James Howard Kunstler on American Suburbia
You know you want to buy into one of these.
On the one hand, it’s hard to find humor in an issue as depressingly far-reaching as this one. On the other hand, Kunstler delivers a talk about the “visual vocabulary” of America that is illuminating, informative, and yes, even funny. What separates this talk from the kind of bilious rant that I’m sure I’d produce on this issue is Kunstler’s insistance that we can fix it by embracing the ideas of new urbanism, local food, and basic environmentalism.
If you’re not familiar with TED, you should peruse the lectures they have online. Some other highlights include:
Jennifer 8. Lee looks for General Tso - an exploration of American Chinese food.
Carolyn Porco flies us to Saturn - images from the Cassini voyage to Saturn.
David Hoffman on losing everything - how would you cope?
Tim Brown on creativity and play - an eloquent argument for the link between the two.
Helen Fisher tells us why we love and cheat - the section on antidepressants is especially good.
Of course, as with any good lecture, the purpose of these TED talks is not to argue an absolute viewpoint, but to get people thinking and talking about the issues that will shape our world for years to come.