The BEST episodes of TED Talks season 2018
Every episode of TED Talks season 2018, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of TED Talks season 2018!
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 - Enric Sala: Let's turn the high seas into the world's largest nature reserve
Season 2018 - Episode 173 - Aired 6/6/2018
What if we could save the fishing industry and protect the ocean at the same time? Marine ecologist Enric Sala shares his bold plan to safeguard the high seas — some of the last wild places on earth, which fall outside the jurisdiction of any single country — by creating a giant marine reserve that covers two-thirds of the world's ocean. By protecting the high seas, Sala believes we will restore the ecological, economic and social benefits of the ocean. "When we can align economic needs with conservation, miracles can happen," Sala says.
Watch Now:Amazon
#2 - Hugh Herr: How we'll become cyborgs and extend human potential
Season 2018 - Episode 164 - Aired 5/30/2018
Humans will soon have new bodies that forever blur the line between the natural and synthetic worlds, says bionics designer Hugh Herr. In an unforgettable talk, he details "NeuroEmbodied Design," a methodology for creating cyborg function that he's developing at the MIT Media Lab, and shows us a future where we've augmented our bodies in a way that will redefine human potential — and, maybe, turn us into superheroes. "During the twilight years of this century, I believe humans will be unrecognizable in morphology and dynamics from what we are today," Herr says. "Humanity will take flight and soar."
Watch Now:Amazon
#3 - Ingrid Fetell Lee: Where joy hides and how to find it
Season 2018 - Episode 155 - Aired 5/21/2018
Cherry blossoms and rainbows, bubbles and googly eyes: Why do some things seem to create such universal joy? In this captivating talk, Ingrid Fetell Lee reveals the surprisingly tangible roots of joy and shows how we all can find — and create — more of it in the world around us.
#4 - Gene Luen Yang: Comics belong in the classroom
Season 2018 - Episode 161 - Aired 5/25/2018
Comic books and graphic novels belong in every teacher's toolkit, says cartoonist and educator Gene Luen Yang. Set against the backdrop of his own witty, colorful drawings, Yang explores the history of comics in American education — and reveals some unexpected insights about their potential for helping kids learn.
#5 - John Doerr: Why the secret to success is setting the right goals
Season 2018 - Episode 175 - Aired 6/11/2018
Our leaders and institutions are failing us, but it's not always because they're bad or unethical, says venture capitalist John Doerr — often, it's simply because they're leading us toward the wrong objectives. In this practical talk, Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with "Objectives and Key Results," or OKRs — a goal-setting system that's been employed by the likes of Google, Intel and Bono to set and execute on audacious goals. Learn more about how setting the right goals can mean the difference between success and failure — and how we can use OKRs to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable.
#6 - Steven Pinker: Is the world getting better or worse? A look at the numbers
Season 2018 - Episode 135 - Aired 4/30/2018
Was 2017 really the "worst year ever," as some would have us believe? In his analysis of recent data on homicide, war, poverty, pollution and more, psychologist Steven Pinker finds that we're doing better now in every one of them when compared with 30 years ago. But progress isn't inevitable, and it doesn't mean everything gets better for everyone all the time, Pinker says. Instead, progress is problem-solving, and we should look at things like climate change and nuclear war as problems to be solved, not apocalypses in waiting. "We will never have a perfect world, and it would be dangerous to seek one," he says. "But there's no limit to the betterments we can attain if we continue to apply knowledge to enhance human flourishing."
#7 - Emily Levine: How I made friends with reality
Season 2018 - Episode 158 - Aired 5/23/2018
With her signature wit and wisdom, Emily Levine meets her ultimate challenge as a comedian/philosopher: she makes dying funny. In this personal talk, she takes us on her journey to make friends with reality — and peace with death. Life is an enormous gift, Levine says: "You enrich it as best you can, and then you give it back."
#8 - Amy Edmondson: How to turn a group of strangers into a team
Season 2018 - Episode 159 - Aired 5/24/2018
Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.
#9 - Anushka Naiknaware: A teen scientist's invention to help wounds heal
Season 2018 - Episode 163 - Aired 5/29/2018
Working out of her garage, Anushka Naiknaware designed a sensor that tracks wound healing, becoming the youngest winner (at age 13) of the Google Science Fair. Her clever invention addresses the global challenge of chronic wounds, which don't heal properly due to preexisting conditions like diabetes and account for billions in medical costs worldwide. Join Naiknaware as she explains how her "smart bandage" works — and how she's sharing her story to inspire others to make a difference.
#10 - Olga Yurkova: Inside the fight against Russia's fake news empire
Season 2018 - Episode 174 - Aired 6/7/2018
When facts are false, decisions are wrong, says editor and TED Fellow Olga Yurkova. To stop the spread of fake news, she and a group of journalists launched StopFake.org, which exposes biased or inaccurate reporting in order to rebuild the trust we've lost in our journalists, leaders and institutions. Learn more about the fight against misinformation as well as two critical ways we can ensure we're not reading (or sharing) fake news.
#11 - Stephen DeBerry: Why the "wrong side of the tracks" is usually the east side of cities
Season 2018 - Episode 237 - Aired 8/21/2018
What do communities on the social, economic and environmental margins have in common? For one thing, they tend to be on the east sides of cities. In this short talk about a surprising insight, anthropologist and venture capitalist Stephen DeBerry explains how both environmental and man-made factors have led to disparity by design in cities from East Palo Alto, California to East Jerusalem and beyond — and suggests some elegant solutions to fix it.
