[1] The anonymous speakers included a doctor who believed she killed a patient; a Silicon Valley executive who experienced a mental breakdown; a yoga instructor who unleashed pepper spray in a department store; and a woman in a violent marriage who invented a ritual that she believes saved her life.

In an August 2017 interview, Triff told Fast Company "Many of the ideas we're seeing are based on personal experience, from people with vulnerability at home or in the workplace.

Production of the series was completed through a collaboration between TED, Audible and WaitWhat, the media company founded by Triff and Cohen.

[5] Each episode of Sincerely, X features a talk, given anonymously in the privacy of a recording studio, and heard for the first time on the series.

It gets listeners to talk about often-taboo topics, including stories about mental health issues and professional burnout.

"[10] The Financial Times notes that the series was developed natively for audio, and this is evident in the talks: "There is a measured intimacy in the telling of these stories that would appear drowned out on stage."

Pause for a minute, and consider what it took for her to get here: rounds of telephone interviews, edits and invasive fact-checking of her story; the journey to TED's New York studio; time spent learning her script off by heart on the request of producers.