Anne Madden
Microbiologist and founder and chief scientist of the Microbe Institute
Anne Madden (Microbiologist and founder and chief scientist of the Microbe Institute) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Microbiology, Lactic acid yeast in sour beer brewing, Plastic-degrading microbes.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Microbiology
Madden worries about microbes lost to extinction through habitat destruction such as clear-cutting forests.
“what keeps me up at night sometimes is thinking about all the microbes that have gone extinct”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 17:07
Madden predicts microbes will solve more human problems over the next century.
“the next 100 years will feature these microscopic creatures solving more of our problems”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 10:56
Madden estimates scientists know only a small fraction of microbial species.
“Maybe we know 1 to 10% of what these species are”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 2:36
Madden argues that the diversity of microbes in homes represents a vast source of solutions to human problems.
“It is 100,000 new sources of solutions to human problems”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 5:27
Lactic acid yeast in sour beer brewing
Madden says the wasp-derived yeast makes sour beer in weeks and its use is now commonplace.
“make a sour beer in record time, just a few weeks”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 10:20
Madden says nearly all commercial beer comes from just three microorganism species.
“all commercially produced beer you've ever had likely came from one of only three microorganism species”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 9:54
Plastic-degrading microbes
Madden says scientists have already found microbes adept at breaking down even long-lasting plastics, and AI is being used to enhance their enzymes.
“scientists have already found microbes that are incredibly adept at breaking down plastics, even the plastics that seem to last forever”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 12:08
Antibiotic discovery
Madden recounts that her pharmaceutical team found slow-growing soil microbes producing novel antibiotics, though not yet commercialized.
“these bizarre, slow-growing, tenacious little critters were creating novel antibiotics. And though they haven't been commercialized yet, we were successful in finding them”
TED Radio Hour: The shocking power of tiny things (Oct 9, 2026) · Listen from 7:12
Appearances
The shocking power of tiny thingsTED Radio Hour · Oct 9, 2026 · 50 min
Manoush Zomorodi and TED speakers Anne Madden, Lera Boroditsky, YeYoon Kim and Bart Weetjens explore how tiny things—microbes, words, moments, rats—wield outsized power.
Often appears with
- Manoush Zomorodi · 1 shared episode
- Lera Boroditsky · 1 shared episode
- YeYoon Kim · 1 shared episode
- Bart Weetjens · 1 shared episode