TED Talks with English transcript

Rodin Lyasoff: How autonomous flying taxis could change the way you travel

TED2018

Rodin Lyasoff: How autonomous flying taxis could change the way you travel
1,593,235 views

Flight is about to get a lot more personal, says aviation entrepreneur Rodin Lyasoff. In this visionary talk, he imagines a new golden age of air travel in which small, autonomous air taxis allow us to bypass traffic jams and fundamentally transform how we get around our cities and towns. "In the past century, flight connected our planet," Lyasoff says. "In the next, it will reconnect our local communities."

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Kola Masha: How farming could employ Africa's young workforce -- and help build peace

TEDGlobal 2017

Kola Masha: How farming could employ Africa's young workforce -- and help build peace
1,204,924 views

Africa's youth is coming of age rapidly, but job growth on the continent isn't keeping up. The result: financial insecurity and, in some cases, a turn towards insurgent groups. In a passionate talk, agricultural entrepreneur Kola Masha details his plan to bring leadership and investment to small farmers in Africa -- and employ a rising generation.

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Travis Rieder: The agony of opioid withdrawal -- and what doctors should tell patients about it

TEDxMidAtlantic

Travis Rieder: The agony of opioid withdrawal -- and what doctors should tell patients about it
2,438,348 views

The United States accounts for five percent of the world's population but consumes almost 70 percent of the total global opioid supply, creating an epidemic that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths each year. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? In this personal talk, Travis Rieder recounts the painful, often-hidden struggle of opioid withdrawal and reveals how doctors who are quick to prescribe (and overprescribe) opioids aren't equipped with the tools to eventually get people off the meds.

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Anna Rothschild: Why you should love gross science

TEDxMidAtlantic

Anna Rothschild: Why you should love gross science
1,271,083 views

What can we learn from the slimy, smelly side of life? In this playful talk, science journalist Anna Rothschild shows us the hidden wisdom of "gross stuff" and explains why avoiding the creepy underbelly of nature, medicine and technology closes us off to important sources of knowledge about our health and the world. "When we explore the gross side of life, we find insights that we never would have thought we'd find, and we even often reveal beauty that we didn't think was there," Rothschild says.

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Karen J. Meech: The story of 'Oumuamua, the first visitor from another star system

TED2018

Karen J. Meech: The story of 'Oumuamua, the first visitor from another star system
6,071,992 views

In October 2017, astrobiologist Karen J. Meech got the call every astronomer waits for: NASA had spotted the very first visitor from another star system. The interstellar comet -- a half-mile-long object eventually named `Oumuamua, from the Hawaiian for "scout" or "messenger" -- raised intriguing questions: Was it a chunk of rocky debris from a new star system, shredded material from a supernova explosion, evidence of alien technology or something else altogether? In this riveting talk, Meech tells the story of how her team raced against the clock to find answers about this unexpected gift from afar.

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Ian Firth: Bridges should be beautiful

TED2018

Ian Firth: Bridges should be beautiful
1,215,979 views

Bridges need to be functional, safe and durable, but they should also be elegant and beautiful, says structural engineer Ian Firth. In this mesmerizing tour of bridges old and new, Firth explores the potential for innovation and variety in this essential structure -- and how spectacular ones reveal our connectivity, unleash our creativity and hint at our identity.

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Vishaan Chakrabarti: How we can design timeless cities for our collective future

TED2018

Vishaan Chakrabarti: How we can design timeless cities for our collective future
1,355,686 views

There's a creeping sameness in many of our newest urban buildings and streetscapes, says architect Vishaan Chakrabarti. And this physical homogeneity -- the result of regulations, mass production, safety issues and cost considerations, among other factors -- has blanketed our planet in a social and psychological homogeneity, too. In this visionary talk, Chakrabarti calls for a return to designing magnetic, lyrical cities that embody their local cultures and adapt to the needs of our changing world and climate.

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James Bridle: The nightmare videos of children's YouTube -- and what's wrong with the internet today

TED2018

James Bridle: The nightmare videos of children's YouTube -- and what's wrong with the internet today
5,404,429 views

Writer and artist James Bridle uncovers a dark, strange corner of the internet, where unknown people or groups on YouTube hack the brains of young children in return for advertising revenue. From "surprise egg" reveals and the "Finger Family Song" to algorithmically created mashups of familiar cartoon characters in violent situations, these videos exploit and terrify young minds -- and they tell us something about where our increasingly data-driven world is headed. "We need to stop thinking about technology as a solution to all of our problems, but think of it as a guide to what those problems actually are, so we can start thinking about them properly and start to address them," Bridle says.

