What happens when a mall falls into ruin? Filmmaker Dan Bell guides us through abandoned monoliths of merchandise, providing a surprisingly funny and lyrical commentary on consumerism, youth culture and the inspiration we can find in decay.

Comedian, actor, and Armchair Expert host Dax Shepard steps into the hot seat for a conversation with Adam on Clubhouse. They discuss what he's learned over the course of 300+ interviews, how he thinks about humor at work, and how he's rethought his views on masculinity. They also field questions from past WorkLife guests like Malcolm Gladwell a...

Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the other? Tests like these rely on our DNA to answer questions about our ancestry, but DNA actually can't tell us everything. P...

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt's latest book, "The Anxious Generation," is shaping cultural conversations and sparking fierce debates about the role of smartphones in society. In this timely conversation, he investigates how a smartphone-based childhood, amplified by overprotective parenting, is driving the mental health crisis among young p...

The healthcare industry in America is so focused on pathology, surgery and pharmacology -- on what doctors "do" to patients -- that it often overlooks the values of the human beings it's supposed to care for. Palliative care physician Timothy Ihrig explains the benefits of a different approach, one that fosters a patient's overall quality of lif...

What's a proven way to lower your energy costs? Would you believe: learning what your neighbor pays. Alex Laskey shows how a quirk of human behavior can make us all better, wiser energy users, with lower bills to prove it.

The sounds of the rainforest include: the chirps of birds, the buzz of cicadas, the banter of gibbons. But in the background is the almost-always present sound of a chainsaw, from illegal loggers. Engineer Topher White shares a simple, scalable way to stop this brutal deforestation — that starts with your old cell phone.

Rivers are one of nature's most powerful forces -- they bulldoze mountains and carve up the earth, and their courses are constantly moving. Understanding how they form and how they'll change is important for those that call their banks and deltas home. In this visual-packed talk, geoscientist Liz Hajek shows us how rocks deposited by ancient riv...

In 1960, composer John Cage went on television to share his latest work. But rather than using traditional instruments, Cage appeared surrounded by household clutter, including a bathtub, ice cubes, a toy fish, a rubber duck, several radios, and performed "Water Walk." Most people watching had the same question: is this even music? Hanako Sawada...

Are children poor liars? Do you think you can easily detect their lies? Developmental researcher Kang Lee studies what happens physiologically to children when they lie. They do it a lot, starting as young as two years old, and they're actually really good at it. Lee explains why we should celebrate when kids start to lie and presents new lie-de...

Teachers emotionally support our kids -- but who's supporting our teachers? In this eye-opening talk, educator Sydney Jensen explores how teachers are at risk of "secondary trauma" -- the idea that they absorb the emotional weight of their students' experiences -- and shows how schools can get creative in supporting everyone's mental health and ...

Singer-songwriter Elise LeGrow pays homage to early soul and rock innovators with intimate, stripped-down interpretations of their hits. Listen as she and her band perform two of these soulful renditions: Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" and "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea," first popularized by Johnnie and Joe.

Why do we like an original painting better than a forgery? Psychologist Paul Bloom argues that human beings are essentialists -- that our beliefs about the history of an object change how we experience it, not simply as an illusion, but as a deep feature of what pleasure (and pain) is.

Michael Shermer says the human tendency to believe strange things -- from alien abductions to dowsing rods -- boils down to two of the brain's most basic, hard-wired survival skills. He explains what they are, and how they get us into trouble.

Martin Seligman talks about psychology -- as a field of study and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner. As it moves beyond a focus on disease, what can modern psychology help us to become?

Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.

The impacts of climate change are growing, but so are the world's attempts to stop them. Hosted by Manoush Zomorodi of the TED Radio Hour, this special TED documentary examines the rapid technological revolution underway — and the real possibility of a better future for all. Featuring urban planner Anika Goss, scientist and carbon expert Julio F...

Whether you're trying to secure a pay rise or convince a friend, we are constantly practicing or are subjects of manipulation attempts. Whether we admit it or not, recognizing sly intentions and understanding how to influence others plays a significant role in achieving success. Mentalist Danny Blue introduces the skills necessary to be able to...

Optimism is not just the stuff of fairy tales. Fierce optimism is the rocket fuel for mission-aligned movements for community transformation. Against all odds, stand firm with your optimism – because it’s good for you and even better for us! What do you want people to learn from your talk? Never apologize for being an optimist. Anger a...