Body Electric, Manoush Zomorodi
Body Electric, Manoush Zomorodi
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Body Electric
The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being

Author: Manoush Zomorodi, Keith Diaz, PhD

Narrator: Keith Diaz, PhD, Manoush Zomorodi

Unabridged: 8 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/05/2026


Synopsis

From the award-winning journalist and NPR TED Radio Hour host comes a timely investigation into how screens and sitting are reshaping our bodies—and how a simple shift can change everything. This program is read by the author.

"In this spirited exploration of our relationship with technological devices, [author and narrator Manoush] Zomorodi's melodic voice beckons and inspires listeners to develop a deeper understanding of how tech devices affect our potential. " —Kirkus Reviews on Bored and Brilliant (Earphones Award winner)

In today’s world, a normal day means sitting in front of a screen for eight to ten hours. Meeting after meeting. Email after email. We leave our desks drained, overstimulated and unfocused, only to go home, sit down again, and scroll some more. The result? Headaches, back pain, restless sleep, and rising rates of preventable disease.

We know technology is breaking us down—so why can’t we break away? It’s a question that Manoush Zomorodi has always wanted to answer. As the host of the NPR's TED Radio Hour and Body Electric podcast, she has interviewed experts, conducted citizen experiments, and sought out research about how our digital lives are changing the way we think, learn, and feel.

Now, in Body Electric, she presents an eye-opening investigation into the impact technology and sedentary living has had on our bodies and brains, from breath and eyesight to blood pressure, posture, and productivity, and shares what science (and tens of thousands of participants in a groundbreaking study with Columbia University Medical Center) have taught her—it’s the small shifts, not the digital detoxes, that will make us healthier. And all we need is five minutes.

Filled with perspective-shifting data and real-life applications and tools, Body Electric is the next must-listen for fans of Four Thousand Weeks and The Anxious Generation, and anyone else feeling trapped by their technology.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

About Manoush Zomorodi

Manoush Zomorodi is an award-winning journalist and host of NPR's TED Radio Hour. Her "Body Electric" project was one of the largest public health studies of its kind. She has received two Gracie Awards for Best Radio Host and a Webby Award for Best Podcast Host. Her first book, Bored and Brilliant was published in 2017. Manoush lives in Brooklyn with her family, is half Swiss and half Persian, and loves walking her Havanese dog.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ashley on April 06, 2026

Favorite book I've read all year so far hands down! This book is so eye opening to the way technology negatively affects our well-being and health. Each chapter is built around real-world examples, which really helped make the info both easy to follow and practical to apply. There are so many little......more

Goodreads review by Holly on April 12, 2026

This was very inspiring, transformative, life-changing. We see how the digital age costs us our physical and mental health, not only just using screens but how sedentary we have become. Using plenty of scientific evidence, Manoush advocates for 5-minute “movement breaks” in between 30 minutes of sit......more

Goodreads review by Lori on April 18, 2026

Body Electric is an easily accessible, evidence-based book that traces how human bodies adapted to different economic eras and how we evolved from being nimble hunter-gatherers to sedentary laptop users. It explains that while technological changes and advancements have made life more convenient and......more

Goodreads review by Jeff on March 02, 2026

Clarion Call For Post-COVID Society To Move More. In this text - based on a 2023 podcast and experiment Zomorodi helped orchestrate - the central point could not be more clear: Virtually all of us, particularly among white collar workers, in this post-COVID age need to move more. A lot more. To the......more

Goodreads review by Keely on February 08, 2026

In her earlier book Bored and Brilliant, Manoush Zomorodi explored how stepping away from our screens can activate our brains' default mode, helping us think more clearly and creatively. In Body Electric she examines the intersection between technology and human physicality--specifically, our need f......more


Quotes

"A wonderfully inspiring and intensely practical exploration of how technology took us out of our bodies, and how we can learn to inhabit them again -- thereby transforming not only our physical health, but our creativity, productivity, relationships, and the state of our souls."
—Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Meditations for Mortals and Four Thousand Weeks

“Manoush Zomorodi explains with clarity and wit how our tech-filled lives are draining our energy and offers actionable advice for strategic disconnection—without forcing you to give up your phone or TV time. Body Electric will help you reclaim focus, health, and attention at work, at home, and even with your kids. Engaging and essential reading for the digital age!”
—Dan Harris, New York Times bestselling author and host of the 10% Happier podcast

"Body Electric is a hard book to put down. (But you’ll learn soon you must, even for a few minutes.) Packed with eye-opening research on the life-changing benefits of moving our bodies, and a raft of practical tactics to get us going, it’s a compelling, necessary and hopeful read for our busy, burned out, overwhelming and tech-addicted times. This book will make you want to move!"
Brigid Schulte, New York Times bestselling author of Over Work and director of The Better Life Lab at New America

"Body Electric not only brilliantly unpacks the silent toll our screens are taking on our minds and bodies but also offers a science-backed path toward reclaiming our well-being. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to build a healthier, more intentional relationship with technology."
—Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of The Happiness Lab podcast

"We don't have to sacrifice our health to live as digital citizens. Body Electric encourages us to use bodily health as a first step to demanding a digital life that respects our psychological, relational, and personal health. It's a call to reclaim more than our health—it's a call to reclaim our agency."
—Shelly Turkle, New York Times bestselling author of Reclaiming Conversation and founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self