TED Talks Daily
Episodes
A doctor's case for medical marijuana | David Casarett
09 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Physician David Casarett was tired of hearing hype and half-truths around medical marijuana, so he put on his skeptic's hat and investigated on his ow...
Want to be more creative? Go for a walk | Marily Oppezzo
08 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When trying to come up with a new idea, we all have times when we get stuck. But according to research by behavioral and learning scientist Marily Opp...
The gift and power of emotional courage | Susan David
06 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and ...
There's more to life than being happy | Emily Esfahani Smith
31 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there's a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes, says writer Emily Esfahani Smith, but ha...
A black man goes undercover in the alt-right | Theo E.J. Wilson
30 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In an unmissable talk about race and politics in America, Theo E.J. Wilson tells the story of becoming Lucius25, white supremacist lurker, and the une...
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable | Luvvie Ajayi
27 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Luuvie Ajayi isn't afraid to speak her mind or to be the one dissenting voice in a crowd, and neither should you. "Your silence serves no one," says t...
How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps | Christina Wallace
24 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Let's face it, online dating can suck. So many potential people, so much time wasted -- is it even worth it? Podcaster and entrepreneur Christina Wall...
How AI is making it easier to diagnose disease | Pratik Shah
24 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Today's AI algorithms require tens of thousands of expensive medical images to detect a patient's disease. What if we could drastically reduce the amo...
Why doctors are offering free tax prep in their waiting rooms | Lucy Marcil
23 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
More than 90 percent of children in the US see a doctor at least once a year, which means countless hours spent in waiting rooms for parents. What if ...
How to train employees to have difficult conversations | Tamekia MizLadi Smith
20 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's time to invest in face-to-face training that empowers employees to have difficult conversations, says Tamekia MizLadi Smith. In a witty, provocat...
Where are all the aliens? | Stephen Webb
19 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The universe is incredibly old, astoundingly vast and populated by trillions of planets -- so where are all the aliens? Astronomer Stephen Webb has an...
What the Russian Revolution would have looked like on social media | Mikhail Zygar
18 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
History is written by the victors, as the saying goes -- but what would it look like if it was written by everyone? Journalist and TED Fellow Mikhail ...
What your smart devices know (and share) about you | Kashmir Hill and Surya Mattu
18 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Once your "smart" appliances can talk to you, who else are they talking to? Kashmir Hill and Surya Mattu wanted to find out -- so they outfitted Hill'...
The power of diversity within yourself | Rebeca Hwang
17 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Rebeca Hwang has spent a lifetime juggling identities -- Korean heritage, Argentinian upbringing, education in the United States -- and for a long tim...
The mission to create a searchable database of Earth's surface | Will Marshall
16 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could search the surface of the Earth the same way you search the internet? Will Marshall and his team at Planet use the world's largest f...
How to have better political conversations | Robb Willer
13 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Robb Willer studies the forces that unite and divide us. As a social psychologist, he researches how moral values -- typically a source of division --...
An honest look at the personal finance crisis | Elizabeth White
12 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of baby boomers are moving into their senior years with empty pockets and declining choices to earn a living. And right behind them is a youn...
A new way to monitor vital signs (that can see through walls) | Dina Katabi
12 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At MIT, Dina Katabi and her team are working on a bold new way to monitor patients' vital signs in a hospital (or even at home), without wearables or ...
How to build synthetic DNA and send it across the internet | Dan Gibson
11 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Biologist Dan Gibson edits and programs DNA, just like coders program a computer. But his "code" creates life, giving scientists the power to convert ...
How we study the microbes living in your gut | Dan Knights
10 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There are about a hundred trillion microbes living inside your gut -- protecting you from infection, aiding digestion and regulating your immune syste...
How farming could employ Africa's young workforce -- and help build peace | Kola Masha
10 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Africa's youth is coming of age rapidly, but job growth on the continent isn't keeping up. The result: financial insecurity and, in some cases, a turn...
The rapid growth of the Chinese internet -- and where it's headed | Gary Liu
09 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Chinese internet has grown at a staggering pace -- it now has more users than the combined populations of the US, UK, Russia, Germany, France and ...
A crash course in organic chemistry | Jakob Magolan
06 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jakob Magolan is here to change your perception of organic chemistry. In an accessible talk packed with striking graphics, he teaches us the basics wh...
Hamilton vs. Madison and the birth of American partisanship | Noah Feldman
04 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The divisiveness plaguing American politics today is nothing new, says constitutional law scholar Noah Feldman. In fact, it dates back to the early da...
How we're saving one of Earth's last wild places | Steve Boyes
03 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Navigating territorial hippos and active minefields, TED Fellow Steve Boyes and a team of scientists have been traveling through the Okavango Delta, A...
