logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2020
25m 46s

Mexico City

TED
About this episode

Harnessing the creativity of a megalopolis isn't easy, but Mexico City shows us how it's done. Follow a real-life superhero who dons a luchador mask and cape to protect his fellow residents from speeding cars, learn how citizens are hacking their way to a better public transport system, and see what it takes to crowd-source a constitution from a city with 21 million minds.

Up next
Oct 2022
How free solo climber Alex Honnold faces fear | ReThinking w/Adam Grant
In 2017, Alex Honnold did what even the world’s best rock climbers thought was impossible. He climbed to the top of El Capitan– a granite rock mountain more than 3,000 feet high– without a rope, harness, or net. His audacious feat was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary ... Show More
43m 30s
Aug 2022
The Uyghur boxers of Istanbul
Where do you go to feel a sense of community? On the outskirts of Istanbul, one refugee community gathers to recreate a sense of home and empower themselves at a boxing gym. Listen to how the Uyghur community in Turkey is fighting in and outside of the ring to preserve their cult ... Show More
29m 51s
Aug 2022
The artists re-framing Chicago
The Bean needs to move over—there’s a new art movement in Chicago, and it’s led by artists who are completely reimagining how residents think about the spaces around them. From an artist who turned abandoned homes into art by painting them in colors rooted in Black culture, to an ... Show More
35m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2017
Urban Cable Cars
Is a new urban cable car in Mexico more than just a means of public transport? As well as ferrying thousands of people a day, it's been strategically located to link up the poorest neighbourhoods to more affluent parts of the city. It's hoped it will bring growth to a forgotten d ... Show More
22m 59s
Dec 2021
New Mexico
New Mexico has the largest Hispanic population per capita in the US. A combination of Spanish, Mediterranean, Mexican, Pueblo and even Chuck-Wagon influences. But New Mexico is also a land of drugs, guns, monster vehicles, aliens and more guns. Original airdate: 2013, Season 2. T ... Show More
47m 26s
Sep 2021
The Guerrilla Cyclists of Mexico City
Tired of waiting for the local government to build more bike lanes, a group of cyclists in Mexico City, the largest city in North America, took matters into their own hands: they painted the lanes themselves.. As traffic and pollution continue to choke cities, bicycles can ease t ... Show More
28m 33s
Nov 2022
Super Citizens
Los Angeles' El Peatonito is part of a subset of real life superheroes who are more focused on things like picking up trash and taking on civic issues than catching criminals in alleys.These super citizens take their inspiration from comic books but in some ways have more ambitio ... Show More
26m 53s
Oct 2023
Ciudad de México (México)
Para entender la historia de América, hay que conocer la historia de la ciudad de las tunas que crecen entre las piedras". México Tenochtitlan es la capital y ciudad más importante de México, así como la capital más poblada de América del Norte. La grandeza es sinónimo de esta ci ... Show More
1h 3m
Feb 2024
Trending: The Mexican mayor and a deepfake scandal
When an audio recording alleged to be from the Mayor of one of the world's largest cities started circulating online, reality was called into question. Mexico City's mayor, claimed the clip- which sounded like he was discussing a campaign against a political candidate- was AI gen ... Show More
19 m
Jan 2022
Mexico
Anthony Bourdain travels to Mexico City, Oaxaca and Cuernavaca where local residents express their passion through food, art, and the struggle for an improved quality of life. Journalist Anabel Hernandez discusses the impact on drug trade-related violence. Original Airdate: 2014, ... Show More
47m 18s
Feb 2024
Cities
The village is aglow! In episode 97 of Overthink, Ellie and David guide you through the ideas that make a metropolis tick. From Plato’s spotless Republic to Saudi Arabia’s futuristic The Line, they talk the foul and the vibrant of what it means to live in a city. Why are there so ... Show More
1h 2m
Jan 2022
Brasília
How might you go about building a capital city from scratch? 
25m 15s