TED Talks

913–960 of 2,913 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.

Where these films come from, and who sees what

Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.

Little OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive Julia Galef: Why you think you're right -- even if you're wrong 2016 · Talk · 11 min Perspective is everything, especially when it comes to examining your beliefs. Are you a soldier, prone to defending your viewpoint at all costs — or a scout,… Internet Archive Ken Jennings: Watson, Jeopardy and me, the obsolete know-it-all 2013 · Talk · 17 min Trivia whiz Ken Jennings has made a career as a keeper of facts; he holds the longest winning streak in history on the U.S. game show Jeopardy. But in 2011,… Internet Archive Laurel Braitman: Depressed dogs, cats with OCD — what animal madness means for us humans 2014 · Talk · 19 min Behind those funny animal videos, sometimes, are oddly human-like problems. Laurel Braitman studies non-human animals who exhibit signs of mental health… Internet Archive Caroline Phillips: Hurdy-gurdy for beginners 2010 · Talk · 5 min Caroline Phillips cranks out tunes on a seldom-heard folk instrument: the hurdy-gurdy, a.k.a. the wheel fiddle. A searching, Basque melody follows her fun… Internet Archive Camille Seaman: Haunting photos of polar ice 2011 · Talk · 4 min Photographer Camille Seaman shoots icebergs, showing the world the complex beauty of these massive, ancient chunks of ice. Dive in to her photo slideshow,… Internet Archive Dan Ariely: Beware conflicts of interest 2011 · Talk · 5 min In this short talk, psychologist Dan Ariely tells two personal stories that explore scientific conflict of interest: How the pursuit of knowledge and insight… Internet Archive Deborah Rhodes: A tool that finds 3x more breast tumors, and why it's not available to you 2011 · Talk · 21 min Working with a team of physicists, Dr. Deborah Rhodes developed a new tool for tumor detection that's 3 times as effective as traditional mammograms for women… Internet Archive Peter Norvig: The 100,000-student classroom 2012 · Talk · 6 min In the fall of 2011 Peter Norvig taught a class with Sebastian Thrun on artificial intelligence at Stanford attended by 175 students in situ -- and over… Internet Archive David Rockwell builds at Ground Zero 2007 · Interview · 24 min In this emotionally charged conversation with journalist Kurt Andersen, designer David Rockwell discusses the process of building a viewing platform at Ground… Internet Archive Paul Rothemund details DNA folding 2008 · Talk · 16 min In 2007, Paul Rothemund gave TED a short summary of his specialty, DNA folding. Now he lays out in clear, abundant detail the immense promise of this field --… Internet Archive Daniel H. Cohen: For argument’s sake 2013 · Talk · 9 min Why do we argue? To out-reason our opponents, prove them wrong, and, most of all, to win! ... Right? Philosopher Daniel H. Cohen shows how our most common… Internet Archive Justin Baldoni: Why I'm done trying to be "man enough" 2017 · Talk Justin Baldoni wants to start a dialogue with men about redefining masculinity — to figure out ways to be not just good men but good humans. In a warm,… Internet Archive Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world 2011 · Talk · 15 min Kevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows… Internet Archive Naomi Oreskes: Why we should believe in science 2014 · Talk · 19 min Many of the world's biggest problems require asking questions of scientists -- but why should we believe what they say? Historian of science Naomi Oreskes… Internet Archive Bill and Melinda Gates: Why giving away our wealth has been the most satisfying thing we've done... 2014 · Talk · 25 min In 1993, Bill and Melinda Gates—then engaged—took a walk on a beach in Zanzibar, and made a bold decision on how they would make sure that their wealth from… Internet Archive Damian Palin: Mining minerals from seawater 2012 · Talk · 3 min The world needs clean water, and more and more, we're pulling it from the oceans, desalinating it, and drinking it. But what to do with the salty brine left… Internet Archive David Merrill demos Siftables 2009 · Talk · 7 min MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables -- cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math,… Internet Archive Milton Glaser on using design to make ideas new 2009 · Talk · 15 min From the TED archives: The legendary graphic designer Milton Glaser dives deep into a new painting inspired by Piero della Francesca. From here, he muses on… Internet Archive Philip Rosedale on Second Life 2008 · Talk · 28 min Why build a virtual world? Philip Rosedale talks about the virtual society he founded, Second Life, and its underpinnings in human creativity. It's a place so… Internet Archive Alec Soth + Stacey Baker: This is what enduring love looks like 2015 · Talk · 10 min Stacey Baker has always been obsessed with how couples meet. When she asked photographer Alec Soth to help her explore this topic, they found themselves at… Internet Archive Dan Phillips: Creative houses from reclaimed stuff 2010 · Talk · 17 min In this funny and insightful talk from TEDxHouston, builder Dan Phillips tours us through a dozen homes he's built in Texas using recycled and reclaimed… Internet Archive Elora Hardy: Magical houses, made of bamboo 2015 · Talk · 10 min You've never seen buildings like this. The stunning bamboo homes built by Elora Hardy and her team in Bali twist, curve and surprise at every turn. They defy… Internet Archive Homaro Cantu + Ben Roche: Cooking as alchemy 2011 · Talk · 9 min Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche come from Moto, a Chicago restaurant that plays with new ways to cook and eat food. But beyond the fun and flavor-tripping, there's… Internet Archive Scott Galloway: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google manipulate our emotions 2017 · Talk