TED Talks Daily

Want to change the world? Start by being brave enough to care | Cleo Wade

08 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Artist and poet Cleo Wade recites a moving poem about being an advocate for love and acceptance in a time when both seem in short supply. Woven betwee...

Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How do we improve in the face of complexity? Atul Gawande has studied this question with a surgeon's precision. He shares what he's found to be the ke...

How to get back to work after a career break | Carol Fishman Cohen

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you've taken a career break and are now looking to return to the workforce, would you consider taking an internship? Career reentry expert Carol Fi...

Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong | Johann Hari

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What really causes addiction -- to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail ...

The human skills we need in an unpredictable world | Margaret Heffernan

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The more we on technology to make us efficient, the fewer skills we have to confront the unexpected, says writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan. ...

What it was like to grow up under China's one-child policy | Nanfu Wang

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

China's one-child policy ended in 2015, but we're just beginning to understand what it was like to live under the program, says TED Fellow and documen...

How policewomen make communities safer | Ivonne Roman

30 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Less 13 percent of police officers in the United States are women -- despite their proven effectiveness in diffusing violent situations and reducing t...

Why governments should prioritize well-being | Nicola Sturgeon

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2018, Scotland, Iceland and New Zealand established the network of Wellbeing Economy Governments to challenge the acceptance of GDP as the ultimate...

The world's "Third Pole" is melting away. Here's how we can stop it from disappearing | Tshering Tobgay

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is the world's third-largest repository of ice, after the North and South Poles -- and if current melting rates continu...

When in life are you most likely to succeed? | Albert-László Barabási

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Backed by mathematical analysis, network theorist Albert-László Barabási explores the hidden mechanisms that drive success -- no matter your field ...

The architectural wonder of impermanent cities | Rahul Mehrotra

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Every 12 years, a megacity springs up in India for the Kumbh Mela religious festival -- what's built in ten weeks is completely disassembled in one. W...

What explains the rise of humans? | Yuval Noah Harari

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Seventy thousand years ago, our human ancestors were insignificant animals, just minding their own business in a corner of Africa with all the other a...

How we can improve maternal healthcare -- before, during and after pregnancy | Elizabeth Howell

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Shocking, but true: the United States has the highest rate of deaths for new mothers of any developed country -- and 60 percent of them are preventabl...

A new way to get every child ready for kindergarten | Claudia Miner

17 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Early education is critical to children's success -- but millions of kids in the United States still don't have access to programs that prepare them t...

The fundamental right to seek asylum | Melanie Nezer

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Refugee and immigrants rights attorney Melanie Nezer shares an urgently needed historical perspective on the crisis at the southern US border, showing...

The fascinating places scientists aren't exploring | Ella Al-Shamahi

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're not doing frontline exploratory science in a huge portion of the world -- the places governments deem too hostile or disputed. What might we be ...

How I'm using film to end honor killings in Pakistan | Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

12 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Film has the power to change the way we think about ourselves and our culture. Documentarian and TED Fellow Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy uses it to fight vio...

How we're honoring people overlooked by history | Amy Padnani

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Since its founding in 1851, the "New York Times" has published thousands of obituaries -- for heads of state, famous celebrities, even the inventor of...

Why it's worth listening to people we disagree with | Zachary R. Wood

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We get stronger, not weaker, by engaging with ideas and people we disagree with, says Zachary R. Wood. In an important talk about finding common groun...

The price of shame | Monica Lewinsky

06 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop," says Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, she says, “I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a glo...

3 ways to measure your adaptability -- and how to improve it | Natalie Fratto

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When venture investor Natalie Fratto is determining which start-up founder to support, she doesn't just look for intelligence or charisma; she looks f...

American bipartisan politics can be saved — here's how | Bob Inglis

04 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Former Republican member of the U.S. Congress Bob Inglis shares an optimistic message about how conservatives can lead on climate change and other pre...

A vision for the future of Sierra Leone | Julius Maada Bio

03 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Julius Maada Bio first seized political power in Sierra Leone in 1996, he did so to improve the lives of its citizens. But he soon realized that ...

Space traffic is our next wicked environmental problem | Moriba Jah

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"Most of what we send into outer space never comes back," says astrodynamicist and TED Fellow Moriba Jah. In this forward-thinking talk, Jah describes...

3 lessons of revolutionary love in a time of rage | Valarie Kaur

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What's the antidote to rising nationalism, polarization and hate? In this inspiring, poetic talk, Valarie Kaur asks us to reclaim love as a revolution...

My wish: Protect our oceans | Sylvia Earle

29 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle shares astonishing images of the ocean -- and shocking stats about its rapid decline -- as she makes her TED P...

