TED Talks

1,921–1,968 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 Achenyo Idachaba: How I turned a deadly plant into a thriving business 2016 · Talk · 7 min The water hyacinth may look like a harmless, even beautiful flowering plant — but it's actually an invasive aquatic weed that clogs waterways, stopping trade,… Internet Archive Alvin Irby: How to inspire every child to be a lifelong reader 2017 · Talk According to the US Department of Education, more than 85 percent of black fourth-grade boys aren't proficient in reading. What kind of reading experiences… Internet Archive Danielle Wood: How we can use space technology to improve life on Earth 2017 · Talk Danielle Wood leads the Space Enabled research group at the MIT Media Lab, where she works to tear down the barriers that limit the benefits of space… Internet Archive Grady Booch: Don't fear superintelligent AI 2017 · Talk · 10 min New tech spawns new anxieties, says scientist and philosopher Grady Booch, but we don't need to be afraid an all-powerful, unfeeling AI. Booch allays our… Internet Archive Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit 2011 · Talk · 7 min Here's a powerful provocation from artist Jae Rhim Lee. Can we commit our bodies to a cleaner, greener Earth, even after death? Naturally -- using a special… Internet Archive Jeanne Gang: Buildings that blend nature and city 2017 · Talk · 11 min A skyscraper that channels the breeze ... a building that creates community around a hearth ... Jeanne Gang uses architecture to build relationships. In this… Internet Archive Jeremy Gilley: One day of peace 2011 · Talk · 17 min Here's a crazy idea: Persuade the world to try living in peace for just one day, every September 21. In this energetic, honest talk, Jeremy Gilley tells the… Internet Archive Joe Smith: How to use a paper towel 2012 · Talk · 4 min You use paper towels to dry your hands every day, but chances are, you're doing it wrong. In this enlightening and funny short talk, Joe Smith reveals the… Internet Archive John Doerr sees salvation and profit in greentech 2007 · Talk · 17 min "I don't think we're going to make it," John Doerr says in an emotional talk about climate change and investment. To create a world fit for his daughter to… Internet Archive Kailash Satyarthi: How to make peace? Get angry 2015 · Talk · 18 min How did a young man born into a high caste in India come to free 83,000 children from slavery? Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi offers a… Internet Archive Laura Galante: How to exploit democracy 2017 · Talk · 9 min Hacking, fake news, information bubbles ... all these and more have become part of the vernacular in recent years. But as cyberspace analyst Laura Galante… Internet Archive Mariano Sigman and Dan Ariely: How can groups make good decisions? 2017 · Talk We all know that when we make decisions in groups, they don't always go right — and sometimes they go very wrong. How can groups make good decisions? With his… Internet Archive Nita Farahany: When technology can read minds, how will we protect our privacy? 2018 · Talk Tech that can decode your brain activity and reveal what you're thinking and feeling is on the horizon, says legal scholar and ethicist Nita Farahany. What… Internet Archive Paul Rothemund casts a spell with DNA 2007 · Talk · 5 min Paul Rothemund writes code that causes DNA to arrange itself into a star, a smiley face and more. Sure, it's a stunt, but it's also a demonstration of… Internet Archive Anika Paulson: How I found myself through music 2017 · Talk "Music is everywhere, and it is in everything," says musician, student and TED-Ed Clubs star Anika Paulson. Guitar in hand, she plays through the beats of her… Internet Archive Brian Dettmer: Old books reborn as intricate art 2015 · Talk · 6 min What do you do with an outdated encyclopedia in the information age? With X-Acto knives and an eye for a good remix, artist Brian Dettmer makes beautiful,… Internet Archive Dong Woo Jang: The art of bow-making 2013 · Talk · 8 min Dong Woo Jang has an unusual after school hobby. Jang, who was 15 when he gave the talk, tells the story of how living in the concrete jungle of Seoul… Internet Archive Rabbi Jackie Tabick: The balancing act of compassion 2008 · Talk · 15 min While we all agree that compassion is a great idea, Rabbi Tabick acknowledges there are challenges to its execution. She explains how a careful balance of… Internet Archive Jeremy Heimans: What new power looks like 2014 · Talk · 15 min We can see the power of distributed, crowd-sourced business models every day — witness Uber, Kickstarter, Airbnb. But veteran online activist Jeremy Heimans… Internet Archive Juliana Rotich: Meet BRCK, Internet access built for Africa 2013 · Talk · 9 min Tech communities are booming all over Africa, says Nairobi-based Juliana Rotich, cofounder of the open-source software Ushahidi. But it remains challenging to… Internet Archive Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time 2010 · Talk · 16 min Educating the poor is more than just a numbers game, says Shukla Bose. She tells the story of her groundbreaking Parikrma Humanity Foundation, which brings… Internet Archive Anna Rothschild: Why you should love gross science 2016 · Talk What can we learn from the slimy, smelly side of life? In this playful talk, science journalist Anna Rothschild shows us the hidden wisdom of "gross stuff"… Internet Archive Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf: Lose your ego, find your compassion 2008 · Talk · 16 min Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf combines the teachings of the Qur’an, the stories of Rumi, and the examples of Muhammad and Jesus, to demonstrate that only one… Internet Archive Nalini Nadkarni: Life science in prison 2010 · Talk · 5 min Nalini Nadkarni challenges our perspective on trees and prisons -- she says both can be more dynamic than