TED Talks Daily
- Episodes
- 2,571
- Released
- daily
- Latest episode
- Nov 14, 2026
About the podcast
Want TED Talks on the go? Everyday, this feed brings you our latest talks in audio format. Hear thought-provoking ideas on every subject imaginable – from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology, and everything in between – given by the world's leading thinkers and doers. This collection of talks, given at TED and TEDx conferences around the globe, is also available in video format.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes 2,571
The digital detectives preserving the truth of war | Hadi Al Khatib
A lot of today’s war footage is shot on phones and posted to platforms that were never meant to permanently store it. Digital archivist and TED Fellow Hadi Al Khatib founded Mnemonic to save these photos and …
Show notes
A lot of today’s war footage is shot on phones and posted to platforms that were never meant to permanently store it. Digital archivist and TED Fellow Hadi Al Khatib founded Mnemonic to save these photos and videos before they vanish. Learn how his team is turning people’s social media posts into evidence of crimes that holds up in court — and building an archive that ensures the truth outlasts the war. (Note: this film contains disturbing footage of war.)Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Could this ancient Greek idea make us better citizens? | Scott Reich
More than 2,000 years ago in ancient Athens, young citizens were required to complete “ephebeia,” a two-year civic service program that taught them the laws of the city and how to defend their democracy. Author …
Show notes
More than 2,000 years ago in ancient Athens, young citizens were required to complete “ephebeia,” a two-year civic service program that taught them the laws of the city and how to defend their democracy. Author and historian Scott Reich believes this practice reflects something crucial we often forget: citizens aren’t born — they’re trained. In a hopeful talk, he shares his plan to bring a modern version of this program to the United States and explains why it could benefit everyone.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How we’ll actually ditch fossil fuels — by the numbers | Michael Liebreich
Have you heard the clean energy transition is failing? Energy analyst Michael Liebreich says to look again. Using a four-line spreadsheet model of the global energy system, he shows why fossil fuels will …
Show notes
Have you heard the clean energy transition is failing? Energy analyst Michael Liebreich says to look again. Using a four-line spreadsheet model of the global energy system, he shows why fossil fuels will inevitably get squeezed out over time — with no bans required. The shift is well underway, he explains: it just looks different than many of us expected.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How to repair harm — in relationships and nations | Aria Florant
Aria Florant cofounded a nonprofit to help accelerate the reparations movement in the US … but less than a year in, her partnership with her own cofounder fell apart. Drawing on what brought the two of them …
Show notes
Aria Florant cofounded a nonprofit to help accelerate the reparations movement in the US … but less than a year in, her partnership with her own cofounder fell apart. Drawing on what brought the two of them back together — plus lessons from South Africa, Germany and Colombia — she lays out a four-step process for repairing harm between two people or across an entire nation. Most people think reparations are all about money, she says, but true repair goes far beyond the financial.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Your phone is disgusting. Here's how to clean it | Lotti Tajouri
What’s dirtier: your phone or your hands? Molecular biologist Lotti Tajouri says there’s a gaping hole in our hygiene routine. We scrub our hands clean, then reach right for the phone — a warm, humid and mobile …
Show notes
What’s dirtier: your phone or your hands? Molecular biologist Lotti Tajouri says there’s a gaping hole in our hygiene routine. We scrub our hands clean, then reach right for the phone — a warm, humid and mobile home for bacteria and viruses. He explores the unnervingly vibrant microbial world living on your phone and shows how you can keep this “third hand” clean.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How to rewire your brain — and find your flow | Heather Berlin
When life gets uncertain, do you grip a little tighter? Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explores a surprising paradox: the harder you try to control everything, the more likely you are to get in your own way …
Show notes
When life gets uncertain, do you grip a little tighter? Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explores a surprising paradox: the harder you try to control everything, the more likely you are to get in your own way. Drawing on brain research and her own struggles with uncertainty, she shares practical ways to let go and make room for creativity, calm and flow.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sunday Pick: The science on improving your brain health with Dr. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai
When does normal aging end and something more concerning begins? In this episode Shoshana invites neurologist Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to discuss their studies on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. They debunk myths …
Show notes
When does normal aging end and something more concerning begins? In this episode Shoshana invites neurologist Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to discuss their studies on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. They debunk myths around Alzheimer, discuss what a brain-healthy way of eating looks like, and share why good sleep hygiene is more crucial for brain health than you think
Learn more about TED Health at https://link.mgln.ai/kqazoj
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How to build the next wave of clean energy | Jennifer Granholm, Ryan Panchadsaram
Jennifer Granholm steered Michigan through the auto industry's near-collapse and later ran the US Department of Energy during the largest clean energy investment in the country's history. In conversation with …
Show notes
Jennifer Granholm steered Michigan through the auto industry's near-collapse and later ran the US Department of Energy during the largest clean energy investment in the country's history. In conversation with climate investor Ryan Panchadsaram, she explains why the next chapter of clean energy is all about construction — and why local communities have more power than they may think.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The surprising beauty of mosquitos | Felix Hol
Most people hate mosquitoes, but biotechnologist and TED Fellow Felix Hol thinks they're beautiful. He takes us inside his lab, where his team developed some unusual ways to study how these blood-sucking …
Show notes
Most people hate mosquitoes, but biotechnologist and TED Fellow Felix Hol thinks they're beautiful. He takes us inside his lab, where his team developed some unusual ways to study how these blood-sucking insects find us and feed so fast. He also explains why insecticides may send certain mosquitoes into overdrive — and how we can find smarter ways to curb the diseases they spread.
