TED Talks Daily

The role of faith and belief in modern Africa | Ndidi Nwuneli

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ndidi Nwuneli has advice for Africans who believe in God -- and Africans who don't. To the religious, she advises against using God to outsource respo...

Academic research is publicly funded -- why isn't it publicly available? | Erica Stone

28 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the US, your taxes fund academic research at public universities. Why then do you need to pay expensive, for-profit journals for the results of tha...

How fungi recognize (and infect) plants | Mennat El Ghalid

27 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Each year, the world loses enough food to feed half a billion people to fungi, the most destructive pathogens of plants. Mycologist and TED fellow Men...

How quantum physics can make encryption stronger | Vikram Sharma

27 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As quantum computing matures, it's going to bring unimaginable increases in computational power along with it -- and the systems we use to protect our...

What if we paid doctors to keep people healthy? | Matthias Mullenbeck

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What if we incentivized doctors to keep us healthy instead of paying them only when we're already sick? Matthias Müllenbeck explains how this radical...

The human stories behind mass incarceration | Eve Abrams

23 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The United States locks up more people than any other country in the world, says documentarian Eve Abrams, and somewhere between one and four percent ...

Dear billionaire, I give you a D-minus

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In most workplaces, criticizing your boss is a great way to lose your job. At Bridgewater Associates, you can be fired for NOT criticizing your boss. ...

Need a new idea? Start at the edge of what is known | Vittorio Loreto

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Where do great ideas come from?" Starting with this question in mind, Vittorio Loreto takes us on a journey to explore a possible mathematical scheme...

For survivors of Ebola, the crisis isn't over | Soka Moses

21 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014, as a newly trained physician, Soka Moses took on one of the toughest jobs in the world: treating highly contagious patients at the height of ...

A new rite of passage for later in life | Bob Stein

20 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We use rituals to mark the early stages of our lives, like birthdays and graduations -- but what about our later years? In this meditative talk about ...

What if gentrification was about healing communities instead of displacing them? | Liz Ogbu

20 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Ogbu is an architect who works on spatial justice: the idea that justice has a geography and that the equitable distribution of resources and serv...

How I use art to bridge misunderstanding | Adong Judith

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Director and playwright Adong Judith creates provocative art that sparks dialogue on issues from LGBTQ rights to war crimes. In this quick but powerfu...

Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE | Chris Nowinski

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Something strange and deadly is happening inside the brains of top athletes -- a degenerative condition, possibly linked to concussions, that causes d...

What we can do about the culture of hate | Sally Kohn

16 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We're all against hate, right? We agree it's a problem -- their problem, not our problem, that is. But as Sally Kohn discovered, we all hate -- some o...

Why must artists be poor? | Hadi Eldebek

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The arts bring meaning to our lives and spirit to our culture -- so why do we expect artists to struggle to make a living?  Hadi Eldebek is working t...

3 myths about the future of work (and why they're not true) | Daniel Susskind

14 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Will machines replace humans?" This question is on the mind of anyone with a job to lose. Daniel Susskind confronts this question and three misconcep...

How to inspire every child to be a lifelong reader | Alvin Irby

13 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

According to the US Department of Education, more than 85 percent of black fourth-grade boys aren't proficient in reading. What kind of reading experi...

What a world without prisons could look like | Deanna Van Buren

13 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Deanna Van Buren designs restorative justice centers that, instead of taking the punitive approach used by a system focused on mass incarceration, tre...

What would happen if you didn’t sleep? | Claudia Aguirre

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the United States, it’s estimated that 30 percent of adults and 66 percent of adolescents are regularly sleep-deprived. This isn’t just a minor...

Tales of passion | Isabel Allende

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Author and activist Isabel Allende discusses women, creativity, the definition of feminism -- and, of course, passion -- in this talk.For a chance to ...

The best way to help is often just to listen | Sophie Andrews

09 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A 24-hour helpline in the UK known as Samaritans helped Sophie Andrews become a survivor of abuse rather than a victim. Now she's paying the favor bac...

To solve the world's biggest problems, invest in women and girls | Musimbi Kanyoro

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As CEO of the Global Fund for Women, Musimbi Kanyoro works to support women and their ideas so they can expand and grow. She introduces us to the Mara...

The wonderful world of life in a drop of water | Simone Bianco and Tom Zimmerman

07 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Hold your breath," says inventor Tom Zimmerman. "This is the world without plankton." These tiny organisms produce two-thirds of our planet's oxygen ...

How fashion helps us express who we are -- and what we stand for | Kaustav Dey

06 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

No one thinks twice about a woman wearing blue jeans in New York City -- but when Nobel laureate Malala wears them, it's a political act. Around the g...

What soccer can teach us about freedom | Marc Bamuthi Joseph

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Soccer is the only thing on this planet that we can all agree to do together," says theater maker and TED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Through his per...

