TED Talks with English transcript

Fred Krupp: Let's launch a satellite to track a threatening greenhouse gas

TED2018

Fred Krupp: Let's launch a satellite to track a threatening greenhouse gas
1,433,035 views

When we talk about greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide gets the most attention -- but methane, which often escapes unseen from pipes and wells, has a far greater immediate impact on global warming. Environmentalist Fred Krupp has an idea to fix the problem: launch a satellite that tracks global methane emissions, and openly share the data it collects with the public. Learn more about how simple fixes to cut down on this invisible pollutant can help us put the brakes on climate change. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

Play
Heidi M. Sosik: The discoveries awaiting us in the ocean's twilight zone

TED2018

Heidi M. Sosik: The discoveries awaiting us in the ocean's twilight zone
1,400,675 views

What will we find in the twilight zone: the vast, mysterious, virtually unexplored realm hundreds of meters below the ocean's surface? Heidi M. Sosik of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution wants to find out. In this wonder-filled talk, she shares her plan to investigate these uncharted waters, which may hold a million new species and 90 percent of the world's fish biomass, using submersible technology. What we discover there won't just astound us, Sosik says -- it will help us be better stewards of the world's oceans. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

Play
Caroline Harper: What if we eliminated one of the world's oldest diseases?

TED2018

Caroline Harper: What if we eliminated one of the world's oldest diseases?
1,399,900 views

Thousands of years ago, ancient Nubians drew pictures on tomb walls of a terrible disease that turns the eyelids inside out and causes blindness. This disease, trachoma, is still a scourge in many parts of the world today -- but it's also completely preventable, says Caroline Harper. Armed with data from a global mapping project, Harper's organization Sightsavers has a plan: to focus on countries where funding gaps stand in the way of eliminating the disease and ramp up efforts where the need is most severe. Learn more about their goal of consigning trachoma to the history books -- and how you can help. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

Play
Robin Steinberg: What if we ended the injustice of bail?

TED2018

Robin Steinberg: What if we ended the injustice of bail?
2,447,814 views

On any given night, more than 450,000 people in the United States are locked up in jail simply because they don't have enough money to pay bail. The sums in question are often around $500: easy for some to pay, impossible for others. This has real human consequences -- people lose jobs, homes and lives, and it drives racial disparities in the legal system. Robin Steinberg has a bold idea to change this. In this powerful talk, she outlines the plan for The Bail Project -- an unprecedented national revolving bail fund to fight mass incarceration. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

Play
Jaron Lanier: How we need to remake the internet

TED2018

Jaron Lanier: How we need to remake the internet
3,029,544 views

In the early days of digital culture, Jaron Lanier helped craft a vision for the internet as public commons where humanity could share its knowledge -- but even then, this vision was haunted by the dark side of how it could turn out: with personal devices that control our lives, monitor our data and feed us stimuli. (Sound familiar?) In this visionary talk, Lanier reflects on a "globally tragic, astoundingly ridiculous mistake" companies like Google and Facebook made at the foundation of digital culture -- and how we can undo it. "We cannot have a society in which, if two people wish to communicate, the only way that can happen is if it's financed by a third person who wishes to manipulate them," he says.

Play
Yasin Kakande: What's missing in the global debate over refugees

TED2018

Yasin Kakande: What's missing in the global debate over refugees
1,098,895 views

In the ongoing debate over refugees, we hear from everyone -- from politicians who pledge border controls to citizens who fear they'll lose their jobs -- everyone, that is, except migrants themselves. Why are they coming? Journalist and TED Fellow Yasin Kakande explains what compelled him and many others to flee their homelands, urging a more open discussion and a new perspective. Because humanity's story, he reminds us, is a story of migration: "There are no restrictions that could ever be so rigorous to stop the wave of migration that has determined our human history," he says.

Play
John Amory: How a male contraceptive pill could work

TEDMED 2017

John Amory: How a male contraceptive pill could work
1,124,721 views

Andrologist John Amory is developing innovative male contraception that gives men a new option for taking responsibility to prevent unintended pregnancy. He details the science in development -- and why the world needs a male pill.

Play
Clemantine Wamariya: War and what comes after

TEDWomen 2017

Clemantine Wamariya: War and what comes after
1,057,110 views

Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when the Rwandan Civil War forced her and her sister to flee their home in Kigali, leaving their parents and everything they knew behind. In this deeply personal talk, she tells the story of how she became a refugee, living in camps in seven countries over the next six years -- and how she's tried to make sense of what came after.

