October  9,  2015  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  CONTACTS:  Matt  Polk,  Jeffrey  Fauver,  Kelly  Stotmeister  917-­‐261-­‐3988  LINK:  Photos  &  Bios  

 TED  &  PBS  ANNOUNCE  ADDITIONAL  TALKS,  PERFORMANCES  &  FILMS    For  

TED  TALKS  LIVE      IN  NEW  YORK’S  THEATER  DISTRICT    NEW  PARTICIPANTS  JOINING  THE  LINE-­‐UP  INCLUDE    RAJIV  CHANDRASEKARAN,  YUSEF  KOMUNYAKAA,    MESHELL  NDEGEOCELLO,  ANNA  DEVEARE  SMITH  and  many  others!    Six-­‐Night  Event  Features  Three  Programs:    November  1  &  2:  The  Education  Revolution  November  3  &  4:  War  &  Peace  November  5  &  6:  Science  &  Wonder    

At  The  Town  Hall  (123  West  43rd  Street)  in  New  York’s  Theater  District    

Week-­‐Long  Series  Marks  TED’s  First  Speaker  Event  in  Manhattan,    Offers  Unprecedented  Access  to  Students,  Educators  &  Veterans      

(New   York,   NY)   TED,   the   nonprofit   devoted   to   Ideas  Worth   Spreading,   and   PBS   are   thrilled   to   announce   additional  participants   for   the   first   ever   TED   TALKS   LIVE,   a   six-­‐night   speaker   event   featuring   TED   Talks,   short   films   and  performances  at  The  Town  Hall  (123  West  43rd  Street)  in  New  York’s  famed  Theater  District.      Participants   joining   the   previously   announced   line-­‐up   include:   Jeremy   Bailenson,   Sangeeta   Bhatia,   Christianne  Boudreau,  Daniella  Carter,  Rajiv  Chandrasekaran,  Thomas  Dolby,  Danielle  Feinberg,  Zaria  Forman,  Graham  2  Dance  Company,   Jim   Green,   Paula   Hammond,   Eric   Haseltine,   Yusef   Komunyakaa,   Nadia   Lopez,   Sean   McComb,   Meshell  Ndegeocello,   Samantha   Nutt,   Arati   Prabhakar,   Jamila   Raqib,   Anna   Deveare   Smith,   Tierney   Thys   and   Martha  Wainwright.    Each  program  will  also  screen  two  short  films,  featuring  work  by  award-­‐winning  filmmakers  Geeta  Gandbhir,  Perri  Peltz,  Greg  Whiteley,  Heather  Courtney,  Anayansi  Prado,  Jon  Halperin,  Mark  Mannucci,  Michèle  Stephenson,  Joe  Brewster,  David  Alvarado,  Jason  Sussberg,  Tony  Gerber,  Lynn  Nottage,  Denise  Zmeckol,  Max  Solomon,  and  Ric  Burns.    TED  TALKS  LIVE  offers  an  unprecedented  opportunity  to  view  a  TED  event  for  FREE  to  students,  educators  and  veterans  who  apply   for  passes  online.  More   than  1,800   tickets  have  been  distributed   to   students  and  educators  and  are  SOLD  OUT,  due  to  popular  demand  from  applicants;  FREE  tickets  are  still  available  for  veterans.  Tickets  for  the  general  public  are  $100  with  50%  off  for  active  military  to  the  War  &  Peace  programs.  

  2    TED   TALKS   LIVE   is   a   co-­‐production   with   PBS   and   the   Independent   Television   Service   (ITVS),   and   is   funded   by   the  Corporation  for  Public  Broadcasting  (CPB)’s  Diversity  and  Innovation  Fund.    Featuring  three  programs  over  six  nights,  November  1  –  6  at  7:30pm,  TED  TALKS  LIVE   is  hosted  by  best-­‐selling  author,  comedian  and  activist  Baratunde  Thurston.  Speakers  will  share  ideas  in  quick,  powerful  talks—18  minutes  or  less,  TED’s  signature  format.    TED  TALKS  LIVE:     The  Education  Revolution  (November  1  &  2)     Daniella  Carter,  founder  of  Gender  Global     Harlem  Samba,  Brazilian  percussion  ensemble     Sam  Kass,  former  White  House  chef,  NBC  senior  food  analyst  &  MIT  Media  Lab  Fellow     Sal  Khan,  educator  &  social  entrepreneur     Nadia  Lopez,  principal  of  Mott  Hall  Bridges  Academy     Julie  Lythcott-­‐Haims,  academic  &  best-­‐selling  author  of  How  to  Raise  an  Adult     Andrew  Mangino,  CEO  &  co-­‐founder  of  The  Future  Project     Sean  McComb,  2014  National  Teacher  of  the  Year     Meshell  Ndegeocello,  Grammy  Award  nominated  singer-­‐songwriter,  rapper,  bassist  &  vocalist     Sara  Ramirez,  Tony  Award-­‐winning  singer,  songwriter  &  actress    