#12 - Jessica Pryce: To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation
Season 2018 - Episode 238 - Aired 8/21/2018
In this eye-opening talk about the impact of race and neighborhood on foster-care decisions, social worker Jessica Pryce shares a promising solution to help child welfare agencies make bias-free assessments about when to remove children from their families. "Let's work together to build a system that wants to make families stronger instead of pulling them apart," Pryce says.
#13 - Janet Stovall: How to get serious about diversity and inclusion in the workplace
Season 2018 - Episode 239 - Aired 8/22/2018
Imagine a workplace where people of all colors and races are able to climb every rung of the corporate ladder — and where the lessons we learn about diversity at work actually transform the things we do, think and say outside the office. How do we get there? In this candid talk, inclusion advocate Janet Stovall shares a three-part action plan for creating workplaces where people feel safe and expected to be their unassimilated, authentic selves.
#14 - Leticia Gasca: Don't fail fast -- fail mindfully
Season 2018 - Episode 240 - Aired 8/23/2018
We celebrate bold entrepreneurs whose ingenuity led them to success, but what happens to those who fail? Far too often, they bury their stories out of shame or humiliation — and miss out on a valuable opportunity for growth, says author and entrepreneur Leticia Gasca. In this thoughtful talk, Gasca calls for business owners to open up about their failures and makes the case for replacing the idea of "failing fast" with a new mantra: fail mindfully.
#15 - Mary Lou Jepsen: How we can use light to see deep inside our bodies and brains
Season 2018 - Episode 241 - Aired 8/24/2018
In a series of mind-bending demos, inventor Mary Lou Jepsen shows how we can use red light to see and potentially stimulate what's inside our bodies and brains. Taking us to the edge of optical physics, Jepsen unveils new technologies that utilize light and sound to track tumors, measure neural activity and could possibly replace the MRI machine with a cheaper, more efficient and wearable system.
#16 - Dread Scott: How art can shape America's conversation about freedom
Season 2018 - Episode 242 - Aired 8/27/2018
In this quick talk, visual artist Dread Scott tells the story of one of his most transgressive art installations, which drew national attention for its controversial use of the American flag and led to a landmark First Amendment case in the US Supreme Court.
#17 - Nora Atkinson: Why art thrives at Burning Man
Season 2018 - Episode 243 - Aired 8/28/2018
Craft curator Nora Atkinson takes us on a trip to Nevada's Black Rock Desert to see the beautifully designed and participatory art of Burning Man, revealing how she discovered there what's often missing from museums: curiosity and engagement. "What is art for in our contemporary world if not this?" she asks.
#18 - Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil: A rare galaxy that's challenging our understanding of the universe
Season 2018 - Episode 244 - Aired 8/28/2018
What's it like to discover a galaxy — and have it named after you? Astrophysicist and TED Fellow Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil lets us know in this quick talk about her team's surprising discovery of a mysterious new galaxy type.
#19 - Angel Hsu: How China is (and isn't) fighting pollution and climate change
Season 2018 - Episode 245 - Aired 8/29/2018
China is the world's biggest polluter — and now one of its largest producers of clean energy. Which way will China go in the future, and how will it affect the global environment? Data scientist Angel Hsu describes how the most populous country on earth is creating a future based on alternative energy — and facing up to the environmental catastrophe it created as it rapidly industrialized.
#20 - Christina Wallace: How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps
Season 2018 - Episode 226 - Aired 7/24/2018
Let's face it, online dating can suck. So many potential people, so much time wasted — is it even worth it? Podcaster and entrepreneur Christina Wallace thinks so, if you do it right. In a funny, practical talk, Wallace shares how she used her MBA skill set to invent a "zero date" approach and get off swipe-based apps — and how you can, too.
#21 - Alexandra Sacks: A new way to think about the transition to motherhood
Season 2018 - Episode 246 - Aired 8/30/2018
When a baby is born, so is a mother — but the natural (and sometimes unsteady) process of transition to motherhood is often silenced by shame or misdiagnosed as postpartum depression. In this quick, informative talk, reproductive psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks breaks down the emotional tug-of-war of becoming a new mother — and shares a term that could help describe it: matrescence.
#22 - Chetna Gala Sinha: How women in rural India turned courage into capital
Season 2018 - Episode 236 - Aired 8/20/2018
When bankers refused to serve her neighbors in rural India, Chetna Gala Sinha did the next best thing: she opened a bank of her own, the first ever for and by women in the country. In this inspiring talk, she shares stories of the women who encouraged her and continue to push her to come up with solutions for those denied traditional financial backing.
#23 - Yelle: "Interpassion" / "Ba$$in"
Season 2018 - Episode 235 - Aired 8/20/2018
Yelle and GrandMarnier bring their danceable electropop hits to the TED stage in an energizing performance of two songs, "Interpassion" and "Ba$$in."
#24 - Walter Hood: How urban spaces can preserve history and build community
Season 2018 - Episode 234 - Aired 8/17/2018
Can public spaces both reclaim the past and embrace the future? Landscape architect Walter Hood has explored this question over the course of an iconic career, with projects ranging from Lafayette Square Park in San Francisco to the upcoming International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. In this inspiring talk packed with images of his work, Hood shares the five simple concepts that guide his approach to creating spaces that illuminate shared memories and force us to look at one another in a different way.
#25 - Hasini Jayatilaka: How cancer cells communicate -- and how we can slow them down
Season 2018 - Episode 233 - Aired 8/16/2018
When cancer cells are closely packed together in a tumor, they're able to communicate with each other and coordinate their movement throughout the body. What if we could interrupt this process? In this accessible talk about cutting-edge science, Hasini Jayatilaka shares her work on an innovative method to stop cancer cells from communicating — and halt their fatal ability to spread.