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Re:Thinking with Adam GrantRe:Thinking with Adam Grant

Why your fart smells awful and how to cure it!

You’ve probably experienced a “gut feeling” before—that sense of uneasiness in your stomach that tells you something is off, but your brain hasn’t quite worked out what it is yet. But can you really trust what your gut tells you? In this episode, Adam is joined by Harvard gastroenterologist Trisha Pasricha to decode what’s really going on between your mind and your stomach. Trisha breaks down the science behind brain-gut communication and offers tips for when and how to listen to your gut when making decisions or assessing a new environment. She also seeks Adam’s advice on helping doctors empathize with patients’ pain and invites him to rethink his position on poop. Building on her book You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong, she explains what your bowel movements can tell you about your overall health, how to experience “poophoria,” and why you shouldn’t bring your smartphone to the bathroom. Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow our podcasts! Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts Fixable: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/fixable How to Be a Better Human: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-better-human ReThinking with Adam Grant: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant TED Talks Daily: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted-talks-daily TED Business: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted_business TED Health: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted-health TED Tech: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted-tech 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.

Adam GranthostTrisha Pasrichaguest
Apr 9, 20260mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 0:04

    Can you actually fight fart smell? Setting up the myth vs. reality

    1. AG

      It's possible to fight the smell of a fart. How?

  2. 0:04 – 0:19

    Why most gas is odorless: the '1% sulfur' culprit

    1. TP

      Yeah. A lot of people think it's an inevitability, but actually 99% of the gas that you release is odorless. It's only that 1% that contains sulfur that's the problem. Okay, not surprising. It's the simplest solution. Bismuth subsalicylate,

  3. 0:19 – 0:34

    The simplest fix: bismuth subsalicylate (e.g., Pepto-Bismol) to neutralize odor

    1. TP

      found in products like Pepto-Bismol, can neutralize the odor. So I don't think that we need to be, like, taking this every day the rest of our lives 'cause I actually, like, don't think we need to live with that level of embarrassment. Once you know that people on average fart 10 to 20 times

  4. 0:34 – 0:38

    Normalize the reality: how often people fart

    1. TP

      per day, you might realize you're not so different from everyone else.

    2. AG

      [laughs]

  5. 0:38 – 0:57

    Strategic use for 'high-risk' social moments: timing and expectations

    1. TP

      But I think if you have, like, a high-risk social event, like you're visiting your in-laws for Thanksgiving or you're, like, you know, in this, like, intimate work co- and you just, you, you need that for your confidence, like, go ahead and take it like a day or two beforehand, and you actually will be able to neutralize it. You have to, you have to work a little bit harder about the sounds, but you can definitely get rid of the odor.

Episode duration: 0:57

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