Victor  Rios,  sociology  professor  &  author  of  Punished:  Policing  the  Lives  of  Black  &  Latino  Boys     Dena  Simmons,  educator  at  The  Yale  Center  for  Emotional  Intelligence     Anna  Deveare  Smith,  MacArthur  Fellowship  recipient,  Pulitzer  Prize  finalist  &  theater  artist       Featuring  short  films  by:     Heather  Courtney,  Anayansi  Prado,  Greg  Whiteley    TED  TALKS  LIVE:   War  &  Peace  (November  3  &  4)     Christianne  Boudreau,  mother  of  ISIS  recruit  &  the  late  Damian  Clairmont     Rajiv  Chandrasekaran,  journalist  &  bestselling  author     Adam  Driver,  Marine  Corps  veteran  &  Emmy-­‐nominated  actor     Hector  Garcia,  clinical  psychologist,  expert  on  PTSD  &  author  of  Alpha  God     Graham  2,  Martha  Graham  School’s  pre-­‐professional  dance  company     Sebastian  Junger,  journalist,  best-­‐selling  author  &  Oscar  nominee  for  Restrepo     Yusef  Komunyakaa,  Pulitzer  Prize-­‐winning  poet     Samantha  Nutt,  bestselling  author,  humanitarian  &  founder  of  War  Child  USA  and  Canada     Jamila  Raqib,  peacemaker  &  executive  director  of  The  Albert  Einstein  Institution     Simon  Sinek,  ethnographer  &  leadership  expert     Rufus  Wainwright,  Grammy  Award  nominated  singer-­‐songwriter  &  composer     Martha  Wainwright,  folk-­‐rock  singer-­‐songwriter         Featuring  short  films  by:     Joe  Brewster,  Geeta  Gandbhir,  Tony  Gerber,  Jon  Halperin,  Mark  Mannucci,   Lynn  Nottage,  Perri  

Peltz,  Michèle  Stephenson        TED  TALKS  LIVE:     Science  &  Wonder  (November  5  &  6)       Jeremy  Bailenson,  founding  director  of  Stanford  University’s  Virtual  Human  Interaction  Lab     Sangeeta  Bhatia,  biological  engineer  &  professor  at  MIT     Paul  Cantelon,  film  composer  &  musician     Thomas  Dolby,  musician       Juan  Enriquez,  leading  authority  on  genomic  code  &  author  of  Evolving  Ourselves     Danielle  Feinberg,  director  of  photography  at  Pixar  Animation  Studios     Zaria  Forman,  visual  artist  

