Ideas Worth Spreading - Airdate - 1/8 - 4 p.m. (ET)

Update - 1/8/09: This show has aired. You can download the MP3 from our archive. Let us know what you think!
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Joe Hardtke

Fans of deep thinking, Stephen Hawking and YouTube might be familiar with the TED Conference. Short for Technology, Entertainment, Design, the annual conference brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers (Richard Branson, Jane Goodall, Al Gore, Bono, E.O. Wilson and the aforementioned Mr. Hawking) and challenges them to give the talk of their lives... ...in under 18 minutes.



This mandate has resulted in a flurry of ideas since TED's inception in 1984. World-changing ideas that come from inspired, entertaining speakers who reach for your brain-stem and give it a good shake, if not a tickle. Where else would geeky rock wordsmiths They Might Be Giants bump shoulders with microbiology prodigy Eva Vertes?

So this Thursday, we're inviting TED Curator Chris Anderson on to the show to preview the next TED Conference taking place next month in Long Beach, California. We want to know what world-changing ideas TED is currently exploring and, even more importantly, how can we make those good ideas viral. Everyone has passed along a goofy YouTube video to a friend, but what does a good idea need to have to capture that same area of our collective imagination. Chris may have more than a few thoughts about this.

Please respond with your questions for Chris right here or at the Here on Earth Hotline - 1-877-GLOBE-07. We'll read or play them back on the show. And in the meantime, check out global health professor and TED speaker Hans Rosling, using his statistics to systematically rock our outdated views on "The Third World."