The next big thing is coming from the Bronx, again | Jon Gray

28 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"The hood is good," says Jon Gray of the Bronx, New York-based creative collective Ghetto Gastro. Working at the intersection of food, design and art,...

You are not alone in your loneliness | Jonny Sun

27 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Being open and vulnerable with your loneliness, sadness and fear can help you find comfort and feel less alone, says writer and artist Jonny Sun. In a...

How to ask for help -- and get a "yes" | Heidi Grant

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Asking for help is tough. But to get through life, you have to do it all the time. So how do you get comfortable asking? In this actionable talk, soci...

Why we need to fight misinformation about vaccines | Ethan Lindenberger

25 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ethan Lindenberger never got vaccinated as a kid. So one day, he went on Reddit and asked a simple question: "Where do I go to get vaccinated?" The po...

Why kids need to learn about gender and sexuality | Lindsay Amer

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lindsay Amer is the creator of "Queer Kid Stuff," an educational video series that breaks down complex ideas around gender and sexuality through songs...

What will future jobs look like? | Andrew McAfee

22 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Economist Andrew McAfee suggests that, yes, probably, droids will take our jobs -- or at least the kinds of jobs we know now. In this far-seeing talk,...

The power of introverts | Susan Cain

20 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain arg...

How synthetic biology could wipe out humanity -- and how we can stop it | Rob Reid

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The world-changing promise of synthetic biology and gene editing has a dark side. In this far-seeing talk, author and entrepreneur Rob Reid reviews th...

5 challenges we could solve by designing new proteins | David Baker

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Proteins are remarkable molecular machines: they digest your food, fire your neurons, power your immune system and so much more. What if we could desi...

How AI can save our humanity | Kai-Fu Lee

13 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

AI is massively transforming our world, but there's one thing it cannot do: love. In a visionary talk, computer scientist Kai-Fu Lee details how the U...

Why we get mad -- and why it's healthy | Ryan Martin

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Anger researcher Ryan Martin draws from a career studying what makes people mad to explain some of the cognitive processes behind anger -- and why a h...

3 steps to turn everyday get-togethers into transformative gatherings | Priya Parker

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why do some gatherings take off and others don't? Author Priya Parker shares three easy steps to turn your parties, dinners, meetings and holidays int...

The mysterious microbes living deep inside the earth -- and how they could help humanity | Karen Lloyd

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The ground beneath your feet is home to a massive, mysterious world of microbes -- some of which have been in the earth's crust for hundreds of thousa...

An ingenious proposal for scaling up marine protection | Mark Tercek

08 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Island and coastal nations need to protect their waters in order for our oceans to stay healthy. But they often have lots of debt and aren't able to p...

The most detailed map of galaxies, black holes and stars ever made | Juna Kollmeier

07 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have been studying the stars for thousands of years, but astrophysicist Juna Kollmeier is on a special mission: creating the most detailed 3-D ...

The healing power of reading | Michelle Kuo

06 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Reading and writing can be acts of courage that bring us closer to others and ourselves. Author Michelle Kuo shares how teaching reading skills to her...

The lies our culture tells us about what matters -- and a better way to live | David Brooks

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our society is in the midst of a social crisis, says op-ed columnist and author David Brooks: we're trapped in a valley of isolation and fragmentation...

"Everything happens for a reason" -- and other lies I've loved | Kate Bowler

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In life's toughest moments, how do you go on living? Kate Bowler has been exploring this question ever since she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at...

The art of asking | Amanda Palmer

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Don't make people pay for music, says Amanda Palmer: Let them. In a passionate talk that begins in her days as a street performer (drop a dollar in th...

The story we tell about millennials -- and who we leave out | Reniqua Allen

31 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Millennials are now the largest, most diverse adult population in the US -- but far too often, they're reduced to the worn-out stereotype of lazy, ent...

What it takes to launch a telescope | Erika Hamden

30 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

TED Fellow and astronomer Erika Hamden leads the team building FIREBall, a telescope that hangs from a giant balloon at the very edge of space and loo...

This bacteria eats plastic | Morgan Vague

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Humans produce 300 million tons of new plastic each year -- yet, despite our best efforts, less than 10 percent of it ends up being recycled. Is there...

My descent into America's neo-Nazi movement -- and how I got out | Christian Picciolini

27 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At 14, Christian Picciolini went from naïve teenager to white supremacist -- and soon, the leader of the first neo-Nazi skinhead gang in the United S...

What prosecutors and incarcerated people can learn from each other | Jarrell Daniels

24 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks before his release from prison, Jarrell Daniels took a class where incarcerated men learned alongside prosecutors. By simply sitting toget...

