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TED Talks Daily

Every weekday, TED Talks Daily brings you the latest talks in audio. Join host and journalist Elise Hu for thought-provoking ideas on every subject imaginable — from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology, and everything in between — given by the world's leading thinkers and creators. With TED Talks Daily, find some space in your day to change your perspectives, ignite your curiosity, and learn something new.

The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change | Rose M. Mutiso

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 07:33

In this perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint.

I stepped out of grief -- by dancing with fire | Danielle Torley

TED Talks Daily

  • 910 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 14:05

After losing her mother in a house fire when she was just six years old, Danielle Torley saw two paths before her: a life full of fear, or one that promised healing and recovery. In this inspiring talk, she describes how she turned her grief into beauty in a most unexpected way -- by dancing with fire.

Lessons on leaving the world better than you found it | Sophie Howe

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 07:10

Sophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for delivering long-term change. She describes some of the people-focused policies she's helped implement in Wales, aimed at cutting carbon emissions, increasing sustainability and promoting well-being as a national goal.

"A Bird Made of Birds" | Sarah Kay

TED Talks Daily

  • 7.7K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 05:46

"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 podcast "Sincerely, X." Listen on the Luminary podcast app at luminary.link/ted)

What's a snollygoster? A short lesson in political speak | Mark Forsyth

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.1K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 06:32

Most politicians choose their words carefully, to shape the reality they hope to create. But does it work? Etymologist Mark Forsyth shares a few entertaining word-origin stories from British and American history (for instance, did you ever wonder how George Washington became "president"?) and draws a surprising conclusion.

How to decarbonize the grid and electrify everything | John Doerr and Hal Harvey

TED Talks Daily

  • 900 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 21:01

"The good news is it's now clearly cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it," says engineer and investor John Doerr. "The bad news is: we are fast running out of time." In this conversation with climate policy expert Hal Harvey, the two sustainability leaders discuss why humanity has to act globally, at speed and at scale, to meet the staggering challenge of decarbonizing the global economy (which has only ever increased emissions throughout history) -- and share helpful examples of promising energy solutions from around the world.

What crows teach us about death | Kaeli Swift

TED Talks Daily

  • 950 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 12:55

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.

How to foster productive and responsible debate | Ishan Bhabha

TED Talks Daily

  • 980 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 11:05

The clash of ideas is fundamental to creativity and progress, but it can also be deeply destructive and create divisions within companies, communities and families. How do you foster productive debate while protecting against harmful speech and misinformation? Constitutional lawyer Ishan Bhabha lays out structures that organizations can use to navigate ideological disagreement and responsibly bring facts and context to a larger dialogue.

The case for stubborn optimism on climate | Christiana Figueres

TED Talks Daily

  • 1K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 14:09

"This decade is a moment of choice unlike any we have ever lived," says Christiana Figueres, the architect of the historic 2015 Paris Agreement. The daughter of Costa Rica's beloved President José Figueres Ferrer, she shares how her father's unwillingness to lose the country he loved taught her how stubborn optimism can catalyze action and change. With an unshakeable determination to fight for the generations that will come after us, Figueres describes what stubborn optimism is (and isn't) -- and urges everyone to envision and work for the future they want for humanity.

The Great Migration and the power of a single decision | Isabel Wilkerson

TED Talks Daily

  • 3.4K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 18:48

Sometimes, a single decision can change the course of history. Join journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson as she tells the story of the Great Migration, the outpouring of six million African Americans from the Jim Crow South to cities in the North and West between World War I and the 1970s. This was the first time in American history that the lowest caste people signaled they had options and were willing to take them -- and the first time they had a chance to choose for themselves what they would do with their innate talents, Wilkerson explains. "These people, by their actions, were able to do what the powers that be, North and South, could not or would not do," she says. "They freed themselves."

Climate change is becoming a problem you can taste | Amanda Little

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.8K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 13:53

Our food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and introduces us to the farmers, entrepreneurs and engineers who are radically rethinking what we grow and how we eat, combining traditional agriculture with state-of-the-art technology to create a robust, resilient and sustainable food future.

