To celebrate our billionth video view, we reached out to 24 top personalities in the fields of technology, entertainment and design, asking them to curate a playlist of the TED Talks they just can’t get out of their head. Yesterday, Bill Gates, Glenn Close, Reggie Watts, Ben Affleck and Jill Bolte Taylor gave their selections. Today we bring you fresh playlists from Bono, Bobak Ferdowsi of NASA, Isaac Mizrahi, and Chinese newscaster Wang Lifen.
When Bono accepted the TED Prize in 2005, he offered this wish: that aid to Africa not be thought of as a celebrity cause but instead be considered a global necessity. Head to the playlist section where Bono has picked 8 talks that express equally powerful ideas, and shares why each needs to be spread >>
Bono also wants to make sure you watch Kate Coleman’s TEDxDublin talk, “Eradicating needless blindness.” Writes Bono, “Kate Coleman is the quietest storm that ever blew into town. Gorgeous, dulcet tones take you through some tough and innovative thinking on how to quickly eradicate the scourge of needless blindness.”
NASA engineer Bobak Ferdowsi captured our hearts during the landing of Curiosity rover, thanks to his meme-worthy mohawk. A speaker at this weekend’s upcoming TEDYouth, Ferdowsi says he is fascinated by talks that explore our understanding of the world around us. He says, “This list represents a small set of some of the talks that speak to me about our home in the universe.” Head to the playlist section, where he gives his thoughts on his favorite talks >>
Bobak also highly recommends “Bobby McFerrin – plays…the audience.” He explains, “While I love science and math, music strikes me as the ultimate of human expression that speaks to us all.”
Designer Isaac Mizrahi gets inspiration from children’s books, from ‘50s calendar pinups, even from randomly chasing people down the streets of New York City. This he revealed in his TED Talk, “On fashion and creativity.” Head to the playlist section where Mizrahi gives notes on six TED Talks that are each a source of inspiration for him, too >>
A top newscaster in China, Wang Lifen has played a part in the CCTV shows “EasternHorizon,” “Dialogue,” “Economic News,” “First Time,” and “Half Hour on Economy.” However, with her newest venture, Umiwi.com, she’s calling on the youth of China to make their own media. Head to the playlist section where she picks five TEDTalks she loves to quote >>
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Stay tuned to the TED Blog tomorrow for playlists from Barbra Streisand, Mikko Hyppönen, and Peter Gabriel. Special thanks to Mashable and iTunes for helping us share these playlists. Head to iTunes to download these lists as limited-edition podcasts and to Mashable see their exclusive additional lists from tech superstars.
And as always, we want to hear about the talks you love. This week, tweet a favorite playlist — or the name of talk that deeply resonated with you — using the hashtag #topTED.
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