TED Talks Daily
Episodes
Your elusive creative genius | Elizabeth Gilbert
20 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "...
What does the universe sound like? A musical tour | Matt Russo
19 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is outer space really the silent and lifeless place it's often depicted to be? Perhaps not. Astrophysicist and musician Matt Russo takes us on a journ...
The pharmacy of the future? Personalized pills, 3D printed at home | Daniel Kraft
18 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We need to change how we prescribe drugs, says physician Daniel Kraft: too often, medications are dosed incorrectly, cause toxic side effects or just ...
5 transformational policies for a prosperous and sustainable world | Johan Rockström
17 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk about how we can build a robust future without wrecking the planet, sustainability expert Johan Rockström debuts the Earth3 model -- a new ...
The key to a better malaria vaccine | Faith Osier
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The malaria vaccine was invented more than a century ago -- yet each year, hundreds of thousands of people still die from the disease. How can we impr...
Let's protect the oceans like national parks | David Lang
15 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
You don't have to be a scientist to help protect the world's oceans, says underwater drone expert and TED Fellow David Lang -- in fact, ordinary citiz...
How whistle-blowers shape history | Kelly Richmond Pope
12 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Fraud researcher and documentary filmmaker Kelly Richmond Pope shares lessons from some of the most high-profile whistle-blowers of the past, explaini...
What baby boomers can learn from millennials at work -- and vice versa | Chip Conley
11 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time ever, we have five generations in the workplace at the same time, says entrepreneur Chip Conley. What would happen if we got intent...
What Americans agree on when it comes to health | Rebecca Onie
10 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We may not be as deeply divided as we think -- at least not when it comes to health, says Rebecca Onie. In a talk that cuts through the noise, Onie sh...
3 ways to create a space that moves you, from a Broadway set designer | David Korins
09 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
You don't have to work on Broadway to design a set, says creative director David Korins -- you can be the set designer of any space in your life. Shar...
How cryptocurrency can help startups get investment capital | Ashwini Anburajan
09 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're living in a golden era of innovation, says entrepreneur Ashwini Anburajan -- but venture capital hasn't evolved to keep up, and startups aren't ...
How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff -- without ropes | Alex Honnold
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine being by yourself in the dead center of a 3,000-foot vertical cliff -- without a rope to catch you if you fall. For professional rock climber ...
The secrets of spider venom | Michel Dugon
05 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Spider venom can stop your heart within minutes, cause unimaginable pain -- and potentially save your life, says zoologist Michel Dugon. As a tarantul...
3 ways to advocate for a more inclusive workplace | Melinda Epler
04 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're taught to believe that hard work and dedication will lead to success, but that's not always the case. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disabil...
Why being nice to your coworkers is good for business | Christine Porath
03 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Looking to get ahead in your career? Start by being nice to your coworkers, says leadership researcher Christine Porath. In this science-backed talk, ...
What doctors should know about gender identity | Kristie Overstreet
02 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Kristie Overstreet is on a mission to ensure that the transgender community gets their health care needs met. In this informative, myth-busting talk, ...
How we can make energy more affordable for low-income families | DeAndrea Salvador
02 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Every month, millions of Americans face an impossible choice: pay for energy to power their homes, or pay for basic needs like food and medicine. TED ...
3 lessons on decision-making from a poker champion | Liv Boeree
01 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is it better to be lucky or good? Should we trust our gut feelings or rely on probabilities and careful analysis when making important decisions? In t...
How to speak up for yourself | Adam Galinsky
28 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Speaking up is hard to do, even when you know you should. Learn how to assert yourself, navigate tricky social situations and expand your personal pow...
How to build a thriving music scene in your city | Elizabeth Cawein
27 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How does a city become known as a "music city"? Publicist Elizabeth Cawein explains how thriving music scenes make cities healthier and happier and sh...
What happened when we tested thousands of abandoned rape kits in Detroit | Kym Worthy
26 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2009, 11,341 untested rape kits -- some dating back to the 1980s -- were found in an abandoned warehouse once used by the the Detroit police to sto...
