TED Talks with English transcript

Nicola Sturgeon: Why governments should prioritize well-being

TEDSummit 2019

Nicola Sturgeon: Why governments should prioritize well-being
1,925,492 views

In 2018, Scotland, Iceland and New Zealand established the network of Wellbeing Economy Governments to challenge the acceptance of GDP as the ultimate measure of a country's success. In this visionary talk, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon explains the far-reaching implications of a "well-being economy" -- which places factors like equal pay, childcare, mental health and access to green space at its heart -- and shows how this new focus could help build resolve to confront global challenges.

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George Monbiot: The new political story that could change everything

TEDSummit 2019

George Monbiot: The new political story that could change everything
2,187,433 views

To get out of the mess we're in, we need a new story that explains the present and guides the future, says author George Monbiot. Drawing on findings from psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology, he offers a new vision for society built around our fundamental capacity for altruism and cooperation. This contagiously optimistic talk will make you rethink the possibilities for our shared future.

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Tshering Tobgay: An urgent call to protect the world's "Third Pole"

TEDSummit 2019

Tshering Tobgay: An urgent call to protect the world's "Third Pole"
1,689,135 views

The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is the world's third-largest repository of ice, after the North and South Poles -- and if current melting rates continue, two-thirds of its glaciers could be gone by the end of this century. What will happen if we let them melt away? Environmentalist and former Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay shares the latest from the "water towers of Asia," making an urgent call to create an intergovernmental agency to protect the glaciers -- and save the nearly two billion people downstream from catastrophic flooding that would destroy land and livelihoods.

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Hajer Sharief: How to use family dinner to teach politics

TEDSummit 2019

Hajer Sharief: How to use family dinner to teach politics
1,954,697 views

Everyone should participate in decision-making and politics -- and it starts at home, says activist Hajer Sharief. She introduces a simple yet transformative idea: that parents can teach their children about political agency by giving them a say in how their households are run, in the form of candid family meetings where everyone can express their opinions, negotiate and compromise. "We need to teach people that political, national and global affairs are as relevant to them as personal and family affairs," she says. "Can you really afford not to be interested or not participate in politics?"

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Mohammad Modarres: Why you should shop at your local farmers market

TED Residency

Mohammad Modarres: Why you should shop at your local farmers market
1,346,911 views

The average farmer in America makes less than 15 cents of every dollar on a product that you purchase at a store. They feed our communities, but farmers often cannot afford the very foods they grow. In this actionable talk, social entrepreneur Mohammad Modarres shows how to put your purchasing power into action to save local agriculture from collapse and transform the food industry from the bottom up.

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Phillip Atiba Goff: How we can make racism a solvable problem -- and improve policing

TED2019

Phillip Atiba Goff: How we can make racism a solvable problem -- and improve policing
1,535,223 views

When we define racism as behaviors instead of feelings, we can measure it -- and transform it from an impossible problem into a solvable one, says justice scientist Phillip Atiba Goff. In an actionable talk, he shares his work at the Center for Policing Equity, an organization that helps police departments diagnose and track racial gaps in policing in order to eliminate them. Learn more about their data-driven approach -- and how you can get involved with the work that still needs to be done. (This ambitious plan is part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

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Carl June: A "living drug" that could change the way we treat cancer

TEDMED 2018

Carl June: A "living drug" that could change the way we treat cancer
1,459,846 views

Carl June is the pioneer behind CAR T-cell therapy: a groundbreaking cancer treatment that supercharges part of a patient's own immune system to attack and kill tumors. In a talk about a breakthrough, he shares how three decades of research culminated in a therapy that's eradicated cases of leukemia once thought to be incurable -- and explains how it could be used to fight other types of cancer.

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Jacqueline Woodson: What reading slowly taught me about writing

TED2019

Jacqueline Woodson: What reading slowly taught me about writing
1,877,936 views

Reading slowly -- with her finger running beneath the words, even when she was taught not to -- has led Jacqueline Woodson to a life of writing books to be savored. In a lyrical talk, she invites us to slow down and appreciate stories that take us places we never thought we'd go and introduce us to people we never thought we'd meet. "Isn't that what this is all about -- finding a way, at the end of the day, to not feel alone in this world, and a way to feel like we've changed it before we leave?" she asks.

