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Friday, January 23, 2026
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Digest for 1/23/2026

Explore trending topics with matching TED talks and AI insights

3 Topics • 9 Talks

Trending Topics

Featured TED Talks

Adapting to a Warming World: Innovative Climate Resilience Strategies
Let's prepare for our new climate by Vicki Arroyo

Let's prepare for our new climate

by Vicki Arroyo

Lawyer Vicki Arroyo uses environmental scholarship to show how to prepare for a future where extreme weather is more and more likely.

Summary

Vicki Arroyo's TED talk 'Let's prepare for our new climate' aligns perfectly with the trending topic of Adapting to a Warming World by highlighting innovative resilience strategies, such as redesigning cities for rising seas and extreme weather, drawing from real-world examples like New Orleans post-Katrina and Dutch flood defenses to emphasize proactive adaptation over mere mitigation.

"We can't stop climate change, but we can prepare for it by building resilience into our communities and infrastructure."

Discuss: What local climate risks does your area face, and how could Arroyo's strategies be applied there?

Watch Talk (12:18)View Discussion
Adapting to a Warming World: Innovative Climate Resilience Strategies
The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it by Katharine Hayhoe

The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it

by Katharine Hayhoe

How do you talk to someone who doesn't believe in climate change? Not by rehashing the same data and facts we've been discussing for years, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe. In this inspiring, pragmatic talk, Hayhoe shows how the key to having a real discussion is to connect over shared values like family, community and religion -- and to prompt people to realize that they already care about a changing climate.

Summary

Katharine Hayhoe's TED Talk stresses that talking about climate change is the most vital action to combat it, breaking the spiral of silence and fostering solutions. This links to adapting to a warming world by encouraging open discussions on innovative resilience strategies, building community awareness and collaborative efforts for sustainable adaptation.

"The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it."

Discuss: How can initiating conversations about climate change in your daily life contribute to developing innovative resilience strategies against global warming?

Watch Talk (17:00)View Discussion
Adapting to a Warming World: Innovative Climate Resilience Strategies
How to transform sinking cities into landscapes that fight floods by Kotchakorn Voraakhom

How to transform sinking cities into landscapes that fight floods

by Kotchakorn Voraakhom

Landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom shares innovative designs for urban landscapes that absorb rainwater and combat flooding in sinking cities like Bangkok, promoting climate resilience through green infrastructure.

Summary

In her TED Talk, landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom shares innovative designs for transforming sinking cities like Bangkok into flood-resilient landscapes using green infrastructure, directly addressing the trending topic of adapting to a warming world through climate resilience strategies that integrate nature-based solutions to combat rising seas and extreme weather.

"We can no longer fight nature; we have to work with it."

Discuss: What urban design changes could your city adopt to enhance flood resilience in the face of climate change?

Watch Talk (10:24)View Discussion
The Plastic Crisis: Solutions for Ocean Conservation
How the oceans can clean themselves by Boyan Slat

How the oceans can clean themselves

by Boyan Slat

Boyan Slat shares his bold plan to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch using innovative technology to harness ocean currents.

Summary

Boyan Slat's TED talk 'How the oceans can clean themselves' introduces innovative technology to remove plastic waste from oceans, linking directly to the plastic crisis by proposing scalable solutions for conservation and cleanup efforts.

"Why should we go out and clean the oceans? Because they deserve it."

Discuss: How can individual actions complement large-scale technologies like those proposed by Boyan Slat in addressing the plastic crisis?

Watch Talk (7:18)View Discussion
The Plastic Crisis: Solutions for Ocean Conservation
The surprising solution to ocean plastic by David Katz

The surprising solution to ocean plastic

by David Katz

David Katz explains how turning plastic waste into currency can incentivize collection and reduce ocean pollution.

Summary

David Katz's TED talk 'The surprising solution to ocean plastic' introduces Plastic Bank, a social enterprise that turns plastic waste into currency for impoverished communities, incentivizing collection and recycling to prevent ocean pollution, directly tackling the plastic crisis through innovative conservation solutions.

"We can stop plastic from entering our oceans by making plastic waste too valuable to discard."

Discuss: How might turning plastic waste into a form of currency in developing countries accelerate global efforts in ocean conservation?

Watch Talk (12:03)View Discussion
The Plastic Crisis: Solutions for Ocean Conservation
Tough truths about plastic pollution by Dianna Cohen

Tough truths about plastic pollution

by Dianna Cohen

Artist Dianna Cohen shares alarming facts about plastic pollution in the oceans and calls for action to reduce single-use plastics.

Summary

Dianna Cohen's TED talk 'Tough truths about plastic pollution' confronts the devastating impact of plastic waste on oceans, urging innovative solutions and policy changes that directly address the trending Plastic Crisis for effective ocean conservation.

"We're not going to recycle our way out of this problem; we need to reduce plastic production at the source."

Discuss: How can individuals and governments collaborate to implement Cohen's proposed solutions for curbing ocean plastic pollution?

Watch Talk (8:06)View Discussion
Revolutionizing Energy: The Rise of Sustainable Renewables
A roadmap for sustainable energy by Amory Lovins

A roadmap for sustainable energy

by Amory Lovins

Physicist Amory Lovins lays out a plan for weaning the US off oil and revitalizing the economy by focusing on energy efficiency and renewable sources.

Summary

Amory Lovins' TED talk 'A roadmap for sustainable energy' provides a visionary blueprint for shifting to renewables through efficiency and innovation, directly fueling the trending revolution in sustainable energy sources like solar and wind.

"If you do the right things right, you can make the energy problem go away."

Discuss: What barriers still hinder the global transition to sustainable renewables, and how can Lovins' roadmap help overcome them?

Watch Talk (19:30)View Discussion
Revolutionizing Energy: The Rise of Sustainable Renewables
The case for optimism on climate change by Al Gore

The case for optimism on climate change

by Al Gore

Why is Al Gore optimistic about climate change? In this spirited talk, Gore asks three powerful questions about the man-made forces threatening to destroy our planet -- and the solutions we're designing to combat them.

Summary

Al Gore's TED talk 'The case for optimism on climate change' presents compelling reasons for hope amid environmental challenges, emphasizing the exponential growth of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. This directly ties into the trending topic of revolutionizing energy through sustainable renewables, showcasing how technological advancements and falling costs are driving a global shift away from fossil fuels.

"We are now seeing the beginning of a revolution in the energy marketplace."

Discuss: What barriers remain in transitioning to fully sustainable renewable energy, and how can we overcome them?

Watch Talk (25:24)View Discussion
Revolutionizing Energy: The Rise of Sustainable Renewables
The missing link to renewable energy by Donald Sadoway

The missing link to renewable energy

by Donald Sadoway

What's the key to using alternative energy, like solar and wind? Storage -- so we can have power on tap even when the sun's not out and the wind's not blowing. In this accessible talk, Donald Sadoway takes to the blackboard to show us the future of large-scale batteries.

Summary

In his TED Talk 'The missing link to renewable energy,' Donald Sadoway discusses the development of affordable, large-scale battery storage using liquid metal technology, which addresses the intermittency of renewables like solar and wind. This innovation is pivotal to the trending revolution in sustainable energy, enabling reliable grid-scale storage to transition away from fossil fuels.

"If you want to make something dirt cheap, make it out of dirt—preferably dirt that is locally sourced."

Discuss: How might breakthroughs in battery storage like Sadoway's liquid metal battery accelerate the global shift to sustainable renewables, and what challenges remain in scaling such technologies?

Watch Talk (15:21)View Discussion