A few years ago I stumbled across TED Talks because a friend convinced me to check out the videos online.
Since then, I have probably watched over 100 TED and TEDx Talks on topics I would have never thought to go listen to in a lecture hall, like "How to Grow Clothes", "Moral Behavior in Animals", "Why Eyewitnesses Get it Wrong."
So here is my personal playlist of TED Talks that I have found inspiring, funny, and worth learning from.
1. Brene Brown - The power of vulnerability
A perfectionist who decided to study courage, vulnerability, authenticity, and shame.
2. Monica Lewinsky - The price of shame
One of the first people to ever be publicly shamed online, comes out to speak against cyber bullying.
3. Maysoon Zayid - I got 99 problems...and palsy is just one
This Palestinian-American woman is full of jokes and concern about the portrayal of Arab and disabled people in the media.
4. Alice Goffman - How we're priming some kids for college - and others for prison
A heartfelt talk about a sociologist's experience living in a Philadelphia neighborhood where poor people of color are given handcuffs and jail cells instead of diplomas.
5. Ash Beckham - We're all hiding something. Have the courage to open up
My favorite line, "There is no harder...there is just hard."
6. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - We should all be feminists
Part of this speech was used in Beyonce's song "Flawless" but it deserves to be watched in it's entirety.
7. Verna Myers - How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them
A diversity advocate comes out in support of black men, and how we should value them and treat them like human beings.
8. Eric X. Li - A tale of two political systems
An advocate for China's one party system and how it's organized pushes the boundaries on our ideas of democracy and our government as we know it.
9. Nick Hanauer - Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming
A self made billionaire comes out in favor of raising the minimum wage and doing away with "trickle-down economics."
10. Al Vernacchio - Sex needs a new metaphor
This teacher believes in changing our sex metaphors from referring to baseball to pizza.
11. Sir Ken Robinson - Do schools kill creativity?
Although this talk was recorded in 2006, his words still ring true today about the lack of creativity and what it means for the future.
12. Colin Stokes - How movies teach manhood
A talk that references "The Wizard of Oz," "Star Wars", and Pixar movies to highlight the need to create more positive messages for boys.
13. Dave Eggers: My wish - Once upon a school
A guy who opened a pirate shop to tutor disadvantaged kids in English.
14. Johann Hari - Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong
"What if addiction isn't about chemical hooks...what if addiction is about your cage?"
15. Theaster Gates - How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art
A humble potter from the south side of Chicago talks about turning abandoned houses into beautiful community centers.
16. Rita Pierson - Every kid needs a champion
An experienced educator gives short talk about how kids need someone to believe in them at school.
17. JR: My Wish - Use art to turn the world inside out
A French artist who pastes pictures of people on buildings to help change the world.
18. Simon Sinek - Start with why...how great leaders inspire action
Favorite line: "Martin Luther King had an 'I have a dream' speech not a 'I have a plan' speech."
19. Amy Webb - How I hacked online dating
A Jewish woman who used algorithms to create the perfect online profile, and found the husband of her dreams.
20. Dave Meslin - The antidote to apathy
A talk about obstacles to creating involvement in communities.