  3     Jim  Green,  planetary  science  division  director  for  NASA     Paula  Hammond,  head  of  the  department  of  chemical  engineering  at  MIT     Eric  Haseltine,  technologist     Angela  McLusky,  Grammy  Award  nominated  singer-­‐songwriter     Latif  Nasser,  reporter  &  research  director  for  Radiolab     Arati  Prabhakar,  engineer  &  head  of  Defense  Advanced  Research  Projects  Agency  (DARPA)       John  “Scrapper”  Sneider,  jazz  trumpet  player  &  composer     Tierney  Thys,  Marine  Biologist  &  Science  Educator       Featuring  short  films  by:     David  Alvarado,  Ric  Burns,  Max  Solomon,  Jason  Sussberg,  Denise  Zmeckol    Each  of   the  TED  TALKS  LIVE  programs  will  be   filmed  and  broadcast  as   three  one-­‐hour   specials   to  premiere  on  PBS   in  spring  2016.    EVENT  &  TICKET  INFORMATION:  TED  TALKS  LIVE   is  November  1  –  6,  2015  at  7:30pm  at  The  Town  Hall  (123  West  43rd  Street).  Tickets  are  $100  and  are  available  online  at  ticketmaster.com,  and  in  person  at  The  Town  Hall  Box  office  (123  West  43rd  Street).  For  War  &  Peace,  veterans  can  apply  online  for  FREE  tickets.  Active  military  service  members  can  purchase  tickets  at  for  50%  off  using  the  code  MILITARY  at  ticketmaster.com  and  in  person  at  The  Town  Hall  Box  Office.    ABOUT  THE  TED  TALKS  LIVE  PROGRAMS  The  Education  Revolution  (November  1  &  2)  What   will   the   classroom   look   like   in   the   future?  How   will   on-­‐line   lessons   change   the   way   children   learn   and  how  important  is  it  for  teachers  to  be  culturally  relevant  to  their  students?  How  do  we  stop  the  school  to  prison  pipeline  and   ensure   every   child   graduates   high   school?  These   are   just   a   few   of   the   questions   we'll   be   asking   and   trying   to  answer  with   some   of   the   brightest   minds   in   the   country,   including     Anna   Deveare   Smith,  Sam   Kass,  Nadia   Lopez  and  Salman  Khan,  music  by  Meshell  Ndegeocello,  and  a  series  of  specially  commissioned  short  films  by  award  winning  film  makers.      War  &  Peace  (November  3  &  4)    Can  we  build  a  future  without  war?  What  does  it  take  to  bring  peace?  Join  those  who  have  experienced  every  aspect  of  war—fighters,   journalists,  psychologists,  and  more—for  a   look  at   the   impact  of  war   in   the  world.  Learn  how   it  affects  every   one   of   us   in   these   extraordinary,   passionate   talks   and   performances   from   Adam   Driver,   Rufus   Wainwright,  Sebastian  Junger,  and  many  more  vital  voices.      Science  &  Wonder  (November  5  &  6)  The  final  two  nights  at  the  Town  Hall  will  take  the  audience  on  a  journey  through  space,  the  human  body,  disappearing  landscapes   and   the  world   of   Pixar   animation   as   speakers   look   at   the   future   of   nanotechnology,   the   power   of   virtual  reality,  the  search  for  life  beyond  earth  with,  the  science  of  light,  the  hybridization  of  human  and  machine  capabilities  and   much   more.   Featured   speakers   include  Pixar's   head   of   photography  Danielle   Feinberg,   MIT's   Paula   Hammond,  NASA's  Director  of  Planetary  Exploration  Jim  Green,  Radiolab's  Latif  Nasser  and  many  others.    The  evenings  will  also  contain,  music,  performance,  short  films  and  a  surprise  guest.      ABOUT  TED  TED   is   a   nonprofit   organization   devoted   to   Ideas  Worth   Spreading,   usually   in   the   form   of   short,   powerful   talks   (18  minutes   or   fewer)   delivered   by   today’s   leading   thinkers   and   doers.   Many   of   these   talks   are   given   at   TED’s   annual  conference   in   Vancouver,   British   Columbia,   and   made   available,   free,   on   TED.com.   TED   speakers   have   included   Bill  Gates,   Jane  Goodall,  Elizabeth  Gilbert,  Sir  Richard  Branson,  Nandan  Nilekani,  Philippe  Starck,  Ngozi  Okonjo-­‐Iweala,  Sal  Khan  and  Daniel  Kahneman.  TED's  open  and   free   initiatives   for  spreading   ideas   include  TED.com,  where  new  TED  Talk  videos  are   posted   daily;   the   Open   Translation   Project,   which   provides   subtitles   and   interactive   transcripts   as   well   as  translations   from   thousands   of   volunteers  worldwide;   the   educational   initiative  TED-­‐Ed;   the   annual  million-­‐dollar   TED  

