TED Talks Daily

Sunday Pick: Tech Solutions (#3): How one of China's biggest tech companies is tackling carbon removal (with Xu Hao)

Host Sherelle Dorsey talks with Dr. Xu Hao, Vice President of Sustainable Social Value at Tencent, about how the company is investing in and accelerating carbon removal and decarbonization technologies, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, and chemicals. They examine the cost and scaling challenges these technologies face, the role of digital tools such as AI, data, and virtual power plants in improving efficiency and cutting emissions, and Tencent's own path toward carbon neutrality and net zero. The conversation also covers Tencent's use of video games for climate education and the need to pursue multiple climate solutions in the face of uncertainty about which technologies will ultimately dominate.

Nov 30, 2025

Can AI uplift entrepreneurs that traditional banks reject? | Mercedes Bidart

Impact entrepreneur Mercedes Bidart explains how informal entrepreneurs across Latin America are highly trusted within their communities yet are excluded from formal banking because they lack conventional financial records. She describes an AI-driven approach that transforms alternative data from phones, telecom records, videos, and social media into financial identities and risk scores, enabling micro-business owners to access fair, tailored credit instead of relying on violent, predatory lenders. Over three years, these models have reached market-level accuracy and helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs gain access to formal loans, illustrating how AI can make finance more inclusive when designed intentionally.

Nov 29, 2025

"The minister of loneliness" | Sarah Kay

Host Elise Hugh introduces poet Sarah Kay, who performs a spoken word piece about loneliness, connection, and curiosity. Kay begins with a real statistic about suicide and COVID-19 in Japan and the creation of a government role called the "minister of loneliness." She then imagines, in poetic detail, what such a minister might do to reweave social bonds, from buddy systems and intergenerational contact to shared art, hotlines, and his own shy crush that keeps listeners engaged with life.

Nov 28, 2025

How Dolly Parton led me to an epiphany | Jad Abumrad (re-release)

Host Elise Hume introduces a TED 2020 talk by Radiolab creator Jad Abumrad, in which he reflects on his evolution as a storyteller and journalist. Abumrad describes moving from science-driven stories that end in wonder, to conflict-driven narratives centered on struggle, and finally to seeking "revelation" by holding opposing truths together. Through his podcast series about Dolly Parton and a visit to her Tennessee mountain home, he discovers unexpected connections to his Lebanese immigrant heritage and embraces a new storytelling goal he calls finding "the third"-a shared space that emerges when differences are truly recognized.

Sep 29, 2025

TED Talks Daily Book Club: How to Be Free: A Proven Guide to Escaping Life's Hidden Prisons | Shaka Senghor

Host Elise Hu interviews Shaka Senghor about his new book "How to Be Free: A Proven Guide to Escaping Life's Hidden Prisons," which draws on his journey from childhood trauma and 19 years of incarceration to personal transformation. Senghor explains his concepts of "hidden prisons" like grief, shame, guilt, anger, and unworthiness, and shares practices such as gratitude, forgiveness, journaling, vulnerability, and presence as keys to freedom. He also discusses masculinity, mentoring young men, his work with incarcerated people, and how embracing joy and hope coexist with accountability for past harm.

Sep 28, 2025

Forget the corporate ladder - winners take risks | Molly Graham (re-release)

Molly Graham challenges the traditional idea of a linear career "staircase" and argues that great careers are built by taking risks she calls "jumping off cliffs." She illustrates this with her own transition from a secure HR role at Facebook to a risky new project where she initially struggled, then grew into a far more capable version of herself. She outlines three skills needed for successful cliff jumps-learning to actually jump, surviving the emotional fall, and becoming a "professional idiot"-and urges people to question narrow definitions of success and dare to trade the known for the unknown.

Sep 27, 2025

How do you turn hope into action? A doctor and a public health expert answer | David Fajgenbaum and Celina de Sola

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED Intersections conversation between public health expert Selena De Sola and immunology researcher David Fagenbaum on how they turn hope into concrete action in their respective fields. Fagenbaum shares how surviving Castleman disease led him to repurpose existing drugs and build the nonprofit EveryCure, now using AI to match old medicines to new diseases, while De Sola explains how her organization, founded in El Salvador, works to create trauma-informed public systems across schools, healthcare, and law enforcement. Together they discuss holding hope and grief simultaneously, navigating setbacks, scaling systemic change, and the leadership, teamwork, and vision required to sustain impact.

Sep 26, 2025

Inside India's astonishing solar revolution | Kanika Chawla

Energy expert Kanika Chawla explains how India transformed an audacious 2014 commitment to install 100 gigawatts of solar power into reality, reaching the goal by February 2025 and unlocking $90 billion in investment and 300,000 new solar jobs. She argues that India's success was driven less by ideology and more by economic logic, backed by innovations in business models, market design, and planning. Drawing on examples from India, Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya, she outlines how planning, innovation, and localization can help developing countries lead an irreversible global energy transition.

Sep 25, 2025

The emerging science of finding critical metals | Mfikeyi Makayi

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED Talk by mining innovator Mfakeyi Makai about how the world's transition to electrification and a circular economy requires a massive increase in critical metals like copper, lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Makai explains that while ore deposits are abundant, the mining industry has underinvested in exploration and still relies on outdated methods, so her team at Kobold is using AI and machine learning to model subsurface geology, quantify uncertainty, and design more efficient, safer, and environmentally sustainable mines. She illustrates how their approach guides where to explore, when to stop drilling, and how to plan operations, highlighting the Mingamba project in Zambia as a prototype for the mine of the future.

Sep 24, 2025

Inside WWE's storytelling machine | Paul "Triple H" Levesque

Paul "Triple H" Levesque discusses how WWE blends athleticism, storytelling, and character to create a unique form of entertainment that emotionally engages a massive global audience. In conversation with Patrick Talty, he explains WWE's creative process, media partnerships, and the importance of family, presence, and health, including his work on the President's Fitness Council. He also reflects on his own journey from childhood fan to performer to chief content officer, and how WWE's stories can inspire resilience and connection for fans around the world.

