Elise Hu

Journalist, podcaster, and media maker renowned for her work with TED, NPR, VICE News, and more

Who is Elise Hu?

Elise Hu is an American broadcast journalist who hosts the TED Talks Daily podcast and serves as host-at-large for NPR. Some key facts about her:

She spent nearly a decade at NPR, appearing regularly on All Things Considered and Morning Edition. She filed stories from more than a dozen countries as an international correspondent and opened NPR's first-ever Seoul bureau.3
She created the Gracie-award winning video series Elise Tries and helped found The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital startup.3
In 2020, she became the inaugural host of TED Talks Daily, TED's most-downloaded podcast which is downloaded one million times per day.1 2
She has won the national Edward R. Murrow and duPont Columbia awards for her journalism work.3 4
Her book "Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital" was published in May 2023, exploring South Korea's global influence in beauty.3 5
She is a University of Missouri-Columbia alum, a Council on Foreign Relations member, and on the board of Grist.3 4

As host of TED Talks Daily, Elise brings an inquiring mind and journalistic background to guide audiences and lay the foundation for each thought-provoking talk on every subject imaginable.1 2 She is known for her smart, joyful and deeply curious approach to the world.2