TED Talks Daily

As AI tools get better at making music, will there be a time when machines move people more than musicians? Putting that question to the test, legendary hitmaker Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd joins journalist Elise Hu to discuss how new tech is changing the music industry — followed by a live performance where he battles his digital twin to see who can write a catchier song. (Poo Bear is joined onstage by musician Sasha Sirota.) Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After building a smartphone app to bring eye care to millions of people in remote areas, eye surgeon and TED Fellow Andrew Bastawrous confronted a new question: What do we lose when health care chases speed and efficiency? He offers a quiet provocation for how to get better outcomes for patients and health care workers alike. (Following the talk, Lily James Olds, director of the TED Fellows program, interviews Bastawrous on how his company, Peek Vision, is rethinking access to eye care. The surprising solution isn’t AI or optimization, but addressing the human behaviors that make patients feel more seen — starting with how doctors can be more compassionate.) Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As AI agents take over more tasks at work, the question isn’t whether or not humans matter — it’s how we make our impact count. Leadership expert Vinciane Beauchene challenges some commonly held assumptions about how AI will transform the workplace, sharing a blueprint for leaders to design organizations where people can focus on what truly makes a difference. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a common African proverb: "When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers." Policy researcher Nanjira Sambuli says we must apply this thinking to today's AI evolution, asking: When tech giants battle for dominance, who gets trampled in the process? She introduces a new ethical compass for AI, showing how people across the continent are charting a different path for the future of tech. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can anyone become happier? Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky studies this question in her lab, doing experiments on "happiness interventions" to see what kinds of actions elicit this sought-after emotion. In a quick talk, she shares the results of her work: a small shift that can change your relationships and put you on the path to happiness. Following the talk, Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, interviews Lyubomirsky on additional changes people can do to feel more connected with each other in an increasingly online and chaotic world. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hip-hop often gets blamed for its controversial lyrics. What if there was a way to actually measure its impact on people's lives? Analyzing 40 years' worth of radio station data and lyrics from rappers like Tupac, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar, economist Roland Fryer puts one of culture's most notorious debates on trial. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever recalled a story only to have someone point out "that's not how it went"? Well, what happens when what we misrepresent are our historical narratives? David Ikard is a Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University. In this episode, he talks about the societal and personal dangers of inaccurate history knowledge, and uncovers the real story of one of history’s most iconic figures. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the calm you feel when you hear birdsong isn't a coincidence, but ancient evolutionary wiring ... a signal that once meant safety? Musical ecologist and rapper Louis VI says humans are hardwired to nature's sonic language, but modern life has drowned it out. He explores how we can tap back into the "overwhelming chorus of aliveness" we’ve stopped hearing — and performs an original song incorporating rainforest recordings from the Amazon and the Caribbean. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to advanced technology, we can now see droughts and crop failures months before they hit. So why are millions of people still going hungry? TED Fellow Catherine Nakalembe, director of the NASA Harvest program in Africa, exposes the blind spots that keep life-saving climate intelligence from reaching the communities it's designed to protect — and shares how to turn early warning into early action. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to become a K-pop superstar? Comedian and musician Charlene Kaye lays out the formula for breaking through in just a few easy steps, from rapping like a sexy baby to dancing like you’re making pizza in the Matrix. Part musical, part dance performance, part comedy show — this is your how-to guide for creating the next K-pop hit. Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.