Sep 23, 2025

How we took on an oil giant - and won | Melinda Janki

Climate justice litigator Melinda Janke explains how she uses existing environmental and liability laws in Guyana to challenge ExxonMobil's massive offshore oil projects. She details several landmark legal victories that restricted permit durations, forced inclusion of global "scope three" emissions in impact assessments, and imposed unlimited liability backed by a parent company guarantee. The talk emphasizes that law is a powerful tool ordinary people can use to hold fossil fuel companies accountable and that the oil industry is more vulnerable than it appears.

Sep 22, 2025

Sunday Pick: Mexico City | Far Flung

TED Talks Daily shares an episode of the TED Audio Collective podcast Far Flung, hosted by Salim Reshemwala, that explores how Mexico City channels the creativity of its 21 million residents. Through interviews with pedestrian activist-turned-public-servant Jorge Canes (a.k.a. Peatonito) and former head of the Laboratorio para la Ciudad, Gabriela Gomez-Mont, the episode shows how citizens and government collaborate to improve pedestrian safety, map chaotic bus routes, crowdsource a city constitution, and create play streets for children. The conversation highlights how viewing crowds as sources of imagination and talent can transform a megalopolis' approach to governance and public space.

Sep 22, 2025

(#1) Elise's Top Ten: The psychology of your future self | Dan Gilbert

Host Elise Hu introduces TED Talks Daily's first curated playlist of her top 10 TED Talks and sets up a 2014 talk by Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert. Gilbert explains the "end of history illusion," the tendency for people at any age to underestimate how much they will change in the future in their values, personalities, and preferences. He presents research evidence, illustrates how this illusion distorts long-term decisions, and concludes that change is the one constant in our lives.

Sep 20, 2025

(#2) Elise's Top Ten: You don't actually know what your future self wants | Shankar Vedantam

Host Elise Hu introduces a favorite TED Talk by journalist and podcast host Shankar Vandantam about how poorly we understand our future selves. Through personal anecdotes, a powerful medical case, and the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, Vandantam argues that our identities and preferences change far more than we expect, creating an "illusion of continuity." He closes with three recommendations-stay curious, practice humility, and be brave-to better relate to and care for our future selves.

Sep 20, 2025

(#3) Elise's Top Ten: If I should have a daughter ... | Sarah Kay

Host Elise Hu introduces a special rebroadcast of Sarah Kay's 2011 TED performance as part of her "Top 10 TED Talks" playlist, highlighting the spoken word poem "If I Should Have a Daughter." In the talk, Sarah performs two poems and reflects on how spoken word poetry helps her and her students make sense of the world, move from self-doubt to self-expression, and build genuine connection. She shares her own journey into spoken word, her teaching practice with Project Voice, and stories like that of her student Charlotte to illustrate the power of vulnerability and personal storytelling.

Sep 20, 2025

(#4) Elise's Top Ten: The power of vulnerability | Brené Brown

Host Elise Hu introduces a replay of Brene Brown's seminal TEDxHouston talk, which explores her research on shame, vulnerability, and what she calls "wholehearted" living. Brown explains how a sense of worthiness is the key factor that separates people who feel love and belonging from those who struggle for it, and describes how embracing vulnerability-rather than numbing it or seeking certainty and perfection-leads to greater joy, connection, and authenticity. She closes by urging listeners to let themselves be seen, love with their whole hearts, practice gratitude and joy, and believe they are enough.

Sep 20, 2025

(#5) Elise's Top Ten: The new political story that could change everything | George Monbiot

Host Elise Hu introduces a 2019 TED Summit talk by journalist George Monbiot, part of her 'Top 10' playlist, about the political stories that shape our societies. Monbiot argues that neoliberalism persists not because it works, but because it has not yet been replaced by a more compelling 'restoration story', and he explains how narrative structures drive political change. He proposes a new politics of belonging centered on human altruism, cooperation, the commons, and participatory democracy to counter atomization and authoritarian tendencies.

Sep 20, 2025

(#7) Elise's Top Ten: The ghastly tragedy of the suburbs | James Howard Kunstler

Host Elise Hu introduces a 2004 TED talk by social critic James Howard Kunstler, in which he argues that the immersive ugliness of American suburban sprawl represents a massive misallocation of resources and erodes civic life. Kunstler explains how abandoning traditional civic design has produced places that are "not worth caring about," examines the psychological and social consequences of this built environment, and links these issues to an impending end to the era of cheap oil. He calls for rebuilding towns and cities at a human scale, living more locally, and reclaiming our role as citizens rather than consumers so that America becomes a place worth defending.

Sep 20, 2025

(#8) Elise's Top Ten: Change your story, change your life | Lori Gottlieb

Host Elise Hu introduces a favorite TED Talk by psychotherapist and author Lori Gottlieb, which explores how the stories people tell about their lives shape their experiences. Gottlieb explains that most problems reduce to themes of freedom and change, and she illustrates how reframing our narratives, considering other perspectives, and accepting responsibility can open up new possibilities for connection and growth.

Sep 20, 2025

(#9) Elise's Top Ten: Rethinking infidelity ... a talk for anyone who has ever loved | Esther Perel

Host Elise Hu introduces a replay of therapist and podcast host Esther Perel's TED talk, "Rethinking Infidelity, a talk for anyone who has ever loved." Perel examines why people cheat, including those in seemingly happy relationships, and how modern expectations of marriage intensify the impact of affairs. She explores the psychological meanings behind infidelity, the dual nature of betrayal and self-discovery, and offers ways couples can understand, heal from, and sometimes grow after an affair.

