TED Talks Daily

Citizen strategist Jon Alexander spent a decade gathering stories of democracy in action — and found that most change doesn't come from politicians or institutions. He shares examples from across the globe of ordinary people working together to improve their lives and communities, showing why the key to fixing things may already be in your own hands.

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Liana Finck’s cartoons explore life’s big predicaments: what to make for dinner, how to leave a party without being rude, how to feel like more than a snack machine once you have a child. In today’s episode, Liana shares how drawing has become a practice for her to answer questions, solve problems, and why creating art helps humans understand ourselves better. Liana also discusses why she’s not bothered by i...

We're living through oil wars, wildfire smoke and extreme weather driven by a warming planet. But environmentalist Bill McKibben says one thing is finally going right: the price of clean energy has plunged, making it cheaper than ever to power the world without burning fossil fuels. He breaks down how energy from the sun became the best option on Earth — and why this narrow window of time may be our last real shot at a differ...

Epidemiologist and science communicator Jessica Malaty Rivera believes we're navigating a serious outbreak: health misinformation. She explores why the public's trust in science is wavering — and the importance of winning it back. In this conversation with TED’s Whitney Pennington Rodgers, Rivera maps out what it takes to become a trusted messenger in an era when expertise itself is up for debate.

When a psychologist who studies well-being ends up with a brain tumor, what happens when she puts her own research into practice? Christina Costa goes beyond the "fight" narrative of cancer — or any formidable personal journey — to highlight the brain benefits of an empowering alternative to fostering resilience in the face of unexpected challenges: gratitude.

(This episode originally aired in 2023.)

We all have a "thing" — the way we act when we're not at our best that we somehow can't see in ourselves. Leadership expert Chris Wheatley learned about his when his best friend at work called him on it. He shares how hearing that hard truth shattered a lifelong pattern of defensiveness, offering a practical framework for receiving feedback with tact.

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Neutrality can get you through a tough conversation, but it rarely gets you anywhere. Joshua Johnson, actor/anchor for “The Onion” and former NPR host, makes the case instead for objectivity — parking your own opinions for a moment so you can focus on someone else’s story. He shares three quick ways to turn your most frustrating conversations into real understanding.

No one loves to lose. But even if you are a GOAT on a great AND lucky team (and sure, we can debate about who the GOAT is – drop us a line at goodsport@ted.com), no one wins every time. So how do people who face loss after loss keep fighting to win? Jody speaks with Nikky McCray, a retired WNBA player who played on three All-Star teams and now coaches at Rutgers, about the secrets to perseverance. Then he chats with psycholog...

Six months into a catastrophic war in Iran — and with no end in sight for the war in Ukraine — the world is embroiled in conflicts with no apparent exit plan. In this interview, political scientist and Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer breaks down what these wars are costing people around the world — and which one he's more worried might spiral out of control. (This interview, hosted by TED's Helen Walters, was re...

Is authoritarianism winning, or is democracy just failing to deliver? Communications strategist Sally Kohn lays out how democracy has evolved before and why it must evolve again, into what she calls "Democracy 3.0" — a version that finally shares power and opportunity equally. "We the people demand that our politics and our economy work way better for us," says Kohn.

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Artist Joe Whale used to get in trouble for doodling in class, until a local restaurant let him cover an entire wall with his artwork … and the internet took notice. He traces his unlikely beginning to a bigger story: your imagination is a muscle, and it weakens when you hand it off to AI. Through a live doodling demo, he shows in real time what it looks like to let a thought become a drawing, one line at a time.

Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness. In this deeply moving, humorous and potentially life-changing talk, she challenges a culture that prizes positivity over emotional truth and discusses the powerful strategies of emotional agility. A talk to share.

(This episode originally aired in 2018.)

Irish musician and songwriter Wallis Bird received her first guitar at six months old and has been chasing music ever since. After her TED2026 performance of three genre-bending original songs, Wallis sat down with TED music curator Anna Bulbrook – a musician herself – to talk about the cosmic energy she taps into on stage, and what drives her songwriting. Their conversation explores her lifelong pull toward music, the ...

In a globe-trotting career that has spanned corporations, governments, nonprofits and philanthropy, Rosita Najmi has often found herself translating among them. Instead of focusing on leadership style, she makes the case for becoming fluent in the languages of leadership, explaining how it can help you adapt to audiences across industries and collectively achieve your goals.

(This episode originally aired in 2024.)

Rainn Wilson was a late bloomer: he landed the role of Dwight Schrute on The Office after over a decade of struggling as an actor. But success didn’t solve all of his problems -- and it even created some new ones. In this live conversation for the Authors@Wharton series, Adam asks Rainn about his unlikely journey to stardom and how it led him into exploring the insights that philosophy, psychology, and the world’s great...

How does studying the end of time change your perspective of life on Earth? Cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack joins designer and podcaster Debbie Millman to talk about the story of the cosmos — from the Big Bang's ancient light still glowing across the universe to the five ways it might all come to an end — plus what aerobatic flying taught her about staying present.

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Did progress on your next big project stall out? Transformation expert Mary Martin refers to this moment as the "messy middle" — the frustrating gap between starting and finishing a goal, when you might lose confidence or give up altogether. Offering three ways to find glimmers of progress when the going gets tough, she explores what to do when you feel stuck.

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As a self-proclaimed radical street librarian, Storybook Maze makes books appear where they're scarce. Through initiatives like free, public book vending machines and street corner story times, she eliminates book deserts — or areas with limited access to literature — by making books accessible for children in underserved communities. (And in case you're wondering, she shares how you can become a radical street libraria...