TED Talks Daily (SD video)
1,521 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★ - 1.7K ratingsTED is a nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading. On this video feed, you'll find TED Talks to inspire, intrigue and stir the imagination from some of the world's leading thinkers and doers, speaking from the stage at TED conferences, TEDx events and partner events around the world. This podcast is also available in high-def video and audio-only formats.
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Episodes
Theranos, whistleblowing and speaking truth to power | Erika Cheung
November 10, 2020 16:09 - 55.1 MB VideoIn 2014, Erika Cheung made a discovery that would ultimately help bring down her employer, Theranos, as well as its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, who claimed to have invented technology that would transform medicine. The decision to become a whistleblower proved a hard lesson in figuring out how to do what's right in the face of both personal and professional obstacles. With candor and humility, Cheung shares her journey of speaking truth to power -- and offers a framework to encourage others to...
I stepped out of grief -- by dancing with fire | Danielle Torley
November 06, 2020 15:59 - 42.9 MB VideoAfter losing her mother in a house fire when she was just six years old, Danielle Torley saw two paths before her: a life full of fear, or one that promised healing and recovery. In this inspiring talk, she describes how she turned her grief into beauty in a most unexpected way -- by dancing with fire.
The radical act of choosing common ground | Nisha Anand
November 02, 2020 15:59 - 52.3 MB VideoTo achieve lasting change sometimes requires the hard, even radical, choice of partnering with people you'd least expect. Justice reform advocate Nisha Anand shares her story of working with her ideological opposite to make history and save lives -- and urges us all to widen our circles in order to make progress with purpose.
What crows teach us about death | Dr. Kaeli Swift
October 30, 2020 20:13 - 44 MB VideoRituals for the dead span much of the natural world, seen in practices from humans and elephants to bees, dolphins and beyond. With charm and playful insight, animal behaviorist Kaeli Swift delves into the life (and death) habits of crows and shares what their responses could reveal about our own relationship to mortality.
What crows teach us about death | Kaeli Swift
October 30, 2020 20:13 - 44 MB VideoRituals for the dead span much of the natural world, seen in practices from humans and elephants to bees, dolphins and beyond. With charm and playful insight, animal behaviorist Kaeli Swift delves into the life (and death) habits of crows and shares what their responses could reveal about our own relationship to mortality.
How to foster productive and responsible debate | Ishan Bhabha
October 30, 2020 14:54 - 31.5 MB VideoThe clash of ideas is fundamental to creativity and progress, but it can also be deeply destructive and create divisions within companies, communities and families. How do you foster productive debate while protecting against harmful speech and misinformation? Constitutional lawyer Ishan Bhabha lays out structures that organizations can use to navigate ideological disagreement and responsibly bring facts and context to a larger dialogue.
The power of venom -- and how it could one day save your life | Mandë Holford
October 29, 2020 14:50 - 30.7 MB VideoVenom can kill ... or it can cure. In this fascinating talk, marine chemical biologist Mandë Holford shares her research into animal venom, from killer sea snails to platypuses and slow lorises -- and explores its potential to one day treat human diseases like cancer. The mechanism behind this powerful substance is still mysterious, Holford says, but: "Someday, snail venom might just save your life."
Our existential flight from death -- and wisdom on connecting to grief | Kevin Toolis
October 28, 2020 14:55 - 56 MB VideoFor centuries, the Irish funeral wake has served as a time for people to grieve a life lost and celebrate a life lived, together. In this profound and lyrical talk, poet Kevin Toolis laments the fear and denial of death that characterizes increasingly individualistic societies. He reasons that living life fully means embracing our shared mortality -- and offers simple ways to reconnect with your community, the people you love and even yourself.
What the Irish wake teaches us about living and dying | Kevin Toolis
October 28, 2020 14:55 - 56 MB VideoFor centuries, the Irish funeral wake has served as a time for people to grieve a life lost and celebrate a life lived, together. In this profound and lyrical talk, poet Kevin Toolis laments the fear and denial of death that characterizes increasingly individualistic societies. He reasons that living life fully means embracing our shared mortality -- and offers simple ways to reconnect with your community, the people you love and even yourself.
Climate change is becoming a problem you can taste | Amanda Little
October 27, 2020 14:51 - 40.3 MB VideoOur food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and introduces us to the farmers, entrepreneurs and engineers who are radically rethinking what we grow and how we eat, combining traditional agriculture with state-of-the-art technology to create a robust, resilient and sustainable food future.