Sep 20, 2025

(#10) Elise's Top Ten: What almost dying taught me about living | Suleika Jaouad

Host Elise Hu introduces a talk by writer, teacher, and activist Suleika Jaouad, who recounts being diagnosed with leukemia at 22 and spending four years in treatment as "patient number 5624." She explains that surviving cancer did not end her struggle; instead, the hardest part was reentering life afterward, dealing with physical limitations, grief, PTSD, and the myth of the heroic, ever-grateful survivor. Jaouad describes a 15,000-mile road trip to visit readers who had written to her, and shares what she learned about meaning, hope, and living in the in‑between space between sickness and health.

Sep 20, 2025

How do you rethink how the world works? An entrepreneur and an engineer answer | Yancey Strickler and Jenny Du

Host Elise Hu introduces a conversation between writer and former Kickstarter CEO Yancey Strickler and engineer-chemist Jenny Du about how feeling like an outsider can shape unconventional careers and systems-level innovations. Strickler reflects on lifelong feelings of not belonging, how that pushed him to question institutions, and how his thinking about punk labels and the Royal Society led to his artist corporation idea. Du describes how a shocking statistic about global food waste set her on a mission to extend the life of healthy foods, and together they discuss resilience, working within entrenched systems, and staying optimistic and truth-focused in a world that often feels "doomy."

Sep 19, 2025

The link between evolution and language | Richard Dawkins

Host Elise Hugh introduces a conversation between evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and linguist John McWhorter exploring parallels between biological evolution and the evolution of language. They compare extravagance in language to sexual selection in animals, discuss linguistic "junk" and genetic pseudogenes, examine dialects versus languages through a frog speciation analogy, contrast selection with drift in both domains, and debate how mixed and hybridized any "proto" ancestral language must have been.

Sep 18, 2025

The daily practice that could rewire your brain | Timm Chiusano

Emotional intelligence coach Timm Chiusano shares how noticing a manhole cover on one of the worst days of his career led him to realize he is 'addicted to appreciation.' He explains what appreciation is, how it differs from gratitude, and how consistently noticing and valuing everyday things and people has transformed his life and work. He offers simple practices for cultivating appreciation and argues it can make us happier, more present, and better able to connect and create change together.

Nov 27, 2025

Will AI make humans useless? | Akram Awad

Host Elise Hu introduces AI futurist Akram Awad, who explores how artificial intelligence may not only displace jobs but also trigger a deeper crisis of identity and purpose. Awad argues that as AI automates more work, societies must decouple human worth from economic productivity and build new systems that value contribution, connection, and meaning. He proposes a framework of future human roles-guardians, adapters, and pioneers-and outlines changes needed in compensation, education, emotional infrastructure, and cultural norms to support purpose in the age of AI.

Nov 26, 2025

How AI is unearthing hidden scientific knowledge | Sara Beery

Ecologist and AI researcher Sarah Beery explains how vast ecological databases like iNaturalist contain far more information than simple species sightings, including individual identification, species interactions, vegetation, and food webs. She describes how her team at MIT built an AI-powered system called Inquire that lets scientists search millions of images using natural language queries to rapidly extract research-ready datasets, dramatically accelerating ecological discovery. The talk closes with a call for widespread citizen participation in data collection to help build a more complete, actionable picture of life on Earth and support conservation in the face of the biodiversity crisis.

Nov 25, 2025

How the fridge changed food | Nicola Twilley

Food researcher Nicola Twilley explains how the global cold chain underpins modern diets by keeping food fresh and enabling long-distance transport of meat and produce, while forming an enormous artificial cryosphere. Using examples such as Kenyan avocado exports and the absence of marula fruit in U.S. supermarkets, she shows how refrigeration creates both benefits and inequities, shifts where food waste occurs, and significantly contributes to global emissions. Twilley argues that as many countries are only now building their cold chains, this is a critical moment to rethink freshness, develop lower-emission refrigeration, and explore non-cold preservation methods and system-wide redesigns of how we store and move food.

Nov 24, 2025

Sunday Pick: How to love your hometown (w/ Hanif Abdurraqib & Sarah Kay) | How to Be a Better Human

Host Chris Duffy visits writer and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, joined by poet Sarah Kay, to explore what it means to love where you are from. Through stops at a record store, sneaker shop, public park, and bookstore, Hanif shows how everyday interactions, generosity, and attention build a sense of home and community. He also shares a personal story about being unhoused and the quiet kindness that shaped his understanding of care and shared time.

Nov 23, 2025

4 hard truths about capitalism and climate | Steve Howard

Sustainability investor Steve Howard outlines four hard truths about capitalism and climate change, arguing that businesses, financial markets, and policies must be rewired to enable large-scale decarbonization. He explains how companies are structurally resistant to change, how short-term profit focus and unpriced environmental externalities distort markets, and why long, loud, legal climate policies are essential to drive investment into cleaner technologies. Drawing on examples from Temasek, IKEA, Singapore, and emerging climate-tech firms, he shows how better (cleaner, cheaper, higher-performing) solutions can scale quickly and calls on policymakers, asset owners, businesses, and individuals to actively redirect capital toward climate solutions.

Nov 22, 2025

The army of autonomous robots restoring nature | Tom Chi

Impact investor Tom Chi challenges the popular belief that economic growth must come at the expense of nature, arguing instead that the economy is physically a subset of the ecology because everything is ultimately mined or grown. He quantifies the scale of current extraction and describes how outdated industrial processes damage ecosystems, then presents three key shifts: closing material loops through advanced recycling, transforming agriculture with regenerative practices and AI-guided breeding, and using robotics for large-scale restoration on land and underwater. Through concrete examples-from battery recycling and adaptive crops to mangrove-planting drones and a low-cost coral and seagrass-planting robot-he illustrates how modern technology can actively repair ecosystems while supporting a resilient future economy.

Nov 21, 2025

The thrill of not knowing all the answers | Harini Bhat

On TED Talks Daily, scientist and storyteller Harini Bhatt describes how embracing not knowing transformed her from a self-described "wannabe know-it-all" into the creator of the YouTube channel Today I Learned Science. She shares how following her curiosity about the Teotihuacan pyramids led to her first viral video and a mission to translate rigorous scientific research into captivating stories for everyone. Through striking examples-from a brain turned to glass, to new ideas about the origins of life, to watching an embryo implant in real time-she argues that science belongs to anyone willing to stay gloriously curious and keep asking why.

