J.J. Abrams’ talk has perhaps the best title of all time: “The mystery box.” In it, the Star Trek director and Lost co-creator reveals how, years ago, he purchased a box at a magic shop that promised $50 of magic for $15. Only, he has never had the heart to open it because “it represents infinite potential.” In his fast-paced talk, Abrams re...

Edward Snowden appeared on the TED stage earlier today via a telepresence robot, which he was able to control remotely. So after giving the talk, "Here's how we take back the internet" -- which is now live on TED.com now (after our production team edited it in record time) -- Snowden didn't sign off. He decided to have a little fun and roam ...

Calling all self-proclaimed tech nerds! TED has long been known for demos that set everyone in the theatre a-buzz. Here's a look back at some memorable tech demos from TED and TEDGlobals past, to get you excited for those coming at TED2015. Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance On stage at: TED2014 Hugh Herr's ...

You probably watch TED Talks on an assortment of small screens. But next week, you’re invited to experience them on the big screen. As the TED2017 conference takes place in Vancouver, Canada, special sessions will be broadcast live in movie theaters across the United States and world. On April 24, the Opening Event will bring surprising l...

By Kari Mulholland The techniques that video editors use to shape their content reveal a lot about how people create meaning in the world. Editors have a deep understanding of how people think, feel, remember and learn, and we use this knowledge to build powerful, moving stories and experiences. The best editing decisions come from empath...

By not giving ourselves the minutes -- or hours -- free of devices and distractions, we risk losing our ability to know who we are and what’s important to us, says physicist and writer Alan Lightman. In 2016, the Harvard biologist emeritus and naturalist E.O. Wilson (TED Talk: Advice to a young scientist) published Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Figh...

It’s been a few years since the TED Talks video page was last updated, but a new design begins rolling out this week. The update aims to provide a simple, straightforward viewing experience for you while surfacing other ideas worth spreading that you might also like. A few changes to highlight … More talks to watch Today there are about...

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A cure for those what-do-I-watch-now moments: starting today, TED is on Apple TV. In our beautifully designed new Apple TV channel, you can watch TED’s full library of talks (1900+ of them and counting) and our expanding collection of playlists (more than 200 of them, from “Architectural inspiration” to “Talks to watch when every conceivable...

In Marco Tempest’s TED Talk, he introduces EDI the robot. EDI, one of Rodney Brooks’ Baxter robots, dances, makes jokes, does impressions of Woody Allen and even performs magic tricks. Though he was designed to aid in factory production, EDI also has a screen programmed with facial expressions, ostensibly to tell others with confused, surprised ...

When you watch a TED Talk, you see a speaker on a stage sharing a big idea. But for us in TED's post-production department, we see each talk as the final product of a complex recipe. The speaker and their words are the most important ingredient, of course. But there are other, less-obvious ingredients in the video too -- like the TED intro, ...

The term “fiscal cliff” has gained traction in the U.S. news in the past few months, at least in part because it paints a vivid metaphorical picture. Popularized by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the term refers to the ill economic consequences that could occur if Congress does not change its course on several policies by January 1, ...

“Movies have proved to be the ultimate medium for magic,” says Don Levy in today’s talk. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and former senior vice president of marketing and communications at Sony Pictures, Levy has always been fascinated by the sleights of hand that filmmakers use to create illusions. And he knows he i...

Audience members at TEDxWWU, an event at Western Washington University, played a cathartic game of Jenga.  The TEDx’ers built and broke down structures made of Jenga blocks on which they had written ideas for how they would like to “renovate” their lives. The theme of this event in Bellingham, WA: “Renovations: Building Our Future.” This is t...

Once you've watched John Bohannon's talk and dance performance from TEDxBrussels (watch it on TED.com), you may have the same question the TED Blog had: How in the world did you do that? So we asked, and here's what he sent us in reply: A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Artists of the United States of America From Being a Burden to Th...

This week, TEDx has transformed St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn into a giant TED2017 watch party. This is TEDFest, a week for TEDx’ers to meet, share tips and tricks, and take in big ideas on the big screen. TEDFest kicked off Monday night with a welcome party at The Park, a greenery-filled space under the High Line in Manhattan. TEDx’ers...

