25 TED Talks That Will Change Your Life

The TED movement is both viral and tangible: Technology, Entertainment, and Design are three areas in which innovative leaders ask us to explore the way we learn about and change the world. These 25 talks from the online TED portal will provoke you to consider how you learn, love and make a difference globally and at home.

Inspirational

Get inspired to better your own community and change the world when you listen to these talks form botanists, reporters, doctors and more.

1. Corneille Ewango is a hero of the Congo: When he was a young man, botanist Corneille Ewango turned his back on his family’s tradition of poaching in the Congo forest. In college, Ewango wanted to be a doctor but ultimately studied botany and ecology. His speech follows the challenges and rewards of fulfilling a mission that many times seemed impossible.
2. Eve Ensler on security: Vagina Monologues creator considers our need for security and what defines real, satisfying security, if it even exists. Ensler’s talk mimics the casual, honest style of the Vagina Monologues: she sits on a chair and shares stories from around the world about women who sacrifice their security in order to affect change.
3. Ory Okolloh on becoming an activist: Kenyan reporter Ory Okolloh discusses how images, the media, and messages influence the potential of a country. She shares her story of an Africa that isn’t always covered in news stories or nonprofit campaigns, and how she became an activist.
4. Aimee Mulins on running: This talk from double amputee and Paralympic Games record-breaker Aimee Mullins is from 1998, but it’s still an inspiring account of how she’s never let physical or social limitations affect her future, especially when you consider what she’s accomplished since then.
5. Philip Zimbardo shows how people become monsters…or heroes: After listening to this speech, you’ll think twice about judging others, especially if you have no knowledge of their past experiences and relationships. Zimbardo, who led the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment and was an expert witness at Abu Ghraib, explores how human devils are created, and how human heroes evolve in response.
6. Larry Brilliant makes the case for optimism: Despite all the crises, diseases, and horrors of the 20th and 21st centuries, Dr. Larry Brilliant is an incurable optimist. He has lived in a Himalayan monastery, founded the nonprofit group Seva Foundation, helped bring an end to smallpox through his work with the World Health Organization, and has been called a "technology visionary" by Time and Wired magazines. Listen to his speech to learn how to mirror his positive attitude and help change the world, little by little.
7. Jose Abreu on kids transformed by music: This speech and presentation is pure goodness. Jose Antonio Abreu was awarded the TED Prize for his decades-long commitment to bringing music education to poor Venezuelan youth. Since he began his project, he has created 102 youth orchestras, inspiring hope, confidence and beauty in the minds and hearts of his young countrymen and women.
8. David Hoffman on losing everything: Nine days before giving this speech, David Hoffman’s life work was destroyed in a fire. His forward-thinking attitude and resilience are truly inspirational for anyone who’s having trouble finding the courage to move on.

Education and Innovation

Discover the people, ideas and tools that are changing the world through technology, collaboration, global health policies, and more.

9. Erik Hersman on reporting crisis via texting: This extraordinary story underscores how ingenious developments in technology have helped everyday individuals track their lives and become influential news reporters, particularly focusing on a group of TED fellows in Kenya who reported on the 2008 election violence. Hersman also considers the future of democratic reporting and how to develop a "crowdsourced filter" to organize information.
10. Alex Tabarrok on how ideas trump crises: Economics blogger, writer, professor and Director of Research for the Independent Institute, Alex Tabarrok opens his 14-minute speech by reviewing the disasters of the first half of the twentieth century. The second half of the twentieth century, he argues, witnessed an era of global cooperation which has helped us become more efficient and innovative in politics, transportation, trading, and more.
11. Hans Rosling on HIV: New facts and stunning data visuals: Swedish global health professor tracks trends in poverty and health, and transforms the way we view developing countries. He passionately argues potential solutions for pinpointing the causes of HIV epidemics and treating the crisis.
12. David Gallo on life in the deep oceans: Let ocean explorer David Gallo guide you through some of the most fascinating, beautiful, and terrifying images of the ocean. With interactive maps, footage and photos, his speech covers biodiversity, underwater mountain ranges, and some "of the greatest stories right now that we’re seeing from the bottom of the sea."
13. Carl Honore praises slowness: What if multitasking and efficiency were actually counterproductive? Honore’s energetic speech reveals how society’s extreme need for speed is taking a toll on our relationships, the environment and our community. Learn how to live the good life instead of the fast life.
14. Robert Neuwirth on our "shadow cities": Robert Neuwirth highlights the "cities of tomorrow," squatter cities in Nairobi, Mumbai, and other traditionally poverty-stricken communities. Neuwirth argues that these intensely packed urban centers have more potential than conventional capitals for producing ingenuity and innovation.
15. Jonathan Drori on what we think we know: BBC Online Head of Commissioning Jonathan Drori considers the nature of learning and human learning systems, while conducting an interactive experiment involving science and knowledge. You may be surprised to learn that Drori believes his 7-year-old guinea pigs do better than adults.

Society and Relationships

Listen to these talks to improve your relationships with your family, friends, community and the world around you.

16. Louise Fresco on feeding the whole world: Agriculture and sustainability expert and former UN director Louise Fresco explains how agriculture needs to be appreciated as a vital economic player in a world that pursues environmentally-conscious, responsible living.
17. Phil Borges on endangered cultures: Here you can listen to photographer Phil Borges’ account of indigenous cultures, in Tibet, the Amazon, and beyond. His speech shares stories and honest photos from extraordinary individuals of groups that may not survive the next century.
18. Samantha Power on a complicated hero: This provocative speech from author and activist Samantha Power will make you reconsider the idea that morality is a black-and-white issue. She shares insight into how Americans view genocide and how they can possibly help eliminate it.
19. Jimmy Wales on the birth of Wikipedia: Discover how open source collaboration became mainstream with Wikipedia, an encyclopedia that aims to connect every single person on the planet. Jimmy Wales is a former option trader who co-founded Wikipedia in 2001.
20. Helen Fisher studies the brain in love: Discover what the brain looks like in different phases of love. Helen Fisher is an anthropologist and author, and in this speech, she wonders why humans desire love and the physical factors that support our emotions.
21. Jane Goodall on what separates us from the apes: With her signature gentle delivery, influential primatologist Jane Goodall comments on the striking similarities and key differences between apes and humans.
22. Laura Trice suggests we all say thank you: In just three minutes, you may find the secret to changing your life and the world around you: by saying thank you and meaning it.

Spirituality

These three talks reveal different ways of looking at the world and understanding concepts like free will, happiness and purpose.

23. Matthieu Ricard on the habits of happiness: Former French biochemist Matthiew Ricard became a Buddhist monk and now lives in the Himalayas, when he’s not sharing the secrets of happiness and personal fulfillment. His tranquil voice betrays his quick sense of humor, but his message of well-being and discipline is seriously moving.
24. Rick Warren on a life of purpose: Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose-Driven Life, speaks on the journey of combatting spiritual emptiness and finding something to live for. Warren believes that God has a plan for every human, and that every human has a role to play in society and in history.
25. Dan Dennett’s response to Rick Warren: Philosopher Dan Dennett responds to Rick Warren’s belief that living purposefully means rejecting evolution. Instead, Dennett asks us to consider religion and free will as natural phenomena, just as evolution and natural selection are natural processes.