The BEST episodes of TED Talks season 2016
Every episode of TED Talks season 2016, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of TED Talks season 2016!
TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. TEDTalks began as a simple attempt to share what happens at TED with the world. Under the moniker "ideas worth spreading," talks were released online. They rapidly attracted a global audience in the millions. Indeed, the reaction was so enthusiastic that the entire TED website has been reengineered around TEDTalks, with the goal of giving everyone on-demand access to the world's most inspiring voices. [TED-Ed and TEDx are separate TVDB series and should NOT be listed here. Episode ordering and dates are sourced from YouTube.]
#1 - Julie Lythcott-Haims: How to raise successful kids — without over-parenting
Season 2016 - Episode 171 - Aired 9/13/2016
By loading kids with high expectations and micromanaging their lives at every turn, parents aren't actually helping. At least, that's how Julie Lythcott-Haims sees it. With passion and wry humor, the former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford makes the case for parents to stop defining their children's success via grades and test scores. Instead, she says, they should focus on providing the oldest idea of all: unconditional love.
#2 - Olivier Scalabre: The next manufacturing revolution is here
Season 2016 - Episode 156 - Aired 8/22/2016
Economic growth has been slowing for the past 50 years, but relief might come from an unexpected place — a new form of manufacturing that is neither what you thought it was nor where you thought it was. Industrial systems thinker Olivier Scalabre details how a fourth manufacturing revolution will produce a macroeconomic shift and boost employment, productivity and growth.
#3 - Timothy Ihrig: What we can do to die well
Season 2016 - Episode 157 - Aired 8/23/2016
The healthcare industry in America is so focused on pathology, surgery and pharmacology — on what doctors "do" to patients — that it often overlooks the values of the human beings it's supposed to care for. Palliative care physician Timothy Ihrig explains the benefits of a different approach, one that fosters a patient's overall quality of life and navigates serious illness from diagnosis to death with dignity and compassion.
#4 - Laura Boushnak: The deadly legacy of cluster bombs
Season 2016 - Episode 158 - Aired 8/24/2016
The destruction of war doesn't stop when the fighting is over. Photographer and TED Fellow Laura Boushnak shares a powerful photo essay about the survivors of cluster bombs, people who encountered these deadly submunitions years after the end of conflict. With her haunting photos, Boushnak asks those who still produce and condone the use of these weapons to abandon them.
#5 - Don Tapscott: How the blockchain is changing money and business
Season 2016 - Episode 159 - Aired 8/25/2016
What is the blockchain? If you don't know, you should; if you do, chances are you still need some clarification on how it actually works. Don Tapscott is here to help, demystifying this world-changing, trust-building technology which, he says, represents nothing less than the second generation of the internet and holds the potential to transform money, business, government and society.
#6 - Vanessa Ruiz: The spellbinding art of human anatomy
Season 2016 - Episode 160 - Aired 8/26/2016
Vanessa Ruiz takes us on an illustrated journey of human anatomical art over the centuries, sharing captivating images that bring this visual science — and the contemporary artists inspired by it — to life. "Anatomical art has the power to reach far beyond the pages of a medical textbook," she says, "connecting our innermost selves with our bodies through art."
#7 - Julia Bacha: How women wage conflict without violence
Season 2016 - Episode 161 - Aired 8/29/2016
Are you setting out to change the world? Here's a stat you should know: nonviolent campaigns are 100 percent more likely to succeed than violent ones. So why don't more groups use nonviolence when faced with conflict? Filmmaker Julia Bacha shares stories of effective nonviolent resistance, including eye-opening research on the crucial leadership role that women play.
#8 - Christopher Bell: Bring on the female superheroes!
Season 2016 - Episode 162 - Aired 8/30/2016
Why is it so hard to find female superhero merchandise? In this passionate, sparkling talk, media studies scholar (and father of a Star Wars-obsessed daughter) Christopher Bell addresses the alarming lack of female superheroes in the toys and products marketed to kids — and what it means for how we teach them about the world.
#9 - Kio Stark: Why you should talk to strangers
Season 2016 - Episode 163 - Aired 8/31/2016
"When you talk to strangers, you're making beautiful interruptions into the expected narrative of your daily life — and theirs," says Kio Stark. In this delightful talk, Stark explores the overlooked benefits of pushing past our default discomfort when it comes to strangers and embracing those fleeting but profoundly beautiful moments of genuine connection.
#10 - Jonathan Tepperman: The risky politics of progress
Season 2016 - Episode 164 - Aired 9/1/2016
Global problems such as terrorism, inequality and political dysfunction aren't easy to solve, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying. In fact, suggests journalist Jonathan Tepperman, we might even want to think riskier. He traveled the world to ask global leaders how they're tackling hard problems — and unearthed surprisingly hopeful stories that he's distilled into three tools for problem-solving.
#11 - James Veitch: The agony of trying to unsubscribe
Season 2016 - Episode 165 - Aired 9/2/2016
It happens to all of us: you unsubscribe from an unwanted marketing email, and a few days later another message from the same company pops up in your inbox. Comedian James Veitch turned this frustration into whimsy when a local supermarket refused to take no for an answer. Hijinks ensued.
#12 - Sal Khan: Let's teach for mastery — not test scores
Season 2016 - Episode 166 - Aired 9/6/2016
Would you choose to build a house on top of an unfinished foundation? Of course not. Why, then, do we rush students through education when they haven't always grasped the basics? Yes, it's complicated, but educator Sal Khan shares his plan to turn struggling students into scholars by helping them master concepts at their own pace.