Why teens confess to crimes they didn't commit | Lindsay Malloy
03 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why do juveniles falsely confess to crimes? What makes them more vulnerable than adults to this shocking, counterintuitive phenomenon? Through the len...
The tiny creature that secretly powers the planet | Penny Chisholm
02 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Oceanographer Penny Chisholm tells the story of a tiny ocean creature you've probably never heard of: Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosyntheti...
How autonomous flying taxis could change the way you travel | Rodin Lyasoff
29 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Flight is about to get a lot more personal, says aviation entrepreneur Rodin Lyasoff. In this visionary talk, he imagines a new golden age of air trav...
The agony of opioid withdrawal -- and what doctors should tell patients about it | Travis Rieder
28 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The United States accounts for five percent of the world's population but consumes almost 70 percent of the total global opioid supply, creating an ep...
Bridges should be beautiful | Ian Firth
27 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bridges need to be functional, safe and durable, but they should also be elegant and beautiful, says structural engineer Ian Firth. In this mesmerizin...
The symbols of systemic racism -- and how to take away their power | Paul Rucker
26 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Multidisciplinary artist and TED Fellow Paul Rucker is unstitching the legacy of systemic racism in the United States. A collector of artifacts connec...
What if we eliminated one of the world's oldest diseases? | Caroline Harper
26 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of years ago, ancient Nubians drew pictures on tomb walls of a terrible disease that turns the eyelids inside out and causes blindness. This...
How we can design timeless cities for our collective future | Vishaan Chakrabarti
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There's a creeping sameness in many of our newest urban buildings and streetscapes, says architect Vishaan Chakrabarti. And this physical homogeneity ...
Why you should love gross science | Anna Rothschild
22 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What can we learn from the slimy, smelly side of life? In this playful talk, science journalist Anna Rothschild shows us the hidden wisdom of "gross s...
The nightmare videos of childrens' YouTube -- and what's wrong with the internet today | James Bridle
22 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Writer and artist James Bridle uncovers a dark, strange corner of the internet, where unknown people or groups on YouTube hack the brains of young chi...
How Netflix changed entertainment -- and where it's headed | Reed Hastings
21 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix changed the world of entertainment -- first with DVD-by-mail, then with streaming media and then again with sensational original shows like "O...
How we can bring mental health support to refugees | Essam Daod
20 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The global refugee crisis is a mental health catastrophe, leaving millions in need of psychological support to overcome the traumas of dislocation and...
Technology that knows what you're feeling | Poppy Crum
19 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when technology knows more about us than we do? Poppy Crum studies how we express emotions -- and she suggests the end of the poker face ...
The surprising science of alpha males | Frans de Waal
18 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this fascinating look at the "alpha male," primatologist Frans de Waal explores the privileges and costs of power while drawing surprising parallel...
How I'm bringing queer pride to my rural village | Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile
14 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In a poetic, personal talk, TED Fellow Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile examines the connection between her modern queer lifestyle and her childhood upbring...
The incredible potential of flexible, soft robots | Giada Gerboni
14 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Robots are designed for speed and precision -- but their rigidity has often limited how they're used. In this illuminating talk, biomedical engineer G...
How to get empowered, not overpowered, by AI | Max Tegmark
13 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Many artificial intelligence researchers expect AI to outsmart humans at all tasks and jobs within decades, enabling a future where we're restricted o...
What we'll learn about the brain in the next century | Sam Rodriques
12 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this imaginative talk, neurobiologist Sam Rodriques takes us on a thrilling tour of the next 100 years in neuroscience. He envisions strange (and s...
The journey through loss and grief | Jason B. Rosenthal
12 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In her brutally honest, ironically funny and widely read meditation on death, "You May Want to Marry My Husband," the late author and filmmaker Amy Kr...
The discoveries awaiting us in the ocean's twilight zone | Heidi M. Sosik
08 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What will we find in the twilight zone: the vast, mysterious, virtually unexplored realm hundreds of meters below the ocean's surface? Heidi M. Sosik ...
Inside the fight against Russia's fake news empire | Olga Yurkova
07 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When facts are false, decisions are wrong, says editor and TED Fellow Olga Yurkova. To stop the spread of fake news, she and a group of journalists la...
Let's turn the high seas into the world's largest nature reserve | Enric Sala
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What if we could save the fishing industry and protect the oceans at the same time? Marine ecologist Enric Sala shares his bold plan to safeguard the ...
What if we replaced politicians with randomly selected people? | Brett Hennig
05 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you think democracy is broken, here's an idea: let's replace politicians with randomly selected people. Author and activist Brett Hennig presents a...
The critical role librarians play in the opioid crisis | Chera Kowalski
05 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Public libraries have always been about more than just books -- and their mission of community support has taken on new urgency during the current opi...
Why theater is essential to democracy | Oskar Eustis
04 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Truth comes from the collision of different ideas, and theater plays an essential role in showing us that truth, says legendary artistic director Oska...
