TED Talks

2,353–2,400 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 Kate Stone: The press trampled on my privacy. Here's how I took back my story 2018 · Talk After a horrific accident put her in the tabloid headlines, Kate Stone found a way to take control of her narrative — and help prevent others from losing… Internet Archive Krista Donaldson: The $80 prosthetic knee that's changing lives 2013 · Talk · 9 min We've made incredible advances in technology in recent years, but too often it seems only certain fortunate people can benefit. Engineer Krista Donaldson… Internet Archive Manwar Ali: Inside the mind of a former radical jihadist 2016 · Talk · 17 min "For a long time, I lived for death," says Manwar Ali, a former radical jihadist who participated in violent, armed campaigns in the Middle East and Asia in… Internet Archive Susan Blackmore on memes and "temes" 2008 · Talk · 19 min Susan Blackmore studies memes: ideas that replicate themselves from brain to brain like a virus. She makes a bold new argument: Humanity has spawned a new… Internet Archive Zeynep Tufekci: We can't control what our intelligent machines are learning 2016 · Talk · 17 min Machine intelligence is here, and we're already using it to make subjective decisions. But the complex way AI grows and improves makes it hard to understand… Internet Archive Eleni Gabre-Madhin on Ethiopian economics 2007 · Talk · 20 min Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for… Internet Archive Krista Tippett: Reconnecting with compassion 2011 · Talk · 15 min The term "compassion" -- typically reserved for the saintly or the sappy -- has fallen out of touch with reality. At a special TEDPrize@UN, journalist Krista… Internet Archive Shimpei Takahashi: Play this game to come up with original ideas 2015 · Talk · 5 min Shimpei Takahashi always dreamed of designing toys. But when he started work as a toy developer, he found that the pressure to use data as a starting point… Internet Archive Tania Simoncelli: How I took on the gene patent industry -- and won 2016 · Talk · 18 min Are human genes patentable? Back in 2005, when Tania Simoncelli first contemplated this complex question, US patent law said they were — which meant patent… Internet Archive Alastair Gray: How fake handbags fund terrorism and organized crime 2017 · Talk What's the harm in buying a knock-off purse or a fake designer watch? According to counterfeit investigator Alastair Gray, fakes like these fund terrorism and… Internet Archive Auke Ijspeert: A robot that runs and swims like a salamander 2016 · Talk · 14 min Roboticist Auke Ijspeert designs biorobots, machines modeled after real animals that are capable of handling complex terrain and would appear at home in the… Internet Archive Greg Gage: How sound can hack your memory while you sleep 2018 · Talk Can you cram for a test while you sleep? Our intrepid neuroscientists attempt to enhance memory by running experiments on subjects while they sleep. You'll be… Internet Archive Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads? 2015 · Talk · 13 min Dame Stephanie Shirley is the most successful tech entrepreneur you never heard of. In the 1960s, she founded a pioneering all-woman software company in the… Internet Archive Danny Dorling: Maps that show us who we are (not just where we are) 2016 · Talk · 14 min What does the world look like when you map it using data? Social geographer Danny Dorling invites us to see the world anew, with his captivating and… Internet Archive Dave Troy: Social maps that reveal a city's intersections — and separations 2014 · Talk · 5 min Every city has its neighborhoods, cliques and clubs, the hidden lines that join and divide people in the same town. What can we learn about cities by looking… Internet Archive Elizabeth Wayne: We can hack our immune cells to fight cancer 2017 · Talk After decades of research and billions spent in clinical trials, we still have a problem with cancer drug delivery, says biomedical engineer Elizabeth Wayne.… Internet Archive Liv Boeree: 3 lessons on decision-making from a poker champion 2018 · Talk Is it better to be lucky or good? Should we trust our gut feelings or rely on probabilities and careful analysis when making important decisions? In this… Internet Archive Mary Lou Jepsen: How we can use light to see deep inside our bodies and brains 2018 · Talk 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… Internet Archive Kate Stafford: How human noise affects ocean habitats 2016 · Talk · 11 min Oceanographer Kate Stafford lowers us into the sonically rich depths of the Arctic Ocean, where ice groans, whales sing to communicate over vast distances —… Internet Archive Kaustav Dey: How fashion helps us express who we are -- and what we stand for 2017 · Talk No one thinks twice about a woman wearing blue jeans in New York City — but when Nobel laureate Malala wears them, it's a political act. Around the globe,… Internet Archive Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall 2009 · Talk · 3 min Kevin Surace suggests we rethink basic construction materials -- such as the familiar wallboard -- to reduce the huge carbon footprint generated by the… Internet Archive Michael Metcalfe: We need money for aid. So let’s print it. 2014 · Talk · 14 min During the financial crisis, the central banks of the United States, United Kingdom and Japan created $3.7 trillion in order to buy assets and encourage… Internet Archive Roy Gould and Curtis Wong preview the WorldWide Telescope 2008 · Talk · 6 min Educator Roy Gould and researcher Curtis Wong show a sneak preview of Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope, which compiles images from telescopes and satellites to… Internet Archive Sebastian Wernicke: How to use data to make a hit TV show 2016 · Talk · 12 min Does collecting more data lead to better decision-making? Competitive, data-savvy companies like Amazon, Google and Netflix have learned that data analysis… Internet Archive Dee Boersma: Pay attention