Nov 20, 2025

How to communicate with your dog, from a Westminster champion | Jennifer Crank

Host Elise Hugh introduces a TED Talk by dog agility competitor Jennifer Crank, who demonstrates an agility course with her border collie High Five and explains how the sport depends on precise interspecies communication. Crank describes the structure and difficulty of modern dog agility, the six primary cues handlers use, and why dogs respond most naturally to motion and body position rather than voice commands. She then connects these lessons to human relationships, emphasizing clarity, timing, consistency, and trust in any form of communication or leadership.

Nov 19, 2025

Wicked's costume designer on how to tell stories with clothes | Paul Tazewell

Host Elise Hu introduces Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell, who explains how clothing functions as a subconscious storytelling language that shapes our perceptions of heroes, villains, and marginalized people. Drawing on his work in Hamilton, West Side Story, and Wicked, he shows how design choices around color, silhouette, and texture can reinforce or challenge cultural narratives about power, identity, and "wickedness." A brief Q&A touches on how costumes will continue to evolve in the sequel Wicked for Good and hints at his future work on Broadway and film.

Nov 18, 2025

How to see (and stop) deforestation from space | Tasso Azevedo

Land reformer Tasso Azevedo describes how the MapBiomas Network turns decades of satellite imagery into detailed, legally robust land-use maps to expose and curb deforestation in Brazil and other tropical regions. By integrating high-resolution imagery, property registries, and protected area data, the project has dramatically increased enforcement against illegal deforestation, redirected finance away from destructive operations, and supported a wide range of environmental and social applications. The talk also highlights successful action against illegal gold mining and outlines plans to expand this collaborative mapping approach to cover most of the world's tropical forests.

Nov 17, 2025

TED Talks Daily Book Club: Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet | Kate Marvel

Host Elise Hu interviews climate scientist Kate Marvel about her book "Human Nature, Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet," which explores climate change through nine emotions rather than just data or policy. Marvel discusses why scientists should acknowledge their feelings, how climate communication needs storytelling as well as charts, and how humans still have agency to shape a wide range of possible futures. They cover topics including grief for changing places, the limits of individual action, practical climate solutions, technological interventions, and how hope can be understood as something we do rather than something we simply have.

Nov 16, 2025

How to stop AI from killing your critical thinking | Advait Sarkar

Researcher Advett Sarkar argues that current AI tools risk turning knowledge workers into passive validators, weakening creativity, critical thinking, memory, and metacognition. He proposes a different paradigm where AI is designed as a "tool for thought" that preserves material engagement, offers productive resistance, and scaffolds thinking. Using a prototype scenario, he shows how AI provocations, lenses, and structured outlining can help people work faster while actually thinking more deeply, and he closes with a call to prioritize human agency and cognitive flourishing in AI design.

Nov 15, 2025

How to unlock your flirting superpowers | Francesca Hogi

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED talk by love coach Francesca Hoagie, who reframes flirting from a manipulative game into a practice of making others feel seen, special, and acknowledged. Drawing on her experience as a matchmaker and dating coach, Hoagie shares how presence, enthusiasm, and three simple flirting styles-attentiveness, compliments, and playfulness-can deepen connection, support dating, and rekindle chemistry in existing relationships. She also addresses common fears about flirting and offers practical guidance on how to flirt in a respectful, responsible way.

Nov 14, 2025

How climate shocks could break the economy | Edmond Rhys Jones

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED talk by climate pathfinder Edmund Rhys-Jones, who explores the economic implications of climate change. Rhys-Jones argues that while climate science is detailed and alarming, traditional economic models understate real-world disruption because they ignore how climate shocks propagate through financial infrastructure. He calls for new, complexity-based simulations and financial innovations to better manage growing climate-related turbulence and safeguard a significant share of global GDP.

Nov 13, 2025

Two US governors - a Democrat and a Republican - on why there's hope for democracy | Matt Meyer and J. Kevin Stitt

Democratic Governor of Delaware Matt Meyer and Republican Governor of Oklahoma J. Kevin Stitt interview each other on stage at TED Next 2025 about the health and future of American democracy. They discuss restoring trust in government through effective service delivery and federalism, navigating polarized information ecosystems, leveraging AI and apprenticeships in education, and preserving the American dream through integrity-driven, bipartisan leadership. The conversation emphasizes shared values, personal rapport, and practical reforms over partisan point-scoring.

Nov 12, 2025

My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee | A.J. Jacobs (re-release)

Author A.J. Jacobs describes how his tendency to focus on negatives led him to experiment with gratitude by thanking all the people involved in making his daily cup of coffee. What began as a family mealtime ritual evolved into a global quest to thank more than a thousand people along the coffee supply chain, yielding five key lessons about attention, savoring, invisible work, behavioral change, and global interconnectedness. He argues that genuine gratitude not only improves personal well-being but also inspires concrete action to help others, such as supporting access to safe water.

Nov 11, 2025

These AI devices protect nature in real time | Juan M. Lavista Ferres

Host Elise Hugh introduces a TED talk by Juan M. Lavista Ferres about how a new AI-enabled device network called Sparrow can transform conservation work. Lavista Ferres explains how conservationists currently rely on slow, labor-intensive data collection and shows how Sparrow uses solar power, edge computing, and satellite connectivity to process images and sounds in real time. He describes how this system can automatically identify individual animals, analyze acoustic biodiversity, detect wildfires early, and drastically shorten the time between data collection and action, potentially making the difference between species survival and extinction.

