Using wikis and digital fabrication tools, TED Fellow Marcin Jakubowski is open-sourcing the blueprints for 50 farm machines, allowing anyone to build their own tractor or harvester from scratch. And that’s only the first step in a project to write an instruction set for an entire self-sustaining village (starting cost: $10,000). (Recorded at TED2011, March […]
When film critic Roger Ebert lost his lower jaw to cancer, he lost the ability to eat and speak. But he did not lose his voice. In a moving talk from TED2011, Ebert and his wife, Chaz, with friends Dean Ornish and John Hunter, come together to tell his remarkable story. (Recorded at TED2011, March […]
Fifty years ago, April 12, 1961, was one of the most extraordinary moments in human history: a spacecraft carried a passenger, Yuri Gagarin, into space, and back again safely. It’s probably impossible to overstate the magnitude of that achievement, or the repercussions it would have. To give some context, here are three TEDTalks on the […]
We’re happy to announce that TED has been nominated for five Webby Awards this year, four for TED.com and one for TEDTalks. (And we’re thrilled to be in such excellent company too.) Between today and April 28, you can vote for TED in the People’s Voice voting campaign. Sign in here using your Facebook profile, […]
Local politics — schools, zoning, council elections — hit us where we live. So why don’t more of us actually get involved? Is it apathy? Dave Meslin says no. He identifies 7 barriers that keep us from taking part in our communities, even when we truly care. (Recorded at TEDxToronto, October 2010, in Toronto, Ontario. […]
Backed by stunning illustrations, David Christian narrates a complete history of the universe, from the Big Bang to the Internet, in a riveting 18 minutes. This is “Big History”: an enlightening, wide-angle look at complexity, life and humanity, set against our slim share of the cosmic timeline. (Recorded at TED2011, March 2011, in Long Beach, […]
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock answered questions from the TED community this morning — about his work, about what inspires him and about the future of documentary film. It’s a lively and thoughtful conversation. Thanks to everyone who joined in! Read TED’s crowdsourced Q&A with Morgan Spurlock >>
At noon Eastern / 9am Pacific on Saturday, jump into our question-and-answer session with filmmaker Morgan Spurlock — maker of The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. You’re invited to use TED Conversations to ask questions for Morgan to answer. (We just had fun doing one of these Q&As with Hans Rosling.) It’s a chance to ask […]
Groundbreaking media experiment Basetrack sought to rejig how America’s wars are reported. TED Fellow Teru Kuwayama harnessed the communication tools of our time to present embedded reportage in a whole new way. Following the deployment of 1/8 – 1st Battalion, Eighth Marines – to southern Afghanistan, Basetrack’s embedded media team collaborated with soldiers to tell […]
Activist Caroline Casey tells the story of her extraordinary life, starting with a revelation (no spoilers). In a talk that challenges perceptions, Casey asks us all to move beyond the limits we may think we have. (Recorded at TEDWomen, December 2010, in Washington, DC. Duration: 15:34) [ted id=1116] Watch Caroline Casey’s talk on TED.com where […]
An extraordinary group-curated TEDx event is coming together around the tragic events in Japan in the past month: TEDxEarthquake9.0. From the site: A comprehensive journey from Japan’s resilience and history of overcoming past disaster to the challenges the nation faces today — passing by the actual response and relief efforts in the field. Join us […]
The nerve disease ALS left graffiti artist TEMPT paralyzed from head to toe, forced to communicate blink by blink. In a remarkable talk at TEDActive, entrepreneur Mick Ebeling shares how he and a team of collaborators built an open-source invention that gave the artist — and gives others in his circumstance — the means to […]
Much of the TV, video, film and sport we watch is sponsored by a brand, a product, a corporation. But … why? With humor and persistence, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dives into the hidden but influential world of brand marketing, on his quest to make a completely sponsored film about sponsorship. And yes, the onstage naming […]
Version 1.3 of the TED iPad app went live this afternoon, adding a much-requested feature: AirPlay support, so you can wirelessly stream content from the TED iPad app over to an Apple TV. We’d also love to point out a few updates we did in version 1.2 in response to user requests — adding email, […]
A bonus TEDTalk today to celebrate International Golden Rule Day! Google’s “Jolly Good Fellow,” Chade-Meng Tan, talks about how the company practices compassion in its everyday business — and its bold side projects. (Recorded at TEDPrize@UN, November 2010, in New York City. Duration: 14:09) [ted id=1113] Watch Chade-Meng Tan’s talk on TED.com where you can […]
Last night at the TED office in New York, 2009 TED Fellow Rye Barcott stopped by to talk about his new book “It Happened on the Way to War,” a memoir about his concurrent experiences in war and peace. While deployed as a U.S. Marine in Bosnia, Iraq and the horn of Africa, he co-founded […]