When you fall asleep and start dreaming, you're actually doing very important work. According to sleep scientist Matt Walker, dreams act like a form of "overnight therapy." In fact, your dreams may even boost your ability to solve problems and process tough emotions that affect your waking life.
Floods, droughts, heat waves and cold blasts -- why is the weather becoming more extreme? Environmentalist and "America's weatherman" Al Roker discusses the link between climate change and disruptions to weather patterns worldwide, followed by a conversation between Nobel laureate Al Gore and TED science curator David Biello about the science of extreme weather and emerging solutions to reduce the risk of these events. (This segment, introduced by radio researcher Latif Nasser, was part of TED's Countdown Global Livestream on October 30, 2021.)
Investing in green energy, holding large corporations accountable for their pollution, stopping pipeline and oil extraction initiatives -- these are non-negotiable actions to protect the planet, but they are still just the bare minimum, say climate activists Xiye Bastida and Shiv Soin. In conversation with radio researcher Latif Nasser, Bastida and Soin share their list of six crucial climate demands for world leaders -- and discuss how we all can get involved. (This segment was part of TED's Countdown Global Livestream on October 30, 2021.)
No one remembers when you're right, but no one forgets when you're wrong. Your local weather person knows that saying all too well. But while they take a lot of the heat (get it?), how much of it is actually justified? In this episode, Mona Chalabi looks at weather forecasting data to see how accurate these predictions really are, and gives us tips for when we should--and shouldn't--trust the forecast. Want to hear more from Mona? Check out her podcast Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi, from the TED Audio Collective.
"How much more damage do we have to endure before we realize that it's cheaper to save this planet than to ruin it?" asks engineer and investor John Doerr. In conversation with Countdown cofounder Lindsay Levin, Doerr and systems innovator Ryan Panchadsaram lay out six big objectives that -- if pursued with speed and scale -- could transform society and get us to net-zero emissions by 2050. An action plan to solve the world's climate crisis, backed up by a proven system for setting goals for success.
As you get older, your eyes worsen and become susceptible to a disease called age-related macular degeneration -- the leading cause of blindness, with no cure in sight. Sharing the science of how your vision works, researcher Joshua Chu-Tan offers breakthrough insights on a lesser-known protein that could change the treatment for this disease, preserving the gift of sight for longer and improving the quality of life for millions of people.
We've been hearing about self-driving cars for years, but autonomous vehicle entrepreneur Aicha Evans thinks we need to dream more daringly. In this exciting talk, she introduces us to robotaxis: fully autonomous, eco-friendly shuttles that would take you from place to place and take up less space on the streets than personal cars. Learn how this new technology works -- and what a future where we hail robotaxis would look like.
TED Fellow and education innovator Larry Irvin envisions a world where every child can see themselves reflected in their teachers. With his team at Brothers Empowered to Teach, Irvin is providing pathways to careers in education for Black men, who currently make up less than three percent of all teachers in the US -- offering training, personal and professional development and job placement. He shares how their holistic, people-centered approach is changing education.
