Sophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for delivering long-term change. She describes some of the people-focused policies she's helped implement in Wales, aimed at cutting carbon emissions, increasing sustainability and promoting well-being as a national goal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 05, 2020•6 min
"The universe has already written the poem you were planning on writing," says Sarah Kay, quoting her friend, poet Kaveh Akbar. Performing "A Bird Made of Birds," she shares how and where she finds poetry. (Kay is also the host of TED's podcast "Sincerely, X." Listen on the Luminary podcast app at luminary.link/ted) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 04, 2020•5 min
Most politicians choose their words carefully, to shape the reality they hope to create. But does it work? Etymologist Mark Forsyth shares a few entertaining word-origin stories from British and American history (for instance, did you ever wonder how George Washington became "president"?) and draws a surprising conclusion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 03, 2020•6 min
To achieve lasting change sometimes requires the hard, even radical, choice of partnering with people you'd least expect. Justice reform advocate Nisha Anand shares her story of working with her ideological opposite to make history and save lives -- and urges us all to widen our circles in order to make progress with purpose. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 02, 2020•16 min
"The good news is it's now clearly cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it," says engineer and investor John Doerr. "The bad news is: we are fast running out of time." In this conversation with climate policy expert Hal Harvey, the two sustainability leaders discuss why humanity has to act globally, at speed and at scale, to meet the staggering challenge of decarbonizing the global economy (which has only ever increased emissions throughout history) -- and share helpful examples of promising ...
Nov 01, 2020•21 min
Rituals for the dead span much of the natural world, seen in practices from humans and elephants to bees, dolphins and beyond. With charm and playful insight, animal behaviorist Kaeli Swift delves into the life (and death) habits of crows and shares what their responses could reveal about our own relationship to mortality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 31, 2020•12 min
The clash of ideas is fundamental to creativity and progress, but it can also be deeply destructive and create divisions within companies, communities and families. How do you foster productive debate while protecting against harmful speech and misinformation? Constitutional lawyer Ishan Bhabha lays out structures that organizations can use to navigate ideological disagreement and responsibly bring facts and context to a larger dialogue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...
Oct 30, 2020•10 min
"This decade is a moment of choice unlike any we have ever lived," says Christiana Figueres, the architect of the historic 2015 Paris Agreement. The daughter of Costa Rica's beloved President José Figueres Ferrer, she shares how her father's unwillingness to lose the country he loved taught her how stubborn optimism can catalyze action and change. With an unshakeable determination to fight for the generations that will come after us, Figueres describes what stubborn optimism is (and isn't) -- an...
Oct 29, 2020•9 min
Sometimes, a single decision can change the course of history. Join journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson as she tells the story of the Great Migration, the outpouring of six million African Americans from the Jim Crow South to cities in the North and West between World War I and the 1970s. This was the first time in American history that the lowest caste people signaled they had options and were willing to take them -- and the first time they had a chance to choose for themselves what they wou...
Oct 28, 2020•19 min
Our food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and introduces us to the farmers, entrepreneurs and engineers who are radically rethinking what we grow and how we eat, combining traditional agriculture with state-of-the-art technology to create a robust, resilient and sustainable food future. Hosted on Acast. See aca...
Oct 27, 2020•12 min
If the 2020 US presidential election is close, the race could drag on in the courts and halls of Congress long after ballots are cast, says lawyer and political commentator Van Jones. Explaining why the customary concession speech is one of the most important safeguards for democracy, Jones exposes shocking legal loopholes that could enable a candidate to grab power even if they lose both the popular vote and the electoral college -- and shares what ordinary citizens can do if there's no peacefu...
Oct 26, 2020•17 min
Sexual assault is never the victim's fault, says advocate Kristin Jones. In this courageous talk, she tells her story of overcoming the shame that followed sexual abuse as a teenager -- and shares how parents can foster an open conversation about abuse to empower kids and encourage them to ask for help. (This talk contains mature content) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 24, 2020•14 min
Our descendants own the future, but the decisions and actions we make now will tremendously impact generations to come, says philosopher Roman Krznaric. From a global campaign to grant legal personhood to nature to a groundbreaking lawsuit by a coalition of young activists, Krznaric shares examples of ways we can become good ancestors -- or, as he calls them, "Time Rebels" -- and join a movement redefining lifespans, pursuing intergenerational justice and practicing deep love for the planet. Hos...
Oct 23, 2020•8 min
The racial wealth gap in the United States is shocking: white families have a median wealth nearly 10 times greater than that of Black families. How did we get here, and how can we stop the gap from growing? Wealth equity strategist Kedra Newsom Reeves provides a short history on the origins and perpetuation of racial wealth inequality in the US -- and outlines four ways financial institutions can expand opportunity for Black individuals, families, entrepreneurs and communities. Hosted on Acast....
