TED Talks
TED: Could we replace data centers with … plant DNA? | Cliff Kapono and Keolu Fox
Is it possible to meet the world's seemingly infinite demand for data storage while also caring for the natural environment? Biomedical researcher Keolu Fox and professional surfer and scientist Cliff Kapono believe that Indigenous...
TED Talks
TED: Welcome to the world of audio computers | Jason Rugolo
In an exclusive preview of unreleased technology, designer and inventor Jason Rugolo unveils an entirely new kind of computer you can talk to like a friend. This "audio computer" — which can augment the sounds around you, translate...
PBS
How ‘chatty benches’ are building connections and combating loneliness in Britain
Mental health experts believe one of the long-term consequences of lockdowns during the COVID pandemic is an increase in loneliness. In Britain, communities are trying to combat people’s isolation by introducing so-called chatty benches...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What happens if you don't put your phone in airplane mode? | Lindsay DeMarchi
Right now, invisible signals are flying through the air all around you. Massive radio waves carry information between computers, GPS systems, cell phones, and more. And the sky is flooded with interference from routers, satellites, and,...
TED Talks
TED: Climate action is on the cusp of exponential growth | Simon Stiell
Climate action is speeding up -- and we each have the power to push that transformation forward. As the head of the UNFCCC, the UN's entity supporting the global response to climate change, Simon Stiell points to clear social and...
SciShow
Unexpected Ways Scientists Use GPS
GPS devices aren't just for keeping you from driving into a lake. They're also helping lots of scientists in unexpected ways.
PBS
Why Americans are lonelier and its effects on our health
According to U.S. Census Bureau surveys, Americans have been spending less time with friends and more time alone since before the pandemic, which has only intensified the sense of social isolation. Laurie Santos, a cognitive scientist...
PBS
Your phone is trying to control your life
Whether you're killing time in line at Starbucks or scrolling through an endless meme stream on Twitter, your smartphone is trying to seduce you. Former Google employee Tristan Harris felt something needed to be done to combat tech...
PBS
Your phone is trying to control your life
Whether you're killing time in line at Starbucks or scrolling through an endless meme stream on Twitter, your smartphone is trying to seduce you. Former Google employee Tristan Harris felt something needed to be done to combat tech...
Crash Course
Media Ownership: Crash Course Media Literacy
We’ve talked about how broad a concept “the media” really is – and given that, it can be hard to keep track of all the different forces that constitute “the media.” It can be tough, but it’s not impossible. Today we’re talking about how...
SciShow
Are You Really Addicted to Your Phone?
Are millennials addicted to their phones? Is that even a thing that can happen?!
TED Talks
Clay Shirky: How social media can make history
While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing...
SciShow
No Phones Arent Giving Kids Horns Seriously
You might have seen this story circulating on social media…but we’re here to let you know that children are NOT growing horns because they use cellphones. This is a great opportunity to learn from what can happen when both peer review...
TED Talks
TED: Tools for a better world | Jamais Cascio
We all want to make the world better -- but how? Jamais Cascio looks at some specific tools and techniques that can make a difference. It's a fascinating talk that might just inspire you to act.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What's a smartphone made of? - Kim Preshoff
As of 2018, there are around 2.5 billion smartphone users in the world. If we broke open all the newest phones and split them into their component parts, that would produce around 85,000 kg of gold, 875,000 of silver, and 40,000,000 of...
PBS
Is Instagram Revolutionizing Photography?
With its ability to make boring cellphone photos look "vintage" and "artsy", the mobile application Instagram has exploded worldwide. Derided by its detractors as a tool for making bad photos worse, we take an alternate view and argue...
TED Talks
TED: You don't need an app for that | Toby Shapshak
Are the simplest phones the smartest? While the rest of the world is updating statuses and playing games on smartphones, Africa is developing useful SMS-based solutions to everyday needs, says journalist Toby Shapshak. In this...
SciShow
Does Using Your Phone Really Hurt Your Sleep?
You've probably heard that some types of light, like the kind that comes from your phone or laptop, can be bad for your sleep if you use them too close to bedtime. But let's be real, nighttime is the best time to binge TV, so are we...
TED Talks
Kevin Kelly: The next 5,000 days of the web
At the 2007 EG conference, Kevin Kelly shares a fun stat: The World Wide Web, as we know it, is only 5,000 days old. Now, Kelly asks, how can we predict what's coming in the next 5,000 days?
TED Talks
TED: Your phone company is watching | Malte Spitz
What kind of data is your cell phone company collecting? Malte Spitz wasn’t too worried when he asked his operator in Germany to share information stored about him. Multiple unanswered requests and a lawsuit later, Spitz received 35,830...
TED Talks
Bandi Mbubi: Demand a fair trade cell phone
Your mobile phone, computer and game console have a bloody past — tied to tantalum mining, which funds the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Drawing on his personal story, activist and refugee Bandi Mbubi gives a stirring call...
3Blue1Brown
The DP-3T algorithm for contact tracing (via Nicky Case)
An overview of a simplified version of the DP-3T algorithm for privacy-first contact-tracing
TED Talks
Eva Galperin: What you need to know about stalkerware
"Full access to a person's phone is the next best thing to full access to a person's mind," says cybersecurity expert Eva Galperin. In an urgent talk, she describes the emerging danger of stalkerware -- software designed to spy on...
SciShow
Why Can't You Use Your Phone on a Plane?
Whether you've got the latest iPhone or the same flip phone you've had since 2002, you're still asked to turn off your device before take off. Why is that?