Technology allows us to give cash directly to the poorest people on the planet. Should we do it? In this thought-provoking talk, veteran aid worker Joy Sun explores two ways to help the poor.

Being open and vulnerable with your loneliness, sadness and fear can help you find comfort and feel less alone, says writer and artist Jonny Sun. In an honest talk filled with his signature illustrations, Sun shares how telling stories about feeling like an outsider helped him tap into an unexpected community and find a tiny sliver of light in t...

Technologist and futurist Bill Joy talks about several big worries for humanity -- and several big hopes in the fields of health, education and future tech.

Emtithal "Emi" Mahmoud writes poetry of resilience, confronting her experience of escaping the genocide in Darfur in verse. She shares two stirring original poems about refugees, family, joy and sorrow, asking, "Will you witness me?"

What if manipulating body mass wasn't just the stuff of epic comic book stories? Is it scientifically possible to manipulate your body mass? In this series Joy Lin tackles six superpowers and reveals just how scientifically realistic they can be to us mere mortals. [Directed by Cognitive Media, narrated by James Arnold Taylor].

"We all have our own beautiful ways of moving, and this is worth celebrating," says dancer and choreographer Ryan Heffington. Inviting you to reconsider your connection to dance, he shows how even everyday experiences -- tying your shoes, rocking a baby, whisking up some mac and cheese -- can offer choreographic inspiration and help you find joy...

You don't need to plan an exotic trip to find creative inspiration. Just look up, says Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. As he shares charming photos of nature's finest aerial architecture, Pretor-Pinney calls for us all to take a step off the digital treadmill, lie back and admire the beauty in the sky above.

As the coronavirus pandemic raged in her native Sri Lanka, monk JayaShri Maathaa had a thought: two magical words that planted something beautiful in her mind and blossomed into a whole new way of being. She shares how this mantra transformed her life -- and the surprising ways gratitude can invite bliss, joy and harmony between yourself and all...

In her brutally honest, ironically funny and widely read meditation on death, "You May Want to Marry My Husband," the late author and filmmaker Amy Krouse Rosenthal gave her husband Jason very public permission to move on and find happiness. A year after her death, Jason offers candid insights on the often excruciating process of moving through ...

As a futurist who helps people prepare for all different kinds of possibilities, Jane McGonigal thinks we overuse words like "unthinkable" and "unimaginable." She introduces three hypothetical scenarios, showing how you can foster the ability to think creatively, anticipate new risks and feel ready for whatever the future may hold. (Created in c...

Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God. But one creature, Anansi, was determined to bring the stories down to Earth. Anansi went to Nyame and requested to take ownership of the world's stories. The Sky God told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished — but only if he could complete an impossible task. Emily Z...

Margaret Gould Stewart, YouTube's head of user experience, talks about how the ubiquitous video site works with copyright holders and creators to foster (at the best of times) a creative ecosystem where everybody wins.

Does science ruin the magic of life? In this grumpy but charming monologue, Robin Ince makes the argument against. The more we learn about the astonishing behavior of the universe -- the more we stand in awe.

How deep into the Earth can we go and still find life? Marine microbiologist Karen Lloyd introduces us to deep-subsurface microbes: tiny organisms that live buried meters deep in ocean mud and have been on Earth since way before animals. Learn more about these mysterious microbes, which refuse to grow in the lab and seem to have a fundamentally ...

Wanda Diaz Merced studies the light emitted by gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic events in the universe. When she lost her sight and was left without a way to do her science, she had a revelatory insight: the light curves she could no longer see could be translated into sound. Through sonification, she regained mastery over her work, and now ...

"Life is an endless sushi conveyor belt of things that are going to test you and teach you at the same time," says writer Laurel Braitman. Exploring the relationship between bravery and fear, she shares hard-won wisdom on love, loss, self-forgiveness and how to embrace the full spectrum of human emotions.

In tough economic times, our exploratory science programs -- from space probes to the LHC -- are first to suffer budget cuts. Brian Cox explains how curiosity-driven science pays for itself, powering innovation and a profound appreciation of our existence.

Speaking as both an astronomer and "a concerned member of the human race," Sir Martin Rees examines our planet and its future from a cosmic perspective. He urges action to prevent dark consequences from our scientific and technological development.

It can be hard to remain hopeful during seemingly hopeless times. Sharing hard-won wisdom on how to not give up when the going gets tough, writer Wajahat Ali talks about the challenges he faced with his daughter's cancer diagnosis and the COVID-19 pandemic, detailing three actionable things we can all do to find the silver linings in our lives -...

Has our technology -- our cell phones and iPods and cameras -- stopped us from dreaming? Young artist Shilo Shiv Suleman says no, as she demos "Khoya," her new storybook for iPad, which floats us through a magical world in 7 minutes of pure creativity.

Chantale Zuzi Leader is one of the millions of displaced people around the world. In a deeply moving talk, she reflects on losing her family, home and sense of safety — only to break through and ultimately find community and hope. It's an astounding story of resilience that speaks to today's refugee crisis.

Don't second-guess what "distracts" you, says actor-producer Yara Shahidi; that's your curiosity coming through. The star of hit shows like "black-ish" and "grown-ish" tells how she learned to spot clues to her own future — and how you can, too.

Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.

In this brand-new slideshow (premiering on TED.com), Al Gore presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists recently predicted. He challenges us to act.

It's a fateful moment in history. We've seen divisive elections, divided societies and the growth of extremism -- all fueled by anxiety and uncertainty. "Is there something we can do, each of us, to be able to face the future without fear?" asks Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. In this electrifying talk, the spiritual leader gives us three specific wa...

Sharing his experience of being held captive in a Taliban prison for 105 days, humanitarian Safi Rauf talks about his life's mission to get food, medicine and other critical supplies to Afghans in need -- and urges the world to bolster aid and establish a peaceful presence in the country during these extraordinarily difficult times. (This talk w...

Make a city beautiful, curb corruption. Edi Rama took this deceptively simple path as mayor of Tirana, Albania, where he instilled pride in his citizens by transforming public spaces with colorful designs.

Vigilance. Grit. Resilience. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the president and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine, shares where she learned these key qualities of successful leadership, offering three lessons for anyone who wants to overcome their fears, stand up for what’s right and build opportunity for all.

Pioneering surgeon Susan Lim performed the first liver transplant in Asia. But a moral concern with transplants (where do donor livers come from ...) led her to look further, and to ask: Could we be transplanting cells, not whole organs? At the INK Conference, she talks through her new research, discovering healing cells in some surprising places.

When anxiety rears its head, we often just want it to go away. Clinical psychologist David H. Rosmarin asks us to consider instead the positive role anxiety can play in our lives, sharing four practical steps to transform it from your enemy into your ally.