What I learned when I conquered the world's toughest triathlon | Minda Dentler

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and then a full-length marathon on hot, dry ground -- with no breaks in between: the legendary Ironman triath...

How to connect with depressed friends | Bill Bernat

02 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Want to connect with a depressed friend but not sure how to relate to them? Comedian and storyteller Bill Bernat has a few suggestions. Learn some dos...

How we became sisters | Felice Belle and Jennifer Murphy

02 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Poets Felice Belle and Jennifer Murphy perform excerpts from their play "Other Women," which is created and directed by Monica L. Williams. In a capti...

To learn is to be free | Shameem Akhtar

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Shameem Akhtar posed as a boy during her early childhood in Pakistan so she could enjoy the privileges Pakistani girls are rarely afforded: to play ou...

How we look kilometers below the Antarctic ice sheet | Dustin Schroeder

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Antarctica is a vast and dynamic place, but radar technologies -- from World War II-era film to state-of-the-art miniaturized sensors -- are enabling ...

The role of human emotions in science and research | Illona Stengel

26 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Do human emotions have a role to play in science and research? Material researcher Ilona Stengel suggests that instead of opposing each other, emotion...

You don't have to be an expert to solve big problems | Tapiwa Chiwewe

23 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Driving in Johannesburg one day, Tapiwa Chiwewe noticed an enormous cloud of air pollution hanging over the city. He was curious and concerned but not...

Refugees want empowerment, not handouts | Robert Hakiza

22 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The prevailing image of where refugees live is of temporary camps in isolated areas -- but in reality, nearly 60 percent of them worldwide end up in u...

How to have a healthier, positive relationship to sex | Tiffany Kagure Mugo and Siphumeze Khundayi

22 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

From our fear of women's bodies to our sheepishness around the word "nipple," our ideas about sex need an upgrade, say sex educators (and hilarious wo...

A life-saving invention that prevents human stampedes | Nilay Kulkarni

21 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Every three years, more than 30 million Hindu worshippers gather for the Kumbh Mela in India, the world's largest religious gathering, in order to was...

How we can build AI to help humans, not hurt us | Margaret Mitchell

20 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As a research scientist at Google, Margaret Mitchell helps develop computers that can communicate about what they see and understand. She tells a caut...

How (and why) Russia hacked the US election | Laura Galante

19 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Hacking, fake news, information bubbles ... all these and more have become part of the vernacular in recent years. But as cyberspace analyst Laura Gal...

The secret to great opportunities? The person you haven't met yet | Tanya Menon

16 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We often find ourselves stuck in narrow social circles with similar people. What habits confine us, and how can we break them? Organizational psycholo...

3 creative ways to fix fashion's waste problem | Amit Kalra

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What happens to the clothes we don't buy? You might think that last season's coats, trousers and turtlenecks end up being put to use, but most of it (...

Fashion that celebrates African strength and spirit | Wale Oyejide

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"To be African is to be inspired by culture and to be filled with undying hope for the future," says designer and TED Fellow Walé Oyéjidé. With his...

The virginity fraud | Nina Dølvik Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl

13 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The hymen is still the most misunderstood part of the female body. Nina Dølvik Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl share their mission to empower young...

Capitalism isn't an ideology -- it's an operating system | Bhu Srinivasan

12 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bhu Srinivasan researches the intersection of capitalism and technological progress. Instead of thinking about capitalism as a firm, unchanging ideolo...

How protest is redefining democracy around the world | Zachariah Mampilly

08 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The democratic process is messy, complicated and often inefficient -- but across Africa, activists are redefining democracy by putting protest at its ...

This company pays kids to do their math homework | Mohamad Jebara

08 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Mohamad Jebara loves mathematics -- but he's concerned that too many students grow up thinking that this beautiful, rewarding subject is difficult and...

How architecture can create dignity for all | John Cary

07 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If architect and writer John Cary has his way, women will never need to stand in pointlessly long bathroom lines again. Lines like these are represent...

How we can help hungry kids, one text at a time | Su Kahumbu

06 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Su Kahumbu raises badass cows -- healthy, well-fed animals whose protein is key to solving a growing crisis in Africa: childhood nutritional stunting....

This deep-sea mystery is changing our understanding of life | Karen Lloyd

06 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How deep into the Earth can we go and still find life? Marine microbiologist Karen Lloyd introduces us to deep-subsurface microbes: tiny organisms tha...

How I use Minecraft to help kids with autism | Stuart Duncan

02 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The internet can be an ugly place, but you won't find bullies or trolls on Stuart Duncan's Minecraft server, AutCraft. Designed for children with auti...