What if a US presidential candidate refuses to concede after an election? | Van Jones
October 26, 2020 15:01 - 53.6 MB VideoIf the 2020 US presidential election is close, the race could drag on in the courts and halls of Congress long after ballots are cast, says lawyer and political commentator Van Jones. Explaining why the customary concession speech is one of the most important safeguards for democracy, Jones exposes shocking legal loopholes that could enable a candidate to grab power even if they lose both the popular vote and the electoral college -- and shares what ordinary citizens can do if there's no peac...
Can we create vaccines that mutate and spread? | Leor Weinberger
October 26, 2020 14:48 - 68.4 MB VideoViruses mutate and spread from person to person, a dynamic process that often leaves us playing catch-up when there's a new disease outbreak. What if vaccines worked the same way? Virologist Leor Weinberger shares a scientific breakthrough: "hijacker therapy," a type of medical treatment that could attack, modify and spread alongside a virus, potentially treating afflicted individuals and slowing the spread of infections like HIV.
What it takes to create social change against all odds | Ralph Nader
October 23, 2020 19:44 - 64 MB VideoOver his decades-long career as a political activist, Ralph Nader has helped expose some of the greatest misdeeds of large corporations. You may be familiar with the real-world changes his work sparked: the Clean Air Act, automobile safety laws, regulation of the tobacco industry and more. Tracing the arc of his time advocating for change, Nader shares how he helped catalyze social progress against overwhelming odds -- and shows how you can participate in advancing the common good for generat...
Why children stay silent following sexual violence | Kristin Jones
October 22, 2020 19:48 - 44.2 MB VideoSexual assault is never the victim's fault, says advocate Kristin Jones. In this courageous talk, she tells her story of overcoming the shame that followed sexual abuse as a teenager -- and shares how parents can foster an open conversation about abuse to empower kids and encourage them to ask for help. (This talk contains mature content.)
Sexual assault, shame and teaching kids to ask for help | Kristin Jones
October 22, 2020 19:48 - 44.2 MB VideoSexual assault is never the victim's fault, says advocate Kristin Jones. In this courageous talk, she tells her story of overcoming the shame that followed sexual abuse as a teenager -- and shares how parents can foster an open conversation about abuse to empower kids and encourage them to ask for help. (This talk contains mature content)
How to reduce the wealth gap between Black and white Americans | Kedra Newsom Reeves
October 22, 2020 14:55 - 39.3 MB VideoThe racial wealth gap in the United States is shocking: white families have a median wealth nearly 10 times greater than that of Black families. How did we get here, and how can we stop the gap from growing? Wealth equity strategist Kedra Newsom Reeves provides a short history on the origins and perpetuation of racial wealth inequality in the US -- and outlines four ways financial institutions can expand opportunity for Black individuals, families, entrepreneurs and communities.
Could CBD help opioid users overcome addiction? | Yasmin Hurd
October 21, 2020 16:00 - 43.2 MB VideoCould CBD, a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant, help treat opioid addiction? Neuroscientist Yasmin Hurd discusses why current treatment strategies, such as methadone, aren't enough to end the opioid epidemic -- and shares how CBD could help reduce the cravings and anxiety associated with drug use and relapse, potentially providing a new, safe and nonaddictive therapy.
How businesses can serve everyone, not just shareholders | Dame Vivian Hunt
October 20, 2020 14:50 - 45.4 MB VideoCompanies worldwide are pledging to play a more meaningful role in the well-being of their employees, customers and the environment. How can they turn their promises into action? From creating a representative boardroom to committing to measurable sustainability goals, business leader Dame Vivian Hunt discusses the necessary changes companies can make to embrace stakeholder capitalism -- and shares how it could change business for good.
How Ikea is growing its business while shrinking emissions | Jesper Brodin and Pia Heidenmark Cook
October 16, 2020 14:16 - 18.3 MB VideoIKEA currently makes up 0.1 percent of all global carbon emissions -- but by 2030, they're planning to be carbon negative across their business. Discussing new thinking about the lifespan of their products, from the forest to the landfill, Jesper Brodin and Pia Heidenmark Cook of Ingka Group (IKEA) share their company's steps towards sustainably sourcing materials like cotton and wood and redesigning products to extend their use without compromising on quality or affordability. (Narrated by R...
The life unfolding inside your cells, revealed in 3D | Gokul Upadhyayula
October 13, 2020 14:47 - 42 MB VideoTo understand how life works, you need to watch it in action, says bioimaging scientist Gokul Upadhyayula. Taking us down to the cellular level, he shares the work behind cutting-edge microscopes that capture and record, in three dimensions, the complex behaviors of living organisms -- from infecting cancer cells to crawling immune cells -- and what they're revealing about the dynamics of biology. Watch life unfold before your eyes with the incredible visuals in this talk.
