TED Talks
Sarah Kay: "A Bird Made of Birds"
"The universe has already written the poem you were planning on writing," says Sarah Kay, quoting her friend, poet Kaveh Akbar. Performing "A Bird Made of Birds," she shares how and where she finds poetry. (Kay is also the host of TED's...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Silvia Moreno-García: Titan of terror: the dark imagination of H.P. Lovecraft
Arcane books of forbidden lore, disturbing secrets in the family bloodline, and terrors so unspeakable the very thought of them might drive you mad. These have become standard elements in modern horror stories. But they were largely...
TED Talks
Robin Morgan: 4 powerful poems about Parkinson's and growing older
When poet Robin Morgan found herself facing Parkinson’s disease, she distilled her experiences into these four quietly powerful poems — meditating on age, loss, and the simple power of noticing.
TED Talks
TED: Why women should tell the stories of humanity | Jude Kelly
For many centuries (and for many reasons) critically acclaimed creative genius has generally come from a male perspective. As theater director Jude Kelly points out in this passionately reasoned talk, that skew affects how we interpret...
TED Talks
Malcolm London: "High School Training Ground"
Young poet, educator and activist Malcolm London performs his stirring poem about life on the front lines of high school. He tells of the "oceans of adolescence" who come to school "but never learn to swim," of "masculinity mimicked by...
TED Talks
TED: Everyday moments, caught in time | Billy Collins
Combining dry wit with artistic depth, Billy Collins shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into delightful animated films in a collaboration with Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this wonderfully...
TED-Ed
What happens when you die? A poetic inquiry | Emily Dickinson
Death, a kindly gentleman riding in a horse carriage, comes to collect a woman for her journey to the afterlife. So begins Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for Death," an exploration of both the uncertainties of death and...
TED Talks
Ray Anderson: The business logic of sustainability
At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional "take / make / waste" industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable...
TED Talks
Odes to vice and consequences - Felix Dennis
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Media big shot Felix Dennis roars his fiery, funny, sometimes racy original poetry, revisiting haunting memories...
TED Talks
TED: The surprising spread of Idol TV | Cynthia Schneider
Cynthia Schneider looks at two international "American Idol"-style shows -- one in Afghanistan, and one in the United Arab Emirates -- and shows the surprising effect that these reality-TV competitions are creating in their societies.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: For Estefani, Third Grade, Who Made Me A Card | Aracelis Girmay
This animation is part of the TED-Ed series, "There's a Poem for That," which features animated interpretations of poems both old and new that give language to some of life's biggest feelings. [Poem by Aracelis Girmay, directed by Jordan...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of the Sampo— an infinite source of fortune and greed | Hanna-Ilona Härmävaara
After a skirmish at sea and long days of being battered by waves, Väinämöinen— a powerful bard as old as the world itself— washed up on the shores of distant Pohjola. A cunning witch nursed him back to health but demanded a reward for...
TED Talks
The music of a war child - Emmanuel Jal
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. For five years, young Emmanuel Jal fought as a child soldier in the Sudan. Rescued by an aid worker, he's become an...
TED Talks
Clint Smith: The danger of silence
We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't, says poet and teacher Clint Smith. A short, powerful piece from the heart, about finding the courage to speak up...
TED Talks
Marc Bamuthi Joseph: "You Have the Rite"
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.
TED Talks
TED: What will you tell your daughters about 2016? | Chinaka Hodge
With words like shards of glass, Chinaka Hodge cuts open 2016 and lets 12 months of violence, grief, fear, shame, courage and hope spill out in this original poem about a year none of us will soon forget.
TED Talks
C.K. Williams: Poetry of youth and age
Poet C.K. Williams reads his work at TED2001. As he colors scenes of childhood resentments, college loves, odd neighbors and the literal death of youth, he reminds us of the unique challenges of living.
TED Talks
Aimee Mullins: My 12 pairs of legs
Athlete, actor and activist Aimee Mullins talks about her prosthetic legs -- she's got a dozen amazing pairs -- and the superpowers they grant her: speed, beauty, an extra 6 inches of height ... Quite simply, she redefines what the body...
TED Talks
TED: On time and water | Andri Snær Magnason
Over the next 200 years, we can expect all of the Earth's glaciers to disappear -- unless we act now, says writer Andri Snær Magnason. Telling the story of the Okjökull glacier in Iceland, the first glacier lost to climate change,...
TED Talks
TED: A lyrical bridge between past, present and future | David Whyte
With his signature charm and searching insight, David Whyte meditates on the frontiers of the past, present and future, sharing two poems inspired by his niece's hike along el Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
TED Talks
Rives: A mockingbird remix of TED2006
Rives recaps the most memorable moments of TED2006 in the free-spirited rhyming verse of a fantastical mockingbird lullaby.
TED Talks
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly...
TED Talks
Stew: "Black Men Ski"
What happens when a black man visits Aspen? Singer/songwriter Stew and his band are about to let you know.
TED Talks
Rives: A story of mixed emoticons
Rives tells a typographical fairy tale that's short and bittersweet ;)