#13 - Courtney E. Martin: The new American Dream
Season 2016 - Episode 167 - Aired 9/7/2016
For the first time in history, the majority of American parents don't think their kids will be better off than they were. This shouldn't be a cause for alarm, says journalist Courtney Martin. Rather, it's an opportunity to define a new approach to work and family that emphasizes community and creativity. "The biggest danger is not failing to achieve the American Dream," she says in a talk that will resonate far beyond the US. "The biggest danger is achieving a dream that you don't actually believe in."
#14 - David Camarillo: Why helmets don't prevent concussions — and what might
Season 2016 - Episode 168 - Aired 9/8/2016
What is a concussion? Probably not what you think it is. In this talk from the cutting edge of research, bioengineer (and former football player) David Camarillo shows what really happens during a concussion — and why standard sports helmets don't prevent it. Here's what the future of concussion prevention looks like.
#15 - Franz Freudenthal: A new way to heal hearts without surgery
Season 2016 - Episode 169 - Aired 9/9/2016
At the intersection of medical invention and indigenous culture, pediatric cardiologist Franz Freudenthal mends holes in the hearts of children across the world, using a device born from traditional Bolivian loom weaving. "The most complex problems in our time," he says, "can be solved with simple techniques, if we are able to dream."
#16 - Neha Narula: The future of money
Season 2016 - Episode 170 - Aired 9/12/2016
What happens when the way we buy, sell and pay for things changes, perhaps even removing the need for banks or currency exchange bureaus? That's the radical promise of a world powered by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. We're not there yet, but in this sparky talk, digital currency researcher Neha Narula describes the collective fiction of money — and paints a picture of a very different looking future.
#17 - Gonzalo Vilariño: How Argentina's blind soccer team became champions
Season 2016 - Episode 155 - Aired 8/19/2016
With warmth and respect, Gonzalo Vilariño tells the captivating story of Argentina's blind soccer team — and how a sincere belief in themselves and their capabilities transformed the players from humble beginnings into two-time World Champions. "You have to get out there and play every game in this beautiful tournament that we call life," Vilariño says.
#18 - Michael Shellenberger: How fear of nuclear power is hurting the environment
Season 2016 - Episode 172 - Aired 9/14/2016
"We're not in a clean energy revolution; we're in a clean energy crisis," says climate policy expert Michael Shellenberger. His surprising solution: nuclear. In this passionate talk, he explains why it's time to overcome longstanding fears of the technology, and why he and other environmentalists believe it's past time to embrace nuclear as a viable and desirable source of clean power.
#19 - Michael Murphy: Architecture that's built to heal
Season 2016 - Episode 173 - Aired 9/15/2016
Architecture is more than a clever arrangement of bricks. In this eloquent talk, Michael Murphy shows how he and his team look far beyond the blueprint when they're designing. Considering factors from airflow to light, theirs is a holistic approach that produces community as well as (beautiful) buildings. He takes us on a tour of projects in countries such as Rwanda and Haiti, and reveals a moving, ambitious plan for The Memorial to Peace and Justice, which he hopes will heal hearts in the American South.
#20 - Abigail Marsh: Why some people are more altruistic than others
Season 2016 - Episode 174 - Aired 9/16/2016
Why do some people do selfless things, helping other people even at risk to their own well-being? Psychology researcher Abigail Marsh studies the motivations of people who do extremely altruistic acts, like donating a kidney to a complete stranger. Are their brains just different?
#21 - John Legend: Redemption Song
Season 2016 - Episode 131 - Aired 7/1/2016
John Legend is on a mission to transform America's criminal justice system. Through his Free America campaign, he's encouraging rehabilitation and healing in our prisons, jails and detention centers — and giving hope to those who want to create a better life after serving their time. With a spoken-word prelude from James Cavitt, an inmate at San Quentin State Prison, Legend treats us to his version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." "Won't you help to sing these songs of freedom?"
#22 - Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Syria's architecture laid the foundation for brutal war
Season 2016 - Episode 132 - Aired 7/5/2016
What caused the war in Syria? Oppression, drought and religious differences all played key roles, but Marwa Al-Sabouni suggests another reason: architecture. Speaking to us over the Internet from Homs, where for the last six years she has watched the war tear her city apart, Al-Sabouni suggests that Syria's architecture divided its once tolerant and multicultural society into single-identity enclaves defined by class and religion. The country's future now depends on how it chooses to rebuild.
#23 - Eric Liu: There's no such thing as not voting
Season 2016 - Episode 175 - Aired 9/19/2016
Many people like to talk about how important voting is, how it's your civic duty and responsibility as an adult. Eric Liu agrees with all that, but he also thinks it's time to bring joy back to the ballot box. The former political speechwriter details how he and his team are fostering the culture around voting in the 2016 US presidential election -- and closes with a powerful analysis of why anyone eligible should show up on Election Day.
#24 - David Burkus: Why you should know how much your coworkers get paid
Season 2016 - Episode 176 - Aired 9/20/2016
How much do you get paid? How does it compare to the people you work with? You should know, and so should they, says management researcher David Burkus. In this talk, Burkus questions our cultural assumptions around keeping salaries secret and makes a compelling case for why sharing them could benefit employees, organizations and society.
#25 - Nadia Lopez: Why open a school? To close a prison
Season 2016 - Episode 177 - Aired 9/21/2016
Our kids are our future, and it's crucial they believe it themselves. That's why Nadia Lopez opened an academic oasis in Brownsville, Brooklyn, one of the most underserved and violent neighborhoods in New York -- because she believes in every child's brilliance and capabilities. In this short, energizing talk, the founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy (and a star of Humans of New York) shares how she helps her scholars envision a brighter future for themselves and their families.