The TED Interview

As a writer, Elizabeth Gilbert is notorious for placing her heart squarely on her sleeve. Her best-selling memoir "Eat Pray Love" was a sensation precisely because of her eloquent, open-hearted descriptions of fear, divorce and wanting everything life had to offer. When she spoke at TED back in 2009, she charmed the audience with her frank descriptions of what happened after the book became a runaway success and her lyrical ideas of the nature of creativity. Nearly ten years later, in this extraordinarily intimate conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson, she shares why openness, transparency and creativity are still central to her philosophy of life -- even when faced with moments of desperation and personal tragedy.

It can be easy to believe that humans are insignificant. We're specks of dust on a random planet in a vast universe. Less powerful than elephants. Fewer than ants. But David Deutsch believes that's all beside the point, because humans possess one unique skill: attaining knowledge. David Deutsch -- Oxford professor, father of quantum computing, recluse -- convinced Chris Anderson years ago to take over leadership of TED with his ideas about knowledge. In this mind-bending conversation, the two dive into his theory that the potential reach of knowledge is infinite. They explore how knowledge first developed, why it sets us apart and what all of these heady concepts really mean for our present and future.

Many philosophers draw a hard line between the worlds of facts and values, but not Sam Harris. In this thought-provoking conversation with Chris Anderson, he makes the case that reason can indeed answer moral questions, and then explores the many controversies that emerge from that claim. Moral superiority? Cultural superiority? How about moral progress? Chris and Sam dig in to discuss the right ways to think about defining right from wrong, and reason's role in it all.

Just after 9/11, Dalia Mogahed asked: What do 1.8 billion Muslims really think? In a grand research project with Gallup, she interviewed more than 50,000 Muslims about their lives, their dreams and the state of their religion. Today, she continues her research on Muslims as the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. In this intimate conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, she opens up about her own faith and shares what she believes are the most common misconceptions of the world's second-biggest religion.

Was 2017 really the "the worst ever," as some would have us believe? Cognitive psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker shares data that shows: actually, it was one of the best overall. At TED2018, head of TED Chris Anderson sat down with Steven to take a closer look at the data that suggest the world is improving -- and to unpack why so many people find this idea so challenging.

On any given night, 450,000 people in the United States stay in jail without having been convicted of any crime. Most of them are there because they don't have enough money to pay bail. Exasperated at what she saw as a systemic design flaw that primarily affects poor and marginalized people, public defense lawyer Robin Steinberg came up with a plan to fix things. As she explains in this sparky conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, that idea is about as bold as they get.

Talking about race can be difficult. But Mellody Hobson argues that we need to do it anyway -- boldly and often. Mellody is the president of Ariel Investments, a firm that manages more than 13 billion dollars. And throughout her career and in her personal life, she's experienced just how corrosive it can be when people choose to be "color blind." In this candid conversation, she shares her vision of a more harmonious, diverse America -- and the difficult truths we need to swallow (and discuss) to get there.

Join head of TED Chris Anderson for a very special conversation with legendary inventor and computer scientist Ray Kurzweil, recorded live onstage at TED2018. Listen in to hear what the man who makes a living from predicting the future arc of technology thinks is coming our way next -- including a specific prediction of when he thinks technology will finally gain human levels of language understanding.