Nov 10, 2025

Sunday Pick: Tech Solutions (#1): The affordable tech that will revolutionize farming (with Samir Ibrahim and Josephine Waweru)

This episode of TED Tech, part of a special mini-series recorded at the TED Countdown Climate Summit in Nairobi, explores how affordable solar-powered water pumps are transforming smallholder farming. Host Cheryl Dorsey speaks with Sun Culture CEO Samir Ibrahim about building a farmer-centered business that has driven down the cost of solar irrigation through both engineering and business model innovation, while navigating investors and climate-related priorities. Coffee farmer Josephine Waweru then shares how installing a solar pump on her Kenyan farm solved her water challenges, enabled her to expand her crops and income, and inspired her to encourage other farmers and young people to see farming as a viable, growth-oriented business.

Nov 9, 2025

My identity is a superpower - not an obstacle | America Ferrera (re-release)

In this re-released 2019 TED Talk, actor and activist America Ferreira recounts her journey from a nine-year-old dreaming of being an actress to confronting the systemic stereotypes and limitations placed on her as a brown, poor, fat Latina in Hollywood. She explains how her breakout roles in Real Women Have Curves and Ugly Betty revealed the power of authentic representation, both for audiences and for her own sense of worth. Ferreira argues that her identity is not an obstacle but a superpower, and calls for individuals and systems to stop resisting what the world actually looks like and to align their values and actions with genuine inclusion.

Nov 8, 2025

Why your blood should flow like ketchup | Sean Farrington

Host Elise Hu introduces a TEDx talk by chemical engineer Sean Farrington about rheology, the study of how materials flow and deform, and why it matters far beyond consumer products. Farrington explains how rheology is used to control the texture and performance of everyday items like peanut butter, shampoo, and ketchup, then connects these principles to the non-Newtonian, shear-thinning behavior of blood and its link to cardiovascular disease. He argues that measuring blood's viscosity more routinely could improve early detection of heart conditions, describes his work on a portable microfluidic device to make such measurements accessible, and calls for greater awareness and collaboration between engineers, physicians, and the public.

Nov 7, 2025

3 tips to make your world beautifully wild | Isabella Tree

Host Elise Hu introduces environmentalist and conservationist Isabella Tree, who shares how rewilding-allowing nature and animals to restore ecosystems-can be done not only on large estates but also in ordinary gardens and urban spaces. Tree describes the transformation of her family's debt-ridden, intensively farmed land into a thriving, biodiverse rewilding project through free-roaming animals and habitat change. She then offers three practical tips for rewilding any green space and concludes with examples of urban rewilding and the mindset shift required to embrace messier, less controlled landscapes.

Nov 6, 2025

How AI is discovering athletes that human scouts miss | Richard Felton-Thomas

Sports scientist Richard Felton-Thomas explains how his team is using AI, computer vision, and biomechanics to make youth sports scouting more equitable and data-driven. He describes the AI Scout smartphone app, built with clubs like Chelsea and Burnley FC, which analyzes standardized movement drills to identify talent regardless of geography or background. Through examples from the UK, India, and Senegal, he shows how the technology is uncovering overlooked athletes and scaling across sports and regions.

Nov 5, 2025

Everything you need to know about AI agents | Swami Sivasubramanian

In this TED Talk featured on TED Talks Daily, Swami Sivasubramanian explains what AI agents are, how they differ from chatbots, and why they could be one of the most transformative technology shifts of our time. He outlines three key milestones needed for agents to change how we work: transforming software development, establishing trust through automated reasoning, and enabling non-programmers to build and collaborate with agents. Drawing from his own journey and examples from Amazon and Prime Video, he describes a future where human-agent collaboration lowers barriers to creation and makes powerful tools widely accessible.

Nov 4, 2025

How AI can solve its own energy crisis | Varun Sivaram

Host Elise Hu introduces a talk by grid futurist Varun Sivaram about the looming clash between rapidly growing AI data center demand and an aging electricity grid. Sivaram explains how making AI data centers flexible in when and where they consume power can relieve grid stress, unlock existing unused capacity, and accelerate the integration of cheap renewable energy. He describes Emerald AI's "Emerald Conductor" software, real-world demonstrations, and industry collaborations aimed at turning AI from a grid threat into a key ally for a cleaner, more reliable energy system.

Nov 3, 2025

Sunday Pick: How to use your muscles - or risk losing them | How to Be a Better Human

Host Chris Duffy talks with journalist and author Bonnie Tsui about what muscles really are, why they matter, and how strength training can transform health and identity across a lifetime. They discuss age-related muscle loss, the importance of lifting "heavy" for everyone, and how muscle functions as both mechanical mover and endocrine tissue that communicates with the brain. The conversation also explores gendered body norms, strong women in sport, Bonnie's upbringing with a martial-artist father, surfing as a metaphor for presence, and how interoception and muscle memory help us navigate injury, aging, and joy in movement.

Nov 2, 2025

How to build your confidence - and spark it in others | Brittany Packnett Cunningham (re-release)

Host Elise Hu introduces a 2019 TED Talk by educator and activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham on the nature and power of confidence. Drawing on stories from her childhood, her classroom, women rangers in Kenya, and her own career, Brittany argues that confidence is a critical engine for turning ideas into action and pursuing justice. She outlines three elements that "crack the code" of what she calls revolutionary confidence: permission, community, and curiosity.

Nov 1, 2025

How to empower the next generation of pilots | Refilwe Ledwaba

Airline and helicopter pilot and educator Refilwe Ledwaba shares her journey from flight attendant to becoming the first Black woman helicopter pilot in South Africa, highlighting how a supportive instructor redesigned training around her background and learning needs. She explains how those experiences inspired her to found Girls Fly Africa, which prepares young people-especially girls from rural and traditional communities-for careers in aviation and aerospace through information, skills training, financial support, networks, and long‑term mentorship. In a follow‑up conversation, she and TED Fellows Program Director Lily Jameson Olds discuss systemic barriers for women in aviation, the importance of community and role models, and her vision of normalizing women's presence in high‑level aviation roles.