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Essam Daod: How we can bring mental health support to refugees

TED2018

Essam Daod: How we can bring mental health support to refugees
1,402,709 views

The global refugee crisis is a mental health catastrophe, leaving millions in need of psychological support to overcome the traumas of dislocation and conflict. To undo the damage, child psychiatrist and TED Fellow Essam Daod has been working in camps, rescue boats and the shorelines of Greece and the Mediterranean Sea to help refugees (a quarter of which are children) reframe their experiences through short, powerful psychological interventions. "We can all do something to prevent this mental health catastrophe," Daod says. "We need to acknowledge that first aid is not just needed for the body, but it has also to include the mind, the soul."

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Giada Gerboni: The incredible potential of flexible, soft robots

TED2018

Giada Gerboni: The incredible potential of flexible, soft robots
1,397,702 views

Robots are designed for speed and precision -- but their rigidity has often limited how they're used. In this illuminating talk, biomedical engineer Giada Gerboni shares the latest developments in "soft robotics," an emerging field that aims to create nimble machines that imitate nature, like a robotic octopus. Learn more about how these flexible structures could play a critical role in surgery, medicine and our daily lives.

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Prosanta Chakrabarty: Four billion years of evolution in six minutes

TED2018

Prosanta Chakrabarty: Four billion years of evolution in six minutes
3,529,466 views

Did humans evolve from monkeys or from fish? In this enlightening talk, ichthyologist and TED Fellow Prosanta Chakrabarty dispels some hardwired myths about evolution, encouraging us to remember that we're a small part of a complex, four-billion-year process -- and not the end of the line. "We're not the goal of evolution," Chakrabarty says. "Think of us all as young leaves on this ancient and gigantic tree of life -- connected by invisible branches not just to each other, but to our extinct relatives and our evolutionary ancestors."

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John Doerr: Why the secret to success is setting the right goals

TED2018

John Doerr: Why the secret to success is setting the right goals
5,306,038 views

Our leaders and institutions are failing us, but it's not always because they're bad or unethical, says venture capitalist John Doerr -- often, it's simply because they're leading us toward the wrong objectives. In this practical talk, Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with "Objectives and Key Results," or OKRs -- a goal-setting system that's been employed by the likes of Google, Intel and Bono to set and execute on audacious goals. Learn more about how setting the right goals can mean the difference between success and failure -- and how we can use OKRs to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable.

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Max Tegmark: How to get empowered, not overpowered, by AI

TED2018

Max Tegmark: How to get empowered, not overpowered, by AI
1,409,007 views

Many artificial intelligence researchers expect AI to outsmart humans at all tasks and jobs within decades, enabling a future where we're restricted only by the laws of physics, not the limits of our intelligence. MIT physicist and AI researcher Max Tegmark separates the real opportunities and threats from the myths, describing the concrete steps we should take today to ensure that AI ends up being the best -- rather than worst -- thing to ever happen to humanity.

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Jason B. Rosenthal: The journey through loss and grief

TED2018

Jason B. Rosenthal: The journey through loss and grief
1,888,751 views

In her brutally honest, ironically funny and widely read meditation on death, "You May Want to Marry My Husband," the late author and filmmaker Amy Krouse Rosenthal gave her husband Jason very public permission to move on and find happiness. A year after her death, Jason offers candid insights on the often excruciating process of moving through and with loss -- as well as some quiet wisdom for anyone else experiencing life-changing grief.

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Gastón Acurio: Can home cooking change the world?

TED en Español en NYC

Gastón Acurio: Can home cooking change the world?
522,533 views
No Video

When Gastón Acurio started his now world-famous restaurant Astrid & Gastón in the 1990s, no one suspected that he would elevate the Peruvian home-cooking he grew up with to haute cuisine. Nearly thirty years and a storied career later, the chef wants the rest of us to embrace our culinary roots and transform the world with the meals we prepare each day. (In Spanish with English subtitles)

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Enric Sala: Let's turn the high seas into the world's largest nature reserve

TED2018

Enric Sala: Let's turn the high seas into the world's largest nature reserve
1,261,936 views

What if we could save the fishing industry and protect the ocean at the same time? Marine ecologist Enric Sala shares his bold plan to safeguard the high seas -- some of the last wild places on earth, which fall outside the jurisdiction of any single country -- by creating a giant marine reserve that covers two-thirds of the world's ocean. By protecting the high seas, Sala believes we will restore the ecological, economic and social benefits of the ocean. "When we can align economic needs with conservation, miracles can happen," Sala says.

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Greg Gage: How octopuses battle each other

DIY Neuroscience

Greg Gage: How octopuses battle each other
595,113 views

Them's fighting words if you're an octopus, in that more than one octopus in a space often means a rumble. Our intrepid neuroscientists analyze aggression by observing the fighting behavior of two-spotted octopuses or, if you prefer, octopodes.

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Greg Gage: This computer is learning to read your mind

DIY Neuroscience

Greg Gage: This computer is learning to read your mind
339,691 views

Modern technology lets neuroscientists peer into the human brain, but can it also read minds? Armed with the device known as an electroencephalogram, or EEG, and some computing wizardry, our intrepid neuroscientists attempt to peer into a subject's thoughts.

