What Pico Iyer has said about Silence and solitude
4 quotes · 1 episode · Nov 6, 2026
Pico Iyer, British-born travel writer and essayist, author of Aflame: Learning from Silence, has been quoted on Silence and solitude 4 times in 1 episode of TED Radio Hour, most recently on November 6, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Iyer says the 1990 fire that destroyed his home ultimately saved him by letting him rebuild a simpler life.
“And so in certain ways, the fire actually saved me from myself and gave me the opportunity to start again”
TED Radio Hour: Escaping the modern world and your noisy mind (Nov 6, 2026) · Listen from 2:38
Iyer argues that what matters in escape is not the destination but what one is escaping from.
“When I think of escape, it's not so important where you're escaping to, but what you're escaping from”
TED Radio Hour: Escaping the modern world and your noisy mind (Nov 6, 2026) · Listen from 8:22
Iyer says he seeks escape not just from worldly noise but from the chatter in his own head.
“So it's not just the noise in the world I'm trying to get away from, but it's the chatter in my head”
TED Radio Hour: Escaping the modern world and your noisy mind (Nov 6, 2026) · Listen from 9:53
Iyer says that when he feels he lacks time for a retreat, that is precisely when he needs one.
“And if I hear myself say that, that means that's the time I really need it”
TED Radio Hour: Escaping the modern world and your noisy mind (Nov 6, 2026) · Listen from 11:23
Episodes
Escaping the modern world and your noisy mindTED Radio Hour · Nov 6, 2026 · 50 min
Manoush Zomorodi talks with Pico Iyer, Sarah Edmondson and Lehua Kamalu, and airs Shonda Rhimes's talk, about escape, silence, cults, voyaging and burnout.
Pico Iyer on other topics
- Digital distraction · 1 quote