TED Talks Daily (SD video)

A lot of today’s war footage is shot on phones and posted to platforms that were never meant to permanently store it. Digital archivist and TED Fellow Hadi Al Khatib founded Mnemonic to save these photos and videos before they vanish. Learn how his team is turning people’s social media posts into evidence of crimes that holds up in court — and building an archive that ensures the truth outlasts th...

More than 2,000 years ago in ancient Athens, young citizens were required to complete “ephebeia,” a two-year civic service program that taught them the laws of the city and how to defend their democracy. Author and historian Scott Reich believes this practice reflects something crucial we often forget: citizens aren’t born — they’re trained. In a hopeful talk, he shares his plan to bring a modern...

Have you heard the clean energy transition is failing? Energy analyst Michael Liebreich says to look again. Using a four-line spreadsheet model of the global energy system, he shows why fossil fuels will inevitably get squeezed out over time — with no bans required. The shift is well underway, he explains: it just looks different than many of us expected. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Aria Florant cofounded a nonprofit to help accelerate the reparations movement in the US … but less than a year in, her partnership with her own cofounder fell apart. Drawing on what brought the two of them back together — plus lessons from South Africa, Germany and Colombia — she lays out a four-step process for repairing harm between two people or across an entire nation. Most people think repar...

What’s dirtier: your phone or your hands? Molecular biologist Lotti Tajouri says there’s a gaping hole in our hygiene routine. We scrub our hands clean, then reach right for the phone — a warm, humid and mobile home for bacteria and viruses. He explores the unnervingly vibrant microbial world living on your phone and shows how you can keep this “third hand” clean. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

When life gets uncertain, do you grip a little tighter? Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explores a surprising paradox: the harder you try to control everything, the more likely you are to get in your own way. Drawing on brain research and her own struggles with uncertainty, she shares practical ways to let go and make room for creativity, calm and flow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

When does normal aging end and something more concerning begins? In this episode Shoshana invites neurologist Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to discuss their studies on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. They debunk myths around Alzheimer, discuss what a brain-healthy way of eating looks like, and share why good sleep hygiene is more crucial for brain health than you think Learn more about TED Health at http...

Jennifer Granholm steered Michigan through the auto industry's near-collapse and later ran the US Department of Energy during the largest clean energy investment in the country's history. In conversation with climate investor Ryan Panchadsaram, she explains why the next chapter of clean energy is all about construction — and why local communities have more power than they may think. Hosted...

Most people hate mosquitoes, but biotechnologist and TED Fellow Felix Hol thinks they're beautiful. He takes us inside his lab, where his team developed some unusual ways to study how these blood-sucking insects find us and feed so fast. He also explains why insecticides may send certain mosquitoes into overdrive — and how we can find smarter ways to curb the diseases they spread. (Following h...

Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth — two of the rock stars behind the legendary band Van Halen — sit down with visual artist Robert Vargas to reveal the two-step recipe for great art: do your homework, then break every rule. Along the way, they swap stories about heartbreak, good luck charms and why you should rehearse for what goes wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

Should the US Constitution protect your DNA? Your voice? Your data? Entrepreneur Jeff Maurer spent his youth fighting fires alongside World War II veterans, and he thinks the spirit that united them can power America's next 250 years. He proposes five new amendments to the US Constitution — from protecting privacy to holding politicians accountable — and shares what it would take to get them p...

When was the last time you played, just for fun? Eleven-year-old Mila Rojas has noticed that adults — buried under schedules, expectations and the pressure to be serious — often see play as unproductive. In this delightful talk, she shows why having fun is key for families to connect and shares some simple ways to bring more joy into everyday life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

Couples therapists Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt spent decades teaching the world how to love well … even as their own marriage was falling apart. In this candid, funny talk, Hendrix recounts the yearlong experiment in listening that saved their relationship — and shows how any couple can break the cycle of criticism to rediscover joy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Why does making friends as an adult feel like mission impossible? In today’s Sunday Pick, Corner Piece , host Melissa Fernandes explores what it means to be a friend while grappling with a friendship break up. Along the way, she interviews Anna Goldfarb, journalist and author of “Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valuable Connections,” and Dr. Marisa G. Franco, professor and author of “Pl...

Ghost stories reveal much more than the ghouls and spirits that haunt them. Settle in for a spooky delight as theater educator Coya Paz Brownrigg lays out three types of bone-chilling tales and exhumes the grave truths they hold about longing, meaning and the cultural value of eerie encounters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rituals 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a mysterious wave of tics and twitches swept through a small-town high school in New York, documentary podcaster Dan Taberski set out to investigate what was really happening. Drawing on extensive research and intimate interviews with the people involved, he explores the roots of mass hysteria — and what it reveals about the line between illness and belonging. What happens when the very thin...

Scientist Saad Bhamla is on a mission to answer a question most people don't think to ask: How do insects pee? Taking inspiration from the incredible "butt flickers" of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Bhamla presents a fascinating study of the physics behind how bugs take care of business and invites us to be more curious about the seemingly mundane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

In this fascinating, hilarious and ever-so-slightly creepy talk, science writer Ed Yong tells the story of his favorite parasites -- animals and organisms that live on the bodies (and brains!) of other organisms, causing them to do their bidding. Do humans have them too? Maybe ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who could you call at 2am when everything’s gone wrong? Friendship expert Sheridan Voysey believes we’re in a friendship recession, with many of us forgetting how to foster meaningful relationships. He explores three hidden barriers keeping us apart, why it feels harder to make friends as an adult — and how to nurture the deep connections that sustain us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Solar energy and storage are the fastest, cheapest ways to add electricity to the grid. So why are small towns across the US pausing or banning these projects? Clean energy entrepreneur Jon Powers shows how fossil fuel companies are waging disinformation campaigns at the local level — and calls for a rapid-response team that sends trusted messengers (like firefighters and farmers) to get communiti...

Many people fear AI is eroding our humanity, replacing real relationships with synthetic ones that leave us lonelier than ever. Digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns believes the opposite may be true. After talking to hundreds of people who turn to AI for grief, love, friendship and more, she pokes holes in this familiar fear — and hints at what these strange new relationships can teach us about...

Parenting an eye-rolling teenager glued to a gaming system is not a simple feat, but what if you could turn screen time into an opportunity for connection? Hannah Boquet shares how she decided to play video games with her kids and discovered the power of esports to foster trust, communication and essential life skills. Dive deeper into how you can strengthen family bonds, support your child’s deve...

In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice advocate Payton M. Wilkins thinks we can protect both workers and the planet with an age-old solution: unions. He digs into the economic fallout of ditching fossil f...

No matter where you fall on the corporate food chain, you have power at work—you just might not know how to use it. In this new series on Unlocking Your Power at Work, Anne and Frances dig into how to discover, build, and use your power, explore common power dynamics in the workplace, and learn from people who use their full power with honesty and swagger. Kara Swisher is one of the most influenti...