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Greg Gage: How you can make a fruit fly eat veggies

DIY Neuroscience

Greg Gage: How you can make a fruit fly eat veggies
340,707 views

Can the mind be manipulated to love a food we loathe? The evidence from fruit flies is compelling, and perhaps surprising. Our tag team of neuroscientists attempts to change a fly's preference for fruit over vegetables simply by shining a light on their brain.

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Greg Gage: How a dragonfly's brain is designed to kill

DIY Neuroscience

Greg Gage: How a dragonfly's brain is designed to kill
1,119,226 views

Dragonflies can catch prey with near perfect accuracy, the best among all predators. But how does something with so few neurons achieve such prowess? Our intrepid neuroscientists explore how a dragonfly unerringly locks onto its preys and captures it within milliseconds using just sensors and a fake fly.

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Olga Yurkova: Inside the fight against Russia's fake news empire

TED2018

Olga Yurkova: Inside the fight against Russia's fake news empire
1,312,757 views

When facts are false, decisions are wrong, says editor and TED Fellow Olga Yurkova. To stop the spread of fake news, she and a group of journalists launched StopFake.org, which exposes biased or inaccurate reporting in order to rebuild the trust we've lost in our journalists, leaders and institutions. Learn more about the fight against misinformation as well as two critical ways we can ensure we're not reading (or sharing) fake news.

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Oskar Eustis: Why theater is essential to democracy

TED2018

Oskar Eustis: Why theater is essential to democracy
1,195,230 views

Truth comes from the collision of different ideas, and theater plays an essential role in showing us that truth, says legendary artistic director Oskar Eustis. In this powerful talk, Eustis outlines his plan to reach (and listen to) people in places across the US where the theater, like many other institutions, has turned its back -- like the deindustrialized Rust Belt. "Our job is to try to hold up a vision to America that shows not only who all of us are individually, but that welds us back into the commonality that we need to be," Eustis says. "That's what the theater is supposed to do."

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Lauren Pharr: How vultures can help solve crimes

TEDxLSU

Lauren Pharr: How vultures can help solve crimes
1,377,286 views

Can a bird that symbolizes death help the living catch criminals? In this informative and accessible talk, forensic anthropologist Lauren Pharr shows us how vultures impact crime scenes -- and the assistance they can provide to detectives investigating murders. (This talk contains graphic images.)

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Poppy Crum: Technology that knows what you're feeling

TED2018

Poppy Crum: Technology that knows what you're feeling
1,640,972 views

What happens when technology knows more about us than we do? Poppy Crum studies how we express emotions -- and she suggests the end of the poker face is near, as new tech makes it easy to see the signals that give away how we're feeling. In a talk and demo, she shows how "empathetic technology" can read physical signals like body temperature and the chemical composition of our breath to inform on our emotional state. For better or for worse. "If we recognize the power of becoming technological empaths, we get this opportunity where technology can help us bridge the emotional and cognitive divide," Crum says.

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Hugh Herr: How we'll become cyborgs and extend human potential

TED2018

Hugh Herr: How we'll become cyborgs and extend human potential
1,888,103 views

Humans will soon have new bodies that forever blur the line between the natural and synthetic worlds, says bionics designer Hugh Herr. In an unforgettable talk, he details "NeuroEmbodied Design," a methodology for creating cyborg function that he's developing at the MIT Media Lab, and shows us a future where we've augmented our bodies in a way that will redefine human potential -- and, maybe, turn us into superheroes. "During the twilight years of this century, I believe humans will be unrecognizable in morphology and dynamics from what we are today," Herr says. "Humanity will take flight and soar."

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Yasmin Green: How technology can fight extremism and online harassment

TED2018

Yasmin Green: How technology can fight extremism and online harassment
2,460,759 views

Can technology make people safer from threats like violent extremism, censorship and persecution? In this illuminating talk, technologist Yasmin Green details programs pioneered at Jigsaw (a unit within Alphabet Inc., the collection of companies that also includes Google) to counter radicalization and online harassment -- including a project that could give commenters real-time feedback about how their words might land, which has already increased spaces for dialogue. "If we ever thought that we could build an internet insulated from the dark side of humanity, we were wrong," Green says. "We have to throw our entire selves into building solutions that are as human as the problems they aim to solve."

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Reed Hastings: How Netflix changed entertainment -- and where it's headed

TED2018

Reed Hastings: How Netflix changed entertainment -- and where it's headed
1,975,627 views

Netflix changed the world of entertainment -- first with DVD-by-mail, then with streaming media and then again with sensational original shows like "Orange Is the New Black" and "Stranger Things" -- but not without taking its fair share of risks. In conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson, Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings discusses the company's bold internal culture, the powerful algorithm that fuels their recommendations, the $8 billion worth of content they're investing in this year and his philanthropic pursuits supporting innovative education, among much more.

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