Oct 22, 2020•12 min
Under the leadership of Lisa Jackson, Apple's environment and social VP and former head of the EPA, the company is already carbon neutral within their own corporate and retail boundaries. By 2030, Apple hopes to extend carbon neutrality to their supply chain and consumers. In conversation with urbanist and spatial justice activist Liz Ogbu, Jackson shares thoughts on leadership, tech, the environment and building a green economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 21, 2020•6 min
Companies worldwide are pledging to play a more meaningful role in the well-being of their employees, customers and the environment. How can they turn their promises into action? From creating a representative boardroom to committing to measurable sustainability goals, business leader Dame Vivian Hunt discusses the necessary changes companies can make to embrace stakeholder capitalism -- and shares how it could change business for good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Oct 20, 2020•14 min
In 2019, Amazon signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to become a net-zero carbon business by 2040. Dave Clark, Amazon's chief of consumer retail, and Kara Hurst, head of the company's sustainability efforts, sit down with entrepreneur and activist Lindsay Levin to discuss how the company is planning to reduce its carbon footprint across all aspects of business -- while inviting other companies to join them in this transformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 19, 2020•6 min
"If we don't act now on climate change, this coming century may be one of humanity's last," says António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres urges us to use this moment to rebuild with ambitious climate action in mind -- and lays out a blueprint for getting companies, governments and countries to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. "We can only win the race to zero together," he says. "I urge you all to get on board."...
Oct 18, 2020•6 min
Biodiversity is the key to life on Earth and reviving our damaged planet, says ecologist Thomas Crowther. Sharing the inside story of his headline-making research on reforestation, which led to the UN's viral Trillion Trees Campaign, Crowther introduces Restor: an expansive, informative platform built to enable anyone, anywhere to help restore the biodiversity of Earth's ecosystems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 17, 2020•12 min
"History has shown us that in moments of crisis, society can truly transform," says environmental educator Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Nearly 30 years ago, at just 12 years old, she spoke at the UN's Earth Summit in hopes of reversing the planet's slide into ecological disaster. Some at the summit listened and took radical action, but for the rest of the world, it was business, politics and full-steam-ahead economic growth. Now, Cullis-Suzuki shares another warning about the future, this time informed...
Oct 16, 2020•8 min
"For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet," says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of the 15 big biophysical systems that regulate the climate -- from the permafrost of Siberia to the great forests of the North to the Amazon rainforest -- are at risk of reaching tipping points, which could make Earth uninhabitable for humanity. Hear his plan for putting th...
Oct 15, 2020•8 min
With the ambitious goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, the European Union has committed to creating a greener world for future generations. In this bold talk, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, details the challenges and opportunities that come with transitioning an entire continent to clean energy -- and shows why fixing climate change calls for everyone to take action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 14, 2020•7 min
Why has there been so little mention of saving Black lives from the climate emergency? For too long, racial justice efforts have been distinguished from climate justice work, says David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham, England. In a stirring talk about building a new movement to care for the planet, Lammy calls for inclusion and support of Black and minority leadership on climate issues and a global recognition that we can't solve climate change without racial, social and intergenerati...
Oct 13, 2020•9 min
People around the world are demanding clean air -- and cities are starting to respond, says electrification advocate Monica Araya. She takes us on a world tour of urban areas that are working to fully electrify their transportation systems over the next decade, shifting to emission-free motorcycles, cars, buses, ferries and beyond. See what a future without the internal combustion engine could look like -- and what it will take to get there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...
Oct 12, 2020•11 min
The global climate crisis will require us to transform the way we act, says His Holiness Pope Francis. Delivering a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City, the spiritual leader proposes three courses of action to address the world’s growing environmental problems and economic inequalities, illustrating how all of us can work together, across faiths and societies, to protect the Earth and promote the dignity of everyone. “The future is built today,” he says. “And it is not built in isolation, but r...
Oct 11, 2020•13 min
"We start this new decade knowing that it is the most consequential period in history," says Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's "Moonshot," he calls on everyone to rise to our greatest challenge ever: the "Earthshot." A set of ambitious objectives for the planet, the Earthshot goals seek to protect and restore nature, clean the air, revive oceans, build a waste-free world and fix the climate -- all in the next decade. To do it, we'll need people in all...
Oct 10, 2020•8 min
Taking on the climate crisis can seem like an insurmountable feat. On part one of TED Radio Hour episode -- Climate Mindset -- climate scientist Tom Rivett-Carnac makes the case that what we may need most to take on the challenge is a mental shift. You can hear from more speakers and listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts. If you want to get more involved with these ideas on how we can be catalysts for preventing climate change, join Countdown -- TED's new global initiative t...
Oct 09, 2020•12 min
We could realistically see people starting to live and work on the Moon in the next decade -- and how we do it matters, says space policy researcher Jessy Kate Schingler. In this fascinating talk, she discusses the critical issues that arise when we consider civilization in outer space -- such as governance, property rights and resource management -- and shows how the Moon can be a template for solving our biggest challenges here on Earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...
Oct 08, 2020•12 min
Do you need some help? It’s OK to ask, says YeYoon Kim, a former kindergarten teacher who learned from her students how powerful and courageous it can be to reach out for support. Sharing the story of one of the most difficult periods in her life, Kim explores the happiness and joy that can come from leaning on those you love in times of need -- and encourages the rest of us to start asking for help more often. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 07, 2020•9 min
We need a global weather service for water, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra. In a talk about environmental accountability, Luthra shows how we could forecast water shortages and risks with a global data collection effort -- just like we monitor the movement of storms -- and better listen to what the earth is telling us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 06, 2020•13 min
