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  • Talks 1754
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Talks
1 - 30 of 1752 results

Alex Gendler: History vs. Christopher Columbus

Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage. But was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery? And did he even discover America at all? Alex Gendler puts Columbus on the stand in History vs....
https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_gendler_history_vs_christopher_columbus

Peta Greenfield & Alex Gendler: History vs. Augustus

His reign marked the beginning of one of history's greatest empires ... and the end of one of its first republics. Was Rome's first emperor a visionary leader who guaranteed his civilization's place in history, or a tyrant who destroyed its core values? Peta Greenfield and Alex Gendler put this controversial figure on trial in History vs. August...
https://www.ted.com/talks/peta_greenfield_alex_gendler_history_vs_augustus

Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history

What can mathematics say about history? According to TED Fellow Jean-Baptiste Michel, quite a lot. From changes to language to the deadliness of wars, he shows how digitized history is just starting to reveal deep underlying patterns.
https://www.ted.com/talks/jean_baptiste_michel_the_mathematics_of_history

Titus Kaphar: Can art amend history?

Artist Titus Kaphar makes paintings and sculptures that wrestle with the struggles of the past while speaking to the diversity and advances of the present. In an unforgettable live workshop, Kaphar takes a brush full of white paint to a replica of a 17th-century Frans Hals painting, obscuring parts of the composition and bringing its hidden stor...
https://www.ted.com/talks/titus_kaphar_can_art_amend_history

Sam Hester: How visual storytelling creates better health care

Comics creator Sam Hester is part of a growing movement within health care: graphic medicine. In short, literally drawing attention to a patient's needs and goals with pictures to foster better and more accessible caretaking. Hester shares how illustrating small details of her mother's medical story as she struggled with mysterious symptoms alon...
https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_hester_how_visual_storytelling_creates_better_health_care

Mark Robinson and Alex Gendler: History vs. Henry VIII

He was a powerful king whose break with the church of Rome would forever change the course of English history. But was he a charismatic reformer who freed his subjects from a corrupt establishment or a bullying tyrant who used Parliament for his own personal gain? Mark Robinson and Alex Gendler put this controversial figure on trial in History v...
https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_robinson_and_alex_gendler_history_vs_henry_viii

Deanna Pucciarelli: The history of chocolate

If you can't imagine life without chocolate, you're lucky you weren't born before the 16th century. Until then, chocolate only existed as a bitter, foamy drink in Mesoamerica. So how did we get from a bitter beverage to the chocolate bars of today? Deanna Pucciarelli traces the fascinating and often cruel history of chocolate. [Directed by TED-E...
https://www.ted.com/talks/deanna_pucciarelli_the_history_of_chocolate

Shunan Teng: The history of Tea

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water –– and from sugary Turkish Rize tea to salty Tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as there are cultures on the globe. Where did this beverage originate, and how did it become so popular? Shunan Teng details tea's long history. [Directed by St...
https://www.ted.com/talks/shunan_teng_the_history_of_tea

Frank Cogliano: History vs. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, founding father of the United States and primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was part of America's fight for freedom and equality. But in his personal life, he held over 600 people in slavery. Are his enlightened principles outweighed by his participation in a greater injustice? Frank Cogliano puts this controver...
https://www.ted.com/talks/frank_cogliano_history_vs_thomas_jefferson

Brian A. Pavlac: Ugly History: Witch Hunts

In the German town of Nördlingen in 1593, innkeeper Maria Höll found herself accused of witchcraft. She was arrested for questioning, and denied the charges. She insisted she wasn't a witch through 62 rounds of torture before her accusers finally released her. Other accused witches weren't so "lucky." Why did these witch hunts occur? Brian A. Pa...
https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_a_pavlac_ugly_history_witch_hunts

Todd Dufresne: History vs. Sigmund Freud

Working in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, he began his career as a neurologist before pioneering the discipline of psychoanalysis, and his influence towers above that of all other psychologists in the public eye. But was Sigmund Freud right about human nature? And were his methods scientific? Todd Dufresne puts this controversial figure...
https://www.ted.com/talks/todd_dufresne_history_vs_sigmund_freud

Alex Gendler: History vs. Napoleon Bonaparte

After the French Revolution erupted in 1789, Europe was thrown into chaos. Neighboring countries' monarchs feared they would share the fate of Louis XVI and attacked the new Republic, while at home, extremism and mistrust between factions led to bloodshed. In the midst of all this conflict, Napoleon emerged. But did he save the revolution, or de...
https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_gendler_history_vs_napoleon_bonaparte

Timothy Williams: Ugly History: Cambodian Genocide

From 1975 to 1979, the Communist Party of Kampuchea ruled Cambodia with an iron fist, perpetrating a genocide that killed one fourth of the country's population. Roughly one million people were executed as suspected political enemies or due to their ethnicities, and another million died of starvation, disease, or overwork. How did this happen? T...
https://www.ted.com/talks/timothy_williams_ugly_history_cambodian_genocide

John Soluri: The dark history of bananas

In December 1910, the exiled former leader Manuel Bonilla boarded a borrowed yacht and set sail for Honduras in hopes of reclaiming power by whatever means necessary. Bonilla had a powerful backer: the notorious organization known throughout Latin America as "El Pulpo." It was a U.S. corporation trafficking in, of all things, bananas. John Solur...
https://www.ted.com/talks/john_soluri_the_dark_history_of_bananas

Kelly Richmond Pope: How whistle-blowers shape history

Fraud researcher and documentary filmmaker Kelly Richmond Pope shares lessons from some of the most high-profile whistle-blowers of the past, explaining how they've shared information that has shaped society -- and why they need our trust and protection.
https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_richmond_pope_how_whistle_blowers_shape_history

Rod Phillips: A brief history of alcohol

Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages. The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey. So how did alcohol come to fuel global trade and exploration? Roderick Phillips expl...
https://www.ted.com/talks/rod_phillips_a_brief_history_of_alcohol

Tiffany Watt Smith: The history of human emotions

The words we use to describe our emotions affect how we feel, says historian Tiffany Watt Smith, and they've often changed (sometimes very dramatically) in response to new cultural expectations and ideas. Take nostalgia, for instance: first defined in 1688 as an illness and considered deadly, today it's seen as a much less serious affliction. In...
https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_watt_smith_the_history_of_human_emotions

Stephanie Honchell Smith: History vs. Tamerlane the Conqueror

He was born in the 1330s in the Chaghatayid Khanate, formerly the Mongol Empire. On the steppe, he rose from a lowly sheep thief to become one of history's greatest conquerors, uniting nearly all of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran under his rule. But was he a great state builder or a bloodthirsty tyrant? Stephanie Honchell Smith puts this co...
https://www.ted.com/talks/stephanie_honchell_smith_history_vs_tamerlane_the_conqueror

Francis de los Reyes: A brief history of toilets

On sunny days, citizens of ancient Rome could be found exchanging news and gossip while attending to more urgent business at the public latrines. Today, most cultures consider trips to the restroom to be a more private occasion. But even when going alone, our shared sewage infrastructure is one of the most pivotal inventions in human history. Fr...
https://www.ted.com/talks/francis_de_los_reyes_a_brief_history_of_toilets

Leonora Neville: The princess who rewrote history

Anna Komnene, daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexios, spent the last decade of her life creating a 500-page history of her father's reign called "The Alexiad." As a princess writing about her own family, she had to balance her loyalty to her kin with her obligation to portray events accurately. Leonora Neville investigates this epic historical na...
https://www.ted.com/talks/leonora_neville_the_princess_who_rewrote_history

Alex Gendler: A brief history of chess

The attacking infantry advances, their elephants already having broken the defensive line. The king tries to retreat, but the enemy flanks him from the rear. Escape is impossible. This isn't a real war— nor is it just a game. Over the 1,500 years of its existence, chess has been known as a military strategy tool, a metaphor for human affairs and...
https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_gendler_a_brief_history_of_chess

Rod Phillips: A brief history of divorce

Formally or informally, human societies across place and time have made rules to bind and dissolve couples. The stakes of who can obtain a divorce, and why, have always been high. Divorce is a battlefield for some of society's most urgent issues, including the roles of church and state, individual rights, and women's rights. Rod Phillips digs in...
https://www.ted.com/talks/rod_phillips_a_brief_history_of_divorce

Christopher M. Moreman: The dark history of zombies

Zombies have a distinct lineage— one that traces back to Equatorial and Central Africa. For three centuries, African people were enslaved and brought to the Caribbean Islands. There, a religion known as vodou developed, along with the belief that a person's soul can be captured and stored, becoming a body-less zombie. Christopher M. Moreman unco...
https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m_moreman_the_dark_history_of_zombies

Courtney Stephens: A brief history of melancholy

If you are a living, breathing human being, chances are you have felt sad at least a few times in your life. But what exactly is melancholy, and what (if anything) should we do about it? Courtney Stephens details our still-evolving understanding of sadness -- and even makes a case for its usefulness. [Directed by Sharon Colman Graham, narrated b...
https://www.ted.com/talks/courtney_stephens_a_brief_history_of_melancholy

Bill Schutt: A brief history of cannibalism

15th century Europeans believed they had hit upon a miracle cure: a remedy for epilepsy, hemorrhage, bruising, nausea and virtually any other medical ailment. It was a brown powder known as "mumia," and was made by grinding up mummified human flesh. But just how common is human cannibalism, and how do cultures partake in it? Bill Schutt explores...
https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_schutt_a_brief_history_of_cannibalism

Bence Nanay: The "End of History" Illusion

Time and time again, we've failed to predict that the technologies of the present will change the future. Recently, a similar pattern was discovered in our individual lives: we're unable to predict change in ourselves. But is there anything wrong with assuming that who we are now is who we will continue to be? Bence Nanay details the consequence...
https://www.ted.com/talks/bence_nanay_the_end_of_history_illusion

Dan Adams: A brief history of goths

What do fans of atmospheric post-punk music have in common with ancient barbarians? Not much ... so why are both known as "goths"? Is it a weird coincidence – or is there a deeper connection stretching across the centuries? Dan Adams investigates. [Directed by Globizco, narrated Addison Anderson, music by Manuel Borda].
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_adams_a_brief_history_of_goths

Miranda Brown: A brief history of dumplings

As archaeologists pored over ancient tombs in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened over 1,000 years, there sat little crescent-shaped dumplings. So who invented these plump pockets of perfection, and how did they spread across the world? Miranda Brown traces the tangled, mysterious ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/miranda_brown_a_brief_history_of_dumplings

David Ian Howe: A brief history of dogs

Since their emergence over 200,000 years ago, modern humans have established communities all over the planet. But they didn't do it alone. Whatever corner of the globe you find humans in today, you're likely to find another species as well: dogs. So how did one of our oldest rivals, the wolf, evolve into man's best friend? David Ian Howe traces ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_ian_howe_a_brief_history_of_dogs

Steve Silberman: The forgotten history of autism

Decades ago, few pediatricians had heard of autism. In 1975, 1 in 5,000 kids was estimated to have it. Today, 1 in 68 is on the autism spectrum. What caused this steep rise? Steve Silberman points to “a perfect storm of autism awareness” — a pair of psychologists with an accepting view, an unexpected pop culture moment and a new clinical test. B...
https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_silberman_the_forgotten_history_of_autism
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