Play
Qudus Onikeku and The QTribe: "RainMakers"

TEDGlobal 2017

Qudus Onikeku and The QTribe: "RainMakers"
176,930 views
No Transcript

Qudus Onikeku and The QTribe summon a downpour with a poetic, powerful dance performance. Set to a composition of singing, drums and strings, the dancers radiate energy -- moving in circles, in shapes and in unison as they consume the TED stage.

Play
Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo: What it takes to be racially literate

TEDWomen 2017

Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo: What it takes to be racially literate
1,317,897 views

Over the last year, Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo traveled to all 50 US states, collecting personal stories about race and intersectionality. Now they're on a mission to equip every American with the tools to understand, navigate and improve a world structured by racial division. In a dynamic talk, Vulchi and Guo pair the personal stories they've collected with research and statistics to reveal two fundamental gaps in our racial literacy -- and how we can overcome them.

Play
José Andrés: How a team of chefs fed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

TEDxMidAtlantic

José Andrés: How a team of chefs fed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
1,040,596 views

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, chef José Andrés traveled to the devastated island with a simple idea: to feed the hungry. Millions of meals served later, Andrés shares the remarkable story of creating the world's biggest restaurant -- and the awesome power of letting people in need know that somebody cares about them.

Play
Michael Hendryx: The shocking danger of mountaintop removal -- and why it must end

TEDMED 2017

Michael Hendryx: The shocking danger of mountaintop removal -- and why it must end
1,086,629 views

Research investigator Michael Hendryx studies mountaintop removal, an explosive type of surface coal mining used in Appalachia that comes with unexpected health hazards. In this data-packed talk, Hendryx presents his research and tells the story of the pushback he's received from the coal industry, advocating for the ethical obligation scientists have to speak the truth.

Play
Kasiva Mutua: How I use the drum to tell my story

TEDGlobal 2017

Kasiva Mutua: How I use the drum to tell my story
1,203,157 views

In this talk-performance hybrid, drummer, percussionist and TED Fellow Kasiva Mutua shares how she's breaking the taboo against female drummers in Kenya -- and her mission to teach the significance and importance of the drum to young boys, women and girls. "Women can be custodians of culture, too," Mutua says.

Play
Nighat Dad: How Pakistani women are taking the internet back

TEDGlobal 2017

Nighat Dad: How Pakistani women are taking the internet back
1,184,008 views

TED Fellow Nighat Dad studies online harassment, especially as it relates to patriarchal cultures like the one in her small village in Pakistan. She tells the story of how she set up Pakistan's first cyber harassment helpline, offering support to women who face serious threats online. "Safe access to the internet is access to knowledge, and knowledge is freedom," she says. "When I fight for a woman's digital rights, I am fighting for equality."

Play
Amy Edmondson: How to turn a group of strangers into a team

TED Salon Brightline Initiative

Amy Edmondson: How to turn a group of strangers into a team
2,097,778 views

Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.

Play
Brett Hennig: What if we replaced politicians with randomly selected people?

TEDxDanubia

Brett Hennig: What if we replaced politicians with randomly selected people?
1,634,208 views

If you think democracy is broken, here's an idea: let's replace politicians with randomly selected people. Author and activist Brett Hennig presents a compelling case for sortition democracy, or random selection of government officials -- a system with roots in ancient Athens that taps into the wisdom of the crowd and entrusts ordinary people with making balanced decisions for the greater good of everyone. Sound crazy? Learn more about how it could work to create a world free of partisan politics.

Play
LB Hannahs: What it's like to be a transgender dad

TEDxUF

LB Hannahs: What it's like to be a transgender dad
1,324,494 views

LB Hannahs candidly shares the experience of parenting as a genderqueer individual -- and what it can teach us about authenticity and advocacy. "Authenticity doesn't mean 'comfortable.' It means managing and negotiating the discomfort of everyday life," Hannahs says.

Play
Sarah Murray: A playful solution to the housing crisis

TED@Westpac

Sarah Murray: A playful solution to the housing crisis
1,157,928 views

Frustrated by her lack of self-determination in the housing market, Sarah Murray created a computer game that allows home buyers to design a house and have it delivered to them in modular components that can be assembled on-site. Learn how her effort is putting would-be homeowners in control of the largest purchase of their lives -- as well as cutting costs, protecting the environment and helping provide homes for those in need.