(Following his story, pulled from a short film he made for TED, Hol speaks with Lily James Olds, director of the TED Fellows program, on why he’s relying on open source to share data and how he’s excited to learn more about mosquitoes navigating different temperature landscapes.)
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Why great art requires risk | Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Robert Vargas
Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth — two of the rock stars behind the legendary band Van Halen — sit down with visual artist Robert Vargas to reveal the two-step recipe for great art: do your homework, then …
Show notes
Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth — two of the rock stars behind the legendary band Van Halen — sit down with visual artist Robert Vargas to reveal the two-step recipe for great art: do your homework, then break every rule. Along the way, they swap stories about heartbreak, good luck charms and why you should rehearse for what goes wrong.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
5 ideas for better government in the US | Jeff Maurer
Should the US Constitution protect your DNA? Your voice? Your data? Entrepreneur Jeff Maurer spent his youth fighting fires alongside World War II veterans, and he thinks the spirit that united them can power …
Show notes
Should the US Constitution protect your DNA? Your voice? Your data? Entrepreneur Jeff Maurer spent his youth fighting fires alongside World War II veterans, and he thinks the spirit that united them can power America's next 250 years. He proposes five new amendments to the US Constitution — from protecting privacy to holding politicians accountable — and shares what it would take to get them passed.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What kids wish their parents knew about fun | Mila Rojas
When was the last time you played, just for fun? Eleven-year-old Mila Rojas has noticed that adults — buried under schedules, expectations and the pressure to be serious — often see play as unproductive. In …
Show notes
When was the last time you played, just for fun? Eleven-year-old Mila Rojas has noticed that adults — buried under schedules, expectations and the pressure to be serious — often see play as unproductive. In this delightful talk, she shows why having fun is key for families to connect and shares some simple ways to bring more joy into everyday life.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The couples therapists who nearly got divorced | Harville Hendrix
Couples therapists Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt spent decades teaching the world how to love well … even as their own marriage was falling apart. In this candid, funny talk, Hendrix recounts the …
Show notes
Couples therapists Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt spent decades teaching the world how to love well … even as their own marriage was falling apart. In this candid, funny talk, Hendrix recounts the yearlong experiment in listening that saved their relationship — and shows how any couple can break the cycle of criticism to rediscover joy.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sunday Pick: Do all my friends secretly hate me? | from Corner Piece
Why does making friends as an adult feel like mission impossible?In today’s Sunday Pick, Corner Piece, host Melissa Fernandes explores what it means to be a friend while grappling with a friendship break up …
Show notes
Why does making friends as an adult feel like mission impossible?
In today’s Sunday Pick, Corner Piece, host Melissa Fernandes explores what it means to be a friend while grappling with a friendship break up. Along the way, she interviews Anna Goldfarb, journalist and author of “Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valuable Connections,” and Dr. Marisa G. Franco, professor and author of “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—And Keep—Friends”. They explain why friendship can get so complicated as you get older and how to build closer bonds. Melissa also explores with her co-hosts Taha Khan and Sabrina Cruz what their different types of friendships mean to them.
