Brené Brown

Vulnerability researcher, storyteller
Dr. Brené Brown studies courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy.

Why you should listen

Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston, where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work. She is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.

Brown has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. She's the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of ImperfectionDaring GreatlyRising StrongBraving the Wilderness and Dare to Lead, which is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadership.

Brown hosts the Unlocking Us podcast, and her 2010 TED Talk, "The power of vulnerability," is one of the most viewed talks in the world. She is the first researcher to have a filmed lecture on Netflix; The Call to Courage special debuted on the streaming service in April 2019. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Steve. They have two children, Ellen and Charlie. 

Brené Brown’s TED talks

More news and ideas from Brené Brown

Live from TED2020

Conversations on social progress: Week 3 of TED2020

June 3, 2020

For week 3 of TED2020, global leaders in technology, vulnerability research and activism gathered for urgent conversations on how to foster connection, channel energy into concrete social action and work to end systemic racism in the United States. Below, a recap of their insights. Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital minister for social innovation Big idea: Digital […]

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In Brief

A new malaria vaccine begins testing in Malawi and more TED news

May 23, 2019

The TED community is brimming with new projects and updates. Below, a few highlights. Malaria vaccine begins wide-scale testing in Malawi. RTS,S — the only malaria vaccine to successfully pass clinical trials — will be made available to 360,000 children in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana in the first round of implementation testing. Immunologist Faith Osier […]

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