TED Talks Daily Audio Selection

A bold plan to empower 1.6 million out-of-school girls in India | Safeena Husain

"Girls' education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet to help solve some of the world's most difficult problems," says social entrepreneur Safeena Husain. In a visionary talk, she shares her plan to enroll a staggering 1.6 million girls in school over the next five years --…

23 Sep 2019 10AM 10 min

We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | Sonaar Luthra

We need a global weather service for water, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra. In a talk about environmental accountability, Luthra shows how we could forecast water shortages and risks with a global data collection effort -- just like we monitor the movement of storms -- and better listen…

20 Sep 2019 10AM 13 min

4 questions you should always ask your doctor | Christer Mjåset

"Doctor, is this really necessary?" Backed by startling statistics about overtreatment, neurosurgeon Christer Mjåset explains the power of this and other simple questions in the context of medical treatment and surgery -- and shares how patients can better work with doctors to get the care they need.

19 Sep 2019 11AM 11 min

This could be why you're depressed and anxious | Johann Hari

In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world -- as well as some exciting emerging solutions. "If you're depressed or anxious, you're not weak and you're not crazy -- you're a human being with unmet needs,"…

18 Sep 2019 10AM 20 min

How we use astrophysics to study earthbound problems | Federica Bianco

To study a system as complex as the entire universe, astrophysicists need to be experts at extracting simple solutions from large data sets. What else could they do with this expertise? In an interdisciplinary talk, TED Fellow and astrophysicist Federica Bianco explains how she uses astrophysical data analysis to solve…

17 Sep 2019 4PM 5 min

How climate change could make our food less nutritious | Kristie Ebi

Rising carbon levels in the atmosphere can make plants grow faster, but there's another hidden consequence: they rob plants of the nutrients and vitamins we need to survive. In a talk about global food security, epidemiologist Kristie Ebi explores the potentially massive health consequences of this growing nutrition crisis --…

16 Sep 2019 3PM 11 min

The dirty secret of capitalism -- and a new way forward | Nick Hanauer

Rising inequality and growing political instability are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory, says entrepreneur Nick Hanauer. In a visionary talk, he dismantles the mantra that "greed is good" -- an idea he describes as not only morally corrosive, but also scientifically wrong -- and lays out…

13 Sep 2019 10AM 17 min

Community-powered criminal justice reform | Raj Jayadev

Community organizer Raj Jayadev wants to transform the US court system through "participatory defense" -- a growing movement that empowers families and community members to impact their loved ones' court cases. He shares the remarkable results of their work -- including more than 4,000 years of "time saved" from incarceration…

12 Sep 2019 3PM 13 min

What reading slowly taught me about writing | Jacqueline Woodson

Reading slowly -- with her finger running beneath the words, even when she was taught not to -- has led Jacqueline Woodson to a life of writing books to be savored. In a lyrical talk, she invites us to slow down and appreciate stories that take us places we never…

12 Sep 2019 10AM 11 min

How deepfakes undermine truth and threaten democracy | Danielle Citron

The use of deepfake technology to manipulate video and audio for malicious purposes -- whether it's to stoke violence or defame politicians and journalists -- is becoming a real threat. As these tools become more accessible and their products more realistic, how will they shape what we believe about the…

11 Sep 2019 10AM 13 min

How your emotions change the shape of your heart | Sandeep Jauhar

"A record of our emotional life is written on our hearts," says cardiologist and author Sandeep Jauhar. In a stunning talk, he explores the mysterious ways our emotions impact the health of our hearts -- causing them to change shape in response to grief or fear, to literally break in…

10 Sep 2019 4PM 16 min

How your emotions change the shape of your heart | Sandeep Jauhar

"A record of our emotional life is written on our hearts," says cardiologist and author Sandeep Jauhar. In a stunning talk, he explores the mysterious ways our emotions impact the health of our hearts -- causing them to change shape in response to grief or fear, to literally break in…

10 Sep 2019 4PM 16 min

A "living drug" that could change the way we treat cancer | Carl June

Carl June is the pioneer behind CAR T-cell therapy: a groundbreaking cancer treatment that supercharges part of a patient's own immune system to attack and kill tumors. In a talk about a breakthrough, he shares how three decades of research culminated in a therapy that's eradicated cases of leukemia once…

10 Sep 2019 10AM 15 min

How we can turn racism into a solvable problem -- and improve policing | Phillip Atiba Goff

When we define racism as behaviors instead of feelings, we can measure it -- and transform it from an impossible problem into a solvable one, says justice scientist Phillip Atiba Goff. In an actionable talk, he shares his work at the Center for Policing Equity, an organization that helps police…

9 Sep 2019 10AM 12 min

Why I became a climate activist -- and why you should too | Luisa Neubauer

"I dream of a world where geography classes teach about the climate crisis as this one great challenge that was won by people like you and me," says climate activist Luisa Neubauer. With Greta Thunberg, Neubauer helped initiate "Fridays For Future," the momentous international school strike movement that protests the…

6 Sep 2019 10AM 18 min

Inside the bizarre world of internet trolls and propagandists | Andrew Marantz

Journalist Andrew Marantz spent three years embedded in the world of internet trolls and social media propagandists, seeking out the people who are propelling fringe talking points into the heart of conversation online and trying to understand how they're making their ideas spread. Go down the rabbit hole of online…

5 Sep 2019 10AM 14 min

Inside the bizarre world of internet trolls and propagandists | Andrew Marantz

Journalist Andrew Marantz spent three years embedded in the world of internet trolls and social media propagandists, seeking out the people who are propelling fringe talking points into the heart of conversation online and trying to understand how they're making their ideas spread. Go down the rabbit hole of online…

5 Sep 2019 10AM 14 min

How to teach teenagers to think critically about porn | Emily F. Rothman

"The free, online, mainstream pornography that teenagers are most likely to see is a completely terrible form of sex education," says public health researcher Emily F. Rothman. She shares how her mission to end dating and sexual violence led her to create a pornography literacy program that helps teens learn…

4 Sep 2019 10AM 15 min

What happened when we paired up thousands of strangers to talk politics | Jochen Wegner

In spring 2019, more than 17,000 Europeans from 33 countries signed up to have a political argument with a complete stranger. They were part of "Europe Talks," a project that organizes one-on-one conversations between people who disagree -- sort of like a Tinder for politics. Editor Jochen Wegner shares the…

3 Sep 2019 1PM 12 min

A climate change solution that's right under our feet | Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

There's two times more carbon in the earth's soil than in all of its vegetation and the atmosphere -- combined. Biogeochemist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe dives into the science of soil and shares how we could use its awesome carbon-trapping power to offset climate change. "[Soil] represents the difference between life…

3 Sep 2019 10AM 14 min