TED Talks Daily

Political scientist Ian Bremmer has access to the rooms, conversations and world leaders who make the news of the day. So how does he stay on top of everything that’s going on? In conversation with TED’s Helen Walters, Bremmer opens up about how he thinks about sources, how he avoids getting spun — and what we can all do to think more clearly about the news. (This interview was recorded on May 20, 2026.)

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AI artist Mick Mahler has a counterintuitive take: the more powerful the machines get, the less the technology actually matters. Showing delightful examples of his own art, from jazz-playing spiders to a Kafka-inspired beetle film, he explains how creators can use new technology to serve their vision (not replace it). The real question — the one that separates meaningful work from AI slop — is the one only you can answer.

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Multihyphenate entertainer Keke Palmer has mastered the art of performing — on stage and off. But she realized the skills that carried her family out of poverty might be the very thing keeping her trapped. In this powerful talk, she unpacks the hidden cost of hyper-functioning and what it really means to stop acting and start living.

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Streaming media gives us access to everything instantly, but at what cost? Music professor Tom Rizzuto traces the history of physical media — from CDs and vinyl to bone music (Soviet-era records pressed onto discarded X-rays) and the near-loss of "Nosferatu" — making the case that art shouldn't just live in the cloud.

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We are wired for connection, and yet many of us spend most of our lives avoiding it, says behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley. Drawing on decades of research into happiness, loneliness and well-being, he reveals why we consistently underestimate how receptive others are to connecting — and invites us to seize the small moments that lead to a more social life.

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