Ted Talks Daily

Popular music is often riddled with misogynistic lyrics that objectify and demean women ... so why are we listening and dancing to it? Performing a sample of her original song "Top Knot Turn Up" and sharing clips from her female-directed music video of "See Me Thru," activist and musician Madame Gandhi explains why she's making sex-positive music that doesn't contribute to anyone's oppression -- and calls on music lovers to get down to tunes that empower everyone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The path to better food is paved with data, says entrepreneur Erin Baumgartner. Drawing from her experience running a farm-to-table business, she outlines her plan to help create a healthier, zero-waste food system that values the quality and taste of small, local farm harvests over factory-farmed produce. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From mourning orcas to distressed elephants, biological anthropologist Barbara J. King has witnessed grief and love across the animal kingdom. In this eye-opening talk, she explains the evidence behind her belief that many animals experience complex emotions, and suggests ways all of us can treat them more ethically -- including every time we eat. "Animals don't grieve exactly like we do, but this doesn't mean that their grief isn't real," she says. "It is real, and it's searing, and we can see it if we choose." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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?" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to help map the world? Community builder Rebecca Firth explains how the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is using open-source software powered by volunteers to put one billion people on the map in the next five years. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah Brencher's mother always wrote her letters. So when she felt herself bottom into depression after college, she did what felt natural -- she wrote love letters and left them for strangers to find. The act has become a global initiative, The World Needs More Love Letters, which rushes handwritten letters to those in need of a boost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consider the following scenario: a highly infectious, sometimes deadly respiratory virus infects humans for the first time. It spreads rapidly worldwide, and the WHO declares a pandemic. The death toll starts to rise and everyone is asking the same question: when will the pandemic end? Alex Rosenthal details the three main strategies governments can use to contain and end a pandemic. [Directed by Visorama, narrated by Jack Cutmore-Scott, music by Bamm Bamm Wolfgang]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can you hear in silence? In this exploration of sound, host of the podcast "Twenty Thousand Hertz" Dallas Taylor tells the story of arguably the most debated musical composition in recent history -- composer John Cage's iconic piece 4'33" -- and invites you to take notice of the soundscape around you. Watch to the end to experience a performance of 4'33''. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At age 16, journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas found out he was in the United States illegally. Since then, he’s been thinking deeply about immigration and what it means to be a US citizen -- whether it’s by birth, law or otherwise. In this powerful talk, Vargas calls for a shift in how we think about citizenship and encourages us all to reconsider our personal histories by answering three questions: Where did you come from? How did you get here? Who paid? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have archives of films, newspapers, even seeds -- what if we could make one for the entire surface of the earth? Drawing on his experience mapping an ancient city in the Honduran jungle, archaeologist Chris Fisher makes the case for scanning the whole planet with LiDAR -- a technology that uses lasers shot from an airplane to map the ground -- in order to preserve our cultural and ecological heritage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"In a world" -- our world -- movie trailers have undergone a massive evolution. The booming voice-of-God narration of the '80s and '90s has been silenced in favor of boojes and bwaas. In this episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz, host and sound design expert Dallas Taylor is joined by guests who share the history of trailers and a hilarious takedown of the sounds and dialogue that are common in the modern trailer style. You'll never be able to watch a blockbuster trailer the same way again. Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast revealing the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds, is a new member of the TED family of podcasts. Listen or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to learn a new language but feel daunted or unsure where to begin? You don't need some special talent or a "language gene," says Lýdia Machová. In an upbeat, inspiring talk, she reveals the secrets of polyglots (people who speak multiple languages) and shares four principles to help unlock your own hidden language talent -- and have fun while doing it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As kids, we all get advice from parents and teachers that seems strange, even confusing. This was crystallized one night for a young Clint Smith, who was playing with water guns in a dark parking lot with his white friends. In a heartfelt piece, the poet paints the scene of his father's furious and fearful response. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of ZigZag, host Manoush Zomorodi is joined by Eric Ries, who went from writing Silicon Valley's bible to building a stock market for social justice. Together, they examine why quarterly earnings reports cause anti-social behavior and how a new stock exchange in the US might present a systemic solution. As Eric says, this "will serve as inspiration to a new generation of civic entrepreneurs who will say: We don't have to take the institutions of our society as a given. We could try to build new and better ones." ZigZag, the business show about being human, is now a member of the TED family of podcasts. Listen or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 400 years ago, a tiny town in Germany made a bargain with God: spare its people from the Black Plague and we'll put on a play in your honor... forever. And it worked! Now every decade, the entire town comes together to stage the play, drawing massive crowds to one of the largest religious spectacles in the world. But problematic parts of the play have been challenged, and tensions rise when a new voice tries to update a 2,000-year-old story with help from some unexpected allies. (Audio only) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You use your brain's executive function every day -- it's how you do things like pay attention, plan ahead and control impulses. Can you improve it to change for the better? With highlights from her research on child development, cognitive scientist Sabine Doebel explores the factors that affect executive function -- and how you can use it to break bad habits and achieve your goals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly — as we've seen in the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, in Staten Island, New York. Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. In a funny, impassioned, important talk, she shows us how. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things are pretty shocking out there right now -- record-breaking storms, deadly terror attacks, thousands of migrants disappearing beneath the waves and openly supremacist movements rising. Are we responding with the urgency that these overlapping crises demand from us? Journalist and activist Naomi Klein studies how governments use large-scale shocks to push societies backward. She shares a few propositions from "The Leap" -- a manifesto she wrote alongside indigenous elders, climate change activists, union leaders and others from different backgrounds -- which envisions a world after we've already made the transition to a clean economy and a much fairer society. "The shocking events that fill us with dread today can transform us, and they can transform the world for the better," Klein says. "But first we need to picture the world that we're fighting for. And we have to dream it up together." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marine biologist, fish ecologist and self-confessed ocean optimist Steve Simpson explains the intricate sounds that exist in our oceans -- and why listening to this soundtrack can help us protect it. This talk was filmed at TEDxExeter. All TEDx events are organized independently by volunteers in the spirit of TED's mission of ideas worth spreading. With TED's podcast TEDx SHORTS, start each day with short, eye-opening ideas from some of the world's greatest TEDx speakers. Listen or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Far-UVC light is a type of ultraviolet light that kills microbes and viruses and, crucially, seems to be safe to use around humans. Radiation scientist David Brenner describes how we could use this light to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, in hospitals, nursing homes, trains and other public indoor spaces -- paving the way for a potentially game-changing tool in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TED science curator David Biello, was recorded July 7, 2020.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.