TED Talks
TED: 3 ways to spot a bad statistic | Mona Chalabi
Sometimes it's hard to know what statistics are worthy of trust. But we shouldn't count out stats altogether ... instead, we should learn to look behind them. In this delightful, hilarious talk, data journalist Mona Chalabi shares handy...
TED Talks
Marco Tempest: The electric rise and fall of Nikola Tesla
Combining projection mapping and a pop-up book, Marco Tempest tells the visually arresting story of Nikola Tesla -- called "the greatest geek who ever lived" -- from his triumphant invention of alternating current to his penniless last...
TED Talks
Rick Smolan: The story of a girl
Photographer Rick Smolan tells the unforgettable story of a young Amerasian girl, a fateful photograph, and an adoption saga with a twist.
TED Talks
Doris Kearns Goodwin: Lessons from past presidents
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about what we can learn from American presidents, including Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson. Then she shares a moving memory of her own father, and of their shared love of baseball.
TED Talks
TED: Stop being a bystander in your own life | Tracy Edwards
Life doesn't go from A to B -- it's messy, says sailing legend Tracy Edwards. In this inspiring talk, she tells how she went from teenage misfit to skipper of the first all-female crew in the toughest race on the seas -- and how she now...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The tale of the boy who tricked the Devil | Iseult Gillespie
In a small town, a proud mother showed off her newborn son. Upon noticing his lucky birthmark, townsfolk predicted he would marry a princess. But soon, these rumors reached the wicked king. Enraged, the king stole the child away, and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of Gawain and the Green Knight | Dan Kwartler
It was Christmas in Camelot and King Arthur was throwing a party. In the midst of the revelry, a towering knight proposed a game. He challenged the warriors present to attack him with his own axe. If they could strike him down, they...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of Pegasus and the chimera | Iseult Gillespie
Shielded from the gorgon's stone gaze, Perseus crept through Medusa's cave. When he reached her, he drew his sickle and brought it down on her neck. From Medusa's neck sprung two children. One was a giant wielding a golden sword; the...
TED Talks
Frans Lanting: The story of life in photographs
In this stunning slideshow, celebrated nature photographer Frans Lanting presents The LIFE Project, a poetic collection of photographs that tell the story of our planet, from its eruptive beginnings to its present diversity. Soundtrack...
TED Talks
Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge
TED Fellow Sophal Ear shares the compelling story of his family's escape from Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. He recounts his mother's cunning and determination to save her children.
TED Talks
TED: The secret to mastering life's biggest transitions | Bruce Feiler
How do you navigate life's growing number of transitions with meaning, purpose and skill? Writer Bruce Feiler offers a powerful way to handle uncertain, painful and confusing times -- or "lifequakes", as he calls them. Learn how to equip...
TED Talks
George Dyson: The story of Project Orion
Author George Dyson spins the story of Project Orion, a massive, nuclear-powered spacecraft that could have taken us to Saturn in five years. His insider’s perspective and a secret cache of documents bring an Atomic Age dream to life.
TED Talks
TED: What fear can teach us | Karen Thompson Walker
Imagine you're a shipwrecked sailor adrift in the enormous Pacific. You can choose one of three directions and save yourself and your shipmates -- but each choice comes with a fearful consequence too. How do you choose? In telling the...
TED-Ed
Savitri and Satyavan: The legend of the princess who outwitted Death | Iseult Gillespie
Princess Savitri was benevolent, brilliant, and bright. Her grace was known throughout the land, and many princes and merchants flocked to her family's palace to seek her hand in marriage. But upon witnessing her blinding splendor in...
TED Talks
TED: How film created hope after the Beirut port explosion | Mounia Akl
When Lebanon was rocked by a massive explosion at the port of Beirut, filmmaker Mounia Akl came face-to-face with chaos -- and the power of art to create some sense of order. In this poetic, moving talk, Akl shares the story of how she...
TED Talks
Carmen Agra Deedy: Once upon a time, my mother ...
Storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy spins a funny, wise and luminous tale of parents and kids, starring her Cuban mother. Settle in and enjoy the ride -- Mama's driving!
TED Talks
Anand Giridharadas: A tale of two Americas. And the mini-mart where they collided
Ten days after 9/11, a shocking attack at a Texas mini-mart shattered the lives of two men: the victim and the attacker. In this stunning talk, Anand Giridharadas, author of "The True American," tells the story of what happened next....
TED Talks
Dave Isay: Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear
Dave Isay opened the first StoryCorps booth in New York’s Grand Central Terminal in 2003 with the intention of creating a quiet place where a person could honor someone who mattered to them by listening to their story. Since then,...
TED Talks
TED: The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker's Comma Queen | Mary Norris
Copy editing for The New Yorker is like playing shortstop for a Major League Baseball team -- every little movement gets picked over by the critics, says Mary Norris, who has played the position for more than thirty years. In that time,...
TED Talks
TED: Fun, fierce and fantastical African art | Wanuri Kahiu
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. We're so used to narratives out of Africa being about war, poverty and devastation, says TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu....
TED Talks
TED: 4 larger-than-life lessons from soap operas | Kate Adams
Soap operas and telenovelas may be (ahem) overdramatic, but as Kate Adams shows us, their exaggerated stories and characters often cast light on the problems of real life. In this sparkling, funny talk, Adams, a former assistant casting...
TED Talks
Mena Trott: Meet the founder of the blog revolution
The founding mother of the blog revolution, Movable Type's Mena Trott, talks about the early days of blogging, when she realized that giving regular people the power to share our lives online is the key to building a friendlier, more...
TED Talks
TED: The trick to regaining your childlike wonder | Zach King
When we ditch our assumptions, new ideas can enter the world, says filmmaker Zach King. In an entertaining talk full of props and surprises, King shows us the trick to regaining our sense of childlike wonder through the power of...
TED Talks
Jarrett J. Krosoczka: How a boy became an artist
This talk paints the funny and touching story of a little boy who pursued a simple passion: to draw and write stories. With the help of a supporting cast of family and teachers, Jarrett J. Krosoczka tells how he grew up to create beloved...