Doodles are more than just idle scribbles; they can distill complex ideas into useful packets of knowledge. During TED2016, artist Mia W. McNary translated 18-minute talks — on topics like what it means to be a global citizen, the psychology of introverts vs. extroverts and a prosecutor’s case for justice reform — into playful and […]
RejectTED Talks. Onion Talks. DED Talks. Here in the TED office, you often hear chuckles as someone watches one of the quickly growing crop of TED spoofs floating in the ether. And surprisingly, there are some pretty good lessons for speakers embedded in these spoofs. See what I mean below. The spoof: Stephen Colbert’s RejecTED Talks […]
The latest TV show from TED’s creative team spins ideas from TED Talks in new directions — en español. Soy TED, a new Spanish-language TV series about big ideas, premieres on Vme TV this Friday, September 25, at 7pm EST. Each episode of Soy TED centers on a theme — from happiness to exploration to […]
On this weekend’s episode of Super Soul Sunday, Oprah Winfrey asks TED Books author Pico Iyer to explain more precisely what he means by the word ‘stillness.’ It’s not so much about meditation, he says. “It’s sanity and it’s balance, and it’s a chance to put things in perspective,” he says. Like so many others, […]
This Friday, TED Radio Hour kicks off its third season. As one of the editorial consultants for the show on TED’s side, I am always impressed with the way Guy Raz and his team experiment with new ways of storytelling. In Friday’s episode, we’ll solve for x; the week after, we’ll take a look at […]
Ideas are best when shared in good company. So invite the gang, grab some popcorn and enjoy TED2015 via TED Live, our high-definition webstream that beams the TED Conference, either in the moment or after the fact, into your living room, office or classroom. The on-demand conference, to watch anytime, costs $100, or you can […]
Counting the days ’til TED2015? Yeah: we are, too. Before the conference begins on March 16, dive into a great book written by one of our speakers. Books from speakers in Session 1, “Opening Gambit” National Insecurity: American Leadership in an Age of Fear, by David Rothkopf. The foreign policy specialist examines the way U.S. […]
You might not think TED has anything to do with Fifty Shades of Grey. We didn’t either. Until we woke up this morning to find ourselves called out in The New Yorker’s scathing review of the movie: “You get dirtier talk in most action movies, and more genitalia in a TED talk on Renaissance sculpture.” […]
When TED asked Hannah Fry to write a book on the mathematics of finding true love, Fry happened to be — of all places — on her honeymoon. “[My husband and I] have been together for a really long time, so the whole newlywed thing didn’t quite apply,” she says. “But I did feel like […]
At the end of every December, we at the office get a little indignant that some of our favorite TED Talks from the year didn’t seem to do as well as we’d hoped. Some amazing talks, for whatever reason — whether they’re too absurd, niche or quirky, or simply were posted at a less than ideal time […]
Many unusual things have happened on the TED stage over the years. Our incredible speakers have done everything from perform magic tricks to attempt to set themselves on fire, all in the name of spreading their ideas. Although far from a complete list, here are some of the weirdest TED moments that we still haven’t […]
The biggest billboard in Times Square right now belongs to Google, announcing the new Nexus Player. A hockey puck-size device, it runs Android TV, which plays movies, TV and music — as well as games, apps and, ahem, TED Talks — on your television screen. Hence why, on this massive billboard, you can see our […]
Kid President warms hearts anytime he speaks. So what happens when he gives a “KID Talk”? A great opening line, tiny top hats for dogs and, of course, a dance. This talk gets a standing ovation from us—and we have a feeling it will send you off to the weekend in the right spirit. Watch Kid President’s […]
I can’t tell you how completely shocked I am to win the TED Prize. For those of you who haven’t heard of StoryCorps, it’s a Brooklyn-based nonprofit I founded 11 years ago that, so far, has given 100,000 Americans the chance to record audio interviews about their lives. Participating in StoryCorps couldn’t be easier: you invite a loved one (or, really, anyone […]
Twitter was ablaze yesterday with some interesting news: Kermit the Frog had just become the first frog (albeit puppet) to give a TEDx Talk. On Thursday afternoon, the green superstar hopped on over to Jackson, Mississippi, to give a standing-ovation-grabbing talk at TEDxJackson. Kermit was a natural fit for the event, as The Muppets creator […]
Fargo, North Dakota, has a skewed reputation. This city, which happens to be my hometown, rocketed to infamy thanks to the 1996 dark comedy by the Coen Brothers about a down-on-his-luck car salesman (William H. Macy) who plans to have his wife kidnapped, and the sheriff (Frances McDormand) who investigates what happens when the plan […]