Sexual assault, shame and teaching kids to ask for help | Kristin Jones

TED Talks Daily

  • 990 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 14:01

Sexual assault is never the victim's fault, says advocate Kristin Jones. In this courageous talk, she tells her story of overcoming the shame that followed sexual abuse as a teenager -- and shares how parents can foster an open conversation about abuse to empower kids and encourage them to ask for help. (This talk contains mature content)

How to be a good ancestor | Roman Krznaric

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.4K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 09:21

Our descendants own the future, but the decisions and actions we make now will tremendously impact generations to come, says philosopher Roman Krznaric. From a global campaign to grant legal personhood to nature to a groundbreaking lawsuit by a coalition of young activists, Krznaric shares examples of ways we can become good ancestors -- or, as he calls them, "Time Rebels" -- and join a movement redefining lifespans, pursuing intergenerational justice and practicing deep love for the planet.

Apple's promise to be carbon neutral by 2030 | Lisa Jackson and Liz Ogbu

TED Talks Daily

  • 1K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 07:11

Under the leadership of Lisa Jackson, Apple's environment and social VP and former head of the EPA, the company is already carbon neutral within their own corporate and retail boundaries. By 2030, Apple hopes to extend carbon neutrality to their supply chain and consumers. In conversation with urbanist and spatial justice activist Liz Ogbu, Jackson shares thoughts on leadership, tech, the environment and building a green economy.

How businesses can serve everyone, not just shareholders | Dame Vivian Hunt

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.4K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 15:40

Companies worldwide are pledging to play a more meaningful role in the well-being of their employees, customers and the environment. How can they turn their promises into action? From creating a representative boardroom to committing to measurable sustainability goals, business leader Dame Vivian Hunt discusses the necessary changes companies can make to embrace stakeholder capitalism -- and shares how it could change business for good.

Amazon's climate pledge to be net-zero by 2040 | Dave Clark and Kara Hurst

TED Talks Daily

  • 970 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 06:46

In 2019, Amazon signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to become a net-zero carbon business by 2040. Dave Clark, Amazon's chief of consumer retail, and Kara Hurst, head of the company's sustainability efforts, sit down with entrepreneur and activist Lindsay Levin to discuss how the company is planning to reduce its carbon footprint across all aspects of business -- while inviting other companies to join them in this transformation.

The race to a zero-emission world starts now | António Guterres

TED Talks Daily

  • 890 views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 06:09

"If we don't act now on climate change, this coming century may be one of humanity's last," says António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres urges us to use this moment to rebuild with ambitious climate action in mind -- and lays out a blueprint for getting companies, governments and countries to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. "We can only win the race to zero together," he says. "I urge you all to get on board."

The global movement to restore nature's biodiversity | Thomas Crowther

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.7K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 13:36

Biodiversity is the key to life on Earth and reviving our damaged planet, says ecologist Thomas Crowther. Sharing the inside story of his headline-making research on reforestation, which led to the UN's viral Trillion Trees Campaign, Crowther introduces Restor: an expansive, informative platform built to enable anyone, anywhere to help restore the biodiversity of Earth's ecosystems.

Make your actions on climate reflect your words | Severn Cullis-Suzuki

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 08:46

"History has shown us that in moments of crisis, society can truly transform," says environmental educator Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Nearly 30 years ago, at just 12 years old, she spoke at the UN's Earth Summit in hopes of reversing the planet's slide into ecological disaster. Some at the summit listened and took radical action, but for the rest of the world, it was business, politics and full-steam-ahead economic growth. Now, Cullis-Suzuki shares another warning about the future, this time informed by the COVID-19 crisis -- and urges us all to make our actions on climate change reflect our words.

10 years to transform the future of humanity -- or destabilize the planet | Johan Rockström

TED Talks Daily

  • 1.3K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 08:53

"For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet," says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of the 15 big biophysical systems that regulate the climate -- from the permafrost of Siberia to the great forests of the North to the Amazon rainforest -- are at risk of reaching tipping points, which could make Earth uninhabitable for humanity. Hear his plan for putting the planet back on the path of sustainability over the next 10 years -- and protecting the future of our children.