TED: The Future We Will Create

TED, which stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design,” is an annual, invitation-only gathering of the brightest and most creative minds on the planet, a kind of live Wired meeting of the people who are shaping our future. Actress Daphne Zuniga attended the 2006 TED with camera in tow, and the resulting documentary TED: The Future We Will Create—which she directed and narrates—is stupendously hopeful. In fact, there's a palpable electricity to the TED sessions excerpted here featuring a wide range of luminaries, including scientists creating innovative programs to bring first-world health and education opportunities to kids in developing countries; artists, comedians, musicians, and poets with startling perspectives on modern life; philosophers who talk about human potential; engineers on the cutting edge of the human/machine interaction; and many others who are deeply inspiring—not only because of their genius but also for their seemingly boundless energy and optimism. Al Gore, Nicholas Negroponte, Peter Gabriel, and Julia Sweeney are among the presenters here who offer a buoyant antidote to the mood of doom and gloom that seems to infect so much of our thinking today. DVD extras include 12 full-length TED sessions. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (M. Johanson)