We're thrilled to announce that TED's official app is now available for iPhone, optimized for a small screen and introducing several much-requested features! Adapted from our award-winning iPad app, the new TED iPhone app allows users to browse and watch TEDTalks, videos ranging from 3 minutes to 18 minutes in length. TEDTalks feature gre...

Photo: Circe f. Ervina Announced onstage today at TED: JR, the street artist and the TED2011 TED Prize winner, has been working this week in Edinburgh on an Inside Out Project action in the home of TEDGlobal. Writer Celyn Bricker tells the story: That the UK uses the most CCTV surveillance in Europe is widely known, though perhaps less...

At concerts, lighters once swayed in the air during poignant moments, the audience belting out lyrics together in a moment of catharsis. Today, the group sing-alongs still happen, but the air shines with a different glow: the light of cell phones. Last week, while seeing a favorite band, I couldn’t help but notice the sea of undulating phones...

"Do you think it's possible to control someone's attention, or even their behavior? To me that would be the perfect superpower," says Apollo Robbins at TEDGlobal 2013. "I've spent the last 20 years studying human behavior in an unconventional way: by picking pockets." Robbins, whom The New Yorker called a "theatrical pickpocket" in their ...

Across the globe, anyone can watch TED Talks through TED.com, our YouTube channel, our mobile apps or our iTunes podcasts. (Have you checked out TED Studies on iTunes U?) Most recently, our new SmartTV app showcases TED in beautiful high definition through television set manufacturers like Samsung and telephone IPTV providers like TELUS, letting...

Science-fiction films do not come cheap. Star Trek Into Darkness reportedly had a budget of $190 million, while the Will and Jaden Smith vehicle After Earth, which opens this weekend, cost $130 million. (Side note: Jaden Smith recently shared with New York Magazine that his dad watches "hours and hours of TED Talks.") That's why it's so thor...

About this event: Through TEDxNapierBridgeLive, we are bringing TED 2018 to Namma Chennai. Watch one full-length sessions of the legendary conference themed "The Age of Amazement" on HD Screen on April 22nd in SPI Cinemas Corporate Office (5th Floor) Schedule 🕐 14:45 Doors open 15:00 Introduction by TEDxNapierBridge 15:15 Session Part 1 16:15 Conversations + Br...

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So your big upcoming work thing has been cancelled. At least you’re not alone. Gatherings of all kinds, from conferences to offsites to global meetings, have been canceled because of the pandemic. But while we may be entering a recession of real-world gatherings, we have the power to stave off an accompanying boom in loneliness. Many of...

At age 33, Reshma Saujani had a moment of bravery: Against all odds of winning, she ran for Congress. It was a serious long shot: People called her crazy, and said there was no way that she would win. And, well, she didn’t. But through her recklessness, the founder of Girls who Code learned an unexpected lesson. “It was the first time ...

About this event: TEDxClujSalon is a series of monthly events with the main purpose of sharing and spreading ideas while we will screen the most interesting TED talks curated in the monthly theme. At a TEDx salon, attendees watch TED Talks and have informal discussions about the talks they witnessed. Salons re-engage the community and team during the time betwee...

Today on TED.com, you’ll notice some changes. That’s because we have launched our first major redesign since the site debuted in 2007, back when online video was just a twinkle in the Internet’s eye. You might notice that this redesign responds to the things that you, the TED community, have told us on repeat. First: You need TED to be as ea...

When you watch a video on TED.com, we’re proud of the advertisement you see afterward -- it’s not your usual blaring video ad. We ask all of TED.com’s sponsors to make their post-roll video as thoughtful and idea-driven as the TED Talk it’s helping to support. In fact, we’ll sometimes work with the sponsor to create original video just for us...

In today’s thought-provoking talk, author Pico Iyer looks at the complex nature of the simple question: "Where are you from?" Because while his family comes from India, he grew up in the United Kingdom. As soon as he left school, however, he moved to the United States -- where he was required to carry a card declaring him a “permanent alien”...