How we can turn the cold of outer space into a renewable resource | Aaswath Raman
01 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What if we could use the cold darkness of outer space to cool buildings on earth? In this mind-blowing talk, physicist Aaswath Raman details the techn...
How vultures can help solve crimes | Lauren Pharr
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Can a bird that symbolizes death help the living catch criminals? In this informative and accessible talk, forensic anthropologist Lauren Pharr shows ...
What gardening taught me about life | tobacco brown
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Gardens are mirrors of our lives, says environmental artist tobacco brown, and we must cultivate them with care to harvest their full beauty. Drawing ...
How we'll become cyborgs and extend human potential | Hugh Herr
30 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Humans will soon have new bodies that forever blur the line between the natural and synthetic worlds, says bionics designer Hugh Herr. In an unforgett...
A teen scientist's invention to help wounds heal | Anushka Naiknaware
29 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Working out of her garage, Anushka Naiknaware designed a sensor that tracks wound healing, becoming the youngest winner (at age 13) of the Google Scie...
This simple test can help kids hear better | Susan Emmett
29 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Children who live in rural areas can have a hard time getting to the doctor -- much less to an audiologist's clinic for expensive, complex tests to ch...
How to talk to veterans about the war | Wes Moore
28 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Moore joined the US Army to pay for college, but the experience became core to who he is. In this heartfelt talk, the paratrooper and captain—wh...
Comics belong in the classroom | Gene Yang
25 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Comic books and graphic novels belong in every teacher's toolkit, says cartoonist and educator Gene Luen Yang. Set against the backdrop of his own wit...
How to start a conversation about suicide | Jeremy Forbes
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is there someone in your life dealing with anxiety, depression or thoughts of suicide -- but is too ashamed to talk about it? Jeremy Forbes saw this h...
How to turn a group of strangers into a team | Amy Edmondson
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual ...
How I made friends with reality | Emily Levine
23 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With her signature wit and wisdom, Emily Levine meets her ultimate challenge as a comedian/philosopher: she makes dying funny. In this personal talk, ...
The shocking danger of mountaintop removal -- and why it must end | Michael Hendryx
22 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Research investigator Michael Hendryx studies mountaintop removal, an explosive type of surface coal mining used in Appalachia that comes with unexpec...
What it's like to be the child of immigrants | Michael Rain
22 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Rain is on a mission to tell the stories of first-generation immigrants, who have strong ties both to the countries they grew up in and their ...
Where joy hides and how to find it | Ingrid Fetell Lee
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cherry blossoms and rainbows, bubbles and googly eyes: Why do some things seem to create such universal joy? In this captivating talk, Ingrid Fetell L...
How Pakistani women are taking the internet back | Nighat Dad
17 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
TED Fellow Nighat Dad studies online harassment, especially as it relates to patriarchal cultures like the one in her small village in Pakistan. She t...
The age-old sharing economies of Africa -- and why we should scale them | Robert Neuwirth
17 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From rides to homes and beyond, we're sharing everything these days, with the help of digital tools. But as modern and high-tech as the sharing econom...
Scientists must be free to learn, to speak and to challenge | Kirsty Duncan
16 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"You do not mess with something so fundamental, so precious, as science," says Kirsty Duncan, Canada's first Minister of Science. In a heartfelt, insp...
The Problem with All-Stars
15 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Butler Bulldogs have a habit of shocking college basketball fans by beating top teams with far more talent. How do they do it? Adam Grant joins th...
The doctors, nurses and aid workers rebuilding Syria | Rola Hallam
15 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Local humanitarians are beacons of light in the darkness of war, says humanitarian aid entrepreneur and TED Fellow Rola Hallam. She's working to help ...
The truth about unwanted arousal | Emily Nagoski
11 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sex educator Emily Nagoski breaks down one of the most dangerous myths about sex and introduces us to the science behind arousal nonconcordance: when ...
What it's like to be a transgender dad | LB Hannahs
10 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
LB Hannahs candidly shares the experience of parenting as a genderqueer individual -- and what it can teach us about authenticity and advocacy. "Authe...
Confessions of a depressed comic | Kevin Breel
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Breel didn't look like a depressed kid: team captain, at every party, funny and confident. But he tells the story of the night he realized that ...
A playful solution to the housing crisis | Sarah Murray
08 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Frustrated by her lack of self-determination in the housing market, Sarah Murray created a computer game that allows home buyers to design a house and...
How Baltimore called a ceasefire | Erricka Bridgeford
08 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In one day, in one city, in one neighborhood -- what if everyone put their guns down? Erricka Bridgeford is a peacemaker who wants to stop the murders...
What it takes to be racially literate | Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi
07 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last year, Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo traveled to all 50 US states, collecting personal stories about race and intersectionality. Now they'r...
