As a young child, Tania Luna left her home in post-Chernobyl Ukraine to take asylum in the US. And one day, on the floor of the New York homeless shelter where she and her family lived, she found a penny. She has never again felt so rich. A meditation on the bittersweet joys of childhood -- and how to hold them in mind.

Keith Nolan always wanted to join the United States military. The challenge: he is Deaf, which is an automatic disqualification according to military rules. In this talk, he describes his fight to fight for his country. (In American Sign Language with real-time interpretation by Rita Alexander)

When you picture the lowest levels of the food chain, you might imagine herbivores happily munching on lush, living green plants. But this idyllic image leaves out a huge (and slightly less appetizing) source of nourishment: dead stuff. John C. Moore details the "brown food chain," explaining how such unlikely delicacies as pond scum and animal ...

In 1932, one in four Americans was unemployed, marking the highest unemployment rate in the country's history. The Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a New Deal— a comprehensive set of legislation to support struggling citizens and put the country back to work. Meg Jacobs digs into the policies of this bold campaign...

When two people are trying to make a deal -- whether they’re competing or cooperating -- what’s really going on inside their brains? Behavioral economist Colin Camerer shows research that reveals how badly we predict what others are thinking. Bonus: He presents an unexpected study that shows chimpanzees might just be better at it.

For the microscopic lab worm C. elegans, life equates to just a few short weeks on Earth. The bowhead whale, on the other hand, can live over two hundred years. Why are these lifespans so different? And what does it really mean to 'age' anyway? Joao Pedro de Magalhaes explains why the pace of aging varies greatly across animals. [Directed by Sha...

Negative self-talk affects everyone. Grounded in personal narrative about negative self-talk's impact on his relationship with sexuality and race in his fight against eating disorders, Dean Lin reveals the harmful ways society's encouragement of negative self-talk can manifest and effective methods to avoiding negative self-talk.

“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others”. My journey to a long career in public service and health care was partly shaped by that quote and an early encounter with a friend who had a hard life. Being in healthcare during COVID-19 AND in New York City was challenging. But all of us have been im...

Htein Lin is an artist, writer and former comic actor. Having spent almost seven years in jail, he has developed artistic practices using available materials at hand. The inspiration for his work includes Buddhism and human rights. To reveal his story about being in the jail, he created the installation “A Show Hands”. He has also highlighted ...

Architecture has lost its agency and authority in defining Modern Day Myanmar’s Culture and its Built Environment. It has been frozen in time and space where it hasn’t been innovated to become a New Typology that defines us who we are as a culture and a society today.

Think about trust in government - and try not to give yourself a headache. The government often operates like a monopoly, lacking the drive to offer superior service that most businesses must deliver if they want to compete. At the same time, we aren’t engaging with each other or the institutions that give public officials the feedback they need...

Meritorious Artist Dinh Linh and his sons Dinh Nhat Thanh, Dinh Nhat Minh is a family of traditional musicians - with three generations constantly perform and preserve the art form of bamboo flute. In this performance, Artist Dinh Linh and sons give a beautiful presentation of the sound of nature, with a touch of surprise. In the spirit of ide...

The theme ‘Dare to Dream’ is quite beautifully chosen as it poses a question that every youth must confront. In this talk, Linh Dan deeply empathizes with listeners who are also navigating a sense of directionlessness when faced with the thought of pursuing big dreams. Understanding the debilitating fear of failure and pressure from expectations...

NOTE FROM TED: TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf Diane has been using poetry to transform classrooms in Southern California since 2006. Over 10,000 students graduate from Get Lit's award...

Cultural Identity. What does it mean to consider an aspect of culture a part of yourself, and in turn to say that you belong to one. Linda Pham explores the Vietnamese national costume and reveals how dedication to the process helped her not just better understand the Ao Dai, but also find meaning beyond the extracurricular project.

Ashley shares about her personal life which she broke through the gender stereotype.