to penguins 2010 · Talk · 15 min Think of penguins as ocean sentinels, says Dee Boersma -- they're on the frontlines of sea change. Sharing stories of penguin life and culture, she suggests… Internet Archive Jamie Heywood: The big idea my brother inspired 2010 · Talk · 16 min When Jamie Heywood's brother was diagnosed with ALS, he devoted his life to fighting the disease as well. The Heywood brothers built an ingenious website… Internet Archive Jonas Gahr Støre: In defense of dialogue 2012 · Talk · 14 min In politics, it seems counterintuitive to engage in dialogue with violent groups, with radicals and terrorists, and with the states that support them. But… Internet Archive Judith Heumann: Our fight for disability rights -- and why we're not done yet 2016 · Talk Four decades ago, Judith Heumann helped to lead a groundbreaking protest called the Section 504 sit-in — in which disabled-rights activists occupied a federal… Internet Archive Sara Ramirez: "Rollercoaster" 2017 · Talk · 4 min Singer, songwriter and actress Sara Ramirez is a woman of many talents. Joined by Michael Pemberton on guitar, Ramirez sings of opportunity, wisdom and the… Internet Archive Yoruba Richen: What the gay rights movement learned from the civil rights movement 2014 · Talk · 17 min As a member of both the African American and LGBT communities, filmmaker Yoruba Richen is fascinated with the overlaps and tensions between the gay rights and… Internet Archive Jeff Kirschner: This app makes it fun to pick up litter 2017 · Talk · 6 min The earth is a big place to keep clean. With Litterati — an app for users to identify, collect and geotag the world's litter — TED Resident Jeff Kirschner has… Internet Archive Jon Boogz and Lil Buck: A dance to honor Mother Earth 2017 · Talk Movement artists Jon Boogz and Lil Buck debut "Honor thy mother," a delicate, powerful performance of spoken word, violin and dance that draws on the… Internet Archive Sanford Biggers: An artist's unflinching look at racial violence 2016 · Talk · 4 min Conceptual artist and TED Fellow Sanford Biggers uses painting, sculpture, video and performance to spark challenging conversations about the history and… Internet Archive Shai Reshef: An ultra-low-cost college degree 2014 · Talk · 10 min At the online University of the People, anyone with a high school diploma can take classes toward a degree in business administration or computer science —… Internet Archive Stephen Friend: The hunt for "unexpected genetic heroes" 2014 · Talk · 10 min What can we learn from people with the genetics to get sick — who don’t? With most inherited diseases, only some family members will develop the disease,… Internet Archive Toby Shapshak: You don't need an app for that 2014 · Talk · 7 min Are the simplest phones the smartest? While the rest of the world is updating statuses and playing games on smartphones, Africa is developing useful SMS-based… Internet Archive Chris Kluwe: How augmented reality will change sports ... and build empathy 2014 · Talk · 9 min Chris Kluwe wants to look into the future of sports and think about how technology will help not just players and coaches, but fans. Here the former NFL… Internet Archive Daniel Susskind: 3 myths about the future of work (and why they're not true) 2017 · Talk "Will machines replace humans?" This question is on the mind of anyone with a job to lose. Daniel Susskind confronts this question and three misconceptions we… Internet Archive Jon Bowers: We should aim for perfection -- and stop fearing failure 2017 · Talk Sometimes trying your best isn't enough; when the situation demands it, you need to be perfect. For Jon Bowers, who runs a training facility for professional… Internet Archive Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Syria's architecture laid the foundation for brutal war 2016 · Talk · 10 min What caused the war in Syria? Oppression, drought and religious differences all played key roles, but Marwa Al-Sabouni suggests another reason: architecture.… Internet Archive Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa: Black life at the intersection of birth and death 2017 · Talk "It is the artist's job to unearth stories that people try to bury with shovels of complacency and time," says poet and freedom fighter Mwende "FreeQuency"… Internet Archive Sarah Murray: A playful solution to the housing crisis 2017 · Talk Frustrated by her lack of self-determination in the housing market, Sarah Murray created a computer game that allows home buyers to design a house and have it… Internet Archive Titus Kaphar: Can art amend history? 2017 · Talk Artist Titus Kaphar makes paintings and sculptures that wrestle with the struggles of the past while speaking to the diversity and advances of the present. In… Internet Archive Tom Hulme: What walkways teach us about design 2016 · Talk · 7 min How do you build a product people really want? Allow consumers to be a part of the process. "Empathy for what your customers want is probably the biggest… Internet Archive Will Potter: The secret US prisons you've never heard of before 2015 · Talk · 15 min Investigative journalist Will Potter is the only reporter who has been inside a Communications Management Unit, or CMU, within a US prison. These units were… Internet Archive Aziza Chaouni: How I brought a river, and my city, back to life 2014 · Talk · 5 min The Fez River winds through the medina of Fez, Morocco—a mazelike medieval city that’s a World Heritage site. Once considered the “soul” of this celebrated… Internet Archive Bob Stein: A rite of passage for late life 2017 · Talk We use rituals to mark the early stages of our lives, like birthdays and graduations — but what about our later years? In this meditative talk about looking… Internet Archive Daan Roosegaarde: A smog vacuum cleaner and other magical city designs 2017 · Talk Daan Roosegaarde uses technology and creative thinking to produce imaginative, earth-friendly designs. He presents his latest projects — from a bike path in…