TED: Ideas worth spreading TED Talks Daily Audio Selection

TED Talks Daily Audio Selection

Want TED Talks on the go? Every weekday, this feed brings you our latest talks in audio format. Hear thought-provoking ideas on every subject imaginable -- from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology, and everything in between -- given by the world's leading thinkers and doers. This collection of talks, given at TED and TEDx conferences around the globe, is also available in video format.
Daily English South Africa Education · Science
1,097 Episodes
740 – 760

The work that makes all other work possible | Ai-jen Poo

Domestic workers are entrusted with the most precious aspects of people's lives -- they're the nannies, the elder-care workers and the house cleaners who do the work that makes all other work possible. Too often, they're invisible, taken for granted or dismissed as "help," yet they continue to do their…
7 Dec 2018 10AM 16 min

Get ready for hybrid thinking | Ray Kurzweil

Two hundred million years ago, our mammal ancestors developed a new brain feature: the neocortex. This stamp-sized piece of tissue (wrapped around a brain the size of a walnut) is the key to what humanity has become. Now, futurist Ray Kurzweil suggests, we should get ready for the next big…
6 Dec 2018 10AM 10 min

How to motivate people to do good for others | Erez Yoeli

How can we get people to do more good: to go to the polls, give to charity, conserve resources or just generally act better towards others? MIT research scientist Erez Yoeli shares a simple checklist for harnessing the power of reputations -- or our collective desire to be seen as…
5 Dec 2018 10AM 13 min

3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do | Stacey Abrams

How you respond after setbacks is what defines your character. Stacey Abrams was the first black woman in the history of the United States to be nominated by a major party for governor -- she lost that hotly contested race, but as she says: the only choice is to move…
4 Dec 2018 11AM 13 min

Confessions of a recovering micromanager | Chieh Huang

Think about the most tired you've ever been at work. It probably wasn't when you stayed late or came home from a road trip -- chances are it was when you had someone looking over your shoulder, watching your each and every move. "If we know that micromanagement isn't really…
3 Dec 2018 10AM 12 min

Color blind or color brave? | Mellody Hobson

The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a "conversational third rail." But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race — and particularly about…
1 Dec 2018 6AM 14 min

Me Too is a movement, not a moment | Tarana Burke

In 2006, Tarana Burke was consumed by a desire to do something about the sexual violence she saw in her community. She took out a piece of paper, wrote "Me Too" across the top and laid out an action plan for a movement centered on the power of empathy between…
30 Nov 2018 10AM 16 min

The story of Marvel's first queer Latina superhero | Gabby Rivera

With Marvel's "America Chavez," Gabby Rivera wrote a new kind of superhero -- one who can punch portals into other dimensions while also embracing her gentle, goofy, soft side. In a funny, personal talk, Rivera shares how her own childhood as a queer Puerto Rican in the Bronx informed this…
29 Nov 2018 10AM 12 min

100 solutions to climate change | Chad Frischmann

What if we took out more greenhouse gases than we put into the atmosphere? This hypothetical scenario, known as "drawdown," is our only hope of averting climate disaster, says strategist Chad Frischmann. In a forward-thinking talk, he shares solutions to climate change that exist today -- conventional tactics like the…
28 Nov 2018 10AM 17 min

The radical possibilities of man-made DNA | Floyd E. Romesberg

Every cell that's ever lived has been the result of the four-letter genetic alphabet: A, T, C and G -- the basic units of DNA. But now that's changed. In a visionary talk, synthetic biologist Floyd E. Romesberg introduces us to the first living organisms created with six-letter DNA --…
26 Nov 2018 10AM 15 min

Elizabeth Gilbert shows up for ... everything | The TED Interview

Introducing The TED Interview, a new podcast hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson. As a writer, Elizabeth Gilbert is notorious for placing her heart squarely on her sleeve. Her best-selling memoir "Eat Pray Love" was a sensation precisely because of her eloquent, open-hearted descriptions of fear, divorce and wanting…
22 Nov 2018 6AM 59 min

Where do your online returns go? | Aparna Mehta

Do you ever order clothes online in different sizes and colors, just to try them on and then send back what doesn't work? Aparna Mehta used to do this all time, until she one day asked herself: Where do all these returned clothes go? In an eye-opening talk, she reveals…
21 Nov 2018 10AM 8 min

How to disagree productively and find common ground | Julia Dhar

Some days, it feels like the only thing we can agree on is that we can't agree -- on anything. Drawing on her background as a world debate champion, Julia Dhar offers three techniques to reshape the way we talk to each other so we can start disagreeing productively and…
19 Nov 2018 10AM 16 min

A librarian's case against overdue book fines | Dawn Wacek

Libraries have the power to create a better world; they connect communities, promote literacy and spark lifelong learners. But there's one thing that keeps people away: the fear of overdue book fines. In this thought-provoking talk, librarian Dawn Wacek makes the case that fines don't actually do what we think…
15 Nov 2018 10AM 15 min

Is civility a sham? | Teresa Bejan

What exactly is civility, and what does it require? In a talk packed with historical insights, political theorist Teresa Bejan explains how civility has been used as both the foundation of tolerant societies and as a way for political partisans to silence and dismiss opposing views. Bejan suggests that we…
14 Nov 2018 10AM 15 min

My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee | AJ Jacobs

Author AJ Jacobs embarked on a quest with a deceptively simple idea at its heart: to personally thank every person who helped make his morning cup of coffee. More than one thousand "thank yous" later, Jacobs reflects on the globe-trotting journey that ensued -- and shares the life-altering wisdom he…
13 Nov 2018 10AM 16 min
740 – 760