TED Talks with English transcript

Emma Belcher: 3 questions we should ask about nuclear weapons

TEDxMidAtlantic

Emma Belcher: 3 questions we should ask about nuclear weapons
1,178,036 views

There are more than 10,000 nuclear weapons in existence today, each one capable of causing immense destruction. Why don't we talk about this threat as much as some other major issues? In this practical talk, nuclear security expert Emma Belcher shares three questions you can ask your elected officials to gain a better understanding of nuclear weapons and the measures we need to stay safe.

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Ipsita Dasgupta: To challenge the status quo, find a "co-conspirator"

TED@BCG Mumbai

Ipsita Dasgupta: To challenge the status quo, find a "co-conspirator"
1,087,961 views

In a complex and changing world, how can we make sure unconventional people and their ideas thrive? Business executive Ipsita Dasgupta introduces the concept of "co-conspirators" -- people willing to bend or break the rules to challenge the status quo -- and shows how they can help create new ways of thinking, acting and being.

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Sougwen Chung: Why I draw with robots

TED@BCG Mumbai

Sougwen Chung: Why I draw with robots
160,983 views

What happens when humans and robots make art together? In this awe-inspiring talk, artist Sougwen Chung shows how she "taught" her artistic style to a machine -- and shares the results of their collaboration after making an unexpected discovery: robots make mistakes, too. "Part of the beauty of human and machine systems is their inherent, shared fallibility," she says.

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Mani Vajipey: How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution

TED Talks India: Nayi Baat

Mani Vajipey: How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution
188,500 views
No Video

India has one of the world's highest rates of plastic recycling, thanks largely to an extensive network of informal recyclers known as "kabadiwalas." Entrepreneur Mani Vajipey discusses his work to organize their massive efforts into a collection system that could put India on the path to ending plastic pollution -- and show the rest of the world how to do it, too.

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Lorna Davis: A guide to collaborative leadership

TED@BCG Mumbai

Lorna Davis: A guide to collaborative leadership
1,285,543 views

What's the difference between heroes and leaders? In this insightful talk, Lorna Davis explains how our idolization of heroes is holding us back from solving big problems -- and shows why we need "radical interdependence" to make real change happen.

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Sydney Jensen: How can we support the emotional well-being of teachers?

TED Masterclass

Sydney Jensen: How can we support the emotional well-being of teachers?
1,684,037 views

Teachers emotionally support our kids -- but who's supporting our teachers? In this eye-opening talk, educator Sydney Jensen explores how teachers are at risk of "secondary trauma" -- the idea that they absorb the emotional weight of their students' experiences -- and shows how schools can get creative in supporting everyone's mental health and wellness.

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LaToya Ruby Frazier: A creative solution for the water crisis in Flint, Michigan

We the Future

LaToya Ruby Frazier: A creative solution for the water crisis in Flint, Michigan
1,308,043 views

Artist LaToya Ruby Frazier spent five months living in Flint, Michigan, documenting the lives of those affected by the city's water crisis for her photo essay "Flint is Family." As the crisis dragged on, she realized it was going to take more than a series of photos to bring relief. In this inspiring, surprising talk, she shares the creative lengths she went to in order to bring free, clean water to the people of Flint.

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Gaby Barrios: Why gender-based marketing is bad for business

TED@BCG Mumbai

Gaby Barrios: Why gender-based marketing is bad for business
1,534,960 views

Companies often target consumers based on gender, but this kind of advertising shortcut doesn't just perpetuate outdated stereotypes -- it's also bad for business, says marketing expert Gaby Barrios. In this clear, actionable talk, she explains why gender-based marketing doesn't drive business nearly as much as you might think -- and shows how companies can find better ways to reach customers and grow their brands.

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Erika Pinheiro: What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better

TED Salon: Border Stories

Erika Pinheiro: What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better
1,365,273 views

At the US-Mexico border, policies of prolonged detention and family separation have made seeking asylum in the United States difficult and dangerous. In this raw and heartfelt talk, immigration attorney Erika Pinheiro offers a glimpse into her daily work on both sides of the border and shares some of the stories behind the statistics -- including her own story of being detained and separated from her son. It's a clear-eyed call to remember the humanity that's impacted by policy -- and a warning: "History shows us that the first population to be vilified and stripped of their rights is rarely the last," she says.

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Cady Coleman: What it's like to live on the International Space Station

TED2019

Cady Coleman: What it's like to live on the International Space Station
309,672 views

In this quick, fun talk, astronaut Cady Coleman welcomes us aboard the International Space Station, where she spent nearly six months doing experiments that expanded the frontiers of science. Hear what it's like to fly to work, sleep without gravity and live life hurtling at 17,500 miles per hour around the Earth. "The space station is the place where mission and magic come together," Coleman says.

