TED Talks: Science and Wonder, the first of three new TED Talks specials planned for 2016, premieres Wednesday, March 30, 2016, 9 p.m. CT on OETA-HD. Filmed at New York's The Town Hall theater and hosted by best-selling author and comedian Baratunde Thurston, TED Talks: Science and Wonder features talks delivered before a live audience. Each talk examines the riddles of the universe that keep leading scientists awake at night, taking viewers on a mind-blowing journey examining the relationship between science and art, a look deep inside the human body, disappearing landscapes, and the world of Pixar animation as speakers look at the future of nanotechnology, the science of light, and the rise of genetic manipulation.
Featured speakers include:
Danielle Feinberg, Pixar’s director of photography, who explains how she builds a 3D world inside a computer, using math, science and code to create stories with soul and wonder;
Juan Enriquez, leading authority in genomic code and Evolving Ourselves author, who delves into the complex ethical questions raised by the rise of intelligent design;
Paula Hammond, MIT's Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, who reveals new technologies being developed to kill cancer cells;
Artist Zaria Forman, who uses her work to bring attention to the imminent perils of climate change; and
Radiolab's Latif Nasser takes us on an investigative journey high above the Arctic Circle to solve the mystery of a tiny fragment of bone from thousands of years ago.
TED Talks: Science and Wonder also includes three original short films produced by ITVS: “Bridge to the Future,” by Denise Zmekhol and Max Salomon, about designer Joris Laarman, who plans to use a robot to build a 3D bridge; “Our Place in Space,” by David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg, about the future of space exploration, featuring Bill Nye; and “The Rapture,” by Ric Burns, featuring the late Oliver Sacks.
TED Talks: Science and Wonder is a co-production of TED and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).