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
880 – 900

How we can design timeless cities for our collective future | Vishaan Chakrabarti

There's a creeping sameness in many of our newest urban buildings and streetscapes, says architect Vishaan Chakrabarti. And this physical homogeneity -- the result of regulations, mass production, safety issues and cost considerations, among other factors -- has blanketed our planet in a social and psychological homogeneity, too. In this…
25 Jun 2018 10AM 13 min

Why you should love gross science | Anna Rothschild

What can we learn from the slimy, smelly side of life? In this playful talk, science journalist Anna Rothschild shows us the hidden wisdom of "gross stuff" and explains why avoiding the creepy underbelly of nature, medicine and technology closes us off to important sources of knowledge about our health…
21 Jun 2018 3PM 14 min

How Netflix changed entertainment -- and where it's headed | Reed Hastings

Netflix changed the world of entertainment -- first with DVD-by-mail, then with streaming media and then again with sensational original shows like "Orange Is the New Black" and "Stranger Things" -- but not without taking its fair share of risks. In conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson, Netflix co-founder and…
21 Jun 2018 10AM 21 min

How we can bring mental health support to refugees | Essam Daod

The global refugee crisis is a mental health catastrophe, leaving millions in need of psychological support to overcome the traumas of dislocation and conflict. To undo the damage, child psychiatrist and TED Fellow Essam Daod has been working in camps, rescue boats and the shorelines of Greece and the Mediterranean…
20 Jun 2018 10AM 5 min

Technology that knows what you're feeling | Poppy Crum

What happens when technology knows more about us than we do? Poppy Crum studies how we express emotions -- and she suggests the end of the poker face is near, as new tech makes it easy to see the signals that give away how we're feeling. In a talk and…
19 Jun 2018 10AM 13 min

The surprising science of alpha males | Frans de Waal

In this fascinating look at the "alpha male," primatologist Frans de Waal explores the privileges and costs of power while drawing surprising parallels between how humans and primates choose their leaders. His research reveals some of the unexpected capacities of alpha males -- generosity, empathy, even peacekeeping -- and sheds…
18 Jun 2018 3PM 16 min

Four billion years of evolution in six minutes | Prosanta Chakrabarty

Did humans evolve from monkeys or from fish? In this enlightening talk, ichthyologist and TED Fellow Prosanta Chakrabarty dispels some hardwired myths about evolution, encouraging us to remember that we're a small part of a complex, four-billion-year process -- and not the end of the line. "We're not the goal…
15 Jun 2018 10AM 6 min

How I'm bringing queer pride to my rural village | Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile

In a poetic, personal talk, TED Fellow Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile examines the connection between her modern queer lifestyle and her childhood upbringing in a rural village in Botswana. "In a time where being brown, queer, African and seen as worthy of space means being everything but rural, I fear that we're…
14 Jun 2018 3PM 5 min

The incredible potential of flexible, soft robots | Giada Gerboni

Robots are designed for speed and precision -- but their rigidity has often limited how they're used. In this illuminating talk, biomedical engineer Giada Gerboni shares the latest developments in "soft robotics," an emerging field that aims to create nimble machines that imitate nature, like a robotic octopus. Learn more…
14 Jun 2018 10AM 9 min

How to get empowered, not overpowered, by AI | Max Tegmark

Many artificial intelligence researchers expect AI to outsmart humans at all tasks and jobs within decades, enabling a future where we're restricted only by the laws of physics, not the limits of our intelligence. MIT physicist and AI researcher Max Tegmark separates the real opportunities and threats from the myths,…
13 Jun 2018 10AM 17 min

What we'll learn about the brain in the next century | Sam Rodriques

In this imaginative talk, neurobiologist Sam Rodriques takes us on a thrilling tour of the next 100 years in neuroscience. He envisions strange (and sometimes frightening) innovations that may be the key to understanding and treating brain disease -- like lasers that drill tiny holes in our skulls and allow…
12 Jun 2018 3PM 13 min

The journey through loss and grief | Jason B. Rosenthal

In her brutally honest, ironically funny and widely read meditation on death, "You May Want to Marry My Husband," the late author and filmmaker Amy Krouse Rosenthal gave her husband Jason very public permission to move on and find happiness. A year after her death, Jason offers candid insights on…
12 Jun 2018 10AM 14 min

Why the secret to success is setting the right goals | John Doerr

Our leaders and institutions are failing us, but it's not always because they're bad or unethical, says venture capitalist John Doerr -- often, it's simply because they're leading us toward the wrong objectives. In this practical talk, Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with "Objectives and…
11 Jun 2018 10AM 11 min

The discoveries awaiting us in the ocean's twilight zone | Heidi M. Sosik

What will we find in the twilight zone: the vast, mysterious, virtually unexplored realm hundreds of meters below the ocean's surface? Heidi M. Sosik of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution wants to find out. In this wonder-filled talk, she shares her plan to investigate these uncharted waters, which may hold a…
8 Jun 2018 10AM 11 min

Inside the fight against Russia's fake news empire | Olga Yurkova

When facts are false, decisions are wrong, says editor and TED Fellow Olga Yurkova. To stop the spread of fake news, she and a group of journalists launched StopFake.org, which exposes biased or inaccurate reporting in order to rebuild the trust we've lost in our journalists, leaders and institutions. Learn…
7 Jun 2018 10AM 5 min

How technology can fight extremism and online harassment | Yasmin Green

Can technology make people safer from threats like violent extremism, censorship and persecution? In this illuminating talk, technologist Yasmin Green details programs she's piloted at Jigsaw (a unit within Google's Alphabet Inc.) to counter radicalization and online harassment -- including a project that gives commenters real-time feedback about how their…
6 Jun 2018 11AM 13 min

What if we replaced politicians with randomly selected people? | Brett Hennig

If you think democracy is broken, here's an idea: let's replace politicians with randomly selected people. Author and activist Brett Hennig presents a compelling case for sortition democracy, or random selection of government officials -- a system with roots in ancient Athens that taps into the wisdom of the crowd…
5 Jun 2018 4PM 10 min

The critical role librarians play in the opioid crisis | Chera Kowalski

Public libraries have always been about more than just books -- and their mission of community support has taken on new urgency during the current opioid epidemic. After witnessing overdoses at her library in Philadelphia, Chera Kowalski learned how to administer naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of narcotics,…
5 Jun 2018 11AM 12 min
880 – 900