My identity is a superpower -- not an obstacle | America Ferrera

23 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director and activist America Ferrera. Tracing the contours of her c...

The next global agricultural revolution | Bruce Friedrich

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Meat production is destroying the planet and jeopardizing our health -- but people aren't going to eat less meat unless we give them alternatives that...

Mosquitos, malaria and education | Bill Gates

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world's biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes, he asks u...

Roger McNamee takes on big tech

16 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at TED2019 for the TED Interview podcast: Roger McNamee -- early investor in Facebook turned outspoken critic -- sits down for an extend...

What you should know about vaping and e-cigarettes | Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

E-cigarettes and vapes have exploded in popularity in the last decade, especially among youth and young adults -- from 2011 to 2015, e-cigarette use a...

If I should have a daughter ... | Sarah Kay

14 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing...

The surprisingly charming science of your gut | Giulia Enders

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder how we poop? Learn about the gut -- the system where digestion (and a whole lot more) happens -- as doctor and author Giulia Enders takes ...

The case for having kids | Wajahat Ali

09 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The global fertility rate, or the number of children per woman, has halved over the last 50 years. What will having fewer babies mean for the future o...

The crisis of leadership -- and a new way forward | Halla Tómasdóttir and Bryn Freedman

08 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What should modern leadership look like? Entrepreneur and former Icelandic presidential candidate Halla Tómasdóttir thinks global leaders need to ch...

How to revive your belief in democracy | Eric Liu

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Civic evangelist Eric Liu shares a powerful way to rekindle the spirit of citizenship and the belief that democracy still works. Join him for a trip t...

How to transform apocalypse fatigue into action on global warming | Per Espen Stoknes

03 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The biggest obstacle to dealing with climate disruptions lies between your ears, says psychologist and economist Per Espen Stokes. He's spent years st...

How supercharged plants could slow climate change | Joanne Chory

02 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Plants are amazing machines -- for millions of years, they've taken carbon dioxide out of the air and stored it underground, keeping a crucial check o...

Why we ignore obvious problems -- and how to act on them | Michele Wucker

01 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we often neglect big problems, like the financial crisis and climate change, until it's too late? Policy strategist Michele Wucker urges us to ...

How to recover from activism burnout | Yana Buhrer Tavanier

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When you're feeling burned out as an activist, what's the best way to bounce back? TED Senior Fellow Yana Buhrer Tavanier explores the power of "playt...

How I broke comedy | Hannah Gadsby

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hannah Gadsby's groundbreaking special "Nanette" broke comedy. In a talk about truth and purpose, she shares three ideas and three contradictions. (Or...

How generational stereotypes hold us back at work | Leah Georges

24 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, Gen Z -- we're all in the workforce together. How are our assumptions about each other...

Can we cure genetic diseases by rewriting DNA? | David R. Liu

23 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In a story of scientific discovery, chemical biologist David R. Liu shares a breakthrough: his lab's development of base editors that can rewrite DNA....

A personal air-quality tracker that lets you know what you're breathing | Romain Lacombe

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How often do you think about the air you're breathing? Probably not enough, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Romain Lacombe. He introduces Flow: a per...

How hip-hop helps us understand science | Danielle N. Lee

19 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1990s, a scandal rocked evolutionary biology: scientists discovered that songbirds -- once thought to be strictly monogamous -- engaged i...

How Twitter needs to change | Jack Dorsey

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Can Twitter be saved? In a wide-ranging conversation with TED's Chris Anderson and Whitney Pennington Rodgers, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey discusses the f...

Facebook's role in Brexit -- and the threat to democracy | Carole Cadwalladr

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In an unmissable talk, journalist Carole Cadwalladr digs into one of the most perplexing events in recent times: the UK's super-close 2016 vote to lea...

Empower a girl, transform a community | Kakenya Ntaiya

15 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kakenya Ntaiya turned her dream of getting an education into a movement to empower vulnerable girls and bring an end to harmful traditional practices ...

3 lessons on starting a movement from a self-defense trailblazer | Rana Abdelhamid

12 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At 16,Rana Abdelhamid started teaching self-defense to women and girls in her neighborhood. Almost 10 years later, these community classes have grown ...

How risk-taking changes a teenager's brain | Kashfia Rahman

11 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why do teenagers sometimes make outrageous, risky choices? Do they suddenly become reckless, or are they just going through a natural phase? To find o...

Wearable tech that helps you navigate by touch | Keith Kirkland

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Keith Kirkland is developing wearable tech that communicates information using only the sense of touch. He's trying to figure out: What gestures and v...

