logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2019
13m 10s

The power to think ahead in a reckless a...

TED
About this episode

In a forward-looking talk, author Bina Venkataraman answers a pivotal question of our time: How can we secure our future and do right by future generations? She parses the mistakes we make when imagining the future of our lives, businesses and communities, revealing how we can reclaim our innate foresight. What emerges is a surprising case for hope -- and a path to becoming the "good ancestors" we long to be.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Sunday Pick: Interview: What happens to your brain without any social contact? with Dr. Vivek Murthy
In this episode, TED Health host Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider invites Dr. Vivek Murthy, the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States, to discuss the ongoing loneliness epidemic.After the interview, Shoshana shares a TED-Ed talk from Terry Kupers, "What happens to your brain ... Show More
39m 1s
Yesterday
The art (and science) of stop-motion animation | Brian McLean
You’re invited into the world of stop-motion animation, where design and engineering collide to create fan-favorite films. Visual effects artist Brian McLean (from the Oscar-winning studio behind “Coraline” and “ParaNorman”) explores how 3D printing is revolutionizing this centur ... Show More
16m 30s
Jan 16
The brilliance of bacteria (and how they combat waste) | Patricia Aymà Maldonado
Bacteria are the most incredible creatures on Earth, says biotechnologist and TED Fellow Patricia Aymà Maldonado. She presents a groundbreaking technology that “trains” bacteria to transform organic waste into biodegradable plastic that behaves like the real thing. Learn how this ... Show More
26m 6s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
Forging The Future: Ari Wallach on The Longpath Mindset, Telos & Transgenerational Empathy
We as a global society currently face challenges—some of which are existential in nature—that simply cannot be solved with the mindset, institutions, and paradigms currently in place. Instead, these solutions require that we think beyond current economic, political, and social co ... Show More
2h 14m
Jan 2023
Owning the future
Hello and happy 2023! Normal service will resume next Monday but in the meantime we’ve got a cracking interview with co-authors Adrienne Buller and Mathew Lawrence for you. Their new book ‘Owning the Future: Power and Property in an Age of Crisis’ is all about ownership. Basicall ... Show More
31m 27s
Oct 2023
The Future of Leadership with educator Elizabeth English
<p>When we want wisdom, we turn to people older than us. But there is a lot to be learned from younger generations too.</p><p>Elizabeth English knows this. She’s the head of one of the most innovative schools in the country, The Archer School for Girls and has spent her career wo ... Show More
46m 15s
Jan 2024
How to create the future?
We surely can't control the future, but we certainly can arrange the correct atmosphere and lifestyle in hopes to live the days we aspire to experience. Learning about our childhood and how past events affected us will help us uncover the issues that are standing in the way of ou ... Show More
8m 10s
Dec 2023
How Primitive Will Our Descendants Find Us?
It’s all fun and games to think about how backwards and misguided some things people did in the past were until you realize we’ll be “the past” one day. What do we do now that will seem primitive then and how will they be better in the future?See omnystudio.com/listener for priva ... Show More
51m 42s
Sep 2017
#6 - Toby Ord on why the long-term future matters more than anything else & what to do about it
<p>Of all the people whose well-being we should care about, only a small fraction are alive today. The rest are members of future generations who are yet to exist. Whether they’ll be born into a world that is flourishing or disintegrating – and indeed, whether they will ever be b ... Show More
2h 8m
Jan 2024
You don't actually know what your future self wants | Shankar Vendantam
<p>"You are constantly becoming a new person," says journalist Shankar Vendantam. This week we’re revisiting a talk full of beautiful storytelling, where Vendantam explains the profound impact of something he calls the "illusion of continuity" — the belief that our future selves ... Show More
20m 14s
Jan 2023
You don't actually know what your future self wants | Shankar Vendantam
<p>"You are constantly becoming a new person," says journalist Shankar Vendantam. In a talk full of beautiful storytelling, he explains the profound impact of something he calls the "illusion of continuity" -- the belief that our future selves will share the same views, perspecti ... Show More
20m 14s
Apr 2021
The Power Of Possibilities
Taking stock of our past often leads us to conclude that the future will be a repetition: same struggles, same mistakes, same old patterns. But that line of reasoning has a crucial flaw. In this episode we explore the most beneficial perspective to take when it comes to your futu ... Show More
16m 39s
Jun 2022
How to predict the future with Jane McGonigal
Future forecaster and game designer Jane McGonigal ran a social simulation game in 2008 that had players dealing with the effects of a respiratory pandemic set to happen in the next decade. She wasn’t literally predicting the 2020 pandemic—but she got eerily close. Her game, set ... Show More
42m 49s