Why I have coffee with people who send me hate mail

"Conversation is the most difficult thing in a democracy, and also the most important." Read online

This week on TED.com November 10, 2018

Talk of the week Özlem Cekic: Why I have coffee with people who send me hate mail 15:21 minutes · Filmed Sep 2018 · Posted Nov 2018 · We the Future Özlem Cekic's email inbox has been full of hate mail since 2007, when she won a seat in the Danish Parliament -- becoming the first Muslim woman to do so. At first she just deleted the emails, dismissing them as the work of fanatics, until one day a friend made an unexpected suggestion: to reach out to the hate mail writers and invite them to meet for coffee. Hundreds of "dialogue coffee" meetings later, Cekic shares how face-to-face conversation can be one of the most powerful forces to disarm hate -- and challenges us all to engage with people we disagree with. Watch now »

Playlist of the week How passion becomes purpose Be inspired to find the work you love to do with these TED Talks full of passion and zeal. Watch » 10 TED Talks to browse • Total run time 2:16:03

This week's new TED Talks In a lively talk and tech demo, physicist Suzie Sheehy shows us where some of our most useful modern technology (including the tech you're using right now) comes from: A centuries-old, curiosity-driven experiment that seemed to have no practical purpose at the time. Because sometimes, she says, "pointless" scientific research can lead to world-changing discoveries.  Watch » How does Hollywood choose what stories get told on-screen? Too often: groupthink. As a producer, Franklin Leonard saw too many great screenplays never get made because they didn't fit the mold. So he started the Black List, an anonymous email that shared his favorite screenplays and asked: Why aren't we making these movies? Learn the origin story of some of your favorite films with this fascinating insider view of the movie business. Watch » "We are living in a world that is tantalizingly close to ensuring that no one need die of hunger or malaria or diarrhea," says economist Michael Green. To help spur progress, back in 2015 the UN drew up a set of 17 goals around important factors like health, education and equality. In this data-packed talk, Green shares his analysis on the steps each country has (or hasn't) made toward these Sustainable Development Goals. Watch » Who controls the internet? Increasingly, the answer is large corporations and governments, a trend that's threatening digital privacy and access to information online, says web developer Tamas Kocsis. In this informative talk, Kocsis breaks down the different threats to internet freedom -- and shares his plan to build an alternative, decentralized network that returns power to everyday users. Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com Do the same 3 people dominate all your meetings? How to change that   These lessons from diversity and inclusion research will help broaden the conversation -- and raise more great ideas. Read » Who dunked Ariana Grande in a pool of paint? This artist What it took to create the powerful imagery in "God Is a Woman." Read » Meet some awesome dogs who help conserve our wildlife These incredible pups catch poachers, sniff out invasive plants and diseases, and a whole lot more. Read »

Quote of the Week “ Now, I can't take credit for the success of any of those movies. I didn't write them, I didn't direct them, I didn't produce them, I didn't gaff them, I didn't make food and craft service -- we all know how important that is. What I did was change the way people looked at them. Accidentally, I asked if the conventional wisdom was correct." Franklin Leonard How I accidentally changed the way movies get made (Get the transcript)

New podcast: The TED Interview Dalia Mogahed on Islam in the world today: Just after 9/11, Dalia Mogahed asked: what do 1.8 billion Muslims really think? In a grand research project with Gallup, she interviewed more than 50,000 Muslims about their lives, their dreams, and the state of their religion. Today, she continues her research on Muslims as the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. In this intimate conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, she opens up about her own faith and shares what she believes are the most common misconceptions of the world’s second-biggest religion. Listen for free here, or anywhere you go for podcasts.

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