we think. Through a partnership with the state of… Internet Archive Sisonke Msimang: If a story moves you, act on it 2017 · Talk · 12 min Stories are necessary, but they're not as magical as they seem, says writer Sisonke Msimang. In this funny and thoughtful talk, Msimang questions our emphasis… Internet Archive Tom Honey on God and the tsunami 2007 · Talk · 19 min In the days following the tragic South Asian tsunami of 2004, the Rev. Tom Honey pondered the question, "How could a loving God have done this?" Here is his… Internet Archive Alice Rawsthorn: Pirates, nurses and other rebel designers 2016 · Talk · 11 min In this ode to design renegades, Alice Rawsthorn highlights the work of unlikely heroes, from Blackbeard to Florence Nightingale. Drawing a line from these… Internet Archive Matilda Ho: The future of good food in China 2017 · Talk Fresh food free of chemicals and pesticides is hard to come by in China: in 2016, the Chinese government revealed half a million food safety violations in… Internet Archive Michael Green: What the Social Progress Index can reveal about your country 2014 · Talk · 15 min The term Gross Domestic Product is often talked about as if it were “handed down from god on tablets of stone.” But this concept was invented by an economist… Internet Archive Molly Stevens: A new way to grow bone 2014 · Talk · 14 min What does it take to regrow bone in mass quantities? Typical bone regeneration -- wherein bone is taken from a patient’s hip and grafted onto damaged bone… Internet Archive Ray Zahab treks to the South Pole 2009 · Talk · 5 min Extreme runner Ray Zahab shares an enthusiastic account of his record-breaking trek on foot to the South Pole -- a 33-day sprint through the snow. Internet Archive Sajay Samuel: How college loans exploit students for profit 2016 · Talk · 11 min "Once upon a time in America," says professor Sajay Samuel, "going to college did not mean graduating with debt." Today, higher education has become a… Internet Archive Gail Reed: Where to train the world's doctors? Cuba. 2014 · Talk · 17 min Big problems need big solutions, sparked by big ideas, imagination and audacity. In this talk, journalist Gail Reed profiles one big solution worth noting:… Internet Archive Jason Pontin: Can technology solve our big problems? 2013 · Talk · 10 min In 1969, Buzz Aldrin’s historical step onto the moon leapt mankind into an era of technological possibility. The awesome power of technology was to be used to… Internet Archive Jimmy Nelson: Gorgeous portraits of the world's vanishing people 2015 · Talk · 17 min When Jimmy Nelson traveled to Siberia to photograph the Chukchi people, elders told him: "You cannot photograph us. You have to wait, you have to wait until… Internet Archive Megan Phelps-Roper: I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left 2017 · Talk · 15 min What's it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing ... everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America's most… Internet Archive Tanya Menon: The secret to great opportunities? The person you haven't met yet 2017 · Talk We often find ourselves stuck in narrow social circles with similar people. What habits confine us, and how can we break them? Organizational psychologist… Internet Archive Amanda Bennett: We need a heroic narrative for death 2013 · Talk · 15 min Amanda Bennett and her husband were passionate and full of life all throughout their lives together -- and up until the final days, too. Bennett gives a sweet… Internet Archive Dan Bricklin: Meet the inventor of the electronic spreadsheet 2017 · Talk · 12 min Dan Bricklin changed the world forever when he codeveloped VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet and grandfather of programs you probably use every day… Internet Archive Edward Tenner: Unintended consequences 2011 · Talk · 16 min Every new invention changes the world -- in ways both intentional and unexpected. Historian Edward Tenner tells stories that illustrate the under-appreciated… Internet Archive George Whitesides: Toward a science of simplicity 2010 · Talk · 18 min Simplicity: We know it when we see it -- but what is it, exactly? In this funny, philosophical talk, George Whitesides chisels out an answer. Internet Archive Henry Evans and Chad Jenkins: Meet the robots for humanity 2013 · Talk · 10 min Paralyzed by a stroke, Henry Evans uses a telepresence robot to take the stage -- and show how new robotics, tweaked and personalized by a group called Robots… Internet Archive Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar: What happens in your brain when you pay attention? 2017 · Talk · 6 min Attention isn't just about what we focus on — it's also about what our brains filter out. By investigating patterns in the brain as people try to focus,… Internet Archive Noriko Arai: Can a robot pass a university entrance exam? 2017 · Talk Meet Todai Robot, an AI project that performed in the top 20 percent of students on the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo — without actually… Internet Archive Peter Singer: The why and how of effective altruism 2013 · Talk · 17 min If you're lucky enough to live without want, it's a natural impulse to be altruistic to others. But, asks philosopher Peter Singer, what's the most effective… Internet Archive Camille Seaman: Photos from a storm chaser 2013 · Talk · 3 min Photographer Camille Seaman has been chasing storms for 5 years. In this talk she shows stunning, surreal photos of the heavens in tumult. Internet Archive Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish 2010 · Talk · 19 min Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles… Internet Archive Daniel Kish: How I use sonar to navigate the world 2015 · Talk · 13 min Daniel Kish has been blind since he was 13 months old, but has learned to “see” using a form of echolocation. He clicks his tongue and sends out flashes of…