Love: Notes from Session 4 of TEDNext 2024

TED’s Ikey Ajavon hosts Session 4 of TEDNext 2024 on October 22, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Jason Redmond / TED)

Session 4 of TEDNext 2024 explored the full spectrum of love, from romantic love and lost love to self-love and the love we feel for dogs. After all, isn’t this what life’s all about?

The event: Talks from Session 4 of TEDNext 2024, hosted by TED’s Ikey Ajavon

When and where: Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia

Speakers and performers: Stephanie R. Yates-Anyabwile, Navied Mahdavian, Baron Ryan, UMI, Joon Silverstein, Elias Weiss Friedman, Cloe Shasha Brooks and Rhaina Cohen

Watch TEDNext 2024 on TED Live, check out more photos from the event and learn more about attending a future TED conference

The talks in brief:

Sometimes, when we decide to do something “different” in our romantic relationships — like sleeping in separate beds or living apart — we face judgment or scorn. But couples therapist Stephanie R. Yates-Anyabwile says rejecting what we’ve always known about “good” relationships is the key to actually creating one that works for us.

It’s easy to caricature those we’ve lost, says artist Navied Mahdavian, but when we do — like when we claim someone was “always great” or “a saint” — we’re not dealing with our grief. He shares how drawing cartoons helped him distill the experience of losing his beloved grandmother and process her death.

Baron Ryan talks to himself, but he doesn’t always listen to what he has to say. In a funny, existential play (where Ryan plays both himself and his mind), he contemplates the irony of being a people pleaser, the efficacy of melatonin gummies and the squirming questions that keep many of us up at night.

In a celebration of love, singer-songwriter UMI takes the audience through a brief breathing exercise before laying down the grooves of two original tracks, “Remember Me” and “happy im.”

Fashion brands don’t tend to design with waste in mind, and that’s a problem for the planet. To divert leather scraps from incinerators and landfills, Joon Silverstein, founder of Coachtopia, explains how Coach is pioneering a circular fashion system where the company designs backwards, starting with what already exists and using creativity to turn those materials into beautiful products.

Elias Weiss Friedman made his name online by photographing dogs on the street. In conversation with TED’s Cloe Shasha Brooks, he discusses his journey from dog aficionado to dog owner, the incredible love he sees between people and their pets and what taking portraits of dogs has taught him about humanity.

We tend to consider our romantic pairings or familial ties as our most important relationships, but deep friendships can be just as meaningful. Journalist Rhaina Cohen wrote a book on the people who center their lives around a close friend, showing how much more love, care and companionship we could all get from our platonic relationships.

Watch TEDNext 2024 on TED Live, check out more photos from the event and learn more about attending a future TED conference