Members June Cohen

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About me

As Executive Producer of TED Media, I'm focused on extending TED in new directions — particularly those that help spread ideas. I led the charge to bring the conference online, launching TEDTalks in 2006, and the new TED.com in 2007. I also co-produce the annual confere ... More »

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  • More about me

  • I'm passionate about

    Media, technology, culture and their impact on each other. Creativity and collaboration. Responsible stewardship of the planet. Travel. Theater. Books. Inspired design marrying form and function.

  • Talk to me about

    Your media habits. Your latest theory. Things you find beautiful. What you've learned. Your next project. My next book. Theater. Coffee. TED.com

  • People don't know that I'm good at

    Cooking ambitious meals. Belting Broadway tunes (consider yourself warned). Waterskiing. Also, I know a surprising amount about the role indigenous media played in Africa's independence movements.

  • My TED story

    I had followed TED from afar since 1990, and first attended in 1998, while I was at HotWired. I missed only one year, and then only because of a misunderstanding: I *thought* I was registered. (I actually arrived in Monterey, and then (sad!) had to turn around and go home.)

    So 2009 marks my 11th year attending TED and my fourth on staff. TED has always mapped really oddly and beautifully on to my own set of interests, which focus at the center of technology, entertainment and design (specifically the emergence of new, technology-driven media forms), but branch off wildly into biology, art, global development, world cultures, design, architecture, urban studies, storytelling, and the performing arts. That ONLY seems coherent in the context of TED.

  • Comments

    See all of June Cohen's comments »

  • TEDCred score: +5

    TEDCred gives you a total score on all your comments on TED.com.

  • +4

    A reply on Talk: Sarah Jones as a one-woman global village

    May 6 2009: The word "becomes" is exactly right. Sarah's a shape-shifter more than an actress. She really inhabits each character she performs (or they embody her?). Humor and cultural insight and pitch-perfect accents aside, that's what I find so fascinating about her performances... the moment of transition from one being to another.

  • A comment on Theme: The Rise of Collaboration

    Apr 18 2007: Mischa, quite right! We should have Yochai's talk (which preceded his excellent book The Wealth of Networks) posted in the next month, followed soon by those from Clay Shirky and Howard Rheingold. All are essential thinkers in this space. We're editing as fast as we can! :-)

  • A comment on Talk: Jeff Han demos his breakthrough touchscreen

    Apr 8 2007: The amazing thing about this demo is its ability to make people gasp out loud. And that's just from watching it. Using Jeff's display is even more profound, because it's a sensory experience that involves your whole body — and not just your 'mouse finger.' It's a real "Aha" moment; it changes the way you think about computers.

    In fact, it reminded me immediately of a Wired Magazine article from, oh, 1995, when electronic music pioneer Brian Eno leveled a critique against the state of computing: "What's pissing me off [about the computer] is that it uses so little of my body," he told then-Executive Editor Kevin Kelly. "You're just sitting there, and it's quite boring. You've got this stupid little mouse that requires one hand, and your eyes. That's it. What about the rest of you? ... It's imprisoning." Well, Brian Eno, meet Jeff Han ...
  • +1

    A comment on Talk: Jill Sobule sings to Al Gore

    Apr 6 2007: Parody or prophesy? When the mercury climbed over 70 degrees Fahreneheit in Manhattan this January, I felt I should wear a halter top in tribute to Jill, our resident singer-songwriter-seer.

  • A comment on Talk: Rives controls the Internet

    Apr 1 2007: This piece so perfectly displays what I love about Rives' work. On the surface, it's a light-hearted, fast-paced parody of Internet culture. But then he layers in unexpected depth and emotion. I saw this live and have watched it many times during demos of the site, and I STILL tear up every time he gets to the part about emailing dead people (All you want is their name in your In-Box...). Bravo.
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