How I earned a law diploma while on death row | Peter Ouko

02 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Ouko spent 18 years in Kamiti Prison in Kenya, sometimes locked up in a cell with 13 other grown men for 23 and a half hours a day. In a moving ...

How we can use space technology to improve life on Earth | Danielle Wood

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Danielle Wood leads the Space Enabled research group at the MIT Media Lab, where she works to tear down the barriers that limit the benefits of space ...

Black life at the intersection of birth and death | Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"It is the artist's job to unearth stories that people try to bury with shovels of complacency and time," says poet and freedom fighter Mwende "FreeQu...

My failed mission to find God -- and what I found instead | Anjali Kumar

31 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Anjali Kumar went looking for God and ended up finding something else entirely. In an uplifting, funny talk about our shared humanity, she takes us on...

Could the social lives of fish help us save coral reefs? | Mike Gil

30 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Gil spies on fish: using novel multi-camera systems and computer vision technology, the TED Fellow and his colleagues explore how coral reef fish...

Why I study the most dangerous animal on earth -- mosquitoes | Fredros Okumu

29 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What do we really know about mosquitoes? Fredros Okumu catches and studies these disease-carrying insects for a living -- with the hope of crashing th...

The thrilling potential for off-grid solar energy | Amar Inamdar

26 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There's an energy revolution happening in villages and towns across Africa -- off-grid solar energy is becoming a viable alternative to traditional el...

What's it like to be a robot? | Leila Takayama

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We already live among robots: tools and machines like dishwashers and thermostats so integrated into our lives that we'd never think to call them that...

What if you could turn plastic trash into cash? | David Katz

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Can we solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution and end extreme poverty at the same time? That's the ambitious goal of The Plastic Bank: a worldwi...

The dangerous evolution of HIV | Edsel Salvana

23 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Think we're winning the battle against HIV? Maybe not, as the next wave of drug-resistant viruses arrives. In an eye-opening talk, TED Fellow Edsel Sa...

The business benefits of doing good | Wendy Woods

23 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"The only way we're going to make substantial progress on the challenging problems of our time is for business to drive the solutions," says social im...

An economic case for protecting the planet | Naoko Ishii

22 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We all share one planet -- we breathe the same air, drink the same water and depend on the same oceans, forests and biodiversity. Economist Naoko Ishi...

What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness | Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix

19 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On one awful night in 1995, Ples Felix's 14-year-old grandson murdered Azim Khamisa's son in a gang initiation fueled by drugs, alcohol and a false se...

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

18 Jan 2018

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...

The hidden role informal caregivers play in health care | Scott Williams

17 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once a cared-for patient and now a caregiver himself, Scott Williams highlights the invaluable role of informal caregivers -- those friends and relati...

Talk about your death while you're still healthy | Michelle Knox

16 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Do you know what you want when you die? Do you know how you want to be remembered? In a candid, heartfelt talk about a subject most of us would rather...

The search for "aha!" moments | Matt Goldman

16 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 1988, Matt Goldman and a few friends created the Blue Man Group, an off-Broadway production that became a sensation known for its humor, blue body ...

We need to talk about an injustice | Bryan Stevenson

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard...

How to put the power of law in people's hands | Vivek Maru

12 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What can you do when the wheels of justice don't turn fast enough? Or when they don't turn at all? Vivek Maru is working to transform the relationship...

How record collectors find lost music and preserve our cultural heritage | Alexis Charpentier

11 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For generations, record collectors have played a vital role in the preservation of musical and cultural heritage by "digging" for obscure music create...

How we can stop Africa's scientific brain drain | Kevin Njabo

10 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How can Africans find solutions to Africa's problems? Conservation biologist Kevin Njabo tells his personal story of how he nearly became part of the ...

Medical tech designed to meet Africa's needs | Soyapi Mumba

09 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In sub-Saharan Africa, power outages, low technology penetration, slow internet and understaffed hospitals plague health care systems. To make progres...

How adaptive clothing empowers people with disabilities | Mindy Scheier

09 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Do you have a favorite T-shirt or pair of jeans that transforms you and makes you feel confident -- makes you feel like you? That's because what you w...

Inside Africa's thriving art scene | Touria El Glaoui

08 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Art curator Touria El Glaoui is on a mission to showcase vital new art from African nations and the diaspora. She shares beautiful, inspiring, thrilli...

Mammoths resurrected, geoengineering and other thoughts from a futurist | Stewart Brand and Chris Anderson

05 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Stewart Brand is a futurist, counterculturist and visionary with a very wide-ranging mind. In conversation with TED Curator Chris Anderson, Brand disc...

What we don't teach kids about sex | Sue Jaye Johnson

04 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As parents, it's our job to teach our kids about sex. But beyond "the talk," which covers biology and reproduction, there's so much more we can say ab...

