Ted Talks Daily

Is capitalism a good thing? Journalist Katherine Mangu-Ward makes the case that “weirdos” left alone to innovate and explore far-out ideas in a free market system are our best hope for the future. She asks us to reconsider our qualms about capitalism, failure and corporate death, analyzing the recent history of General Motors and Facebook to illustrate why we’re better off with a lot less government intervention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reflecting on moments that shaped his life, actor Ethan Hawke examines how courageous expression promotes healing and connection with one another -- and invites you to discover your own unabashed creativity. "There is no path till you walk it," he says. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While doctors take an oath to do no harm, there's a good chance their unconscious biases can seep into how seriously they take your pain. Physician Sheetal DeCaria explains how perception impacts the medical care and treatment of chronic pain -- and calls for health care professionals to check in with how they do their patient checkups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"When teachers and families work together, everyone wins," says education technology entrepreneur and TED Fellow Heejae Lim. She shines a light on an underutilized resource in US public education -- a family's love for their children -- and shows that, with the right tools and tech, schools can remove language barriers, foster meaningful connections and help every student thrive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chemical plants create many of the materials found in everyday items, from the shoes you wear to the car you drive to the cell phone in your pocket. But the massive carbon footprint from chemical manufacturing is leading to climate breakdown. Sustainable engineering researcher Miguel A. Modestino presents his team’s pioneering work on electrochemical engineering -- the design and implementation of new chemical reactions that source their energy directly from electricity, as opposed to fossil fuels -- and explains how it could reduce the world’s dependence on oil and gas, protect its natural treasures and keep the economy humming. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Digital creator Dylan Marron has racked up millions of views for projects like "Every Single Word" and "Sitting in Bathrooms With Trans People" -- but he's found that the flip side of success online is internet hate. Over time, he's developed an unexpected coping mechanism: calling the people who leave him insensitive comments and asking a simple question: "Why did you write that?" In a thoughtful talk about how we interact online, Marron explains how sometimes the most subversive thing you can do is actually speak with people you disagree with, not simply at them. Listen to Dylan's podcast, "Conversations With People Who Hate Me", wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The price of insulin in the US is both outrageous and deadly to those who can't live without it. Diabetes advocate Brooke Bennett shares her own struggles living with type 1 diabetes and how the astronomical cost of a life-saving drug leaves millions struggling to survive. A rallying cry for an affordable and humane livelihood for those with chronic illness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neuroscientist Sergiu P. Pasca has made it his life's work to understand how the human brain builds itself -- and what makes it susceptible to disease. In a mind-blowing talk laden with breakthrough science, he shows how his team figured out how to grow what they call brain "assembloids" -- self-organizing clumps of neural tissue derived from stem cells that have shown the ability to form circuits -- and explains how these miniature parts of the nervous system are bringing us closer to demystifying the brain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With quick wit and sharp insight, writer Jeanette Winterson lays out a vision of the future where human and machine intelligence meld -- forming what she calls “alternative intelligence” -- and takes a philosophical look at our species, asking: Are we smart enough to survive how smart we are? (Followed by a Q&A with TED’s head of curation Helen Walters) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"The metaverse is already on fire, and we haven't even built it yet," says TED Fellow and video game lawyer Micaela Mantegna. She lays out why the metaverse is at risk of inheriting some of the internet's worst traits, like unchecked surveillance -- and shows how we could redirect its fate through new laws grounded in kindness and connection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taking cues from soft robotics and the natural world, conceptual artist Anicka Yi builds lighter-than-air machines that roam and react like autonomous life forms. Her floating “aerobes” inspire us to think about new ways of living with machines -- and to ponder how they could evolve into living creatures. “What if our machines could be more than just our tools, and instead, a new type of companion species?” she asks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone has the right to a clean environment -- but major disparities exist when it comes to who faces the consequences of pollution. Environmental justice leader Peggy Shepard points to the disproportionate impact that hazardous environmental conditions have on Black, brown and Indigenous communities and challenges us to build a truly equitable future that turns "sacrifice zones" -- where community health is sacrificed for the sake of development -- into "green zones" that redress the legacy of pollution and harmful policies. 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.

