After 11 incredible years at TED -- for which I'll always be grateful -- I’ve moved on to pursue several creative, entrepreneurial opportunities at the frontier of media. I’m in the midst of launching a media start-up, along with my partner Deron Triff (Former Head of Media Partners for TED, e.g., TED Radio Hour, TED Books, TED on Netflix, etc.). We consider ourselves a content incubator, focused on launching formula-defying media properties that can thrive across platforms. We’re at work on a VR series with Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin, an audio series with TED and Audible (featuring anonymous TED talks), and several other series that haven’t been announced.
Ashraf Ghani is the former Finance Minister of Afghanistan, and a candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as Secretary General of the United Nations. He’s an expert on the economics of developing nations and post-conflict reconstruction. This passionate presentation includes a 10-minute talk, emphasizing the necessity of both economic investment and design ingenuity to rebuild broken […]
Our warmest congratulations go out to Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammed Yunus, honored today with the Nobel Peace Prize. “Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty,” wrote Nobel Committee director Ole Danbolt Mjoes, recognizing the importance of micro-finance pioneer Grameen Bank. “Microcredit is […]
Jacqueline Novogratz is the charismatic founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a non-profit that takes a business-like approach to improving the lives of the poor. In this talk, she applauds the world’s heightened interest in Africa, but argues persuasively for a new approach to foreign aid: “The question isn’t ‘how do we fix this?’ The […]
Iqbal Quadir is co-founder of GrameenPhone, an innovative wireless company offering services to poor rural villages in Bangladesh. In this talk, he explains the triple impact of cell phone service in rural areas (connecting the village to the world, creating business opportunities, and generating over time a culture of entrepreneurship.) He also relates his personal […]
When the Best American books make their annual appearance each fall, it’s normally Best American Science and Nature Writing that pulls us in. The guest editor (this year: physicist Brian Greene) has inevitably spoken at Monterey, and the writers always include a stable of TED favorites. The titles in this ever-expanding franchise offer something for […]
We took note last fall, when Masters of American Comics opened in Los Angeles. The exhibit’s traveled now to New York, and is accompanied — like so many things in this city — with a lecture series. Comic Conversations opens next week with one of our superheroes: Simpsons creator (and long-time TEDizen) Matt Groening, along […]
Aubrey de Grey, British biogerontologist and founder of SENS, controversially claims to have created a roadmap to defeat biological aging. In this talk, he argues that aging — like other diseases — can be cured, and that humans can live for centuries, if only we approach the aging process as “an engineering problem.” (Recorded July […]
Eva Vertes is a Princeton student recognized as a teenager for her research on Alzheimer’s, and now embarking on a career focused on new ways of thinking about cancer. In this talk, she explains her theory that stem cells — seeking to initiate repairs in the body — may actually be the root of cancer. […]
Last spring, I gushed about the magic that was made when Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney shared a stage for the first time. The two met at TED2006, confessed to being long-time fans of each other’s work, and resolved to collaborate on a show. The result was an uncategorizable delight, mixing stories and song. If […]
This morning, Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson offered the first public look at the rocketship expected to make space tourism a reality. The mock-up — revealed at WIRED/NextFest in New York — is based on the design of SpaceShipOne, the Ansari X-Prize-winning craft designed by Burt Rutan (TED2006). (Watch for Rutan’s TEDTalk later this fall.) […]
Even if there weren’t two TEDsters in the running, we’d be keeping a close watch on the race to succeed Kofi Annan as U.N. Secretary General, when he steps down at year’s end. One in a series of informal votes takes place today at UN Headquarters. In today’s New York Times, an Op/ED piece titled […]
Steven Levitt is an economics professor at the University of Chicago and the best-selling author of Freakonomics. In this talk, filmed at TED2004, he studies data from an inner-city gang to examine economic principles at work in the real world. (Recorded February 2004 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 22:00) Get TED delivered: Subscribe to the […]