The combined market capitalization of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google is now equivalent to the GDP of India. How did these four companies come to… Internet Archive Alexander Betts: Why Brexit happened -- and what to do next 2016 · Talk · 17 min We are embarrassingly unaware of how divided our societies are, and Brexit grew out of a deep, unexamined divide between those that fear globalization and… Internet Archive Ismael Nazario: What I learned as a kid in jail 2015 · Talk · 11 min As a teenager, Ismael Nazario was sent to New York’s Rikers Island jail, where he spent 300 days in solitary confinement — all before he was ever convicted of… Internet Archive Larry Brilliant makes the case for optimism 2007 · Talk · 20 min We've known about global warming for 50 years and done little about it, says Google.org director Larry Brilliant. In spite of this and other depressing… Internet Archive Paul Romer's radical idea: Charter cities 2009 · Talk · 18 min How can a struggling country break out of poverty if it's trapped in a system of bad rules? Economist Paul Romer unveils a bold idea: "charter cities,"… Internet Archive Deb Roy: The birth of a word 2011 · Talk · 19 min MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language -- so he wired up his house with videocameras to catch every moment (with… Internet Archive Gary Kovacs: Tracking the trackers 2012 · Talk · 6 min As you surf the Web, information is being collected about you. Web tracking is not 100% evil -- personal data can make your browsing more efficient; cookies… Internet Archive Kang Lee: Can you really tell if a kid is lying? 2016 · Talk · 13 min Are children poor liars? Do you think you can easily detect their lies? Developmental researcher Kang Lee studies what happens physiologically to children… Internet Archive Daniel Wolpert: The real reason for brains 2011 · Talk · 20 min Neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert starts from a surprising premise: the brain evolved, not to think or feel, but to control movement. In this entertaining,… Internet Archive Anupam Mishra: The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting 2009 · Talk · 17 min With wisdom and wit, Anupam Mishra talks about the amazing feats of engineering built centuries ago by the people of India's Golden Desert to harvest water.… Internet Archive Bart Knols: Kill mosquitos, end malaria 2012 · Talk · 10 min We can use a mosquito's own instincts against her. At TEDxMaastricht speaker Bart Knols demos the imaginative solutions his team is developing to fight… Internet Archive David Anderson: Your brain is more than a bag of chemicals 2013 · Talk · 15 min Modern psychiatric drugs treat the chemistry of the whole brain, but neurobiologist David Anderson believes in a more nuanced view of how the brain functions.… Internet Archive Marcel Dicke: Why not eat insects? 2010 · Talk · 16 min Marcel Dicke makes an appetizing case for adding insects to everyone's diet. His message to squeamish chefs and foodies: delicacies like locusts and… Internet Archive Peter Tyack: The intriguing sound of marine mammals 2010 · Talk · 18 min Peter Tyack of Woods Hole talks about a hidden wonder of the sea: underwater sound. Onstage at Mission Blue, he explains the amazing ways whales use sound and… Internet Archive Thomas Dolby: "Love Is a Loaded Pistol" 2010 · Talk · 4 min For his first studio album release in decades, musical innovator Thomas Dolby has been composing music in the uniquely inspirational setting of a restored… Internet Archive Larry Burns on the future of cars 2008 · Talk · 9 min General Motors veep Larry Burns previews cool next-gen car design: sleek, customizable (and computer-enhanced) vehicles that run clean on hydrogen -- and pump… Internet Archive Thelma Golden: How art gives shape to cultural change 2010 · Talk · 12 min Thelma Golden, curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, talks through three recent shows that explore how art examines and redefines culture. The "post-black"… Internet Archive Carl Safina: The oil spill's unseen culprits, victims 2010 · Talk · 19 min The Gulf oil spill dwarfs comprehension, but we know this much: it's bad. Carl Safina scrapes out the facts in this blood-boiling cross-examination, arguing… Internet Archive Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities 2009 · Talk · 15 min Every day, in a city the size of London, 30 million meals are served. But where does all the food come from? Architect Carolyn Steel discusses the daily… Internet Archive Danielle Feinberg: The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life 2016 · Talk · 12 min Danielle Feinberg, Pixar's director of photography, creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science and code. Go behind the scenes of Finding Nemo,… Internet Archive Hans Rosling on global population growth 2010 · Talk · 10 min The world's population will grow to 9 billion over the next 50 years -- and only by raising the living standards of the poorest can we check population… Internet Archive Joe Kowan: How I beat stage fright 2014 · Talk · 8 min Humanity's fine-tuned sense of fear served us well as a young species, giving us laser focus to avoid being eaten by competing beasts. But it's less wonderful… Internet Archive Louie Schwartzberg: The hidden beauty of pollination 2011 · Talk · 7 min Pollination: it's vital to life on Earth, but largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and… Internet Archive Greg Lynn on calculus in architecture 2009 · Talk · 18 min Greg Lynn talks about the mathematical roots of architecture -- and how calculus and digital tools allow modern designers to move beyond the traditional… Internet Archive James Geary, metaphorically speaking 2009 · Talk · 9 min Aphorism enthusiast and author James Geary waxes on a fascinating fixture of human language: the metaphor. Friend of scribes from Aristotle to Elvis, metaphor…