TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. On this feed, you'll find TEDTalks video 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.
Updated: 2 days 14 hours ago
TED: Mike deGruy: Hooked by an octopus - Mike deGruy (2010)
Underwater filmmaker Mike deGruy has spent decades looking intimately at the ocean. A consummate storyteller, he takes the stage at Mission Blue to share his awe and excitement -- and his fears -- about the blue heart of our planet.
TED: Danny Hillis: Back to the future (of 1994) - Danny Hillis (1994)
From deep in the TED archive, Danny Hillis outlines an intriguing theory of how and why technological change seems to be accelerating, by linking it to the very evolution of life itself. The presentation techniques he uses may look dated, but the ideas are as relevant as ever.
TED: Erica Frenkel: The universal anesthesia machine - Erica Frenkel (2011)
What if you're in surgery and the power goes out? No lights, no oxygen -- and your anesthesia stops flowing. It happens constantly in hospitals throughout the world, turning routine procedures into tragedies. Erica Frenkel demos one solution: the universal anesthesia machine.
TED: Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work - Shawn Achor (2011)
We believe that we should work to be happy, but could that be backwards? In this fast-moving and entertaining talk from TEDxBloomington, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that actually happiness inspires productivity.
TED: Bill Doyle: Treating cancer with electric fields - Bill Doyle (2011)
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are the best-known methods for treating cancer. At TEDMED, Bill Doyle presents a new approach, called Tumor Treating Fields, which uses electric fields to interrupt cancer cell division. Still in its infancy -- and approved for only certain types of cancer -- the treatment comes with one big benefit: quality of life.
TED: Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gun - Peter van Uhm (2011)
Peter van Uhm is the Netherlands’ chief of defense, but that does not mean he is pro-war. At TEDxAmsterdam he explains how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not a desire for bloodshed -- and why we need armies if we want peace.
TED: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Women entrepreneurs, example not exception - Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (2011)
Women aren’t micro--so why do they only get micro-loans? At TEDxWomen reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that women running all types of firms-- from home businesses to major factories-- are the overlooked key to economic development.
TED: Ariel Garten: Know thyself, with a brain scanner - Ariel Garten (2011)
Imagine playing a video game controlled by your mind. Now imagine that game also teaches you about your own patterns of stress, relaxation and focus. At TEDxToronto Ariel Garten shows how looking at our own brain activity gives new meaning to the ancient dictum "know thyself."
TED: Brian Goldman: Doctors make mistakes. Can we talk about that? - Brian Goldman (2011)
Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine's culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong.
TED: Diana Nyad: Extreme swimming with the world's most dangerous jellyfish - Diana Nyad (2011)
In the 1970s, Diana Nyad set long-distance swim records that are still unbroken. Thirty years later, at 60, she attempted her longest swim yet, from Cuba to Florida. In this funny, powerful talk at TEDMED, she talks about how to prepare mentally to achieve an extreme dream, and asks: What will YOU do with your wild, precious life?
TED: Lisa Harouni: A primer on 3D printing - Lisa Harouni (2011)
2012 may be the year of 3D printing, when this three-decade-old technology finally becomes accessible and even commonplace. Lisa Harouni gives a useful introduction to this fascinating way of making things -- including intricate objects once impossible to create.
TED: Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier - Sheena Iyengar (2011)
We all want customized experiences and products -- but when faced with 700 options, consumers freeze up. With fascinating new research, Sheena Iyengar demonstrates how businesses (and others) can improve the experience of choosing.
TED: Clay Shirky: Why SOPA is a bad idea - Clay Shirky (2012)
What does a bill like PIPA/SOPA mean to our shareable world? At the TED offices, Clay Shirky delivers a proper manifesto -- a call to defend our freedom to create, discuss, link and share, rather than passively consume.
TED: Mikko Hypponen: Three types of online attack - Mikko Hypponen (2011)
Cybercrime expert Mikko Hypponen talks us through three types of online attack on our privacy and data -- and only two are considered crimes. "Do we blindly trust any future government? Because any right we give away, we give away for good."
TED: Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0 - Alain de Botton (2011)
What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a "religion for atheists" -- call it Atheism 2.0 -- that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.
TED: Sonaar Luthra: Meet the Water Canary - Sonaar Luthra (2011)
After a crisis, how can we tell if water is safe to drink? Current tests are slow and complex, and the delay can be deadly, as in the cholera outbreak after Haiti's earthquake in 2010. TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra previews his design for a simple tool that quickly tests water for safety -- the Water Canary.
TED: Morley sings "Women of Hope" - Morley (2011)
Inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi’s call to action, “If you’re feeling helpless, help someone,” Morley composed this song. She sings it at TEDxWomen in her gorgeous, warm voice.
TED: Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology - Drew Berry (2011)
We have no ways to directly observe molecules and what they do -- Drew Berry wants to change that. At TEDxSydney he shows his scientifically accurate (and entertaining!) animations that help researchers see unseeable processes within our own cells.
TED: Jonas Gahr Støre: In defense of dialogue - Jonas Gahr Støre (2011)
In politics, it seems counterintuitive to engage in dialogue with violent groups, with radicals and terrorists, and with the states that support them. But Jonas Gahr Støre, the foreign minister of Norway, makes a compelling case for open discussion, even when values diverge, in an attempt to build greater security for all.
TED: Award-winning teen-age science in action - Lauren Hodge / Shree Bose / Naomi Shah (2011)
In 2011 three young women swept the top prizes of the first Google Science Fair. At TEDxWomen Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose and Naomi Shah described their extraordinary projects-- and their route to a passion for science.