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Bhakti Sharma: What open water swimming taught me about resilience

TED Talks India: Nayi Baat

Bhakti Sharma: What open water swimming taught me about resilience
193,641 views
No Video

Dive into the deep with open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma, as she shares what she learned about resilience during her personal journey from the scorching heat of Rajasthan, India to the bone-chilling waters of her record-breaking swim in Antarctica and her courageous crossing of the English Channel. "In the middle of the ocean, there is nowhere to hide," Sharma says.

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Paul A. Kramer: Our immigration conversation is broken -- here's how to have a better one

TED Salon: Border Stories

Paul A. Kramer: Our immigration conversation is broken -- here's how to have a better one
1,334,849 views

How did the US immigration debate get to be so divisive? In this informative talk, historian and writer Paul A. Kramer shows how an "insider vs. outsider" framing has come to dominate the way people in the US talk about immigration -- and suggests a set of new questions that could reshape the conversation around whose life, rights and thriving matters.

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Bob Langert: The business case for working with your toughest critics

TEDSummit 2019

Bob Langert: The business case for working with your toughest critics
1,288,298 views

As a "corporate suit" (his words) and former VP of sustainability at McDonald's, Bob Langert works with companies and their strongest critics to find solutions that are good for both business and society. In this actionable talk, he shares stories from the decades-long transition into corporate sustainability at McDonald's -- including his work with unlikely partners like the Environmental Defense Fund and Temple Grandin -- and shows why your adversaries can sometimes be your best allies.

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Tashka and Laura Yawanawá: The Amazon belongs to humanity -- let's protect it together

We the Future

Tashka and Laura Yawanawá: The Amazon belongs to humanity -- let's protect it together
139,417 views
No Video

Tashka and Laura Yawanawá lead the Yawanawá people in Acre, Brazil -- a tribe that stewards almost 500,000 acres of Amazon rainforest. As footage of the Amazon burning shocks the world's consciousness, Tashka and Laura call for us to transform this moment into an opportunity to support indigenous people who have the experience, knowledge and tools needed to protect the land.

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Toby Kiers: Lessons from fungi on markets and economics

TED@BCG Mumbai

Toby Kiers: Lessons from fungi on markets and economics
1,217,681 views

Resource inequality is one of our greatest challenges, but it's not unique to humans. Like us, mycorrhizal fungi that live in plant and tree roots strategically trade, steal and withhold resources, displaying remarkable parallels to humans in their capacity to be opportunistic (and sometimes ruthless) -- all in the absence of cognition. In a mind-blowing talk, evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers shares what fungi networks and relationships reveal about human economies, and what they can tell us about inequality.

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Daniel Bögre Udell: How to save a language from extinction

TED Residency

Daniel Bögre Udell: How to save a language from extinction
1,347,903 views

As many as 3,000 languages could disappear within the next 80 years, all but silencing entire cultures. In this quick talk, language activist Daniel Bögre Udell shows how people around the world are finding new ways to revive ancestral languages and rebuild their traditions -- and encourages us all to investigate the tongues of our ancestors. "Reclaiming your language and embracing your culture is a powerful way to be yourself," he says.

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Cathy Mulzer: The incredible chemistry powering your smartphone

TED@DuPont

Cathy Mulzer: The incredible chemistry powering your smartphone
1,406,257 views

Ever wondered how your smartphone works? Take a journey down to the atomic level with scientist Cathy Mulzer, who reveals how almost every component of our high-powered devices exists thanks to chemists -- and not the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs that come to most people's minds. As she puts it: "Chemistry is the hero of electronic communications."

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Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck: The price of a "clean" internet

TEDxCERN

Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck: The price of a "clean" internet
1,337,069 views

Millions of images and videos are uploaded to the internet each day, yet we rarely see shocking and disturbing content in our social media feeds. Who's keeping the internet "clean" for us? In this eye-opening talk, documentarians Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck take us inside the shadowy world of online content moderators -- the people contracted by major platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google to rid the internet of toxic material. Learn more about the psychological impact of this kind of work -- and how "digital cleaning" influences what all of us see and think.

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Ma Yansong: Urban architecture inspired by mountains, clouds and volcanoes

TEDSummit 2019

Ma Yansong: Urban architecture inspired by mountains, clouds and volcanoes
283,221 views

Taking inspiration from nature, architect Ma Yansong designs breathtaking buildings that break free from the boxy symmetry of so many modern cities. His exuberant and graceful work -- from a pair of curvy skyscrapers that "dance" with each other to an opera house that looks like a snow-capped mountain -- shows us the beauty of architecture that defies norms.

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Laura Rovner: What happens to people in solitary confinement

TEDxMileHigh

Laura Rovner: What happens to people in solitary confinement
1,525,728 views

Imagine living with no significant human contact for years, even decades, in a cell the size of a small bathroom. This is the reality for those in long-term solitary confinement, a form of imprisonment regularly imposed in US prisons. In this eye-opening talk, civil rights lawyer Laura Rovner takes us to ADX, the US federal government's only supermax prison, and describes the dehumanizing effects of long-term solitude on the mind, personality and sense of self. What emerges is an urgent case for abolishing solitary confinement -- and evidence for how our tax dollars, public safety and values are implicated in it. "Prisons are administered in our name and on our behalf," she says. "We have an obligation to bear witness."

