TED Talks Daily

When monarch butterflies migrate, they produce one of the most iconic wildlife spectacles in the world — and provide us with an important indicator of ecological health, says photographer Jaime Rojo. Telling a story about our relationship to the natural world, he shares his experience photographing these mesmerizing insects deep in their remote mountain habitats in Mexico, diving into the latest research into the mysteries of their multi-thousand-mile journey and sharing how each of us can join the growing movement to protect them. This episode originally aired on October 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this TED Talk gone wrong, comedian Mike Albo receives an unexpected call from his bank. The result: a hilariously uncomfortable tour of his purchase history, and a reminder that in the digital age, our data knows us a little too well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a world where design trends are quietly converging — same color palettes, same typography, same illustration styles — how do you make work that actually looks different? Designer and TED Fellow Lope Gutierrez-Ruiz distills his answer into three sharp, counterintuitive ideas, ticking through his studio's own funky creations to show how you can make things that stand out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Covering global war stories can be hard and thankless — but it's critical work if the rest of us are to understand what's really going on in the world. For nearly two decades, journalist Jane Ferguson has reported on hostilities across Africa and the Middle East, and she's witnessed firsthand the changing face of her profession. Via stories of her own experiences at the heart of complex conflicts, she shares fascinating details of how she and other female colleagues have changed the way that news is captured, shared — and understood. This episode originally aired in November 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits conversations with renowned poets Eileen Myles, Elizabeth Alexander, Sarah Kay, and Amber Tamblyn. These excerpts reflect on language, identity, memory, and the lived experience that fuels their work. Together, they reveal poetry as an intimate practice that resonates beyond the page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To calm the storm inside your mind, you must first understand it. Singer and actress Rhonda Ross shares her theory of "emotional sovereignty" — the idea that your feelings aren't shaped just by your circumstances, but by the thoughts running on loop in your head. In conversation with scholar and TED Fellow Daniel Alexander Jones, Ross introduces the unexpected, music-rooted practice for taking control of your narrative. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author David Larbi recites a poem about the journey toward joy, reminding us of all the ways it can be found: having a conversation with a stranger, tasting the perfect bite of food or enjoying a good stretch. Joy is all around us — you just need to know where to look. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are you wearing, and why? This is the question that writer and TED Fellow Mitchell S. Jackson asks as he unpacks the six eras of NBA style. Tracing an arc from Bill Russell to Lebron James and beyond, he explores how players use fashion on and off the court to challenge the limits placed upon them — revealing a deeper story about culture, identity and power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can happy rats teach us about human joy? Behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert describes how her team trained rats to drive tiny cars to earn treats — and noticed something surprising about how effort and anticipation affect the brain. The experiment opens new questions about how reward, agency and "behaviorceuticals" might help build resilience and support mental health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires destroyed his home and neighborhood, scientist Christian Busch encountered the opposite of serendipity: "zemblanity," or bad luck by design. Drawing on more than a decade of scientific research, he explores how people can navigate unpredictability by adopting a serendipity mindset that transforms setbacks into unexpected new beginnings. He asks: What if good luck isn't random but can actually be cultivated? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.