  4  Prize,  which   funds  exceptional   individuals  with  a  “wish,”  or   idea,   to  create  change   in   the  world;  TEDx,  which  provides  licenses  to  thousands  of   individuals  and  groups  who  host   local,  self-­‐organized  TED-­‐style  events  around  the  world;  and  the  TED   Fellows  program,  which   selects   innovators   from   around   the   globe   to   amplify   the   impact   of   their   remarkable  projects  and  activities.    The   spirit   of   openness   is   foundational   to   TED’s   mission   of   spreading   ideas.   What   was   once   simply   a   closed-­‐door  conference  devoted  to  Technology,  Entertainment  and  Design  has  become  a  global  platform  for  spreading  ideas  across  a  wide  variety  of  disciplines.  Founded  in  1984,  the  first  TED  conferences  were  held  in  Monterey,  California.  In  2006,  TED  experimented  with  putting  TED  Talk  videos  online  for  free  –  a  decision  that  opened  the  doors  to  a  radically  new  model  for   sharing   ideas:   today   there   are  nearly   2,000  TED  Talks   available   for   free  on  TED.com,  which  are   viewed   close   to   a  million  times  a  day,  with  more  than  two  and  a  half  billion  views  total.  Thanks  to  the  support  of  thousands  of  volunteer  translators,   there  are  nearly  70,000  published  translations  of  TED  Talks   in  107   languages.  TEDx,   the   licensing  program  that  allows  communities  to  produce   independently  organized  TED  events,  has  already  seen  nearly  12,000  such  events  held   in  166  countries.  For  more   information  about  TED  Talks  Live,  visit  go.ted.com/tedtalkslive.  Follow  TED  on  Twitter  at  twitter.com/TEDTalks,  on  Facebook  at  facebook.com/TED  or  Instagram  at  instagram.com/ted.    ABOUT  CPB  The  Corporation   for   Public   Broadcasting   (CPB),   a   private,   nonprofit   corporation   created   by   Congress   in   1967,   is   the  steward  of   the   federal  government's   investment   in  public  broadcasting.   It  helps   support   the  operations  of  more   than  1,400   locally-­‐owned  and   -­‐operated  public   television  and   radio   stations  nationwide,  and   is   the   largest   single   source  of  funding  for  research,  technology,  and  program  development  for  public  radio,  television  and  related  online  services.  For  more  information,  visit  cpb.org.      ABOUT  PBS  PBS,   with   its   over   350  member   stations,   offers   all   Americans   the   opportunity   to   explore   new   ideas   and   new  worlds  through  television  and  online  content.  Each  month,  PBS  reaches  nearly  109  million  people  through  television  and  over  28  million  people  online,   inviting   them  to  experience  the  worlds  of  science,  history,  nature  and  public  affairs;   to  hear  diverse  viewpoints;  and  to  take  front  row  seats  to  world-­‐class  drama  and  performances.  PBS’  broad  array  of  programs  has   been   consistently   honored   by   the   industry’s  most   coveted   award   competitions.   Teachers   of   children   from   pre-­‐K  through  12th  grade  turn  to  PBS  for  digital  content  and  services  that  help  bring  classroom  lessons  to   life.  PBS’  premier  children’s   TV  programming  and   its  website,   pbskids.org,   are  parents’   and   teachers’  most   trusted  partners   in   inspiring  and  nurturing  curiosity  and  love  of  learning  in  children.  More  information  about  PBS  is  available  at  pbs.org,  one  of  the  leading   dot-­‐org   websites   on   the   Internet,   or   by   following  PBS   on   Twitter,  Facebook  or   through   our  apps   for   mobile  devices.   Specific   program   information   and   updates   for   press   are   available   at  pbs.org/pressroom  or   by   following  PBS  PressRoom  on  Twitter.    ABOUT  ITVS  Independent   Television   Service   (ITVS)   funds,   presents,   and   promotes   award-­‐winning   documentaries   on   public  television,   innovative   new   media   projects   on   the   Web,   and   the   Emmy   Award-­‐winning   weekly   series  “Independent  Lens”  on  Monday   nights   at   10pm   on   PBS.  Mandated   by   Congress   in   1988   and   funded   by   the   Corporation   for   Public  Broadcasting,   ITVS   has   brought   thousands   of   independently   produced   programs   to   American   audiences.   For   more  information,  visit  itvs.org.    ABOUT  THE  TOWN  HALL  Town  Hall  is  a  1,500-­‐seat  national  historic  landmark  venue  in  the  heart  of  New  York  City,  created  by  suffragists  in  1921  and   host   to   countless  musical   and   cultural  milestones…   Strauss,   Stravinsky,   and   Isaac   Stern  made   their  US   debuts   at  Town  Hall.  Marian  Anderson  gave  her  first  New  York  recital  there.  Dizzy  Gillespie  and  Charlie  Parker  debuted  bebop  to  the  world  at  Town  Hall.  Margaret  Sanger  was  arrested  for  daring  to  speak  to  an  audience  of  men  and  women  about  birth  control.  Bob  Dylan  performed  his   first  major   concert  at  Town  Hall.  America’s  Town  Meeting  of   the  Air  was  one  of   the  most   celebrated   and   influential   public   discussion   shows   of   the   twentieth   century,   and   featured   guests   as   diverse   as  Eleanor  Roosevelt,  Langston  Hughes,  Richard  Nixon,  and  Jackie  Robinson.  In  recent  history,  Jack  White,  Patti  Smith,  Larry  David,   Joan   Baez,   Stephen   Colbert,   Tig   Notaro,   Gilberto   Gil,   Garrison   Keillor,   Ray   LaMontagne,   Ira   Glass,   and   Neil  deGrasse  Tyson  all  performed  at  Town  Hall.  thetownhall.org  

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