Play
Robert Neuwirth: The age-old sharing economies of Africa -- and why we should scale them

TEDGlobal 2017

Robert Neuwirth: The age-old sharing economies of Africa -- and why we should scale them
1,260,437 views

From rides to homes and beyond, we're sharing everything these days, with the help of digital tools. But as modern and high-tech as the sharing economy seems, it's been alive in Africa for centuries, according to author Robert Neuwirth. He shares fascinating examples -- like apprenticeships that work like locally generated venture capital and systems for allocating scarce water -- and says that if we can propagate and scale these models, they could help communities thrive from the bottom up.

Play
Eric Berridge: Why tech needs the humanities

TED@IBM

Eric Berridge: Why tech needs the humanities
1,226,683 views

If you want to build a team of innovative problem-solvers, you should value the humanities just as much as the sciences, says entrepreneur Eric Berridge. He shares why tech companies should look beyond STEM graduates for new hires -- and how people with backgrounds in the arts and humanities can bring creativity and insight to technical workplaces.

Play
Mark Tyndall: The harm reduction model of drug addiction treatment

TEDMED 2017

Mark Tyndall: The harm reduction model of drug addiction treatment
1,341,450 views

Why do we still think that drug use is a law-enforcement issue? Making drugs illegal does nothing to stop people from using them, says public health expert Mark Tyndall. So, what might work? Tyndall shares community-based research that shows how harm-reduction strategies, like safe-injection sites, are working to address the drug overdose crisis.

Play
Sarah Donnelly: How work kept me going during my cancer treatment

TED@Westpac

Sarah Donnelly: How work kept me going during my cancer treatment
981,552 views

When lawyer Sarah Donnelly was diagnosed with breast cancer, she turned to her friends and family for support -- but she also found meaning, focus and stability in her work. In a personal talk about why and how she stayed on the job, she shares her insights on how workplaces can accommodate people going through major illnesses -- because the benefits go both ways.

Play
Tania Douglas: To design better tech, understand context

TEDGlobal 2017

Tania Douglas: To design better tech, understand context
1,160,410 views

What good is a sophisticated piece of medical equipment to people in Africa if it can't handle the climate there? Biomedical engineer Tania Douglas shares stories of how we're often blinded to real needs in our pursuit of technology -- and how a deeper understanding of the context where it's used can lead us to better solutions.

Play
Mennat El Ghalid: How fungi recognize (and infect) plants

TEDGlobal 2017

Mennat El Ghalid: How fungi recognize (and infect) plants
1,145,074 views

Each year, the world loses enough food to feed half a billion people to fungi, the most destructive pathogens of plants. Mycologist and TED Fellow Mennat El Ghalid explains how a breakthrough in our understanding of the molecular signals fungi use to attack plants could disrupt this interaction -- and save our crops.

Play
Gene Luen Yang: Comics belong in the classroom

TEDxManhattanBeach

Gene Luen Yang: Comics belong in the classroom
1,416,188 views

Comic books and graphic novels belong in every teacher's toolkit, says cartoonist and educator Gene Luen Yang. Set against the backdrop of his own witty, colorful drawings, Yang explores the history of comics in American education -- and reveals some unexpected insights about their potential for helping kids learn.

Play
Dayo Ogunyemi: Visions of Africa's future, from African filmmakers

TEDGlobal 2017

Dayo Ogunyemi: Visions of Africa's future, from African filmmakers
990,900 views

By expanding boundaries, exploring possibilities and conveying truth, films have helped change Africa's reality (even before "Black Panther"). Dayo Ogunyemi invites us to imagine Africa's future through the lens of inspiring filmmakers from across the continent, showing us how they can inspire Africa to make a hundred-year leap.

Play
Nancy Rabalais: The "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico

TEDWomen 2017

Nancy Rabalais: The "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico
1,211,268 views

Ocean expert Nancy Rabalais tracks the ominously named "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico -- where there isn't enough oxygen in the water to support life. The Gulf has the second largest dead zone in the world; on top of killing fish and crustaceans, it's also killing fisheries in these waters. Rabalais tells us about what's causing it -- and how we can reverse its harmful effects and restore one of America's natural treasures.

Play
Malika Whitley: How the arts help homeless youth heal and build

TED Residency

Malika Whitley: How the arts help homeless youth heal and build
1,020,146 views

Malika Whitley is the founder of ChopArt, an organization for homeless teens focused on mentorship, dignity and opportunity through the arts. In this moving, personal talk, she shares her story of homelessness and finding her voice through arts -- and her mission to provide a creative outlet for others who have been pushed to the margins of society.

Play