Sally Kohn is both liberal and a lesbian — and, until shortly after this interview, she worked at FOX News. She contributed to the conservative network for three years and, during that time, sparred with some of the most conservative minds on television. She thinks deeply about how to communicate with people whose political perspectives are […]Read more
American synthetic biologist Sheref Mansy is working on constructing artificial cells that mimic — and “talk” to — biological cells. In this fascinating conversation, Mansy weaves through the question of what does and does not constitute “life,” the possible practical applications for his work, and how conversations with artists have opened up concepts that feed […]
[ted id=1833] For the past week, Amy Webb has been inspiring people to calculate their own algorithm for love. Her laugh-out-loud TED Talk, about reverse engineering her online dating profile and, essentially, data-ing her way into her perfect relationship has gotten a lot of attention, including on The Frisky and Pop Sugar. As Webb’s talk […]
by Rebecca Smith Hurd Spanish architecture generally conjures images of grandeur, particularly when it comes to modernist and contemporary construction. Gaudí’s basilica. Calatrava’s bridges, airports and centers for the arts. Bofill’s state and corporate headquarters. Moneo’s museums. The list of splendiferous urban structures goes on and on. But not everything built on the Iberian Peninsula […]
by Rebecca Smith Hurd 29-year-old Iñaki Romero Larrea describes himself as an “urbanist before architect.” As one of the five members of design and architecture collective Paisaje Transversal, he is particularly interested in figuring out how to revitalize Spain’s cities without indulging in the time-consuming traditional bid process or incurring exorbitant construction costs. For the group, […]
Over the past week, we’ve noticed a lot of fascinating TED-related news items. Here, some highlights: Hours after announcing that the 2013 Prize in Physics had been awarded to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles,” […]
Heyyy Congress. We noticed you’re having a wee bit of trouble working out this government shutdown snafu, so we thought, hey, since you’ve got extra time on your hands and we’re taking a lunch break, we should totally hang. Want to come watch talks with us? We picked some just for you! Nice talks about getting […]
A ballet dancer turned soldier. A liberal lesbian pundit on Fox News. A quantum-physicist crossword puzzler. These were among the perspectives we heard at TED@NYC, a talent search event for TED2014 held last night in New York. Below, learn a little about the 28 speakers who took the stage. You’ll see some of these speakers […]
At the UN General Assembly last week, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned the U.S. that they were being fooled by Iranian promises of nuclear concessions in peace talks, calling Iranian president Hasan Rouhani a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” But the real threat, suggests Trita Parsi, isn’t between Iran and the rest of the world […]
In an interview on the Today Show this morning, Kevin Breel reveals why he thinks his TED Talk has gone viral: not because his story is unique, but because it is so common. Breel’s talk, given at TEDxKids@Ambleside, has been watched about 1.5 million times so far. In it, the 19-year-old reveals that, while he […]
TED Talks are available in 102 languages, from Albanian to Vietnamese, thanks to the tireless work of our volunteer translators. So far, more than 10,000 volunteers have created 47,000 talk translations — and today, the TED Blog brings you a Q&A with one of them. Here, meet French translator Hugo Wagner. 1. Where do you live? […]
“It doesn’t need to be a zero-sum game between moving traffic and creating public space,” says Janette Sadik-Khan in today’s TED Talk, filmed at TEDCity2.0 earlier this month. Sadik-Khan tells the story of how she and her team — quickly and cheaply, but not without controversy — changed New York from a city designed for […]
Their names may both be Michael. They may even both be professors at Harvard. But Michael Porter and Michael Sandel offer up radically different ideas on business and its potential for good in their TED Talks, both released today. While Porter suggests that businesses are in a great position to tackle social problems — because […]