On time and water | Andri Snær Magnason
October 10, 2020 20:33 - 12.2 MB VideoOver the next 200 years, we can expect all of the Earth's glaciers to disappear -- unless we act now, says writer Andri Snær Magnason. Telling the story of the Okjökull glacier in Iceland, the first glacier lost to climate change, Magnason explains why we need to start connecting to the future in a more intimate, urgent way in order to stabilize the Earth for generations to come.
Our moral imperative to act on climate change -- and 3 steps we can take | His Holiness Pope Francis
October 10, 2020 20:22 - 42.9 MB VideoThe global climate crisis will require us to transform the way we act, says His Holiness Pope Francis. Delivering a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City, the spiritual leader proposes three courses of action to address the world's growing environmental problems and economic inequalities, illustrating how all of us can work together, across faiths and societies, to protect the Earth and promote the dignity of everyone. "The future is built today," he says. "And it is not built in isolation, bu...
Apple's promise to be carbon neutral by 2030 | Lisa Jackson and Liz Ogbu
October 10, 2020 20:07 - 18.1 MB VideoUnder the leadership of Lisa Jackson, Apple's environment and social VP and former head of the EPA, the company is already carbon neutral within their own corporate and retail boundaries. By 2030, Apple hopes to extend carbon neutrality to their supply chain and consumers. In conversation with urbanist and spatial justice activist Liz Ogbu, Jackson shares thoughts on leadership, tech, the environment and building a green economy.
Lessons on leaving the world better than you found it | Sophie Howe
October 10, 2020 19:55 - 18.6 MB VideoSophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for delivering long-term change. She describes some of the people-focused policies she's helped implement in Wales, aimed at cutting carbon emissions, increasing sustainability and promoting well-being as a national goal.
How to be a good ancestor | Roman Krznaric
October 10, 2020 19:51 - 23.9 MB VideoOur descendants own the future, but the decisions and actions we make now will tremendously impact generations to come, says philosopher Roman Krznaric. From a global campaign to grant legal personhood to nature to a groundbreaking lawsuit by a coalition of young activists, Krznaric shares examples of ways we can become good ancestors -- or, as he calls them, "Time Rebels" -- and join a movement redefining lifespans, pursuing intergenerational justice and practicing deep love for the planet.
This decade calls for Earthshots to repair our planet | Prince William
October 10, 2020 19:25 - 24.7 MB Video"We start this new decade knowing that it is the most consequential period in history," says Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's "Moonshot," he calls on us all to rise to our greatest challenge ever: the "Earthshot." A set of ambitious objectives for the planet, the Earthshot goals seek to protect and restore nature, clean the air, revive oceans, build a waste-free world and fix the climate -- all in the next decade. To do it, we'll need people in al...
Community-powered solutions to the climate crisis | Rahwa Ghirmatzion and Zelalem Adefris
October 10, 2020 19:18 - 16 MB VideoClimate change is the epic challenge of our lives, and community leaders like Rahwa Ghirmatzion and Zelalem Adefris are already working on sustainable, resilient solutions. Through their organizations in Buffalo and Miami, they're focused on durable, affordable housing for under-resourced communities, the most vulnerable to the instability of climate change. Watch for a lesson on how we can work alongside our neighbors to address climate catastrophe and social inequality. (Narrated by Don Che...
How we could make carbon-negative concrete | Tom Schuler
October 10, 2020 19:13 - 16.3 MB VideoConcrete is all around us: we use it to build our roads, buildings, bridges and much more. Yet over the last 2,000 years, the art of mixing cement and using it to bind concrete hasn't changed very much -- and it remains one of the world's biggest emitters of carbon. Entrepreneur Tom Schuler previews an innovative way to create concrete, potentially turning it into a carbon sink that traps CO2 from the atmosphere -- while producing a viable building material.
A concrete idea to reduce carbon emissions | Karen Scrivener
October 10, 2020 19:09 - 15.6 MB VideoConcrete is the second most-used substance on Earth (behind water), and it's responsible for eight percent of the world's carbon footprint. Cement researcher Karen Scrivener shares the research behind a pioneering new kind of cement known as LC3, which could slash carbon emissions from this crucial building material by 40 percent, if adopted at scale.
How to decarbonize the grid and electrify everything | John Doerr and Hal Harvey
October 10, 2020 18:58 - 67 MB Video"The good news is it's now clearly cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it," says engineer and investor John Doerr. "The bad news is: we are fast running out of time." In this conversation with climate policy expert Hal Harvey, the two sustainability leaders discuss why humanity has to act globally, at speed and at scale, to meet the staggering challenge of decarbonizing the global economy (which has only ever increased emissions throughout history) -- and share helpful examples of promisi...
