TED2014 begins in five short days, and we have added even more new speakers to look forward to. Below, a bit about each one:

Cellist and beatboxer Kevin Olusola from Pentatonix (swoon!) will open Session 1: The Next Chapter. And as a bonus in Session 1, we’ll be honoring TED’s co-founder, Richard Saul Wurman.

In Session 6: Wired, planet detective Jeremy Kasdin has been added to the program. This aerospace engineer uses some very cool orbiting instruments to help in the hunt for other habitable planets. He’ll talk about a fascinating tool called the “starshade.”

In Session 7: Why, writer Elizabeth Gilbert will offer a followup from her blockbuster 2009 talk, “Your elusive creative genius.” This time, Gilbert will tell her story post-Eat, Pray, Love and share what she learned about how success often chases the tail of failure.

Meanwhile, futurist Ray Kurzweil — who gave the talk “The accelerating power of technology” in 2005 — has joined Session 8: Hacked, to talk about creating the world’s largest AI.

Musician Blood Orange will jump into Session 10: Passion. This songwriter/producer has synesthesia, meaning he experiences sounds as colors and vice versa.

Finally, education entrepreneur Shai Reshef will speak in Session 12: Onward. The founder and president of the University of the People, the tuition-free online college that just received accreditation in February, will share some ways we can shake up education in the future.

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