors@Wharton series to discuss how to stop capable people from wasting their talents, lessons from great moral pioneers, and what it means to be a good person. They also consider how parents can encourage moral ambition in kids, debate the difference between cowardice and helplessness, and share actions you can take to make a difference. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Rutger Bregman (Instagram: @rutgerbregman | Website: https://rutgerbregman.com/) Links Moral Ambition Fellowships Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:47 Morality and ambition 02:45 Abolitionism 04:10 How to balance your ambitions 07:08 How do you know you're doing good? 11:08 Investing in your moral ambition 15:30 Moral responsibility vs. sanctimony 17:10 Fighting learned helplessness 23:58 Guilt is an important tool 25:03 Guilt vs. shame 28:20 Lightning round 29:06 Building the movement 30:48 How you can start making a difference 32:20 Credits

SPEAKERS

Rutger Bregman
guest
Dutch historian and bestselling author, known for "Humankind" and for co-founding The School for Moral Ambition.
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and Wharton professor who hosts the ReThinking podcast.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Rutger Bregman and Adam Grant, How you can do more for others with Rutger Bregman | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED explores rutger Bregman on redirecting ambition into meaningful moral impact Bregman argues that moral progress has historically been driven by “moral ambition,” a blend of high ideals and execution-oriented ambition exemplified by effective movements like British abolitionism.

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