TEDTalks Audio

Each year, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference hosts some of the world's most fascinating people: Trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. These podcasts (also available in audio format) capture the most extraordinary presentations delivered from the TED stage.

URL: http://www.ted.com/talks/browse

Updated: 1 year 16 weeks ago

TEDTalks : How to feed the whole world (the case for white bread) - Louise Fresco (2009)

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 22:33

Louise Fresco argues that a smart approach to large-scale, industrial farming and food production will feed our planet's incoming population of nine billion. Only foods like (the scorned) supermarket white bread, she says, will nourish on a global scale.

TEDTalks : Alarming new slides depict a worsening climate crisis - Al Gore (2009)

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 09:00

At TED2009, Al Gore presents updated slides from around the globe to make the case that worrying climate trends are even worse than scientists predicted, and to make clear his stance on "clean coal."

TEDTalks : A bold vision for teaching arts and sciences -- together - Mae Jemison (2002)

Tue, 05/05/2009 - 09:00

Mae Jemison is an astronaut, a doctor, an art collector, a dancer ... Telling stories from her own education and from her time in space, she calls on educators to teach both the arts and sciences, both intuition and logic, as one -- to create bold thinker

TEDTalks : The mathematics of war - Sean Gourley (2009)

Mon, 05/04/2009 - 09:00

By pulling raw data from the news and plotting it onto a graph, Sean Gourley and his team have come up with a stunning conclusion about the nature of modern war -- and perhaps a model for resolving conflicts.

TEDTalks : Comics that tell the little stories of a big city - Ben Katchor (2002)

Thu, 04/23/2009 - 05:51

In this captivating talk from the TED archive, cartoonist Ben Katchor reads from his comic strips. These perceptive, surreal stories find the profound hopes and foibles of history (and modern New York) preserved in objects like light switches and signs.

TEDTalks : How texting and GoogleMaps helped Kenyans survive crisis - Erik Hersman (2009)

Wed, 04/22/2009 - 09:00

At TEDU 2009, Erik Hersman presents the remarkable story of Ushahidi, a GoogleMap mashup that allowed Kenyans to report and track violence via cell phone texts following the 2008 elections, and has evolved to continue saving lives in other countries.

TEDTalks : The beautiful math that links coral, crochet and hyperbolic geometry - Margaret Wertheim (2009)

Mon, 04/20/2009 - 09:00

Margaret Wertheim leads a project to re-create the creatures of the coral reefs using a crochet technique invented by a mathematician -- celebrating the amazements of the reef, and deep-diving into the hyperbolic geometry underlying coral creation.

TEDTalks : Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing - Matthew Childs (2009)

Fri, 04/17/2009 - 09:00

In this talk from TED University 2009, veteran rock climber Matthew Childs shares nine pointers for rock climbing. These handy tips bear on an effective life at sea level, too.

TEDTalks : How to feel like the Incredible Hulk - Tim Ferriss (2008)

Wed, 04/15/2009 - 19:43

From the EG conference: Productivity guru Tim Ferriss' fun, encouraging anecdotes show how one simple question -- "What's the worst that could happen?" -- is all you need to learn to do anything.

TEDTalks : Tour the AlloSphere, a stunning new way to see scientific data - JoAnn Kuchera-Morin (2009)

Wed, 04/15/2009 - 09:00

JoAnn Kuchera-Morin demos the AlloSphere, a new way to see, hear and interpret scientific data. Dive into the brain, feel electron spin, hear the music of the elements ... and detect previously unseen patterns that could lead to new discoveries.

TEDTalks : A bold plan for mass adoption of electric cars - Shai Agassi (2009)

Mon, 04/13/2009 - 09:00

Forget about the hybrid auto -- Shai Agassi says it's electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.

TEDTalks : Busted! The sneaky moves of anti-social smartphone users - Renny Gleeson (2009)

Fri, 04/10/2009 - 16:47

In this funny (and actually poignant) 3-minute talk, social strategist Renny Gleeson breaks down our always-on social world -- where the experience we're having right now is less interesting than what we'll tweet about it later.

TEDTalks : Discovering bacteria's amazing communication system - Bonnie Bassler (2009)

Wed, 04/08/2009 - 09:00

Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria "talk" to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks. The find has stunning implications for medicine, industry -- and our understanding of ourselves.

TEDTalks : Three predictions on the future of Iran, and the math to back it up - Bruce Bueno de Mesquita (2009)

Tue, 04/07/2009 - 09:00

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita uses mathematical analysis to predict (very often correctly) such messy human events as war, political power shifts, Intifada ... After a crisp explanation of how he does it, he offers three predictions on the future of Iran.

TEDTalks : Military robots and the future of war - P.W. Singer (2009)

Fri, 04/03/2009 - 09:00

In this powerful talk, P.W. Singer shows how the widespread use of robots in war is changing the realities of combat. He shows us scenarios straight out of science fiction -- that now may not be so fictitious.

TEDTalks : Restyling the classic Airstream trailer - Christopher C. Deam (2002)

Thu, 04/02/2009 - 09:00

In this low-key, image-packed talk from 2002, designer Christopher C. Deam talks about his makeover of an American classic: the Airstream travel trailer.

TEDTalks : Fulfilling the dream of flight in a high-tech wingsuit - Ueli Gegenschatz (2009)

Wed, 04/01/2009 - 09:00

Wingsuit jumping is the leading edge of extreme sports -- an exhilarating feat of almost unbelievable daring, where skydivers soar through canyons at over 100MPH. Ueli Gegenschatz talks about how (and why) he does it, and shows jawdropping film.

TEDTalks : Can design save the newspaper? - Jacek Utko (2009)

Tue, 03/31/2009 - 09:00

Jacek Utko is an extraordinary Polish newspaper designer whose redesigns for papers in Eastern Europe not only win awards, but increase circulation by up to 100%. Can good design save the newspaper? It just might.

TEDTalks : A jungle search for the next pandemic virus - Nathan Wolfe (2009)

Fri, 03/27/2009 - 05:00

Virus hunter Nathan Wolfe is outwitting the next pandemic by staying two steps ahead: discovering deadly new viruses where they first emerge -- passing from animals to humans among poor subsistence hunters in Africa -- before they claim millions of lives.

TEDTalks : From a Nairobi slum, a tale of hope - Jacqueline Novogratz (2009)

Tue, 03/24/2009 - 09:00

Jacqueline Novogratz tells a moving story of an encounter in a Nairobi slum with Jane, a former prostitute, whose dreams of escaping poverty, of becoming a doctor and of getting married were fulfilled in an unexpected way.