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Alasdair Harris: How a handful of fishing villages sparked a marine conservation revolution

We the Future

Alasdair Harris: How a handful of fishing villages sparked a marine conservation revolution
1,446,093 views

We need a radically new approach to ocean conservation, says marine biologist and TED Fellow Alasdair Harris. In a visionary talk, he lays out a surprising solution to the problem of overfishing that could both revive marine life and rebuild local fisheries -- all by taking less from the ocean. "When we design it right, marine conservation reaps dividends that go far beyond protecting nature," he says.

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Heidi Boisvert: How I'm using biological data to tell better stories -- and spark social change

TED Residency

Heidi Boisvert: How I'm using biological data to tell better stories -- and spark social change
1,238,813 views

What kinds of stories move us to act? To answer this question, creative technologist Heidi Boisvert is measuring how people's brains and bodies unconsciously respond to different media. She shows how she's using this data to determine the specific narrative ingredients that inspire empathy and justice -- and spark large-scale social change.

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Peter Beck: Small rockets are the next space revolution

TED2019

Peter Beck: Small rockets are the next space revolution
290,772 views

We're in the dawn of a new space revolution, says engineer Peter Beck: the revolution of the small. In a talk packed with insights into the state of the space industry, Beck shares his work building rockets capable of delivering small payloads to space rapidly and reliably -- helping us search for extraterrestrial life, learn more about the solar system and create a global internet network.

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Sara-Jane Dunn: The next software revolution: programming biological cells

TEDSummit 2019

Sara-Jane Dunn: The next software revolution: programming biological cells
1,706,478 views

The cells in your body are like computer software: they're "programmed" to carry out specific functions at specific times. If we can better understand this process, we could unlock the ability to reprogram cells ourselves, says computational biologist Sara-Jane Dunn. In a talk from the cutting-edge of science, she explains how her team is studying embryonic stem cells to gain a new understanding of the biological programs that power life -- and develop "living software" that could transform medicine, agriculture and energy.

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Edward Tenner: The paradox of efficiency

TED2019

Edward Tenner: The paradox of efficiency
1,102,592 views

Is our obsession with efficiency actually making us less efficient? In this revelatory talk, writer and historian Edward Tenner discusses the promises and dangers of our drive to get things done as quickly as possible -- and suggests seven ways we can use "inspired inefficiency" to be more productive.

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Dan Ariely: How to change your behavior for the better

TED Salon Brightline Initiative

Dan Ariely: How to change your behavior for the better
2,371,042 views

What's the best way to get people to change their behavior? In this funny, information-packed talk, psychologist Dan Ariely explores why we make bad decisions even when we know we shouldn't -- and discusses a couple tricks that could get us to do the right thing (even if it's for the wrong reason).

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Craig Costello: In the war for information, will quantum computers defeat cryptographers?

TEDxSydney

Craig Costello: In the war for information, will quantum computers defeat cryptographers?
1,426,098 views

In this glimpse into our technological future, cryptographer Craig Costello discusses the world-altering potential of quantum computers, which could shatter the limits set by today's machines -- and give code breakers a master key to the digital world. See how Costello and his fellow cryptographers are racing to reinvent encryption and secure the internet.

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Abhishek Gopalka: How motivation can fix public systems

TED@BCG Mumbai

Abhishek Gopalka: How motivation can fix public systems
1,294,177 views

How do you fix broken public systems? You spark people's competitive spirit. In a talk about getting people motivated to make change, public sector strategist Abhishek Gopalka discusses how he helped improve the health system of Rajasthan, a state in India home to more than 80 million people, using the powers of transparency and public accountability. "Motivation doesn't just appear," Gopalka says. "Something needs to change to make you care."

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Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin: A historical musical that examines black identity in the 1901 World's Fair

TED2019

Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin: A historical musical that examines black identity in the 1901 World's Fair
1,378,177 views

In this lively talk and performance, artist and TED Fellow Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin offers a sneak peek of her forthcoming musical "At Buffalo." Drawing on archival material from the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition, a world's fair held in Buffalo, New York, the show examines conflicting representations of black identity exhibited at the fair -- highlighting unsettlingly familiar parallels between American society at the turn of the century and today, and asking: Are we all still part of the show?

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Lori Gottlieb: How changing your story can change your life

TED@DuPont

Lori Gottlieb: How changing your story can change your life
2,463,841 views

Stories help you make sense of your life -- but when these narratives are incomplete or misleading, they can keep you stuck instead of providing clarity. In an actionable talk, psychotherapist and advice columnist Lori Gottlieb shows how to break free from the stories you've been telling yourself by becoming your own editor and rewriting your narrative from a different point of view.

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