Celeste Headlee

Celeste Headlee is an American journalist, author, radio host, musician and public speaker with a career spanning more than 20 years. She is best known for her work on public radio, for her books on conversation, race and wellbeing, and for her TEDx talk “10 Ways to Have Better Conversations.” Her breadth of experience enables her to speak on difficult and often avoided topics with clarity, empathy and actionable insight.

She studied vocal performance at Northern Arizona University, followed by a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan. Her early professional years involved hosting, reporting and producing on public radio including Detroit Public Radio and NPR. She later hosted On Second Thought on Georgia Public Broadcasting, co-hosted The Takeaway and contributed regularly to NPR, PBS and other national media outlets.

Celeste is the author of several bestselling books, including “We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter,” “Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing and Underliving,” and “Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism and How to Do It.” Her work explores how burnout, productivity myths, race and human connection impact modern lives. She has been recognised with awards in journalism and public speaking, and her TEDx talks have gained tens of millions of views.

As a speaker, Celeste combines journalistic rigour with a passion for human connection. She excels at transforming complex issues such as race, identity and communication breakdowns into conversations that matter. Her style is warm, grounded and deeply thoughtful. She pushes audiences not just to think differently but to change how they talk, listen, connect and practice empathy. Her talks are especially valuable for organisations looking to build inclusive cultures, improve communication, reduce burnout and engage with diversity in a meaningful way.