Oct 31, 2025

We're doing AI all wrong. Here's how to get it right | Sasha Luccioni

AI sustainability expert Sasha Luccioni argues that current AI development is being driven by a "bigger is better" mentality that concentrates power in a few large tech companies while causing significant environmental and social harms. She contrasts massive, energy-hungry large language models and data centers with smaller, task-specific and open AI systems that can run on modest hardware and support climate solutions. Luccioni calls for transparent energy metrics, supportive regulation, and user choices that prioritize sustainable, equitable AI that serves all of humanity and the planet.

Oct 30, 2025

How to measure the planet's heartbeat | Yadvinder Malhi

Ecosystem ecologist Yadvinder Mali explains how he and colleagues measure and map the flows of energy, carbon, and nutrients that sustain ecosystems, from forests and soils to coral reefs. He introduces the idea of "vibrancy"-the complexity and spread of energy through many species-as a key determinant of ecosystem health and resilience. Using examples from English woodlands, savannas, and tropical atolls, he argues that valuing nature only for carbon undermines this vibrancy, and that working with the wild energies of the biosphere gives both ecosystems and human communities their best chance to adapt to climate change.

Oct 29, 2025

What if you could talk to your favorite character in a movie? | Christoph Lassner

AI engineer Christoph Lassner introduces a taxonomy of digital content he calls Content 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, and explains how generative AI is enabling the next phase. He describes Content 3.0 as media that is dynamically generated with and for each individual viewer, allowing them to co-create stories, interact with characters, and explore worlds without preset narrative boundaries. He also discusses the technical underpinnings, creative possibilities, and economic implications of this shift for storytellers and the entertainment industry.

Oct 28, 2025

The surprising science of adolescent brains | Jennifer Pfeifer

Neuroscientist Jennifer Pfeiffer argues that adolescence is not a period of dysfunction but a transformative stage of growth spanning roughly ages 10 to 25. She explains how puberty, brain development, and social context shape adolescent behavior, debunks common myths about smartphones and mental health, and highlights the far greater importance of relationships and caregiver well-being. The talk calls for changing the cultural narrative about young people from doom and blame to respect, support, and shared opportunity.

Oct 27, 2025

TED Talks Daily Book Club: You are not alone in your loneliness | Jonny Sun (re-release)

Host Elise introduces a re-release of Johnny Sun's 2019 TED talk, framing it within a current TED Talks Daily virtual read-along of Oliver Berkman's book about embracing limitations and the feelings of loneliness that can surface when we sit with ourselves. In his illustrated talk, writer and artist Johnny Sun uses the story of an alien named Jomny and his own experiences of feeling alienated to explore how vulnerability, online sharing, and small moments of connection can make us feel less alone in our loneliness. He reflects on both the harms and the redemptive potential of social media, emphasizing the power of micro-communities and brief human connections as tiny slivers of light in a chaotic world.

Oct 26, 2025

Give yourself permission to be creative | Ethan Hawke (re-release)

Host Elise Hu introduces an archive TED talk from 2020 in which actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke explores why giving yourself permission to be creative is essential. Hawke argues that creativity is not a luxury but a vital way humans make sense of love, loss, and meaning, sharing stories from his own life and family to illustrate how following what you love reveals who you are and connects you to others. He encourages listeners to embrace feeling foolish, follow their genuine interests, and express themselves as a way to heal and help their communities.

Oct 25, 2025

How satellites are supporting farmers across Africa | Catherine Nakalembe

Satellite food security specialist Catherine Nakalembe explains how she uses satellite imagery and machine learning to map and monitor crops across African countries, and why many existing models fail when applied to smallholder farms. In a follow-up conversation with TED Fellows Program Director Lily James-Olds, she describes the gap between powerful data systems and farmers' realities, the importance of ground-based data and local context, and her efforts to build practical, human-centered ways to turn drought and flood information into action. She also shares a grassroots project to establish soil moisture calibration stations in Africa and reflects on the institutional and financial barriers, as well as the sources of hope that keep her pursuing this work.

Oct 24, 2025

Touchdown! The flag football movement is here | Troy Vincent Sr.

Former NFL player and current Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the NFL, Troy Vincent Sr., describes how girls and young women with the talent and desire to play football have historically been denied access, sharing personal stories about a gifted neighborhood athlete and his own daughter whose opportunities vanished because of their gender. He highlights the rapid rise of flag football as an affordable, accessible, and inclusive sport that now serves over 20 million participants across 100 countries, with growing support in U.S. high schools and colleges and a debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Vincent urges listeners to actively support girls' access to flag football, resist re-centering the sport around men as it grows, and "let her take the field" so women can shape the future of football and sports.

Oct 23, 2025

How to pull the emergency brake on global warming | Mohamed A. Sultan

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED Talk by sustainability strategist Mohamed A. Sultan about the urgency and opportunity of cutting methane emissions, especially across the African continent. Sultan explains how methane from landfills, fossil fuels, and agriculture significantly drives global warming, and highlights concrete African examples in waste management, energy, and rice cultivation that reduce methane while improving public health, jobs, and food security. He argues that better governance, finance, and development models can simultaneously build resilience, advance economic development, and lower methane emissions worldwide.

Oct 22, 2025

The art of reading minds | Oz Pearlman

Host Elise Hu introduces mentalist Oz Perlman, who explains that he does not read minds but reads people by carefully observing behavior and patterns. Through live demonstrations with audience members, he shows how mentalism relies on psychology, attention, and structured guessing, and then teaches a practical technique-"listen, repeat, reply"-to help people remember names and build better connections. He closes by discussing risk, confidence, and belief, culminating in empowering an audience member to apparently read another person's mind on stage.