How to lead a conversation between people who disagree | Eve Pearlman

08 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In a world deeply divided, how do we have hard conversations with nuance, curiosity, respect? Veteran reporter Eve Pearlman introduces "dialogue journ...

An AI smartwatch that detects seizures and saves lives | Rosalind Picard

05 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Every year worldwide, more than 50,000 otherwise healthy people with epilepsy suddenly die. These deaths may be largely preventable, says AI researche...

What refugees need to resettle | Muhammed Idris

04 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Every minute, 20 people are newly displaced by climate change, economic crisis and political instability, according to the UNHCR. How can we help them...

A Parkland teacher's homework for us all | Diane Wolk-Rogers

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Diane Wolk-Rogers teaches history at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, site of a horrific school shooting on Valentine's Day ...

How does income affect childhood brain development? | Kimberly Noble

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Neuroscientist and pediatrician Kimberly Noble is leading the Baby's First Years study: the first-ever randomized study of how family income changes c...

How sci-fi inspired us to go to the Moon | Alexander MacDonald

01 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Long before we had rocket scientists, the idea of spaceflight traveled from mind to mind across generations. With great visuals, author and NASA econo...

Can we regenerate heart muscle with stem cells? | Chuck Murry

29 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The heart is one of the least regenerative organs in the human body -- a big factor in making heart failure the number one killer worldwide. What if w...

A short history of trans people's long fight for equality | Samy Nour Younes

28 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Transgender activist and TED Resident Samy Nour Younes shares the remarkable, centuries-old history of the trans community, filled with courageous sto...

To detect diseases earlier, let's speak bacteria's secret language | Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi

27 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bacteria "talk" to each other, sending chemical information to coordinate attacks. What if we could listen to what they were saying? Nanophysicist Fat...

A new class of drug that could prevent depression and PTSD | Rebecca Brachman

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Current treatments for depression and PTSD only suppress symptoms, if they work at all. What if we could prevent these diseases from developing altoge...

The surprising habits of original thinkers | Adam Grant

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How do creative people come up with great ideas? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take ...

What's killing bees -- and how to save them | Noah Wilson-Rich

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bees are dying off in record numbers, but ecologist Noah Wilson-Rich is interested in something else: Where are bees healthy and thriving? To find out...

3 lessons on success from an Arab businesswoman | Leila Hoteit

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Professional Arab women juggle more responsibilities than their male counterparts, and they face more cultural rigidity than Western women. What can t...

The secret to scientific discoveries? Making mistakes | Phil Plait

18 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Plait was on the Hubble Space Telescope team that discovered the first exoplanet ever detected -- until they realized they'd made a mistake. What...

How to keep human biases out of AI | Kriti Sharma

15 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

AI algorithms make important decisions about you all the time -- like how much you should pay for car insurance or whether or not you get that job int...

Our dangerous quest to perfect ourselves | Thomas Curran

14 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Social psychologist Thomas Curran explores how the pressure to be perfect -- in our social media feeds, in school, at work -- is driving a rise in men...

Where did the Moon come from? A new theory | Sarah T. Stewart

13 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Earth and Moon are like identical twins, made up of the exact same materials -- which is really strange, since no other celestial bodies we know o...

The creative power of misfits | WorkLife with Adam Grant

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harness the power of frustrated people to shake up the status quo -- just like Pixar did. This episode is made possible with the support of Bonobos, A...

The "dementia village" that's redefining elder care | Yvonne van Amerongen

11 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How would you prefer to spend the last years of your life: in a sterile, hospital-like institution or in a village with a supermarket, pub, theater an...

We should all be feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

08 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We teach girls that they can have ambition, but not too much ... to be successful, but not too successful, or they'll threaten men, says author Chimam...

The most powerful woman you've never heard of | T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone's heard of Martin Luther King Jr. But do you know the woman Dr. King called "the architect of the civil rights movement," Septima Clark? The ...

How we can store digital data in DNA | Dina Zielinski

06 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From floppy disks to thumb drives, every method of storing data eventually becomes obsolete. What if we could find a way to store all the world's data...

A bold idea to replace politicians | César Hidalgo

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

CésarHidalgo has a radical suggestion for fixing our broken political system: automate it! In this provocative talk, he outlines a bold idea to bypas...

How I'm making bricks out of ashes and rubble in Gaza | Majd Mashharawi

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Majd Mashharawi was walking through her war-torn neighborhood in Gaza when an idea flashed in her mind: What if she could take the rubble and transfor...

How a new species of ancestors is changing our theory of human evolution | Juliet Brophy

01 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013, a treasure trove of unusual fossils were uncovered in a cave in South Africa, and researchers soon realized: these were the remains of a new ...