Find more episodes of Corner Piece on your favorite podcast app or here: https://link.mgln.ai/9hQ2JB
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The haunting truth of ghost stories | Coya Paz Brownrigg (re-release)
Ghost stories reveal much more than the ghouls and spirits that haunt them. Settle in for a spooky delight as theater educator Coya Paz Brownrigg lays out three types of bone-chilling tales and exhumes the …
Show notes
Ghost stories reveal much more than the ghouls and spirits that haunt them. Settle in for a spooky delight as theater educator Coya Paz Brownrigg lays out three types of bone-chilling tales and exhumes the grave truths they hold about longing, meaning and the cultural value of eerie encounters.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What crows teach us about death | Kaeli Swift (re-release)
Rituals for the dead span much of the natural world, seen in practices from humans and elephants to bees, dolphins and beyond. With charm and playful insight, animal behaviorist Kaeli Swift delves into the life …
Show notes
Rituals for the dead span much of the natural world, seen in practices from humans and elephants to bees, dolphins and beyond. With charm and playful insight, animal behaviorist Kaeli Swift delves into the life (and death) habits of crows and shares what their responses could reveal about our own relationship to mortality.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The razor-thin line between contagion and connection | Dan Taberski (re-release)
After a mysterious wave of tics and twitches swept through a small-town high school in New York, documentary podcaster Dan Taberski set out to investigate what was really happening. Drawing on extensive …
Show notes
After a mysterious wave of tics and twitches swept through a small-town high school in New York, documentary podcaster Dan Taberski set out to investigate what was really happening. Drawing on extensive research and intimate interviews with the people involved, he explores the roots of mass hysteria — and what it reveals about the line between illness and belonging. What happens when the very thing that makes us sick ... is also what connects us?Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The fascinating physics of insect pee | Saad Bhamla (re-release)
Scientist Saad Bhamla is on a mission to answer a question most people don't think to ask: How do insects pee? Taking inspiration from the incredible "butt flickers" of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Bhamla …
Show notes
Scientist Saad Bhamla is on a mission to answer a question most people don't think to ask: How do insects pee? Taking inspiration from the incredible "butt flickers" of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Bhamla presents a fascinating study of the physics behind how bugs take care of business and invites us to be more curious about the seemingly mundane.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Zombie roaches and other parasite tales | Ed Yong (re-release)
In this fascinating, hilarious and ever-so-slightly creepy talk, science writer Ed Yong tells the story of his favorite parasites -- animals and organisms that live on the bodies (and brains!) of other …
Show notes
In this fascinating, hilarious and ever-so-slightly creepy talk, science writer Ed Yong tells the story of his favorite parasites -- animals and organisms that live on the bodies (and brains!) of other organisms, causing them to do their bidding. Do humans have them too? Maybe ...Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How to make friends (and keep them) | Sheridan Voysey
Who could you call at 2am when everything’s gone wrong? Friendship expert Sheridan Voysey believes we’re in a friendship recession, with many of us forgetting how to foster meaningful relationships. He explores …
Show notes
Who could you call at 2am when everything’s gone wrong? Friendship expert Sheridan Voysey believes we’re in a friendship recession, with many of us forgetting how to foster meaningful relationships. He explores three hidden barriers keeping us apart, why it feels harder to make friends as an adult — and how to nurture the deep connections that sustain us.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How fossil fuel companies keep your energy costs high | Jon Powers
Solar energy and storage are the fastest, cheapest ways to add electricity to the grid. So why are small towns across the US pausing or banning these projects? Clean energy entrepreneur Jon Powers shows how …
Show notes
Solar energy and storage are the fastest, cheapest ways to add electricity to the grid. So why are small towns across the US pausing or banning these projects? Clean energy entrepreneur Jon Powers shows how fossil fuel companies are waging disinformation campaigns at the local level — and calls for a rapid-response team that sends trusted messengers (like firefighters and farmers) to get communities straight answers.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How people are using AI to grieve, love and connect | Jennifer Cearns
Many people fear AI is eroding our humanity, replacing real relationships with synthetic ones that leave us lonelier than ever. Digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns believes the opposite may be true. After …
Show notes
Many people fear AI is eroding our humanity, replacing real relationships with synthetic ones that leave us lonelier than ever. Digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns believes the opposite may be true. After talking to hundreds of people who turn to AI for grief, love, friendship and more, she pokes holes in this familiar fear — and hints at what these strange new relationships can teach us about ourselves.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How video games can power up your parenting | Hannah Boquet (re-release)
Parenting an eye-rolling teenager glued to a gaming system is not a simple feat, but what if you could turn screen time into an opportunity for connection? Hannah Boquet shares how she decided to play video …
Show notes
Parenting an eye-rolling teenager glued to a gaming system is not a simple feat, but what if you could turn screen time into an opportunity for connection? Hannah Boquet shares how she decided to play video games with her kids and discovered the power of esports to foster trust, communication and essential life skills. Dive deeper into how you can strengthen family bonds, support your child’s development — and maybe even be considered “cool” by your kid.