Oct 21, 2025

Inside the mind of a newborn baby | Claudia Passos Ferreira

Host Elise Hu introduces philosopher, bioethicist, and clinical psychologist Claudia Pasos-Ferreira, who explores when and how consciousness begins in human life. Drawing on recent neuroscience and developmental psychology, Pasos-Ferreira argues that newborns, and possibly late-term fetuses, display brain signatures associated with conscious perception and attention. She discusses the ethical implications of this evidence for medical practice and debates around personhood, and concludes with a broader reflection on consciousness as a "flame of awareness" shared across life and potentially machines.

Oct 20, 2025

TED Talks Daily Book Club: Why change is so scary - and how to unlock its potential | Maya Shankar (re-release)

Host Elise Hu introduces a live virtual book club around Oliver Berkman's book "Meditations for Mortals" and frames a replay of cognitive scientist Maya Shankar's 2023 TED talk about navigating unexpected change. In her talk, Shankar shares her own story of losing her dream of becoming a concert violinist, along with the experiences of others, to illustrate how change can be frightening because of uncertainty and loss but can also expand our capabilities, values, and identities. She offers three guiding questions to reframe disruptive events and describes how she is using them in her own current struggle with pregnancy losses and uncertainty about becoming a mother.

Oct 19, 2025

The difference between healthy and unhealthy love | Katie Hood (re-release)

Relationship expert Katie Hood explains that while love is a powerful instinct and emotion, the ability to love well is a skill that must be learned and practiced. Drawing on her work with the One Love organization, she outlines five clear markers of unhealthy love-intensity, isolation, extreme jealousy, belittling, and volatility-and shows how these can escalate into abuse if left unchecked. She emphasizes using shared language to recognize unhealthy dynamics in all types of relationships and encourages daily practice of open communication, respect, kindness, and patience to build healthier connections.

Oct 18, 2025

The new era of AI-powered protein design | César Ramírez-Sarmiento

Host Elise Hu introduces TED Fellow and protein engineer César Ramírez-Sarmiento, whose lab in Santiago, Chile uses artificial intelligence to design novel proteins for environmental and therapeutic applications. In his talk and follow-up conversation with TED Fellows Program Director Lily James-Olds, César explains what proteins are, how AI has radically improved protein design success rates, and how enzymes could help address challenges like plastic pollution, mining impacts, and climate change. They also discuss the dual-use risks of AI in biodesign, emerging global regulation and leadership (including Chile and other countries), and how César's artistic background shapes his creative approach to science and public communication.

Oct 17, 2025

What it's really like to win the lottery | Matt Pitcher

Former financial advisor Matt Pitcher shares stories from his work with UK National Lottery winners to explore how sudden wealth affects people's lives. Through three contrasting case studies, he shows how a lottery win can strain relationships, fuel fleeting consumerism, or be used to buy precious time and memories with loved ones. He concludes by urging listeners to reflect on how they already spend their limited budgets of time and money, arguing that those able to listen to this talk have effectively already "won the lottery of life."

Oct 16, 2025

Tax the rich - and save the planet | Esther Duflo

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED Talk by economist Esther Duflo, who argues that the world's richest individuals and largest multinational corporations should fund climate damage costs through targeted taxes. Duflo quantifies the mortality and financial burden that greenhouse gas emissions from rich countries impose on low- and middle-income countries and proposes a global wealth and corporate tax to raise around $1.7 trillion annually. She advocates sending this money directly to people, especially in poorer nations, to build resilience and create a new grand bargain where rich countries pay climate damages and poorer countries commit to strong climate action.

Oct 15, 2025

A pastry chef works his chocolatier magic - live | Amaury Guichon

Pastry chef and chocolatier Amaury Guichon speaks with Latif Nasser at TED 2025 about how he uses chocolate to create intricate edible sculptures that inspire wonder around the world. He explains his journey from struggling student in France to Vegas-based pastry artist, his focus on taste and texture as much as visual impact, and his mission to showcase the hidden labor behind pastry. During the talk he live-assembles his elaborate "coffee clock" dessert on stage, revealing both the artistic process and the multi-layered flavors inside.

Oct 14, 2025

The flourishing future of women's sports | Kate Johnson

Olympic medalist and sports marketing executive Kate Johnson explains how algorithms and historical media coverage have made women's sports far less discoverable than men's, despite rapid growth in popularity and economic potential. She details how this lack of visibility feeds a vicious cycle of underinvestment, affects young girls' participation in sports, and weakens the pipeline for female leaders. Johnson highlights emerging solutions from brands, media platforms, athletes, fans, and AI tools, and calls on listeners to actively support and create content around women's sports to help level the playing field.

Oct 13, 2025

TED Talks Daily Book Club: Essential questions to ask your future self | Meg Jay (re-release)

Elise Hu introduces a re-released TED Membership conversation featuring clinical psychologist Meg Jay on the concept of the empathy gap between our present and future selves. In her talk, Jay explains how difficulty imagining our future selves can lead us to neglect long-term well-being, and she offers practical questions and thought exercises to build a connection with who we will be at around age 35. She then speaks with Whitney Pennington-Rogers about how these ideas apply not only to people in their 20s but at any stage of life, and how to turn a one-time reflection into an ongoing practice.

Oct 12, 2025

How to raise confident kids in an age of anxiety | Lenore Skenazy

Journalist and free-range parenting advocate Lenore Skenazy discusses why children's independence has dramatically shrunk over recent decades and how this shift is linked to rising anxiety and depression among kids. She explains the cultural and media forces that fueled overprotective parenting, outlines concrete steps for parents, schools, and communities to safely restore age-appropriate freedom, and describes legal reforms like the Reasonable Childhood Independence Law. The conversation emphasizes how letting kids do things on their own builds competence, confidence, and resilience while revitalizing neighborhoods and preparing young people for adult life and work.

Oct 11, 2025

The hidden cost of buying gold | Claudia Vega

Rainforest toxicologist and TED Fellow Claudia Vega explains how artisanal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon releases large amounts of mercury, causing severe environmental damage and public health risks locally and globally. She describes the mining process, mercury's toxic effects, and the massive deforestation in Madre de Dios, as well as her work establishing the first mercury lab in the Peruvian Amazon to generate local data for communities, policymakers, and international agreements. In conversation with TED Fellows Program Director Lily James Olds, she discusses working with indigenous communities, changing mining practices, the limits of "green" gold, the need for consumer awareness and traceability, and her fears about fake news and hope in small but real changes.

