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About Me

Kate Torgovnick writes lots of the content you see here on TED.com and on the TED Blog. A former feature writer at Jane Magazine, pop culture editor at TheFrisky.com and online reporter at Page Six, Kate's work has also appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek and Time.com. She edits the blog Kate-book.com (the only site out there for Kates, by Kates and about Kates) and wrote the narrative non-fiction book CHEER!: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders. She also bakes a mean pecan pie and can solve a Rubiks Cube in 1 minute and 50 seconds.

Location:
United States, Brooklyn, NY
Current organization:
TED
Current role:
writer
Gender:
Female
I am:
Blogger, Brainstormer, Christian, Explorer, Foodie, Idea generator, Journalist, Photographer, Writer/Editor
My website links:
Kate-book.com, Cheer!, the book, KateTorgovnick.com
TED conferences attended:
TEDGlobal 2013, TED2013
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More About Me

I'm passionate about

TED, people, chocolate, improv comedy, penguins

An idea worth spreading

Smiling! It feels good and creates incredible interactions.

Talk to me about

Whatever happens to be on your mind.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +75.30 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • A comment on Conversation: Join TED Speakers John Bohannon and Carl Flink Monday, 12/17 to delve into the super-awkward world of "The Facts of Life"!

    Dec 17 2012: I have an awkward "Fact of Life" story for you!

    When I was in 5th grade (this was 1992, I believe), I had the awkward experience of being in a sex ed class composed of mostly girls, but taught by a male teacher. On the day our syllabus read "menstruation," he couldn't bring himself to talk. So instead, he showed a film strip! A really, really old film strip -- from the 1970s if not earlier.

    In the film strip, a women demonstrated how to use a "menstrual pad belt," a horrible looking metal device that one fitted a sanitary napkin onto and clamped around her hips. Every girl in my class had a look of utter horror on her face as she watched the demonstration.

    As an early developer, who had already started getting me period, I had to speak up. I swallowed every once of pride and raised my hand, and let the class that this was horribly outdated and that really, you just stick a pad onto your panties—no metal belt needed. Every female face in the room looked relieved.

    I wonder what other misinformation the girls in my class received being taught by someone not of our gender who seemed terrified by the idea of talking about any of this stuff in the first place.

  • A comment on Conversation: What were you like as a teenager?

    Sep 14 2012: When I was a teenager, I needed a lot of attention. This meant having bright blue hair and wearing the most outlandish things I could find -- bonus points if it was sparkly. I once found a very '80s wedding dress in a thrift shop ... and wore it to school. It definitely took me until my 20s to realized I shined for being an interesting, smart, kind person rather than becoming a caricature.
  • +2

    A comment on Conversation: Where can I go to sign up for a course? Where is the starting line?

    Aug 1 2012: Head to Coursera.org!

    And also, check out this blog post for more free college course ideas:

    http://blog.ted.com/2012/08/01/12-great-free-online-courses/

    Thanks!

    Kate

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