Media big shot Felix Dennis roars his fiery, funny, sometimes racy original poetry, revisiting haunting memories and hard-won battle scars from a madcap — yet not too repentant — life. Best enjoyed with a glass of wine. (Recorded at TED2004, February 2004, in Monterey, California. Duration: 17:24) Watch Felix Dennis’ talk from TED2004 on TED.com, […]
Hans Rosling is a data rock star. Pulling health and social data from worldwide collections, he uses his brilliant bubble-making software, Gapminder, to stand our preconceived notions on their heads. Watch one of his three TEDTalks (in 2006, 2007 and 2009) and get ready to re-examine everything you think you know about the developing world. […]
Jacqueline Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor, by investing in entrepreneurs who bring necessary goods and services — water, bread, healthcare — to communities that need it, and who would otherwise depend on traditional charity. In her new book, The Blue […]
Economist Paul Collier studies the political and economic problems of the very poorest countries: 50 societies, many in sub-Saharan Africa, that are stagnating or in decline, and taking a billion people down with them. His book The Bottom Billion identifies the four traps that keep such countries mired in poverty, and outlines ways to help […]
Zap Mama — a musical entity centered around the gorgeous voice of Marie Daulne — walked regally onstage, just three women and three microphones (and three exercise balls). Looping their voices, they wove their vocal lines into a web of mysteriously cool sound. Echoing and repeating, these three voices contained multitudes. Zap Mama’s new album, […]
We depend on Stewart Brand to take the long view — his most recent TEDTalk, in fact, is about the Clock of the Long Now, a timepiece that marks off a period of 10,000 years. He’s a rabid thinker and collector of ideas; among his many fascinations, he is especially enamored of cities, and of […]
Clay Shirky studies social networks, connections and subcultures that are using emerging technologies to connect. In Shirky’s prescient talk at TEDGlobal 2005 (given in the Era Before Facebook, if such a time can be imagined), he talks about how social media will allow for loose collaborative networks, where small contributors have big roles and fluid […]
TED is in Washington, DC, today, helping to throw a first-of-its-kind conference: TED@State, bringing great ideas from TEDTalks to Washington. This afternoon at the State Department, five TEDTalks stars — Clay Shirky, Paul Collier, Jacqueline Novogratz, Stewart Brand, and Hans Rosling — will share insight and new ideas; music will come from the legendary Zap […]
In this image-filled talk, Yann Arthus-Bertrand displays his three most recent projects on humanity and our habitat — stunning aerial photographs in his series “The Earth From Above,” personal interviews from around the globe featured in his web project “6 billion Others,” and his soon-to-be-released movie, “Home,” which documents human impact on the environment through […]
Ray Kurzweil‘s latest graphs show that technology’s breakneck advances will only accelerate — recession or not. He unveils his new project, Singularity University, to study oncoming tech and guide it to benefit humanity. (Recorded at TED University 2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 8:42) Watch Ray Kurzweil’s talk from TED University 2009 on […]
Bennington president Liz Coleman delivers a call-to-arms for radical reform in higher education. Bucking the trend to push students toward increasingly narrow areas of study, she proposes a truly cross-disciplinary education — one that dynamically combines all areas of study to address the great problems of our day. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long […]
Kaki King, the first female on Rolling Stone’s “guitar god” list, rocks out to a full live set at TED2008, including her breakout single, “Playing with Pink Noise.” Jaw-dropping virtuosity meets a guitar technique that truly stands out.(Recorded at TED2008, February 2008, in Monterey, California. Duration: 14:49) Watch Kaki King’s performance from TED2008 on TED.com, […]
In this brief talk from TED U 2009, Jonathan Drori encourages us to save biodiversity — one seed at a time. Reminding us that plants support human life, he shares the vision of The Millennium Seed Bank, which has stored over 3 billion seeds to date from dwindling yet essential plant species. (Recorded at TED2009, […]
Today’s TEDTalk is unusual. It wasn’t recorded at a conference, but at a public event. And it features America’s first lady, Michelle Obama, who’s never been to a TED conference. What happened here? Well, first of all, TED is strictly nonpartisan. In fact, we tend to stay away from politics altogether. But our mission is […]
Jay Walker explains why two billion people around the world are trying to learn English. He shares photos and spine-tingling audio of Chinese students rehearsing English — “the world’s second language” — by the thousands. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 4:35.) Watch Jay Walker’s talk from TED2009 on TED.com, where […]
The TED Fellows program brings outstanding, world-changing leaders to participate in the TED community. We introduce today the 25 new TED Fellows who will participate in TED’s annual international conference, TEDGlobal. These Fellows have been invited to join the TED community by attending TEDGlobal 2009, to be held in Oxford, UK, July 21-24. The 25 […]