Oct 10, 2025

The best thing that could happen to the energy industry | Matt Tilleard

Host Elise Hu introduces a talk by renewable entrepreneur Matt Tilleard, who argues that the current clean energy shift is fundamentally different from past energy transitions because it is driven by technology instead of fuel. He explains how renewable technologies are less existential, more recyclable, more substitutable, and based on abundant materials, making control of resources and cartels far less powerful than in the fossil-fuel era. Using examples from his work in Africa and a case study in Madagascar, he outlines why the future of energy is likely to be more distributed, shared, and shaped by innovation and manufacturing rather than by those who control fuel deposits.

Oct 8, 2025

Inside the Gaza peace plan | Ian Bremmer

On the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, political scientist Ian Bremmer speaks with Helen Walters about a new 20‑point peace plan announced by U.S. President Trump to end the Gaza war. They examine the behind‑the‑scenes diplomacy with Gulf states, the leverage Washington is now exerting on Israel, the proposed interim governance structure for Gaza, and the fading prospects of a Palestinian state. Bremmer outlines what Hamas, Israel, and regional actors would need to agree to, as well as the risks, timelines, and political consequences that could cause the plan to collapse.

Oct 7, 2025

Beyond the Talk: Deja Foxx on finding alternative online spaces

Host Elise Hu interviews activist and digital strategist Deja Fox about how teen girls and young women are using social media and alternative online platforms to build power and community. Fox reflects on her viral confrontation with a senator over birth control access, her work on Kamala Harris's 2024 campaign, and her decision to run for Congress. They also discuss the gendered harms of current tech architecture, including AI-enabled deepfakes and digital violence, and what safer, more inclusive women-led online spaces could look like.

Oct 6, 2025

Going viral taught me the internet is broken - but fixable | Deja Foxx

Host Elise Hu introduces a TED 2025 talk by activist and content creator Deja Fox, who recounts how a viral confrontation with her senator over access to birth control thrust her into the public eye as a teenager. She describes both the opportunities and harms that came with online fame, including coordinated harassment and the absence of effective platform protections. Fox then highlights girl- and women-led digital collectives and platforms that prioritize safety, privacy, respect, and user ownership, calling for a "girl internet" and inviting listeners to help build a more equitable digital future.

Oct 6, 2025

Sunday Pick: How Texas became America's biggest producer of wind energy | Speed & Scale

Hosts Ryan Pinchasarum and Anjali Grover tell the story of how Texas, long associated with oil and gas, became the largest producer of wind energy in the United States. Through an interview with former Texas Public Utility Commission chair Pat Wood, they trace how public input, bipartisan policymaking, and major transmission investments enabled large-scale wind deployment and cut power-sector emissions by over a quarter, despite growing political polarization around renewables.

Oct 5, 2025

Your relationship expectations could be holding you back | Stephanie R. Yates-Anyabwile (re-release)

Host Elise Hugh introduces a TED Next 2024 talk by couples therapist Stephanie R. Yates-Anyabwile about how conventional expectations can make romantic relationships feel harder than they need to be. Yates-Anyabwile argues that many relationship struggles come from comparing ourselves to societal norms rather than designing arrangements that fit two unique individuals. Using examples from her clinical practice and her own family, she shows how redefining success in relationships-sometimes in unconventional ways like living apart or commuting separately-can reduce conflict and increase connection.

Oct 4, 2025

Can AI make us more human? A social psychologist and a business leader answer | Heidi Grant and Barry Cooper

Host Elise Hu introduces a conversation from the TED Intersections series in which social psychologist Heidi Grant and business leader Barry Cooper discuss how AI can support human learning, decision-making, and connection. They explore the importance of a growth mindset in a rapidly changing AI-driven workplace, how AI can transform feedback and training, and the emerging skill of prompt engineering. They also reflect on AI's role in personal habits, social media, and creative content, and where human empathy and shared experience will remain essential.

Oct 3, 2025

What separates us from chimpanzees? | Jane Goodall

Host Elise Hugh introduces a 2003 TED Talk by primatologist Jane Goodall, presented as a tribute after news of her death, highlighting her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees and its impact on how we understand humans and other animals. In the talk, Goodall describes chimpanzee cognition and culture, the environmental and social forces threatening great apes and human communities, and her youth program Roots and Shoots. She closes by arguing that hope lies in our individual and collective choices to live more lightly on the planet and act with compassion toward all life.

Oct 2, 2025

3 simple ways to build stronger relationships at work | Alyssa Birnbaum

Organizational psychologist Alyssa Birnbaum explains how high-quality connections at work significantly influence engagement, burnout, and well-being, especially in remote and hybrid environments. Drawing on her research and personal experiences, she shows that even a single high-quality interaction can boost engagement and that video conversations can foster connection similarly to in-person meetings. She then offers three concrete practices-expanding dialogue, finding overlap, and showing genuine care-and emphasizes the responsibility of leaders to intentionally create space for meaningful connection at work.

Oct 1, 2025

This TED Talk is full of bad ideas | Gabe Whaley

Host Elise Hume introduces a TED Talk by artist and mischief maker Gabe Whaley, founder of the New York art collective Mischief, about the surprising power of pursuing ideas that initially seem bad or impractical. Whaley walks through several of Mischief's projects, including a microscopic handbag, a robot dog with a paintball gun, the viral Big Red Boots, an ATM that publicly ranks users by bank balance, novelty objects, and a car shared via 5,000 keys, to show how the real artwork often becomes the interactions and communities that form around these experiments. He closes by encouraging people to give themselves permission to explore ideas that make them uncomfortable because they can evolve into something unexpected and meaningful.

Sep 30, 2025