TED Talks
Regina Dugan: From mach-20 glider to hummingbird drone
"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" asks Regina Dugan, then director of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In this breathtaking talk she describes some of the extraordinary projects -- a...
TED Talks
David Rockwell: A memorial at Ground Zero
In this emotionally charged conversation with journalist Kurt Andersen, designer David Rockwell discusses the process of building a viewing platform at Ground Zero shortly after 9/11.
TED Talks
Mieux qu’un bonheur imbécile, une colère utile
Mieux qu’un bonheur imbécile, une colère utile À l'ère de la dictature du bonheur et de la menace d'effondrement, Mathilde Ramadier, écrivaine, rappelle l'importance d'une émotion « négative » qu'on a trop tendance à réprimer : la...
TED Talks
TED: The most mysterious star in the universe | Tabetha Boyajian
Something massive, with roughly 1,000 times the area of earth, is blocking the light coming from a distant star known as KIC 8462852, and nobody is quite sure what it is. As astronomer Tabetha Boyajian investigated this perplexing...
TED Talks
Frans Lanting: Photos that give voice to the animal kingdom
Nature photographer Frans Lanting uses vibrant images to take us deep into the animal world. In this short, visual talk he calls for us to reconnect with other earthly creatures, and to shed the metaphorical skins that separate us from...
TED Talks
TED: Whose land are you on? What to know about the Indigenous Land Back movement | Lindsey Schneider
Land thrives in Indigenous hands, and there are real, tangible ways you can help return what was stolen by colonizers from tribes across North America. Indigenous scholar Lindsey Schneider addresses the ill-gotten legacy of settler...
Be Smart
How Poop Shapes the World
Waste not, want not.... right? Poop, in all of its various forms throughout nature, shapes the world in ways you might not imagine. One creature's waste is another's fuel, and all over nature these leftovers help new life spring up....
TED Talks
Jonathan Trent: Energy from floating algae pods
Call it "fuel without fossils": Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. Hear his team's bold vision for Project OMEGA (Offshore Membrane...
Be Smart
What Are The Most Important Science Images Ever?
Science isn't always a visual medium, but I think it's most important moments have often been captured in photos and illustrations. I picked out some of my favorite science images from history.
TED Talks
TED: How I became part sea urchin | Catherine Mohr
As a young scientist, Catherine Mohr was on her dream scuba trip -- when she put her hand right down on a spiny sea urchin. While a school of sharks circled above. What happened next? More than you can possibly imagine. Settle in for...
TED Talks
Noah Wilson-Rich: Every city needs healthy honey bees
Bees have been rapidly and mysteriously disappearing from rural areas, with grave implications for agriculture. But bees seem to flourish in urban environments -- and cities need their help, too. Noah Wilson-Rich suggests that urban...
TED Talks
Anna Deavere Smith: Four American characters
Writer and actor Anna Deavere Smith gives life to author Studs Terkel, convict Paulette Jenkins, a Korean shopkeeper and a bull rider, excerpts from her solo show "On the Road: A Search for American Character."
TED Talks
Victor Vescovo: What's at the bottom of the ocean -- and how we're getting there
Victor Vescovo is leading the first-ever manned expedition to the deepest point of each of the world's five oceans. In conversation with TED science curator David Biello, Vescovo discusses the technology that's powering the explorations...
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: Can the metaverse bring us closer to wildlife? | Gautam Shah
Technologist and TED Fellow Gautam Shah invites us to imagine how the metaverse could redefine the relationships between humans and other species. By giving individual wild animals a personal identity (such as Fio, a young orangutan in...
SciShow
This One’s for the Birds: Your Bird Questions, Answered | Compilation
You probably don't think much about birds most of the time, but these little former-dinosaurs are amazing! So, here's a collection of videos in which we've tackled our viewers' biggest bird questions!
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Valentin Hammoudi: How tall can a tree grow?
Reaching heights of over 100 meters, Californian sequoias tower over Earth's other 60,000 tree species. But even these behemoths seem to have their limits: no sequoia on record has been able to grow taller than 130 meters. So what...
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
Evan Grant: Making sound visible through cymatics
Evan Grant demonstrates the science and art of cymatics, a process for making soundwaves visible. Useful for analyzing complex sounds (like dolphin calls), it also makes complex and beautiful designs.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What if there were 1 trillion more trees? | Jean-François Bastin
Today humanity produces more than 1,400 tons of carbon every minute. To combat climate change, we need to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and draw down excess CO2 to restore the balance of greenhouse gases. Like all plants, trees consume...
TED Talks
TED: Make your actions on climate reflect your words⇥ | Severn Cullis-Suzuki
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...
TED Talks
Karen Bass: Unseen footage, untamed nature
At TED2012, filmmaker Karen Bass shares some of the astonishing nature footage she's shot for the BBC and National Geographic -- including brand-new, previously unseen footage of the tube-lipped nectar bat, who feeds in a rather unusual...
TED Talks
Abha Dawesar: Life in the "digital now"
One year ago, Abha Dawesar was living in blacked-out Manhattan post-Sandy, scrounging for power to connect. As a novelist, she was struck by this metaphor: Have our lives now become fixated on the drive to digitally connect, while we...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: If you're scared of snakes, watch this | Andrew Whitworth
As of 2021, there are 368 species of viper worldwide. The name comes from the term viviparity, which means giving birth to live young. Vipers are often highly venomous, with two hollow, extra long fangs that unfold into imposing weapons...