How wireless energy from space could power everything | Ali Hajimiri

Artificial intelligence could cost many of us our careers — but that doesn’t mean we should stop its development, says journalist Megan J. McArdle. As she watches AI encroach on her own craft, she shares a fresh take on the 19th-century Luddites, who tried to destroy machines that would upend their trade. Looking back, McArdle reframes today’s fears with a poignant question: If we halt progress to protect the present, what might we be stealing from the future? Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Learn more about TED Next at ted.com/futureyou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Actress Chloé Hayden is best known for her role as Quinnie on the popular TV show "Heartbreak High" — one of the first-ever autistic characters to actually be played by an autistic person. Now, she's inviting us to imagine a world where seeing autistic people in any role isn't groundbreaking, it's simply expected. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Learn more about TED Next at ted.com/futureyou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a mysterious wave of tics and twitches swept through a small-town high school in New York, documentary podcaster Dan Taberski set out to investigate what was really happening. Drawing on extensive research and intimate interviews with the people involved, he explores the roots of mass hysteria — and what it reveals about the line between illness and belonging. What happens when the very thing that makes us sick ... is also what connects us? Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Learn more about TED Next at ted.com/futureyou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Too many people believe in something closer to freedom from speech rather than freedom of speech," says attorney Greg Lukianoff. In a timely talk, he warns against the rise of "mob censorship" — and reminds us why free speech is the best check on power ever invented. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Learn more about TED Next at ted.com/futureyou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 21, the United States launched strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, escalating the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Political scientist Ian Bremmer explains why President Trump decided to bomb Iran, the risk of a broadening war and what to look for next at this uncertain moment. (This interview, hosted by TED’s Helen Walters, was recorded on June 22, 2025.) Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Learn more about TED Next at ted.com/futureyou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.