The BEST episodes of TED Talks season 2019
Every episode of TED Talks season 2019, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of TED Talks season 2019!
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 - Ella Al-Shamahi: The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring
Season 2019 - Episode 161 - Aired 7/15/2019
We're not doing frontline exploratory science in a huge portion of the world — the places governments deem too hostile or disputed. What might we be missing because we're not looking? In this fearless, unexpectedly funny talk, paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi takes us on an expedition to the Yemeni island of Socotra — one of the most biodiverse places on earth — and makes the case for scientists to explore the unstable regions that could be home to incredible discoveries.
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#2 - David Brooks: The lies our culture tells us about what matters -- and a better way to live
Season 2019 - Episode 132 - Aired 6/5/2019
Our society is in the midst of a social crisis, says op-ed columnist and author David Brooks: we're trapped in a valley of isolation and fragmentation. How do we find our way out? Based on his travels across the United States — and his meetings with a range of exceptional people known as "weavers" — Brooks lays out his vision for a cultural revolution that empowers us all to lead lives of greater meaning, purpose and joy.
#3 - Jochen Wegner: What happened when we paired up thousands of strangers to talk politics
Season 2019 - Episode 186 - Aired 9/3/2019
In spring 2019, more than 17,000 Europeans from 33 countries signed up to have a political argument with a complete stranger. They were part of "Europe Talks," a project that organizes one-on-one conversations between people who disagree — sort of like a Tinder for politics. Editor Jochen Wegner shares the unexpected things that happened when people met up to talk — and shows how face-to-face discussions could get a divided world to rethink itself.
#4 - Gangadhar Patil: How we're helping local reporters turn important stories into national news
Season 2019 - Episode 220 - Aired 10/8/2019
Local reporters are on the front lines of important stories, but their work often goes unnoticed by national and international news outlets. TED Fellow and journalist Gangadhar Patil is working to change that. In this quick talk, he shows how he's connecting grassroots reporters in India with major news outlets worldwide — and helping elevate and expose stories that might never get covered otherwise.
#5 - Johann Hari: This could be why you're depressed or anxious
Season 2019 - Episode 201 - Aired 9/18/2019
In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world — as well as some exciting emerging solutions. "If you're depressed or anxious, you're not weak and you're not crazy — you're a human being with unmet needs," Hari says.
#6 - Britt Wray: How climate change affects your mental health
Season 2019 - Episode 181 - Aired 8/27/2019
"For all that's ever been said about climate change, we haven't heard nearly enough about the psychological impacts of living in a warming world," says science writer Britt Wray. In this quick talk, she explores how climate change is threatening our well-being — mental, social and spiritual — and offers a starting point for what we can do about it.
#7 - Julius Maada Bio: A vision for the future of Sierra Leone
Season 2019 - Episode 154 - Aired 7/3/2019
When Julius Maada Bio first seized political power in Sierra Leone in 1996, he did so to improve the lives of its citizens. But he soon realized that for democracy to flourish, its foundation needs to be built on the will of the people. After arranging an election, he voluntarily gave up power and left Africa. Twenty years later, after being democratically elected president of Sierra Leone, he reflects on the slow path to democracy, the importance of education for all and his focus on helping young Sierra Leoneans thrive.
#8 - Moriba Jah: The world's first crowdsourced space traffic monitoring system
Season 2019 - Episode 153 - Aired 7/2/2019
"Most of what we send into outer space never comes back," says astrodynamicist and TED Fellow Moriba Jah. In this forward-thinking talk, Jah describes the space highways orbiting earth and how they're mostly populated by space junk. Learn more about his quest to develop and scale the world's first crowdsourced space traffic monitoring system — and how it could help solve the debris problem in near-earth space.
#9 - Glenn Cantave: How augmented reality is changing activism
Season 2019 - Episode 152 - Aired 7/1/2019
Glenn Cantave uses technology to highlight narratives of the oppressed. In a tour of immersive visual projects, he shares his work with the team at Movers and Shakers NYC, a coalition that executes direct action and advocacy campaigns for marginalized communities using virtual reality, augmented reality and the creative arts.
#10 - Katie Hood: The difference between healthy and unhealthy love
Season 2019 - Episode 106 - Aired 5/17/2019
In a talk about understanding and practicing the art of healthy relationships, Katie Hood reveals the five signs you might be in an unhealthy relationship — with a romantic partner, a friend, a family member — and shares the things you can do every day to love with respect, kindness and joy. "While love is an instinct and an emotion, the ability to love better is a skill we can all build and improve on over time," she says.
#11 - Joanne Chory: How supercharged plants could slow climate change
Season 2019 - Episode 95 - Aired 5/2/2019
Plants are amazing machines -- for millions of years, they've taken carbon dioxide out of the air and stored it underground, keeping a crucial check on the global climate. Plant geneticist Joanne Chory is working to amplify this special ability: with her colleagues at the Salk Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, she's creating plants that can store more carbon, deeper underground, for hundreds of years. Learn more about how these supercharged plants could help slow climate change. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)
#12 - Brittany Packnett: How to build your confidence -- and spark it in others
Season 2019 - Episode 107 - Aired 5/20/2019
"Confidence is the necessary spark before everything that follows," says educator and activist Brittany Packnett. In an inspiring talk, she shares three ways to crack the code of confidence — and her dream for a world where revolutionary confidence helps turn our most ambitious dreams into reality.