To design better tech, understand context | Tania Douglas
03 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What good is a sophisticated piece of medical equipment to people in Africa if it can't handle the climate there? Biomedical engineer Tania Douglas sh...
It's time for the law to protect victims of gender violence | Laura L. Dunn
02 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
To make accountability the norm after gender violence in the United States, we need to change tactics, says victims’ rights attorney and TED Fellow ...
How a male contraceptive pill could work | John Amory
01 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Andrologist John Amory is developing innovative male contraception that gives men a new option for taking responsibility to prevent unintended pregnan...
Why tech needs the humanities | Eric Berridge
01 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to build a team of innovative problem-solvers, you should value the humanities just as much as the sciences, says entrepreneur Eric Berrid...
TBD | Glen Henry
26 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Glen Henry got his superpowers through fatherhood. After leaving behind a job he hated and a manager he didn't get along with, he went to work for an ...
How work kept me going during my cancer treatment | Sarah Donnelly
26 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When lawyer Sarah Donnelly was diagnosed with breast cancer, she turned to her friends and family for support -- but she also found meaning, focus and...
A woman's fury holds lifetimes of wisdom | Tracee Ellis-Ross
25 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The global collection of women's experiences can no longer be ignored, says actress and activist Tracee Ellis Ross. In a candid, fearless talk, she de...
Visions of Africa's future, from African filmmakers | Dayo Ogunyemi
24 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
By expanding boundaries, exploring possibilities and conveying truth, films have helped change Africa's reality (even before "Black Panther"). Dayo Og...
War and what comes after | Clemantine Wamariya
24 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when the Rwandan Civil War forced her and her sister to flee their home in Kigali, leaving their parents and eve...
SpaceX's plan to fly you across the globe in 30 minutes | Gwynne Shotwell
23 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What's up at SpaceX? Engineer Gwynne Shotwell was employee number seven at Elon Musk's pioneering aerospace company and is now its president. In conve...
The "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico | Nancy Rabalais
18 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ocean expert Nancy Rabalais tracks the ominously named "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico -- where there isn't enough oxygen in the water to support li...
The harm reduction model of drug addiction treatment | Mark Tyndall
18 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we still think that drug use is a law-enforcement issue? Making drugs illegal does nothing to stop people from using them, says public health e...
A printable, flexible, organic solar cell | Hannah Bürckstümmer
17 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike the solar cells you're used to seeing, organic photovoltaics are made of compounds that are dissolved in ink and can be printed and molded usin...
What's missing in the global debate over refugees | Yasin Kakande
16 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the ongoing debate over refugees, we hear from everyone -- from politicians who pledge border controls to citizens who fear they'll lose their jobs...
How the arts help homeless youth heal and build | Malika Whitley
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Malika Whitley is the founder of ChopArt, an organization for homeless teens focused on mentorship, dignity and opportunity through the arts. In this ...
How a team of chefs fed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria | Jose Andres
10 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, chef José Andrés traveled to the devastated island with a simple idea: to feed the hungry. Millions o...
The Standing Rock resistance and our fight for indigenous rights | Tara Houska
09 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Still invisible and often an afterthought, indigenous peoples are uniting to protect the world's water, lands and history -- while trying to heal from...
How I use the drum to tell my story | Kasiva Mutua
06 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk-performance hybrid, drummer, percussionist and TED Fellow Kasiva Mutua shares how she's breaking the taboo against female drummers in Ken...
Should we create a solar shade to cool the earth? | Danny Hillis
05 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this perspective-shifting talk, Danny Hillis prompts us to approach global issues like climate change with creative scientific solutions. Taking a ...
To eliminate waste, we need to rediscover thrift | Andrew Dent
04 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There's no such thing as throwing something away, says Andrew Dent -- when you toss a used food container, broken toy or old pair of socks into the tr...
My $500 house in Detroit -- and the neighbors who helped me rebuild it | Drew Philp
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2009, journalist and screenwriter Drew Philp bought a ruined house in Detroit for $500. In the years that followed, as he gutted the interior and r...
Math can help uncover cancer's secrets | Irina Kareva
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Irina Kareva translates biology into mathematics and vice versa. She writes mathematical models that describe the dynamics of cancer, with the goal of...
How we can teach computers to make sense of our emotions | Raphael Arar
02 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How can we make AI that people actually want to interact with? Raphael Arar suggests we start by making art. He shares interactive projects that help ...
Our fight for disability rights -- and why we're not done yet | Judith Heumann
30 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Four decades ago, Judith Heumann helped to lead a groundbreaking protest called the Section 504 sit-in -- in which disabled-rights activists occupied ...
Why I choose humanism over faith | Leo Igwe
29 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As a humanist, Leo Igwe doesn't believe in divine intervention -- but he does believe in the power of human beings to alleviate suffering, cure diseas...