Plastics are everywhere -- they're in our favorite electronic devices, they package our food and insulate our homes. Today, the total mass of plastic is twice the total mass of all living organisms on the planet, and it's starting to change the processes that allow the Earth's climate system to work. Plastic pollution researcher Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez breaks down the consequences of producing all of this plastic at every stage, from fossil fuel extraction to the disposal of single-use plastics in landfills and oceans. The first step to breaking free of our plastic problem is admitting we have one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can you do to build a better world? Sharing stories from her pioneering career dedicated to tackling poverty, Jacqueline Novogratz offers three principles to spark and sustain a moral revolution. Learn how you can commit (or recommit) to creating big, positive change in your lifetime -- and give back more to the world than you take from it. "It is in the darkest times that we have the chance to find our deepest beauty," Novogratz says. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a list of the least funny topics imaginable, the global refugee crisis, border disputes and questions of citizenship are probably close to the top. And yet comedian Maeve Higgins has spent her career finding ways to make jokes about (and make sense of) the ways we draw lines across the globe. She's a stand-up comedian and writer who speaks from the point of view of an Irish immigrant in the United States. In this excerpt from How to Be a Better Human, a TED Audio Collective podcast hosted by Chris Duffy, Maeve talks about ways we can find funny and eye-opening vantage points to look at the realities and borders of the world, our place in it and how imagination and laughter can help us through tough times. We asked Chris to select a book that he thinks explores these topics more deeply, and he selected "There There" by Tommy Orange. Listen for his recommendation and why he thinks it's "like the best action movie and one of the smartest sociological and historical essays paired together." This episode is par

Have you ever wondered why you like sad music? Do you find comfort or inspiration in rainy days? In this profound, poetic talk, author Susan Cain invites you to embrace the feeling of longing -- or the place where joy and sorrow meet -- as a gateway to creativity, connection and love. Accompanied by the splendid sounds of violinist Min Kym, Cain meditates on how heartache unexpectedly brings us closer to the sublime beauty of life. Afterwards, hear a sneak peak from a conversation with Cain on Amanda Palmer's podcast The Art of Asking Everything, where they discuss her new book "Bittersweet." This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Egan is a journalist and writer whose novel "A Visit from the Goon Squad" won both the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Using a unique format -- including a whole chapter told through Powerpoint -- Egan nimbly explores the mystery and complexity of human life in the digital age. Her newest book, "The Candy House," poses similar questions around technology, memory and authenticity. In this excerpt from The TED Interview, the author talks candidly to host Steven Johnson about her creative process, considers the role of the novelist in a tech-driven world and makes an argument for how fiction can shift our consciousness. This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who are you, really? In conversation with TED science curator David Biello, neuroscientist Anil Seth lays out his fascinating new theory of consciousness and self, centered on the notion that we "predict" the world into existence. From sleep to memory and everything in between, he explores the reality we experience in our brains -- versus the world as it objectively might be. After the talk, stick around for a conversation between Elise and Anil about his new book "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness." This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"From populist demagogues, we will learn the indispensability of democracy," says novelist Elif Shafak. "From isolationists, we will learn the need for global solidarity. And from tribalists, we will learn the beauty of cosmopolitanism." A native of Turkey, she has experienced firsthand the devastation that a loss of diversity can bring -- and she knows the revolutionary power of plurality in response to authoritarianism. In this passionate, personal talk, she reminds us that there are no binaries, in politics, emotions and our identities. After the talk, stick around to hear a conversation between Elise and Elif about her new novel, "The Island of Missing Trees," an intergenerational story about forbidden love. Elise and Elif discuss how fiction creates empathy and how to avoid "falling into the trap of tribalism," even when the world might push us that way. This episode is part of the TED Talks Daily summer book club, a series featuring talks and interviews to inspire your next great read. Hosted on Acast.