#13 - Victor Vescovo: What's at the bottom of the ocean -- and how we're getting there
Season 2019 - Episode 175 - Aired 8/2/2019
Victor Vescovo is leading the first-ever manned expedition to the deepest point of each of the world's five oceans. In conversation with TED science curator David Biello, Vescovo discusses the technology that's powering the explorations — a titanium submersible designed to withstand extraordinary conditions — and shows footage of a never-before-seen creature taken during his journey to the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
#14 - Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: A climate change solution that's right under our feet
Season 2019 - Episode 185 - Aired 9/3/2019
There's two times more carbon in the earth's soil than in all of its vegetation and the atmosphere — combined. Biogeochemist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe dives into the science of soil and shares how we could use its awesome carbon-trapping power to offset climate change. "[Soil] represents the difference between life and lifelessness in the earth system, and it can also help us combat climate change — if we can only stop treating it like dirt," she says.
#15 - Anthony Veneziale: "Stumbling towards intimacy": An improvised TED Talk
Season 2019 - Episode 188 - Aired 9/4/2019
In a hilarious, completely improvised talk, improv master Anthony Veneziale takes to the TED stage for a truly one-of-a-kind performance. Armed with an audience-suggested topic ("stumbling towards intimacy") and a deck of slides he's never seen before, Veneziale crafts a meditation on the intersection of love, language and ... avocados?
#16 - Sandeep Jauhar: How your emotions change the shape of your heart
Season 2019 - Episode 193 - Aired 9/10/2019
"A record of our emotional life is written on our hearts," says cardiologist and author Sandeep Jauhar. In a stunning talk, he explores the mysterious ways our emotions impact the health of our hearts — causing them to change shape in response to grief or fear, to literally break in response to emotional heartbreak — and calls for a shift in how we care for our most vital organ.
#17 - Mitchell Katz: What the US health care system assumes about you
Season 2019 - Episode 215 - Aired 10/2/2019
The US health care system assumes many things about patients: that they can take off from work in the middle of the day, speak English, have a working telephone and a steady supply of food. Because of that, it's failing many of those who are most in need, says Mitchell Katz, CEO of the largest public health care system in the US. In this eye-opening talk, he shares stories of the challenges low-income patients face — and how we can build a better system for all.
#18 - Andrew Forrest: A radical plan to end plastic waste
Season 2019 - Episode 221 - Aired 10/8/2019
Plastic is an incredible substance for the economy — and the worst substance possible for the environment, says entrepreneur Andrew Forrest. In a conversation meant to spark debate, Forrest and head of TED Chris Anderson discuss an ambitious plan to get the world's biggest companies to fund an environmental revolution — and transition industry towards getting all of its plastic from recycled materials, not from fossil fuels.
#19 - Michael Tubbs: The political power of being a good neighbor
Season 2019 - Episode 141 - Aired 6/14/2019
Michael Tubbs is the youngest mayor in American history to represent a city with more than 100,000 people — and his policies are sparking national conversations. In this rousing talk, he shares how growing up amid poverty and violence in Stockton, California shaped his bold vision for change and his commitment to govern as a neighbor, not a politician. "When we see someone different from us, they should not reflect our fears, our anxieties, our insecurities," he says. "We should see our common humanity."
#20 - Kelly Wanser: Emergency medicine for our climate fever
Season 2019 - Episode 182 - Aired 8/28/2019
As we recklessly warm the planet by pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, some industrial emissions also produce particles that reflect sunshine back into space, putting a check on global warming that we're only starting to understand. Climate activist Kelly Wanser asks: Can we engineer ways to harness this effect and further reduce warming? Learn more about the promises and risks of "cloud brightening" — and how it could help restore our climate to health.
#21 - Bjarke Ingels: Floating cities, the LEGO House and other architectural forms of the future
Season 2019 - Episode 130 - Aired 6/3/2019
Design gives form to the future, says architect Bjarke Ingels. In this worldwide tour of his team's projects, journey to a waste-to-energy power plant (that doubles as an alpine ski slope) and the LEGO Home of the Brick in Denmark — and catch a glimpse of cutting-edge flood resilience infrastructure in New York City as well as an ambitious plan to create floating, sustainable cities that are adapted to climate change.
#22 - Hamdi Ulukaya: The anti-CEO playbook
Season 2019 - Episode 110 - Aired 5/22/2019
Profit, money, shareholders: these are the priorities of most companies today. But at what cost? In an appeal to corporate leaders worldwide, Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya calls for an end to the business playbook of the past — and shares his vision for a new, "anti-CEO playbook" that prioritizes people over profits. "This is the difference between profit and true wealth," he says.
#23 - Neha Madhira and Haley Stack: Why student journalists should be protected from censorship
Season 2019 - Episode 119 - Aired 5/28/2019
High school newspaper editors Neha Madhira and Haley Stack share how they fought back when their critical journalism faced the threat of censorship. Learn more about how their efforts expanded to lobbying for New Voices, a law which would extend First Amendment protections to student journalism, and which has now passed in multiple states.
#24 - Vikas Jaitely: How we can fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs with a new class of vaccines
Season 2019 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/14/2019
The alarming rise of "superbugs" could claim up to 10 million lives globally by 2050 due to their unique ability to resist antibiotics. However, pharmacist Vikas Jaitely is researching ways we can battle these drug-resistant bacteria — by studying how they evolve in order to create more effective treatments and vaccines.
#25 - Simona Abdallah: Beats that break barriers
Season 2019 - Episode 118 - Aired 5/28/2019
Percussionist Simona Abdallah takes the stage with a rapturous bang of the darbuka, a drum of Middle Eastern origins traditionally played by men. With a striking sound and crisp beats, she plays two songs and invites everyone to join the rhythm.