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Anindya Kundu: The "opportunity gap" in US public education -- and how to close it

TED Residency

Anindya Kundu: The "opportunity gap" in US public education -- and how to close it
1,399,088 views

How can we tap into the potential of all students, especially those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds? Sociologist Anindya Kundu invites us to take a deeper look at the personal, social and institutional challenges that keep students from thriving in the United States -- and shows how closing this "opportunity gap" means valuing public education for what it really is: the greatest investment in our collective future.

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Britt Wray: How climate change affects your mental health

TED Residency

Britt Wray: How climate change affects your mental health
1,885,604 views

"For all that's ever been said about climate change, we haven't heard nearly enough about the psychological impacts of living in a warming world," says science writer Britt Wray. In this quick talk, she explores how climate change is threatening our well-being -- mental, social and spiritual -- and offers a starting point for what we can do about it.

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Victor Vescovo: What's at the bottom of the ocean -- and how we're getting there

TED2019

Victor Vescovo: What's at the bottom of the ocean -- and how we're getting there
796,803 views

Victor Vescovo is leading the first-ever manned expedition to the deepest point of each of the world's five oceans. In conversation with TED science curator David Biello, Vescovo discusses the technology that's powering the explorations -- a titanium submersible designed to withstand extraordinary conditions -- and shows footage of a never-before-seen creature taken during his journey to the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

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Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: A climate change solution that's right under our feet

TED2019

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: A climate change solution that's right under our feet
1,476,766 views

There's two times more carbon in the earth's soil than in all of its vegetation and the atmosphere -- combined. Biogeochemist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe dives into the science of soil and shares how we could use its awesome carbon-trapping power to offset climate change. "[Soil] represents the difference between life and lifelessness in the earth system, and it can also help us combat climate change -- if we can only stop treating it like dirt," she says.

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Ella Al-Shamahi: The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring

TED2019

Ella Al-Shamahi: The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring
1,911,634 views

We're not doing frontline exploratory science in a huge portion of the world -- the places governments deem too hostile or disputed. What might we be missing because we're not looking? In this fearless, unexpectedly funny talk, paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi takes us on an expedition to the Yemeni island of Socotra -- one of the most biodiverse places on earth -- and makes the case for scientists to explore the unstable regions that could be home to incredible discoveries.

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Marc Bamuthi Joseph: "You Have the Rite"

TED2019

Marc Bamuthi Joseph: "You Have the Rite"
1,713,613 views

In a breathtaking, jazz-inflected spoken-word performance, TED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph shares a Black father's tender and wrenching internal reflection on the pride and terror of seeing his son enter adulthood.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt: How craving attention makes you less creative

TED2019

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: How craving attention makes you less creative
3,895,251 views

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has gotten more than his fair share of attention from his acting career. But as social media exploded over the past decade, he got addicted like the rest of us -- trying to gain followers and likes only to be left feeling inadequate and less creative. In a refreshingly honest talk, he explores how the attention-driven model of big tech companies impacts our creativity -- and shares a more powerful feeling than getting attention: paying attention.

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Claudia Miner: A new way to get every child ready for kindergarten

TED2019

Claudia Miner: A new way to get every child ready for kindergarten
1,899,060 views

Early education is critical to children's success -- but millions of kids in the United States still don't have access to programs that prepare them to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Enter the UPSTART Project, a plan to bring early learning into the homes of children in underserved communities, at no cost to families. Education innovator Claudia Miner shares how UPSTART is setting four-year-olds up for success with 15 minutes of learning a day -- and how you can help. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

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Amy Padnani: How we're honoring people overlooked by history

TED Salon The Macallan

Amy Padnani: How we're honoring people overlooked by history
1,685,862 views

Since its founding in 1851, the "New York Times" has published thousands of obituaries -- for heads of state, famous celebrities, even the inventor of the sock puppet. But only a small percentage of them chronicle the lives of women and people of color. In this insightful talk, "Times" editor Amy Padnani shares the story behind "Overlooked," the project she's leading to recognize people from history whose deaths were ignored -- and refocus society's lens on who is considered important.

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Douglas Thomas: How a typeface helped launch Apollo

TEDxSanFrancisco

Douglas Thomas: How a typeface helped launch Apollo
326,595 views

When humanity first landed on the moon in 1969, the typeface Futura was right there with them. In this fascinating history of typography, designer Douglas Thomas shares Futura's role in launching the Apollo 11 spacecraft -- and how it became one of the most used fonts in the world.

