On Our Shared Humanity, Leadership, & System’s Change — Logan McClure Davda, CEO of TED

In this episode of Overnight Wisdom, Chisom sits down with Logan McClure Davda, CEO of TED, for a layered conversation on leadership, systems change, joy, motherhood, power, and what it means to remain human while building institutions that shape the world.

Logan reflects on her path from mission-driven work in East Africa, to Palantir, the Obama Foundation, and eventually back to TED, where she now leads one of the world’s most influential platforms for ideas. Together, they explore what systems change actually requires, why real impact is rarely the work of one heroic individual, and how ideas travel differently when they are held in community.

The conversation moves through the responsibility of platforming difficult perspectives, the need for nuance in a polarized world, the role of TED in climate and democracy work, and the challenge of building spaces where disagreement does not become dehumanization. Chisom and Logan also speak candidly about motherhood, caregiving, joy as resistance, privilege in birth, AI, imposter syndrome, and the discipline of staying grounded when the world feels overwhelming.

At its core, this is a conversation about clarity, complexity, and responsibility. What does it mean to lead without losing your humanity? How do we build for the future when we may never sit under the shade of the trees we plant? And how do we keep choosing connection in a world that keeps rewarding division?