(This episode originally aired in 2025.)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Unions for climate action! | Payton M. Wilkins (re-release)
In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet …
Show notes
In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice advocate Payton M. Wilkins thinks we can protect both workers and the planet with an age-old solution: unions. He digs into the economic fallout of ditching fossil fuels and shows why unions are well-positioned to push the transition to clean energy and green jobs.
(This episode originally aired in 2024.)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sunday Pick: Unlocking Your Power at Work: Kara Swisher on how to get what you want | from Fixable
No matter where you fall on the corporate food chain, you have power at work—you just might not know how to use it. In this new series on Unlocking Your Power at Work, Anne and Frances dig into how to discover …
Show notes
No matter where you fall on the corporate food chain, you have power at work—you just might not know how to use it. In this new series on Unlocking Your Power at Work, Anne and Frances dig into how to discover, build, and use your power, explore common power dynamics in the workplace, and learn from people who use their full power with honesty and swagger. Kara Swisher is one of the most influential voices in media and has built a career holding the powerful accountable. In this episode, she reflects with Anne and Frances on her own path to power and what she’s learned from watching some people become corrupted by power while others learn to wield it for good. She also argues that people don’t leave jobs early or often enough, and makes the case for pursuing more than just the opportunities that are offered to you.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The pursuit of happiness requires free time | Danielle Roberts
Do you feel short on time? Writer and work expert Danielle Roberts would like to help you with that. In this quick talk, she makes the case that free time isn't a reward you earn but a civil right you're owed …
Show notes
Do you feel short on time? Writer and work expert Danielle Roberts would like to help you with that. In this quick talk, she makes the case that free time isn't a reward you earn but a civil right you're owed.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Can you spot the lies in your news feed? | Laura Smythe
Laura Smythe spent years in legacy newsrooms, and she thinks the habits journalists use to vet information should belong to all of us. Using Fyre Festival as a cautionary tale, she explains why media literacy …
Show notes
Laura Smythe spent years in legacy newsrooms, and she thinks the habits journalists use to vet information should belong to all of us. Using Fyre Festival as a cautionary tale, she explains why media literacy is a vital skill in our age of deepfakes and algorithmic feeds — and describes the country that’s already found a way to start teaching it in elementary school.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I can't speak. Here's how I get people to listen | Jessica Irwin
Jessica Irwin is many things: a photographer, artist, author, performer. She also happens to be nonverbal, born with cerebral palsy that affects the muscles she needs to talk. Speaking through a device that …
Show notes
Jessica Irwin is many things: a photographer, artist, author, performer. She also happens to be nonverbal, born with cerebral palsy that affects the muscles she needs to talk. Speaking through a device that turns her typed words into speech, she gives a sharp, funny and urgent reminder that being unable to speak has nothing to do with intelligence — and shares a few easy ways anyone can better communicate with nonverbal people.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How would you design your dream city? | James Rojas
Urban planner James Rojas has led hundreds of workshops where participants creatively design their ideal communities with small objects — and he's noticed that people of every age, income and background build …
Show notes
Urban planner James Rojas has led hundreds of workshops where participants creatively design their ideal communities with small objects — and he's noticed that people of every age, income and background build strikingly similar places. Through play and storytelling, he shows how we can use our childhood memories and imaginations to shape the places we live and love.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why the best learners talk to themselves | Tania Lombrozo
With more information at our fingertips than ever before, learning should be getting easier ... yet the opposite seems to be true, says cognitive scientist Tania Lombrozo. Drawing on her research into how our …
Show notes
With more information at our fingertips than ever before, learning should be getting easier ... yet the opposite seems to be true, says cognitive scientist Tania Lombrozo. Drawing on her research into how our minds understand and reason, she explores why more information can actually make learning harder — and shares the critical skill all great learners possess.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
These are the latest 40 of 2,571 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
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