Sylvia Earle is a fearless 78-year-old woman. In the new documentary Mission Blue, we watch her dive with sharks in the deep blue sea and fearlessly dodge fishing nets as she swims through the middle of a major fishing operation. The film offers a bold new view of the famed oceanographer whose relentless pursuit of […]
Adam Braun went to school in the US and now runs a nonprofit that builds schools in Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua and Guatemala. In contrast, Sugata Mitra—the winner of the 2013 TED Prize—went to school in India and now is a professor in the UK, where his research on self-directed learning routinely brings him into elementary […]
It’s 2008, moments before a BBC broadcast live from the stage at TED. But something’s gone wrong. The house lights are still up, the camera ops are looking at one another, official-looking folks are wandering at the stage apron muttering into headsets, and the panelists are sitting patiently onstage but looking, increasingly, baffled. Minutes go […]
This week, East African singer Somi releases her first major-label album, The Lagos Music Salon, in the United States. Already, it is #1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart, #1 on the Amazon Jazz Vocal Chart, and #1 on the Amazon Pop Vocal Chart. The TED Blog caught up with the jazz-soul vocalist and songwriter—who was was born in Illinois to Rwandan […]
Sara Lewis confirms that there are in fact more fireflies this summer, and that we are in midst of peak firefly season. Read more on that, and on other members of the TED community with news to share this week…
Fargo, North Dakota, has a skewed reputation. This city, which happens to be my hometown, rocketed to infamy thanks to the 1996 dark comedy by the Coen Brothers about a down-on-his-luck car salesman (William H. Macy) who plans to have his wife kidnapped, and the sheriff (Frances McDormand) who investigates what happens when the plan […]
By Olivia Cucinotta and Emily McManus Here, a look at just a few members of the TED community making headlines this week. Rob Knight’s American Gut project released its latest results this week, with data from the microbiomes (i.e., the microbial world inside each human body) of 3,238 participants so far. Some interesting facts they’ve called […]
Several members of the TED community had notable news this week. Below, some highlights: In 2010, Eben Bayer introduced a mushroom-based material that grows from agri-waste into any shape you want. It’s been used mainly as a packing material up to now, but this week, MoMA’s PS1 in Queens unveiled a soaring, sunny tower built […]
Below, just a few members of the TED community who made headlines this week. Longtime TEDster Steve Case is hitting the road this summer to find and invest in start-ups that may otherwise be overlooked. His “Rise of the Rest Road Trip” kicked off in Detroit this week and will continue on to Pittsburg, Cincinnati […]
[ted id=562] We want to remember Felix Dennis, who passed away this week at the age of 67, as he’d probably wish—with this trenchant, funny aside from his 2004 TED Talk. “You guys, you know, you’re going to totally transform everything. Cloning will transform everything. Voice navigation will transform everything … But human nature doesn’t change, […]
The TED-Ed Lesson “The case of the missing fractals” isn’t just an introduction to the intricate and beautiful world of fractal geometry; it’s also a fully-realized film noir short complete with plot, drama and a smattering of ridiculous puns. This cinematic creation is the product of a TED-Ed dream team, with writing by veteran TED-Ed Educators George Zaidan and […]
Edward Snowden hasn’t forgotten about the remote presence robot that allowed him to speak on the TED2014 stage and roam the halls of the conference, chatting with attendees. While in exile in Russia, Snowden has apparently used this system, affectionately dubbed the “Snowdenbot,” on a semi-regular basis. Andy Greenberg writes in Wired about how Snowden […]
Conservation biologist Juliana Machado Ferreira uses genetic data to fight illegal wildlife trafficking in Brazil—a $2 billion-a-year business that affects 38 million animals. In 2012, Ferreira founded FREELAND Brasil to raise awareness of the devastating effects of keeping wild-caught songbirds, parrots and macaws—as well as to release rehabilitated animals and support rural communities vulnerable to wildlife traffickers. This […]
Summer: the season for cracking open a good book under the shade of a tree. Below, we’ve compiled about 70 stellar book recommendations from members of the TED community. Warning: not all of these books can be classified as beach reads. And we think that is a good thing. Picks from Elizabeth Gilbert, author […]
Several members of the TED community are popping in the news this week. Below, some highlights: Dan Berkenstock’s Skybox Imaging, which uses small satellites to create close to real-time imagery of the planet, has been bought by Google. The internet giant’s website explains, “Skybox’s satellites will help keep our maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. Over […]
Take two education activists with very different theories — and give them a chance to work together on a goal they both care about. That’s the thinking in the video above, the kick-off of Microsoft’s new Work Wonders project, which pairs up unlikely collaborators to spark new ideas. Watch as TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra […]