TED Talks Daily Audio Selection

Refugees want empowerment, not handouts | Robert Hakiza

The prevailing image of where refugees live is of temporary camps in isolated areas -- but in reality, nearly 60 percent of them worldwide end up in urban areas. TED Fellow Robert Hakiza takes us inside the lives of urban refugees -- and shows us how organizations like the one…

22 Feb 2018 3PM 6 min

How to have a healthier, positive relationship to sex | Tiffany Kagure Mugo and Siphumeze Khundayi

From our fear of women's bodies to our sheepishness around the word "nipple," our ideas about sex need an upgrade, say sex educators (and hilarious women) Tiffany Kagure Mugo and Siphumeze Khundayi. For a radical new take on sex positivity, the duo take the TED stage to suggest we look…

22 Feb 2018 11AM 11 min

A life-saving invention that prevents human stampedes | Nilay Kulkarni

Every three years, more than 30 million Hindu worshippers gather for the Kumbh Mela in India, the world's largest religious gathering, in order to wash away their sins. With massive crowds descending on small cities and towns, stampedes inevitably happen, and in 2003, 39 people were killed during the festival…

21 Feb 2018 3PM 7 min

How to resolve racially stressful situations | Howard C. Stevenson

If we hope to heal the racial tensions that threaten to tear the fabric of society apart, we're going to need the skills to openly express ourselves in racially stressful situations. Through racial literacy -- the ability to read, recast and resolve these situations -- psychologist Howard C. Stevenson helps…

21 Feb 2018 10AM 17 min

Looking for a job? Highlight your ability, not your experience | Jason Shen

Very few of us hold jobs that line up directly with our past experiences or what we studied in college. Take TED Resident Jason Shen; he studied biology but later became a product manager at a tech company. In this quick, insightful talk about human potential, Shen shares some new…

20 Feb 2018 4PM 6 min

How we can build AI to help humans, not hurt us | Margaret Mitchell

As a research scientist at Google, Margaret Mitchell helps develop computers that can communicate about what they see and understand. She tells a cautionary tale about the gaps, blind spots and biases we subconsciously encode into AI -- and asks us to consider what the technology we create today will…

20 Feb 2018 10AM 10 min

How (and why) Russia hacked the US election | Laura Galante

Hacking, fake news, information bubbles ... all these and more have become part of the vernacular in recent years. But as cyberspace analyst Laura Galante describes in this alarming talk, the real target of anyone looking to influence geopolitics is dastardly simple: it's you.

19 Feb 2018 11AM 9 min

The secret to great opportunities? The person you haven't met yet | Tanya Menon

We often find ourselves stuck in narrow social circles with similar people. What habits confine us, and how can we break them? Organizational psychologist Tanya Menon considers how we can be more intentional about expanding our social universes -- and how it can lead to new ideas and opportunities.

16 Feb 2018 10AM 15 min

3 creative ways to fix fashion's waste problem | Amit Kalra

What happens to the clothes we don't buy? You might think that last season's coats, trousers and turtlenecks end up being put to use, but most of it (nearly 13 million tons each year in the United States alone) ends up in landfills. Fashion has a waste problem, and Amit…

15 Feb 2018 3PM 9 min

Fashion that celebrates African strength and spirit | Walé Oyéjidé

"To be African is to be inspired by culture and to be filled with undying hope for the future," says designer and TED Fellow Walé Oyéjidé. With his label Ikiré Jones (you'll see their work in Marvel's "Black Panther"), he uses classic design to showcase the elegance and grace of…

15 Feb 2018 10AM 5 min

Why I train grandmothers to treat depression | Dixon Chibanda

Dixon Chibanda is one of 12 psychiatrists in Zimbabwe -- for a population of more than 16 million. Realizing that his country would never be able to scale traditional methods of treating those with mental health issues, Chibanda helped to develop a beautiful solution powered by a limitless resource: grandmothers…

14 Feb 2018 10AM 12 min

The virginity fraud | Nina Dølvik Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl

The hymen is still the most misunderstood part of the female body. Nina Dølvik Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl share their mission to empower young people through better sex education, debunking the popular (and harmful) myths we're told about female virginity and the hymen.

13 Feb 2018 3PM 11 min

The surprising ingredient that makes businesses work better | Marco Alverà

What is it about unfairness? Whether it's not being invited to a friend's wedding or getting penalized for bad luck or an honest mistake, unfairness often makes us so upset that we can't think straight. And it's not just a personal issue -- it's also bad for business, says Marco…

13 Feb 2018 10AM 14 min

Capitalism isn't an ideology -- it's an operating system | Bhu Srinivasan

Bhu Srinivasan researches the intersection of capitalism and technological progress. Instead of thinking about capitalism as a firm, unchanging ideology, he suggests that we should think of it as an operating system -- one that needs upgrades to keep up with innovation, like the impending take-off of drone delivery services…

12 Feb 2018 10AM 6 min

3 lessons of revolutionary love in a time of rage | Valarie Kaur

What's the antidote to rising nationalism, polarization and hate? In this inspiring, poetic talk, Valarie Kaur asks us to reclaim love as a revolutionary act. As she journeys from the birthing room to tragic sites of bloodshed, Kaur shows us how the choice to love can be a force for…

9 Feb 2018 10AM 23 min

How protest is redefining democracy around the world | Zachariah Mampilly

The democratic process is messy, complicated and often inefficient -- but across Africa, activists are redefining democracy by putting protest at its center. In an illuminating talk, political scientist Zachariah Mampilly gives us a primer on the current wave of protests reshaping countries like Tunisia, Malawi and Zimbabwe -- and…

8 Feb 2018 3PM 10 min

This company pays kids to do their math homework | Mohamad Jebara

Mohamad Jebara loves mathematics -- but he's concerned that too many students grow up thinking that this beautiful, rewarding subject is difficult and boring. His company is experimenting with a bold idea: paying students for completing weekly math homework. He explores the ethics of this model and how it's helping…

8 Feb 2018 10AM 13 min

How architecture can create dignity for all | John Cary

If architect and writer John Cary has his way, women will never need to stand in pointlessly long bathroom lines again. Lines like these are representative of a more serious issue, Cary says: the lack of diversity in design that leads to thoughtless, compassionless spaces. Design has a unique ability…

7 Feb 2018 10AM 13 min

How we can help hungry kids, one text at a time | Su Kahumbu

Su Kahumbu raises badass cows -- healthy, well-fed animals whose protein is key to solving a growing crisis in Africa: childhood nutritional stunting. With iCow, a simple SMS service she developed to support small-scale livestock farmers, the TED Fellow is helping farmers across the continent by texting them tips on…

6 Feb 2018 4PM 7 min

This deep-sea mystery is changing our understanding of life | Karen Lloyd

How deep into the Earth can we go and still find life? Marine microbiologist Karen Lloyd introduces us to deep-subsurface microbes: tiny organisms that live buried meters deep in ocean mud and have been on Earth since way before animals. Learn more about these mysterious microbes, which refuse to grow…

6 Feb 2018 10AM 13 min