Pico Iyer

Pico Iyer

Travel writer & author of The Art of Stillness | 15 books on travel, belonging, and finding home

🇬🇧United Kingdom8 talks7 with video

About

Pico Iyer is one of the world's most beloved travel writers, author of 15 books including 'The Art of Stillness,' 'Video Night in Kathmandu,' and 'The Open Road. ' His essays for Time, The New York Times, and other publications have defined how a generation thinks about travel, home, and belonging.

Born in England to Indian parents and raised in California, he has lived in Japan for over 30 years, giving him unique perspective on cultural identity and displacement. His TED talks on stillness and the art of doing nothing have been viewed millions of times.

With 6 talks at major events, he speaks on finding meaning through travel, the value of stillness in a busy world, and what it means to belong nowhere and everywhere.

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Talks8

7 with video
Featured Talk

Silence, the Universal Medicine

In a world growing louder, faster and more fractured, author Pico Iyer makes the case for a radical act of repair. Explore why tapping into silence may be the best medicine you can give yourself, and everyone around you. (Recorded at TED2025 on April 11, 2025) Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world's leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit https://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Watch more: https://go.ted.com/picoiyer26 https://youtu.be/VoPDKjFHIDU TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com #TED #TEDTalks #PersonalGrowth

TED🇨🇦VancouverJan 2026

More Talks

The beauty of what we'll never know

TED 2016🇨🇦VancouverJun 2016

The art of stillness

TED 2014🇨🇦VancouverAug 2014

Where is home?

TED 2013🇺🇸Long BeachJun 2013

Silence, the universal medicine

TED2025🇨🇦Vancouver

Pico Iyer at Aspen Ideas Festival 2022

Aspen Ideas Festival🇺🇸Aspen
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Pico Iyer