Our treatment of HIV has advanced. Why hasn't the stigma changed? | Arik Hartmann

04 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The treatment of HIV has significantly advanced over the past three decades -- why hasn't our perception of people with the disease advanced along wit...

3 thoughtful ways to conserve water | Lana Mazahreh

03 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

According to the UN, nearly one in three people worldwide live in a country facing a water crisis, and less than five percent of the world lives in a ...

How adoption worked for me | Christopher Ategeka

02 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Talent is universal, but opportunity isn't, says TED Fellow Christopher Ategeka. In this charming, hopeful talk, Ategeka tells his story of being orph...

The single biggest reason why startups succeed | Bill Gross

29 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Gross has founded a lot of startups, and incubated many others -- and he got curious about why some succeeded and others failed. So he gathered d...

The untapped genius that could change science for the better | Jedidah Isler

28 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jedidah Isler dreamt of becoming an astrophysicist since she was a young girl, but the odds were against her: At that time, only 18 black women in the...

Strange answers to the psychopath test | Jon Ronson

27 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Is there a definitive line that divides crazy from sane? With a hair-raising delivery, Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test, illuminates the gray...

How to make hard choices | Ruth Chang

26 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Here's a talk that could literally change your life. Which career should I pursue? Should I break up -- or get married?! Where should I live? Big deci...

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness | Robert Waldinger

25 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Wa...

How frustration can make us more creative | Tim Harford

22 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Challenges and problems can derail your creative process ... or they can make you more creative than ever. In the surprising story behind the best-sel...

"Good" and "bad" are incomplete stories we tell ourselves | Heather Lanier

21 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Heather Lanier's daughter Fiona has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a genetic condition that results in developmental delays -- but that doesn't make her tr...

The next generation of African architects and designers | Christian Benimana

21 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Christian Benimana wants to build a network of architects who can help Africa's booming cities flourish in sustainable, equitable ways -- balancing gr...

A mother and son united by love and art | Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas

20 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

An art school professor once told Deborah Willis that she, as a woman, was taking a place from a good man -- but the storied photographer says she ins...

The power of citizen video to create undeniable truths | Yvette Alberdingk Thijm

19 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Could smartphones and cameras be our most powerful weapon for social justice? Through her organization Witness, Yvette Alberdingk Thijm is developing ...

A vehicle built in Africa, for Africa | Joel Jackson

19 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Joel Jackson wants to reimagine transportation around the needs of the African consumer. He's designed an SUV that's rugged enough for long stretches ...

How China is changing the future of shopping | Angela Wang

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

China is a huge laboratory of innovation, says retail expert Angela Wang, and in this lab, everything takes place on people's phones. Five hundred mil...

A new weapon in the fight against superbugs | David Brenner

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Since the widespread use of antibiotics began in the 1940s, we've tried to develop new drugs faster than bacteria can evolve -- but this strategy isn'...

Success stories from Kenya's first makerspace | Kamau Gachigi

13 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Africa needs engineers, but its engineering students often end up working at auditing firms and banks. Why? Kamau Gachigi suspects it's because they d...

Lessons from a solar storm chaser | Miho Janvier

12 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Space physicist Miho Janvier studies solar storms: giant clouds of particles that escape from the Sun and can disrupt life on Earth (while also produc...

Free yourself from your filter bubbles | Joan Blades and John Gable

12 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Joan Blades and John Gable want you to make friends with people who vote differently than you do. A pair of political opposites, the two longtime pals...

Adventures of an interplanetary architect | Xavier de Kestelier

11 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How will we live elsewhere in the galaxy? On Earth, natural resources for creating structures are abundant, but sending these materials up with us to ...

How augmented reality could change the future of surgery | Nadine Hachach-Haram

08 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

If you're undergoing surgery, you want the best surgical team to collaborate on your case, no matter where they are. Surgeon and entrepreneur Nadine H...

How urban agriculture is transforming Detroit | Devita Davison

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There's something amazing growing in the city of Detroit: healthy, accessible, delicious, fresh food. In a spirited talk, fearless farmer Devita Davis...

What makes something go viral? | Dao Nguyen

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What's the secret to making content people love? Join BuzzFeed's Publisher Dao Nguyen for a glimpse at how her team creates their tempting quizzes, li...

How can groups make good decisions? | Mariano Sigman and Dan Ariely

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We all know that when we make decisions in groups, they don't always go right -- and sometimes they go very wrong. How can groups make good decisions?...

How fake handbags fund terrorism and organized crime | Alistair Gray

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What's the harm in buying a knock-off purse or a fake designer watch? According to counterfeit investigator Alastair Gray, fakes like these fund terro...

The brain benefits of deep sleep -- and how to get more of it | Dan Gartenberg

05 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There's nothing quite like a good night's sleep. What if technology could help us get more out of it? Dan Gartenberg is working on tech that stimulate...