A "forest generation" living in harmony with nature | Ernestine Leikeki Sevidzem
October 10, 2020 18:43 - 11.1 MB VideoWe need to care for and live in harmony with the environment, says climate and gender activist Ernestine Leikeki Sevidzem. The best way to do that? Nurture a forest generation: one that learns to protect nature. Sevidzem shares how she's educating both children and adults in her native Cameroon on what it means to love and preserve the Earth -- and calls for all of us to foster generations that will inherit a mindset that works with nature, not against it.
The global movement to restore nature's biodiversity | Thomas Crowther
October 10, 2020 18:36 - 38.2 MB VideoBiodiversity is the key to life on Earth and reviving our damaged planet, says ecologist Thomas Crowther. Sharing the inside story of his headline-making research on reforestation, which led to the UN's viral Trillion Trees Campaign, Crowther introduces Restor: an expansive, informative platform built to enable anyone, anywhere to help restore the biodiversity of Earth's ecosystems.
24 hours on Earth -- in one image | Stephen Wilkes
October 10, 2020 18:20 - 9.34 MB Video"Nature reveals itself to us in unique ways, if we stop and look at the world through a window of time," says photographer Stephen Wilkes. Using a special photographic technique that reveals how a scene changes from day to night in a single image, Wilkes exposes the Earth's beautiful complexity and the impacts of climate change -- from the disruption of flamingo migrations in Africa to the threat of melting ice -- with unprecedented force.
Climate change is our reality. Here's how we're taking action | Al Gore, Gloria Kasang Bulus, Nana Firman, Ximena Loría and Tim Guinee
October 10, 2020 18:13 - 23.1 MB VideoWith the Climate Reality Project, Al Gore is helping mold future leaders to build the movement for climate survival and social justice from the ground up. He introduces us to four of the Project's graduates, each of whom confronts climate change on their own terms: Ximena Loría, founder of Misión 2 Grados, an NGO influencing public policy in Central America; Nana Firman, "daughter of the rainforest" and advocate for climate justice among Indigenous peoples; Gloria Kasang Bulus, a Nigerian act...
How cities are detoxing transportation | Monica Araya
October 10, 2020 18:03 - 34.5 MB VideoPeople around the world are demanding clean air -- and cities are starting to respond, says electrification advocate Monica Araya. She takes us on a world tour of urban areas that are working to fully electrify their transportation systems over the next decade, shifting to emission-free motorcycles, cars, buses, ferries and beyond. See what a future without the internal combustion engine could look like -- and what it will take to get there.
The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change | Rose M. Mutiso
October 10, 2020 17:52 - 22.5 MB VideoIn this perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint.
Fossil fuel companies know how to stop global warming. Why don't they? | Myles Allen
October 10, 2020 17:42 - 35.3 MB VideoThe fossil fuel industry knows how to stop global warming, but they're waiting for someone else to pay, says climate science scholar Myles Allen. Instead of a total ban on carbon-emitting fuels, Allen puts forth a bold plan for oil and gas companies to progressively decarbonize themselves and sequester CO2 deep in the earth, with the aim of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and creating a carbon dioxide disposal industry that works for everyone.
Fossil fuel companies know how to stop global warming. Why aren't they? | Myles Allen
October 10, 2020 17:42 - 35.3 MB VideoThe fossil fuel industry knows how to stop global warming, but they're waiting for someone else to pay, says climate science scholar Myles Allen. Instead of a total ban on carbon-emitting fuels, Allen puts forth a bold plan for oil and gas companies to progressively decarbonize themselves and sequester CO2 deep in the earth, with the aim of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and creating a carbon dioxide disposal industry that works for everyone.
India's historic opportunity to industrialize using clean energy | Varun Sivaram
October 10, 2020 17:25 - 36.5 MB VideoIndia has a historic opportunity to power its industrialization with clean energy -- and its energy choices will make or break the world's fight against climate change, says clean energy executive, physicist and author Varun Sivaram. Bringing on-the-ground experience as CTO of India's largest renewable energy company, Sivaram proposes a plan for India to achieve three herculean feats, all at the same time -- and reimagine its economy with renewable energy at its heart.
