Forty-three years ago this week, the number one tennis star in the world, 29-year-old Billie Jean King, agreed to take on 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, in a match dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes.” The prize was $100,000 — which compared with today’s million-dollar-winning pots wasn’t much — but it was the first time that women […]
As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. Farewell to Cassini — and here’s to the continuing search for life beyond Earth. In mid-August, PBS released a digital short featuring Carolyn Porco, a planetary scientist and the leader of the imaging team for the Cassini mission to […]
Two years ago, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson graced the TEDWomen stage with a moving talk about why climate change is not only a threat to our environment, but also a threat to the human rights of many poor and marginalized people around the world. Mary is an incredible person who inspires me greatly. […]
Behold, your recap of TED-related news: Habitat turns 50! First conceptualized in 1961 as part of architect Moshe Safdie’s thesis at McGill University, Habitat 67 has gone on to inspire several generations of architects. Combining high-rise living with community connection, Habitat’s concrete cluster of homes challenged the contemporary notions of apartment complexes and Brutalist architecture. […]
Over the past five days, the TED2017 conference has explored the theme “The Future You.” This has spanned an incredible number of ideas on a huge array of topics. Below, a tour through some of the key themes that emerged — through the week and in the double-stuffed session of day 5. All eyes on […]
On the fourth day of TED, the talks got more personal and packed with takeaways for everyday life. Below, some highlights. Pond scum: a source of wonder. In her ode to the microorganisms we’ve spent a century trying to kill, Anne Madden shared how, in pond scum, scientists found an organism that appears to vaccinate […]
For Nobel Prize-winning biologist Elizabeth Blackburn, it all began with pond scum. She was curious about chromosomes, and specifically the caps at the ends of chromosomes, known as telomeres, and pond scum provided an ample supply for her research. Her curiosity sent her on a journey that shed light on one of humanity’s biggest, and oldest, […]
How can we better understand the world within and around us? In the thought-provoking fifth session of TED2017, hosted by TED’s Editorial Director, Helen Walters, talks about neuroscience, philosophy, cognitive science — and a special experiment in behavioral science — explored issues like filter bubbles, Alzheimer’s and the very essence of existence. Below, recaps of […]
A year ago, Sarah Parcak revealed her TED Prize wish: a citizen science platform for archaeology to let people around the world help find and protect ancient sites. Yesterday night, she returned to the TED stage to share what’s happened since. After a year of work with partners National Geographic and DigitalGlobe, GlobalXplorer launched in late January […]
On day two of TED2017, three sessions of talks — one on Our robotic overlords, the next on The human response and the final on Health, life and love. Below, some key moments from it all. A TED Talk from … the Pope. For weeks, we’ve teased a “surprise guest” on the program, a mysterious “world […]
Session 4 of TED2017 kicked off with an interview with perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, Serena Williams, and closed with the potentially world-changing announcement of this year’s TED Prize wish from Raj Panjabi. In between, the session saw a surprise talk directly from the Vatican by His Holiness Pope Francis — the culmination of […]
The first day of TED2017 brought two sessions of talks from TED Fellows and an opening session broadcast live in movie theaters. Below, some of the themes heard today that we just can’t get out of our minds. A closer look at our relationship to technology. Huang Yi danced with a robot. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov […]
This morning, we kick off TED2017 in the new Community Theater with a program of fresh ideas, music and dance from the TED2017 Fellows and Senior Fellows. These Fellows are change-makers from many fields — design, tech, education, business, science and many more — offering a peek at the future us. Stanford Thompson opens the TED Fellows sessions, performing the Shaker […]
TED2017 begins on Monday in Vancouver, Canada, and will explore the theme “The Future You.” If the future you is anything like the future us, you are likely curled up in a big cushy chair right now, devouring the contents of a book that flips your thinking. Below, some reading suggestions from the speaker program. Read, enjoy and […]
You probably watch TED Talks on an assortment of small screens. But next week, you’re invited to experience them on the big screen. As the TED2017 conference takes place in Vancouver, Canada, special sessions will be broadcast live in movie theaters across the United States and world. On April 24, the Opening Event will bring […]
Please enjoy your weekly roundup of TED-related news: Good luck and farewell to the Cassini spacecraft. Launched 20 years ago, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will begin its final mission on April 26. The spacecraft will embark on a series of 22 dives through the space between Saturn and its rings, transmitting data that may help us […]