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Melanie Nezer: The fundamental right to seek asylum

TEDxMidAtlantic

Melanie Nezer: The fundamental right to seek asylum
1,577,377 views

Refugee and immigrants rights attorney Melanie Nezer shares an urgently needed historical perspective on the crisis at the southern US border, showing how citizens can hold their governments accountable for protecting the vulnerable. "A country shows strength through compassion and pragmatism, not through force and through fear," she says.

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Nanfu Wang: What it was like to grow up under China's one-child policy

TED2019

Nanfu Wang: What it was like to grow up under China's one-child policy
2,722,175 views

China's one-child policy ended in 2015, but we're just beginning to understand what it was like to live under the program, says TED Fellow and documentary filmmaker Nanfu Wang. With footage from her film "One Child Nation," she shares untold stories that reveal the policy's complex consequences and expose the creeping power of propaganda.

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Gangadhar Patil: How we're helping local reporters turn important stories into national news

TED2019

Gangadhar Patil: How we're helping local reporters turn important stories into national news
1,215,391 views

Local reporters are on the front lines of important stories, but their work often goes unnoticed by national and international news outlets. TED Fellow and journalist Gangadhar Patil is working to change that. In this quick talk, he shows how he's connecting grassroots reporters in India with major news outlets worldwide -- and helping elevate and expose stories that might never get covered otherwise.

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Bina Venkataraman: The power to think ahead in a reckless age

TED2019

Bina Venkataraman: The power to think ahead in a reckless age
2,001,754 views

In a forward-looking talk, author Bina Venkataraman answers a pivotal question of our time: How can we secure our future and do right by future generations? She parses the mistakes we make when imagining the future of our lives, businesses and communities, revealing how we can reclaim our innate foresight. What emerges is a surprising case for hope -- and a path to becoming the "good ancestors" we long to be.

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Ivonne Roman: How policewomen make communities safer

TED2019

Ivonne Roman: How policewomen make communities safer
1,621,593 views

Less than 13 percent of police officers in the United States are women -- despite their proven effectiveness in diffusing violent situations and reducing the use of force. Drawing on more than two decades of experience as a police officer and chief, TED Fellow Ivonne Roman shares how a simple fix to police academy physical fitness tests could help build a more balanced force that benefits communities and officers alike.

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Rahul Mehrotra: The architectural wonder of impermanent cities

TED2019

Rahul Mehrotra: The architectural wonder of impermanent cities
1,619,380 views

Every 12 years, a megacity springs up in India for the Kumbh Mela religious festival -- what's built in ten weeks is completely disassembled in one. What can we learn from this fully functioning, temporary settlement? In a visionary talk, urban designer Rahul Mehrotra explores the benefits of building impermanent cities that can travel, adapt or even disappear, leaving the lightest possible footprint on the planet.

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Elizabeth Howell: How we can improve maternal healthcare -- before, during and after pregnancy

TEDMED 2018

Elizabeth Howell: How we can improve maternal healthcare -- before, during and after pregnancy
1,629,987 views

Shocking, but true: the United States has the highest rate of deaths for new mothers of any developed country -- and 60 percent of them are preventable. With clarity and urgency, physician Elizabeth Howell explains the causes of maternal mortality and shares ways for hospitals and doctors to make pregnancy safer for women before, during and after childbirth.

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Mitchell Katz: What the US health care system assumes about you

TEDMED 2018

Mitchell Katz: What the US health care system assumes about you
1,245,383 views

The US health care system assumes many things about patients: that they can take off from work in the middle of the day, speak English, have a working telephone and a steady supply of food. Because of that, it's failing many of those who are most in need, says Mitchell Katz, CEO of the largest public health care system in the US. In this eye-opening talk, he shares stories of the challenges low-income patients face -- and how we can build a better system for all.

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Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy: How film transforms the way we see the world

TED2019

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy: How film transforms the way we see the world
1,980,995 views

Film has the power to change the way we think about ourselves and our culture. Documentarian and TED Fellow Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy uses it to fight violence against women, turning her camera on the tradition of honor killings in Pakistan. In a stirring talk, she shares how she took her Oscar-winning film on the road in a mobile cinema, visiting small towns and villages across Pakistan -- and shifting the dynamics between women, men and society, one screening at a time.

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