TED Talks
Joshua Prince-Ramus: Building a theater that remakes itself
Can architects re-engineer their design process? Joshua Prince-Ramus shows how the results can be spectacular. He walks us through his fantastic re-creation of the Wyly Theater as a giant "theatrical machine" that reconfigures itself at...
TED Talks
TED: Adventures of an interplanetary architect | Xavier De Kestelier
How will we live elsewhere in the galaxy? On earth, natural resources for creating structures are abundant, but sending these materials up with us to the Moon or Mars is clunky and cost-prohibitive. enter architect Xavier De Kestelier,...
TED Talks
Jennifer 8. Lee: Why 1.5 billion people eat with chopsticks
Author Jennifer 8. Lee explains how the chopstick spread from the East to the West -- and was designed to give you the perfect bite.
TED Talks
TED: A feminist reimagining of Kenya's public transport | Naomi Mwaura
Kenya's minibuses -- known as "matatus" -- offer a convenient, affordable and colorful way for people to get around. But they also pose safety risks and accessibility issues for many of their passengers, especially women. Bringing a...
TED Talks
Sting: How I started writing songs again
Sting's early life was dominated by a shipyard—and he dreamed of nothing more than escaping the industrial drudgery. But after a nasty bout of writer's block that stretched on for years, Sting found himself channeling the stories of the...
TED Talks
TED: Insightful human portraits made from data | R. Luke DuBois
Artist R. Luke DuBois makes unique portraits of presidents, cities, himself and even Britney Spears using data and personality. In this talk, he shares nine projects -- from maps of the country built using information taken from millions...
TED Talks
TED: How kids can help design cities | Mara Mintzer
Adults tend to think of kids as "future citizens" -- their ideas and opinions will matter someday, just not today. But kids make up a quarter of the population, so shouldn't they have a say in what the world they'll inherit will look...
TED Talks
TED: Why you should love statistics | Alan Smith
Think you're good at guessing stats? Guess again. Whether we consider ourselves math people or not, our ability to understand and work with numbers is terribly limited, says data visualization expert Alan Smith. In this delightful talk,...
TED Talks
TED: Are video calls the best we can do in the age of the metaverse? | Josephine Eyre
Remote work, while redefining the workplace landscape, seems stuck behind endless video conference calls that hinder free-flowing conversation and collaboration. In the 21st century, is that really the best we can do? Digital...
TED Talks
Moshe Safdie: Building uniqueness
Looking back over his long career, architect Moshe Safdie delves into four of his design projects and explains how he labored to make each one truly unique for its site and its users.
TED Talks
Eva Zeisel: The playful search for beauty
The ceramics designer Eva Zeisel looks back on a 75-year career. What keeps her work as fresh today (her latest line debuted in 2008) as in 1926? Her sense of play and beauty, and her drive for adventure. Listen for stories from a rich,...
TED Talks
Golan Levin: Art that looks back at you
Golan Levin, an artist and engineer, uses modern tools -- robotics, new software, cognitive research -- to make artworks that surprise and delight. Watch as sounds become shapes, bodies create paintings, and a curious eye looks back at...
TED Talks
Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite!
Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension -- and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we're caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for...
TED Talks
Shilo Shiv Suleman: Using tech to enable dreaming
Has our technology -- our cell phones and iPods and cameras -- stopped us from dreaming? Young artist Shilo Shiv Suleman says no, as she demos "Khoya," her new storybook for iPad, which floats us through a magical world in 7 minutes of...
TED Talks
Rob Legato: The art of creating awe
Rob Legato creates movie effects so good they (sometimes) trump the real thing. In this warm and funny talk, he shares his vision for enhancing reality on-screen in movies like Apollo 13, Titanic and Hugo.
TED Talks
Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don't have one true calling
What do you want to be when you grow up? Well, if you're not sure you want to do just one thing for the rest of your life, you're not alone. In this illuminating talk, writer and artist Emilie Wapnick describes the kind of people she...
TED Talks
TED: How architecture can create dignity for all | John Cary
If architect and writer John Cary has his way, women will never need to stand in pointlessly long bathroom lines again. Lines like these are representative of a more serious issue, Cary says: the lack of diversity in design that leads to...
TED Talks
TED: Our moral imperative to act on climate change -- and 3 steps we can take | His Holiness Pope Francis
The global climate crisis will require us to transform the way we act, says His Holiness Pope Francis. Delivering a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City, the spiritual leader proposes three courses of action to address the world's...
TED Talks
TED: What to do when climate change feels unstoppable | Clover Hogan
TED talks about what to do when climate change feels unstoppable | Clover Hogan
TED Talks
TED: What farmers need to be modern, climate-friendly and profitable | Beth Ford
TED talks about what farmers need to be modern, climate-friendly and profitable
TED Talks
TED: Beautiful new words to describe obscure emotions | John Koenig
John Koenig loves finding words that express our unarticulated feelings -- like "lachesism," the hunger for disaster, and "sonder," the realization that everyone else's lives are as complex and unknowable as our own. Here, he meditates...
TED Talks
David Kelley: How to build your creative confidence
Is your school or workplace divided between the "creatives" versus the practical people? Yet surely, David Kelley suggests, creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few. Telling stories from his legendary design career and his own...
TED Talks
Phil Hansen: Embrace the shake
In art school, Phil Hansen developed an unruly tremor in his hand that kept him from creating the pointillist drawings he loved. Hansen was devastated, floating without a sense of purpose. Until a neurologist made a simple suggestion:...
TED Talks
TED: Two reasons companies fail -- and how to avoid them | Knut Haanaes
Is it possible to run a company and reinvent it at the same time? For business strategist Knut Haanaes, the ability to innovate after becoming successful is the mark of a great organization. He shares insights on how to strike a balance...