Credit: Photographer: Ryan Lash/TED A.J. Jacobs: What's The Power Of A Simple Thank-You? Feb 19, 2021 About the Episode When A.J. Jacobs set out to thank everyone who made his morning cup of coffee, he realized the chain of thank-you's was endless. This hour, Jacobs shares ideas on gratitude â and how to make it count. About A.J. Jacobs A.J. Jacobs is an author and journalist, best known for writing about his lifestyle experiments. He is also editor at large at Esquire magazine, a commentator on NPR and a columnist for Mental Floss magazine. Jacobs' works chronicle his self-experiments, which have involved taking a vow of total honesty, following the Bible literally for a year, and reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey. In addition to his books, Jacobs has written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine and Dental Economics magazine.