TED Talks Daily

Today, an episode of Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. Icelandic is an ancient and iconic language that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien when he wrote "The Lord of the Rings." But with the digital age, and the strict rules surrounding its grammar, Icelandic is losing ground all over the country -- specifically to English. Now Icelanders are split -- using Engl...

There are only two mammals who have evolved to survive after their childbearing years: toothed whales and humans. This stage of life is called menopause, and it makes humans an evolutionary wonder! Dr. Jen Gunter, host of the podcast Body Stuff, talks to Elise about her book "The Menopause Manifesto." Afterwards, listen to an excerpt from Dr. Jen's podcast, where she reviews the history of this pr...

Jacqueline Woodson writes books to be savored. She is best known for her memoir "Brown Girl Dreaming" along with her works "After Tupac and D Foster," "Feathers" and "Show Way." Her accolades include the MacArthur "Genius Grant" and the National Book Award. In this excerpt of a conversation she had with Debbie Millman on the podcast Design Matters, Woodson talks about how she discovered her deep l...

With passion and wry humor, the former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford makes the case for parents to stop defining their children's success via grades and test scores. Instead, she says, they should focus on providing the oldest idea of all: unconditional love. After the talk, stick around for a discussion on how you can be a grown-up, too, as Elise and Julie discuss her new book, "Your Turn: How to...

Exposing what life looks like in Afghanistan after a 20-year US occupation and the Taliban's stunning and rapid takeover, TED Fellow and documentary photographer Kiana Hayeri captures harrowing glimpses and multifaceted realities of a war-torn country. Through the lens of her camera, she documents devastation and deferred dreams -- but also resilient hope and spirit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Welcome to the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Up first, a meditation on the meaning of home, the joy of traveling and the serenity of standing still from writer Pico Iyer. After the talk, Pico shares a book that has stayed with him: "Letter to a Stranger" by Colleen Kinder. If you'd like to hear more from Pico, you can tak...

The pandemic brought into sharp focus the crisis in caregiving in the United States, which woefully under provides support for parents. Activist and Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani has a proposal to address that -- something she calls the Marshall Plan for Moms -- and she unpacks how it aims to build radically different systems in order to empower working parents. (This conversation, hosted...

Imagine seeking safety abroad and instead being detained and forced to defend yourself in a high-stakes legal battle — alone. Law professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández explains how the asylum process in the US became warped into what we know today and poses a question that could lead the country out of its labyrinthian policies: In place of investing in more steel doors and barbed wire, what...

Could DAOs, or "decentralized autonomous organizations", be the key to building the next great city? Experimental urbanist Scott Fitsimones shares how these mission-driven, blockchain-governed, collectively owned organizations could increase the speed and efficiency of building cities (among many other applications) -- all while pooling decision-making power in a radically collaborative way. Hear...

Your closet is likely full of all kinds of materials -- leather, cotton, nylon and polyester, to name a few -- that contribute to fashion’s sustainability crisis. Biomaterials investigator Dan Widmaier explains how we could look to nature for sustainable replacements for these much-used materials and introduces a leather alternative made from mushrooms that looks great and doesn’t harm the environ...

What if the commonly accepted narratives about the foundation of civilization are all wrong? Drawing on groundbreaking research, archaeologist David Wengrow challenges traditional thinking about the social evolution of humanity -- from the invention of agriculture to the formation of cities and class systems -- and explains how rethinking history can radically change our perspective on inequality...

Forget home economics and standardized tests, education visionary Trish Millines Dziko has a much more engaging and fulfilling way for students to develop real-world skills. Get schooled by Dziko as she shares how project-based learning can transform public education and unlock genius for the next generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, ideators and leaders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Music can amplify social issues and inspire people to care about new (and sometimes unexpected) topics. But can it take something as dire as climate change and make it mainstream? With artists MyVerse and Kristen Warren as an inspiring opening act, social entrepreneur Samir Ibrahim suggests hip-hop and its stars can help us move from talking about the problem to rapping about (and acting on) solut...

The deadliest severe weather phenomenon is something you might not realize: extreme heat. Eleni Myrivili, chief heat officer of the city of Athens, Greece, explains that extreme heat and heat waves are often overlooked because they're not as dramatic as flooding or hurricanes – and breaks down three approaches to keep cities cool in a time of rapid global temperature rise. "Cranking up the air con...

As the saying goes, less is more. The same goes for words. Listen as Politico and Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei shares what he's learned leading two media companies -- and how to radically rethink the way you write to keep people's attention in a distracted digital world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do we often wait so long to recognize each other's gifts? Why are the truest compliments for the people we love often said only after they're no longer around to hear and savor them? Andrea Driessen makes the case for writing eulogies for the living, sharing the power of "grace notes" to offer connection on a deeper level and dispel any regrets of waiting until a loved one's death to appreciat...

From the return of nomadic living to a climate-disrupted world, author and global strategist Parag Khanna has some predictions for humanity. Get a fascinating glimpse at the future as he tackles an urgent question: Where on Earth will eight billion humans live in the uncertain times ahead? (This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusiv...

"Climate doom-ism," or a pessimistic outlook on the future of the planet, rivals climate denialism in holding up the fight against climate change, says activist Zahra Biabani. Illuminating how hope combats inaction, she takes us inside the world of eco-friendly content on TikTok -- and shows that we all have what it takes to make real change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...

The universe that we know, with its luminous stars and orbiting planets, is largely made up of elements we can’t actually see -- like dark energy and dark matter -- and therefore don’t fully understand. Theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein takes us inside the search for this cosmos-shaping invisible matter and explains how, with the help of a new generation of telescopes, we could be clo...

Sharing his experience of being held captive in a Taliban prison for 105 days, humanitarian Safi Rauf talks about his life's mission to get food, medicine and other critical supplies to Afghans in need -- and urges the world to bolster aid and establish a peaceful presence in the country during these extraordinarily difficult times. (This talk was recorded on April 12, 2022) Hosted on Acast. See a...

Where did all the lumps and bumps on buildings go? When did city architecture become so ... dull? Here to talk about why cities need inspiring architecture, designer Thomas Heatherwick offers us a visually stimulating path out of the doldrums of urban monotony -- so cities are filled with soulful buildings that people cherish for centuries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

During the Soviet Union era, therapy was often used as a tool of political oppression. Since then, Russia has seen major reforms in mental health care -- but stigmas and distrust for the practice still live on. Psychologist and TED Fellow Olga Kitaina shares the current state of therapy in Russia (where tarot card readers and astrologers sometimes pass as psychoanalysts) and outlines her solution...

The world needs clean power, but decarbonization calls for a massive increase in the mining and extraction of minerals like lithium, graphite and cobalt. Environmental peacemaking expert Olivia Lazard sheds light on the scramble for these precious mineral resources -- and how the countries that control their supply chains (including China and Russia) could find themselves at the center of the new...

We all know that information is power, but what if you live in a country without a free press or regular access to the internet? You have to be creative and find nimble ways to help your community stay informed. That's exactly what journalists in Caracas, Venezuela are doing by delivering the news every weekday ... on public buses all over! In this episode of Far Flung, a podcast from the TED Audi...

A blank spot on a digital map can signal much more than a gap in data -- it can mean something is being intentionally hidden. Sharing the remarkable discovery of massive alleged detention camps in Xinjiang, China, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alison Killing shows how governments can obscure human rights abuses by limiting journalist access on the ground -- and calls for more reliable open-sou...