How India could pull off the world's most ambitious energy transition | Varun Sivaram
October 10, 2020 17:25 - 36.5 MB VideoIndia has a historic opportunity to power its industrialization with clean energy -- and its energy choices will make or break the world's fight against climate change, says clean energy executive, physicist and author Varun Sivaram. Bringing on-the-ground experience as CTO of India's largest renewable energy company, Sivaram proposes a plan for India to achieve three herculean feats, all at the same time -- and reimagine its economy with renewable energy at its heart.
The city planting a million trees in two years | Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
October 10, 2020 17:10 - 16.5 MB VideoYvonne Aki-Sawyerr, mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is on a mission to plant a million trees over the next two years, increasing vegetation in her city by fifty percent while shoring up eroding riverbanks and increasing biodiversity. "This isn't just about planting trees; it's about growing trees, and it's about ensuring that each one of us is part of the process," she says. "A million trees is our city's small contribution to increasing the much-needed global carbon sink."
The 15-minute city | Carlos Moreno
October 10, 2020 17:03 - 26.1 MB VideoLiving in a city means accepting a certain level of dysfunction: long commutes, noisy streets, underutilized spaces. Carlos Moreno wants to change that. He makes the case for the "15-minute city," where inhabitants have access to all the services they need to live, learn and thrive within their immediate vicinity -- and shares ideas for making urban areas adapt to humans, not the other way around.
The joy of taking out the trash | Aparna Nancherla
October 10, 2020 16:57 - 11.7 MB VideoComedian Aparna Nancherla loves to take out the trash. In this funny and sharp meditation on garbage -- "the stuff that our modern, consumerist, carbon-powered culture makes us buy endlessly, and often for no reason" -- she shares thoughts on how to use less in a world that's choking on ever-larger piles of waste.
Amazon's climate pledge to be net-zero by 2040 | Dave Clark and Kara Hurst
October 10, 2020 16:51 - 18.3 MB VideoIn 2019, Amazon signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to become a net-zero carbon business by 2040. Dave Clark, Amazon's chief of consumer retail, and Kara Hurst, head of the company's sustainability efforts, sit down with entrepreneur and activist Lindsay Levin to discuss how the company is planning to reduce its carbon footprint across all aspects of business -- while inviting other companies to join them in this transformation.
Amazon's climate pledge: to be net-zero by 2040 | Dave Clark and Kara Hurst
October 10, 2020 16:51 - 18.3 MB VideoIn 2019, Amazon signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to become a net-zero carbon business by 2040. Dave Clark, Amazon's chief of consumer retail, and Kara Hurst, head of the company's sustainability efforts, sit down with entrepreneur and activist Lindsay Levin to discuss how the company is planning to reduce its carbon footprint across all aspects of business -- while inviting other companies to join them in this transformation.
If trees could speak | Elif Shafak
October 10, 2020 16:41 - 13.5 MB VideoHow do we tell stories of humanity and nature at a time when our planet is burning? Novelist Elif Shafak invites us to listen to the trees, whose experience of time, stillness and impermanence is utterly different from our own. "Hidden inside [their] story is the past and the future of humanity," she says.
To save the climate, we have to reimagine capitalism | Rebecca Henderson
October 10, 2020 16:33 - 26.4 MB Video"Business is screwed if we don't fix climate change," says economist Rebecca Henderson. In this bold talk, she describes how unchecked capitalism destabilizes the environment and harms human health -- and makes the case for companies to step up and help fix the climate crisis they're causing. Hear what a reimagined capitalism, in which companies pay for the climate damage they cause, could look like.
Kids are speaking up for the environment. Let's listen | Olafur Eliasson
October 10, 2020 16:28 - 10.2 MB VideoKnown for big, attention-grabbing installations -- like his four towering waterfalls in New York's East River -- Olafur Eliasson has scaled down his latest project, Earth Speakr: an art platform for kids designed to spur budding climate activists to lead discussions on nature, conservation, pollution and more.
Europe's plan to become the first carbon-neutral continent | Ursula von der Leyen
October 10, 2020 16:22 - 20.2 MB VideoWith the ambitious goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, the European Union has committed to creating a greener world for future generations. In this bold talk, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, details the challenges and opportunities that come with transitioning an entire continent to clean energy -- and shows why fixing climate change calls for everyone to take action.
Make your actions on climate reflect your words | Severn Cullis-Suzuki
October 10, 2020 16:14 - 23.9 MB Video"History has shown us that in moments of crisis, society can truly transform," says environmental educator Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Nearly 30 years ago, at just 12 years old, she spoke at the UN's Earth Summit in hopes of reversing the planet's slide into ecological disaster. Some at the summit listened and took radical action, but for the rest of the world, it was business, politics and full-steam-ahead economic growth. Now, Cullis-Suzuki shares another warning about the future, this time infor...