How police and the public can create safer neighborhoods together | Tracie Keesee
25 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We all want to be safe, and our safety is intertwined, says Tracie Keesee, cofounder of the Center for Policing Equity. Sharing lessons she has learne...
I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper
24 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What’s it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing ... everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside Ameri...
How I became part sea urchin | Catherine Mohr
21 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As a young scientist, Catherine Mohr was on her dream scuba trip -- when she put her hand right down on a spiny sea urchin. While a school of sharks c...
Why museums are returning cultural treasures | Chip Colwell
20 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Archaeologist and curator Chip Colwell collects artifacts for his museum, but he also returns them to where they came from. In a thought-provoking tal...
How we could teach our bodies to heal faster | Kaitlyn Sadtler
20 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What if we could help our bodies heal faster and without scars, like Wolverine in X-Men? TED Fellow Kaitlyn Sadtler is working to make this dream a re...
Why the hospital of the future will be your own home | Niels van Namen
19 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody likes going to the hospital, whether it's because of the logistical challenges of getting there, the astronomical costs of procedures or the al...
The press trampled on my privacy. Here's how I took back my story | Kate Stone
18 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After a horrific accident put her in the tabloid headlines, Kate Stone found a way to take control of her narrative -- and help prevent others from lo...
Why we choke under pressure -- and how to avoid it | Sian Leah Beilock
18 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When the pressure is on, why do we sometimes fail to live up to our potential? Cognitive scientist and Barnard College president Sian Leah Beilock rev...
Your fingerprints reveal more than you think | Simona Francese
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Our fingerprints are what make us unique -- but they're also home to a world of information hidden in molecules that reveal our actions, lifestyles an...
3 ways to make better decisions -- by thinking like a computer | Tom Griffiths
14 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you ever struggle to make decisions, here's a talk for you. Cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths shows how we can apply the logic of computers to unta...
How to create a world where no one dies waiting for a transplant | Luhan Yang
13 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For nearly half a century, scientists have been trying to create a process for transplanting animal organs into humans, a theoretical dream that could...
How I'm using LEGO to teach Arabic | Ghada Wali
13 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After a visit to a European library in search of Arabic and Middle Eastern texts turned up only titles about fear, terrorism and destruction, Ghada Wa...
How can we do the most good for the world? | Will MacAskill
12 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Of all the problems facing humanity, which should we focus on solving first? In a compelling talk about how to make the world better, moral philosophe...
Did the global response to 9/11 make us safer? | Benedetta Berti
11 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If we want sustainable, long-term security to be the norm in the world, it's time to radically rethink how we can achieve it, says TED Fellow and conf...
A new way to fund health care for the most vulnerable | Andrew Bastawrous
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, eye surgeon Andrew Bastawrous developed a smartphone app that brings quality eye care to remote communities, helping people avoid losing thei...
How AI could compose a personalized soundtrack to your life | Pierre Barreau
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Meet AIVA, an artificial intelligence that has been trained in the art of music composition by reading more than 30,000 of history's greatest scores. ...
A love letter to realism in a time of grief | Mark Pollock and Simone George
07 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When faced with life's toughest circumstances, how should we respond: as an optimist, a realist or something else? In an unforgettable talk, explorer ...
Let's launch a satellite to track a threatening greenhouse gas | Fred Krupp
06 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk about greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide gets the most attention -- but methane, which often escapes unseen from pipes and wells, has a far...
3 ways businesses can fight sex trafficking | Nikki Clifton
06 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sex buying doesn't just happen late at night on street corners in the shady part of town -- it also happens online, in the middle of the workday, usin...
What commercialization is doing to cannabis | Ben Cort
05 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2012, Colorado legalized cannabis and added to what has fast become a multibillion-dollar global industry for all things weed-related: from vape pe...
