At Serious Play 2008, astrophysicist George Smoot shows stunning new images from deep-space surveys, and prods us to ponder how the cosmos — with its giant webs of dark matter and mysterious gaping voids — got built this way. (Recorded May 2008 in Pasadena, California. Duration: 19:00.) Watch George Smoot’s talk from Serious Play […]
Zambia-born filmmaker Franco Sacchi tours us through Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry (said to be the world’s 3rd largest). Listen for stories of guerrilla filmmaking and brilliance under pressure from crews that can shoot a full-length feature in a week. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 17:34.) Watch Franco Sacchi’s talk from TEDGlobal […]
Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi spins through a dizzying array of inspirations — from ’50s pinups to a fleeting glimpse of a hole in a shirt that makes him shout “Stop the cab!” What else keeps him creative and passionate about everything? His TV chatfest, his work with Mark Morris, his cabaret act, and his … […]
Futurist Stewart Brand works on the Clock of the Long Now, a timepiece that counts down the next 10,000 years. It’s a beautiful project that asks us to think about the far, far future. Here, he discusses a tricky side problem with the Clock: Where can we put it? (Recorded February 2004 in Monterey, California. […]
A free press — papers, magazines, radio, TV, blogs — is the backbone of any true democracy (and a vital watchdog on business). Sasa Vucinic, a journalist from Belgrade, talks about his new media fund, which supports free media by selling bonds. As one TED member writes: “The opening clip is full of power and […]
Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy shares the thrill: This is incredible: For the first time, ever, astronomers have captured an optical image of a planet orbiting a star like our own. And that’s not all: we also have a second picture showing TWO planets orbiting a second star! (Calm down. Breathe, breathe.) Read the whole […]
Artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli shares his vision for a cleaner, more organized, tidier form of art — by deconstructing the paintings of modern masters into their component pieces, sorted by color and size. Beyond the whimsy, of course, is a serious message, to honor and balance creativity and messiness, form and chaos. (Recorded February […]
At Serious Play 2008, Charles Elachi shares stories from NASA’s legendary Jet Propulsion Lab — including tales and video from the Mars Rover project. (Recorded May 2008 in Pasadena, California. Duration: 28:17.) Watch Charles Elachi’s talk from Serious Play 2008 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and […]
Political scientist Samantha Power tells the story of a complicated hero, Sergio Vieira de Mello. This UN diplomat walked a thin moral line, negotiating with the world’s worst dictators to help their people survive crisis. It’s a compelling story told with a fiery passion. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 23:08.) Watch Samantha […]
Physicist Lee Smolin talks about how the scientific community works: as he puts it, “we fight and argue as hard as we can,” but everyone accepts that the next generation of scientists will decide who’s right. And, he says, that’s how democracy works, too. (Recorded February 2003 in Monterey, California. Duration: 12:25.) Watch Lee […]
What’s the science behind a sublime perfume? With charm and precision, biophysicist Luca Turin explains the molecular makeup — and the art — of a scent. (Recorded February 2005 in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:53.) Watch Luca Turin’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other […]
Update: I’m hearing more and more reports of RSS troubles during our Big Re-Upload — for instance, for some people using Google Reader, which picks up on every change to a video asset. I apologize for the duplicate RSS listings that some of you are seeing (and hope that, among the multiple hits, there’s a […]
From the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown from Ideo talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play — with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn’t). (Recorded May 2008 in Pasadena, California. Duration: 27:58.) Watch Tim Brown’s talk from Serious Play 2008 on TED.com, […]
For almost three decades, John Francis has been a planetwalker, traveling the globe by foot and sail with a message of environmental respect and responsibility (for 10 of those years, without speaking). A funny, thoughtful talk with occasional banjo. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 19:24.) Watch John Francis’ talk from TED2008 on […]
On this pivotal day, as Americans tweet, blog, IM, and update our Facebook status about the election, we take a look at the event that first showed the world the power of user-created media. Journalist James Surowiecki pinpoints the moment when social media became an equal player in the world of news-gathering: the 2005 tsunami, […]
Inventor Graham Hawkes takes us aboard his graceful, winged submarines to the depths of Planet Ocean (a.k.a. “Earth”). It’s a deep blue world we landlubbers rarely see in 3D. (Recorded February 2005 in Monterey, California. Duration: 12:10.) Watch Graham Hawkes’s talk from TED2005 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment […]