Jason Sweeney lives and works in Adelaide, Australia, a city he describes as "a prototype for what a developed city in the western world could be like." Here, he describes his life in the city. Also, see and hear his favorite Adelaideian spots in the photoessay by Kristin Alford, accompanied by audio snippets of the same places recorded by Sween...

All over the world, land is turning into desert at an alarming rate. Biologist Allan Savory has dedicated a lifetime to figuring out what’s causing this “desertification.” Finally, after decades of work in the field, Savory discovered a radical solution—one that went against everything scientists had always thought. He used huge herds of liv...

Art so often seeks to capture the beauty of the natural world -- from cave drawings of animals, to paintings of landscapes, to sculptures of the human form in marble, bronze or wood. But in this playlist, find artists and designers who take this to the next level, making art based on the laws of nature and the invisible workings of biology i...

TED University is the raucous session before “real TED” starts when attendees get up and give their own short talks. (Some of our very favorite TED Talks came from this session, like talks on Lego, sex, and 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do.) This morning at a cheerful 9am, we met the next class of professors. A brief recap: ...

In a classroom in Ontario, a class of 9th graders learned the book Siddhartha, not by listening to lectures from their teacher, but by asking questions like, “How do you know when you’ve reached enlightenment?” Meanwhile, a group of 3rd through 5th graders in rural Georgia was posed a question in Spanish, even though they speak English: “Why...

Richard Branson talks to TED's Chris Anderson about the ups and the downs of his career, from his multibillionaire success to his multiple near-death experiences -- and reveals some of his (very surprising) motivations.

Written by the educators who created The Deep Ocean, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material. How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. Arthur C. Clarke Planet Ocean In the late 1960s,...

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (TED Talk: Parrots, the universe and everything) This book makes me giggle out loud every time. Overshadowed by Adams’ more famous work -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series -- the Dirk Gently novels are a delightful read. They’re chock full of his trademark humorous writing and ...

How to Be a Better Human How to Make Transformative Ideas Happen (with Frans Johansson) (Transcript) August 1, 2022 [00:00:00] Chris Duffy: You're listening to How to be a Better Human. I'm your host, Chris Duffy. When we think about where great ideas come from, I think a lot of us assume that they just shoot down from the sky like lightning. ...

Should the government act like a venture capitalist? It might seem crazy to some, but in today’s eye-opening talk, economist Mariana Mazzucato shows why it might just work -- and how it has, in fact, been working for decades. In this talk, Mazzucato flips the script on the image of a big government meddling in economic affairs, and instead s...

Ancient Peru was home to many cultures, most of them still quite mysterious to modern archaeologists. But as Sarah Parcak directs her citizen-science platform at the Peruvian landscape, the invisible past could make a comeback. A mummified macaw with orange and blue feathers. The body of an ancient priestess, whose arms and legs were covered in...

The stage is set. The lights are on. The audience of more than 600 people who have traveled from all over the world to be inspired is ready. And ready or not, the speakers are thrust onto the stage, one by one. This is the first session of TEDGlobal 2017, themed “a new map,” a phrase that suggests that in these first talks, we will catch ...

Books can entertain, sucking you like a tornado into incredible new worlds. Books can teach, giving you a richer understanding of time periods, people and ideas you’ve never been exposed to. But books can do so much more. In today’s talk, TED's own Lisa Bu introduces us to the concept of “comparative reading,” the practice of reading book...

Jedidah Isler dreamt of becoming an astrophysicist since she was a young girl, but the odds were against her: At that time, only 18 black women in the United States had ever earned a PhD in a physics-related discipline. In this personal talk, she shares the story of how she became the first black woman to earn a PhD in astrophysics from Yale -- ...

It’s never easy to push against the current, to experiment with what’s never been done before, challenge uncomfortable truths. But 400 TED Fellows do it every day, all around the world. In the newly released free digital book Swimming Against the Tide: Adventures with the TED Fellows, dive into the wonder, kinship, curiosity, hope an...

Monika Bulaj’s stunning, painting-like photographs blur religious and cultural divisions, exploding stereotypes. In your photography and writing, one of your main themes is to explore the “borders of monotheism.” What does that mean? I often focus on Judaism, Christianity (mainly Eastern Christianity) and Islam, to explore areas where the ...

Meklit Hadero’s soulful songs have launched her explosive rise in the music world. Her sound draws from jazz, West Coast folk, and her Ethiopian roots. Meklit’s performances and community outreach projects -- in North America, Africa, or where the winds take her -- continue to enrich her music and be an integral part of its evolution. Are you a...

About this event: TEDxNanjingSalon " Think about Journey" We cover distance to reach our destination. We go on a journey to make a change. From sailing across the Pacific Ocean on your own to touring the North Pole on a sleigh, from experiencing zero gravity in space to pushing human limits as a skydiver, a journey could be physical and spatial. Howeve...

There's no doubt that the speakers we invite to TEDWomen each year have amazing stories to tell. And many of them are published authors (or about to be!) whose work is worth exploring beyond their brief moments in the TED spotlight. So, if you're looking for some inspiring, instructive and provocative books to add to your summer reading list...

ReThinking with Adam Grant Ava DuVernay is Triumphant May 31, 2022 [Theme Music] [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey WorkLifers it's Adam Grant. Welcome back to Taken for Granted, my podcast with the TED Audio Collective. I'm an organizational psychologist. My job is to think again about how we work, lead, and live. Thanks to Deloitte for sponsoring t...

Squishy, vivid, frozen, frothy – architect and artist Antonio Torres's wildly colorful and whimsical built spaces are often created using membranes filled with gases, liquids and organic materials, inviting people to crawl in, jump, touch and play. Here, we ask him about his incredible works and where his inspiration comes from. Tell m...

Since he was 11 years old, Apurv Mishra has been accelerating change. Inventor of the Glabenator, a device that helps paralysis victims communicate, Apurv is dedicated to helping pioneers connect and work more efficiently. Today, Apurv is thrilled to launch Future.ly, a platform that maps the state of innovation across the world. Interact...

The TED Interview Steven Johnson wants to know how enlightenment happens June 23, 2022 [00:00:00] Chris Anderson: Well, hello there. Uh, welcome to The TED Interview. This is Chris Anderson. Now then, uh, this episode may start out sounding a bit like bad news, but it really, it really isn't. By the time it's over, it's going to sound like ver...

Designer + urban planner

Archaeology is a puzzle. For Sarah Parcak, trying to find ancient treasures is made exponentially easier by satellite imagery. Archaeologists have many tools at their disposal: shovels, trowels, satellites. If you are scratching your head at that final entry, check out how TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak uses satellite imagery to locate long-lost...

Time is precious, we know. Here, compiled from past reading lists, are suggestions for two dozen short but mighty books to pick up. fiction & literature The Summer Book by Tove Jansson The quintessential celebration of summer in Scandinavia -- 22 vignettes of a girl and a grandmother on an island. Jansson is best known as the creator of M...

TED is always looking for new voices with fresh ideas -- and earlier this winter, we opened a challenge to the world: make a one-minute audition video that makes the case for your TED Talk. More than 1,200 people applied to be a part of the Idea Search program this year, and on Wednesday night at our New York headquarters, 13 audition finali...

Like many parents, technology researcher Jordan Shapiro knew little about video games -- and what he knew, he didn't like. But that's what his kids wanted to play. Through exploration and experimentation, he found they can be used to teach valuable lessons and build togetherness. On afternoons when I have custody of my 11- and 13-year-old boys,...

WorkLife with Adam Grant Tuesday, May 18, 2021 ADAM GRANT: Hi WorkLifers, a quick warning that in this episode we discuss the murder of George Floyd. TYECE WILKINS: It wasn't until Saturday evening that I allowed the tears to flow. Sitting underneath a cotton candy pink sky. I put on Mali Music's Gonna be all right. And try to let the music ...

Packed house, check. Excited buzz, check. It's time for TED2013 Fellows talks! Session 1 Tunde Jegede, composer Nigerian-British composer and musician Tunde Jegede opens the session with his kora, the West African 21-string bridge harp. Sitting curled around the instrument, his fingers deftly pluck the strings, making a sound like rain ...