How data is helping us unravel the mysteries of the brain | Steve McCarroll
04 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Geneticist Steve McCarroll wants to make an atlas of all the cells in the human body so that we can understand in precise detail how specific genes wo...
The new American Dream | Courtney E. Martin
03 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time in history, the majority of American parents don't think their kids will be better off than they were. This shouldn't be a cause fo...
Let's get honest about our money problems | Tammy Lally
31 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Struggling to budget and manage finances is common -- but talking honestly and openly about it isn't. Why do we hide our problems around money? In thi...
A new way to think about the transition to motherhood | Alexandra Sacks
30 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When a baby is born, so is a mother -- but the natural (and sometimes unsteady) process of transition to motherhood is often silenced by shame or misd...
How I went from child refugee to international model | Halima Aden
30 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Halima Aden made history when she became the first hijab-wearing model on the cover of Vogue magazine. Now she returns to Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp ...
How China is (and isn't) fighting pollution and climate change | Angel Hsu
29 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
China is the world's biggest polluter -- and now one of its largest producers of clean energy. Which way will China go in the future, and how will it ...
A rare galaxy that's challenging our understanding of the universe | Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil
28 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What's it like to discover a galaxy -- and have it named after you? Astrophysicist and TED Fellow Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil lets us know in this quick talk...
How art can shape America's conversation about freedom | Dread Scott
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this quick talk, visual artist Dread Scott tells the story of one of his most transgressive art installations, which drew national attention for it...
Don't fear superintelligent AI | Grady Booch
24 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
New tech spawns new anxieties, says scientist and philosopher Grady Booch, but we don't need to be afraid an all-powerful, unfeeling AI. Booch allays ...
Don't fail fast -- fail mindfully | Leticia Gasca
23 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We celebrate bold entrepreneurs whose ingenuity led them to success, but what happens to those who fail? Far too often, they bury their stories out of...
How to get serious about diversity and inclusion in the workplace | Janet Stovall
22 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a workplace where people of all colors and races are able to climb every rung of the corporate ladder -- and where the lessons we learn about ...
To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation | Jessica Pryce
21 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this eye-opening talk about the impact of race and neighborhood on foster-care decisions, social worker Jessica Pryce shares a promising solution t...
Why the "wrong side of the tracks" is usually the east side of cities | Stephen DeBerry
21 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What do communities on the social, economic and environmental margins have in common? For one thing, they tend to be on the east sides of cities. In t...
How women in rural India turned courage into capital | Chetna Gala Sinha
20 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When bankers refused to serve her neighbors in rural India, Chetna Gala Sinha did the next best thing: she opened a bank of her own, the first ever fo...
How urban spaces can preserve history and build community | Walter Hood
17 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Can public spaces both reclaim the past and embrace the future? Landscape architect Walter Hood has explored this question over the course of an iconi...
How cancer cells communicate -- and how we can slow them down | Hasini Jayatilaka
16 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When cancer cells are closely packed together in a tumor, they're able to communicate with each other and coordinate their movement throughout the bod...
What a scrapyard in Ghana can teach us about innovation | DK Osseo-Asare
16 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In Agbogbloshie, a community in Accra, Ghana, people descend on a scrapyard to mine electronic waste for recyclable materials. Without formal training...
Why I fight for the education of refugee girls (like me) | Mary Maker
15 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After fleeing war-torn South Sudan as a child, Mary Maker found security and hope in the school at Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp. Now as a teacher of yo...
The little risks you can take to increase your luck | Tina Seelig
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Luck is rarely a lightning strike, isolated and dramatic -- it's much more like the wind, blowing constantly. Catching more of it is easy but not obvi...
How teachers can help kids find their political voices | Sydney Chaffee
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Social justice belongs in our schools, says educator Sydney Chaffee. In a bold talk, she shows how teaching students to engage in activism helps them ...
Who belongs in a city? | OluTimehin Adegbeye
10 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Underneath every shiny new megacity, there's often a story of communities displaced. In this moving, poetic talk, OluTimehin Adegbeye details how gove...
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 ...