TED Talks
TED: What it's like to be a war refugee | Zarlasht Halaimzai
Living under the constant threat of violence has a lasting effect -- even after you escape from danger, says writer and refugee advocate Zarlasht Halaimzai. One of the millions of people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced by...
TED Talks
TED: A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea. The story of two survivors | Melissa Fleming
Aboard an overloaded ship carrying more than 500 refugees, a young woman becomes an unlikely hero. This single, powerful story, told by Melissa Fleming of the UN's refugee agency, gives a human face to the sheer numbers of human beings...
TED Talks
TED: The hidden role informal caregivers play in health care | Scott Williams
Once a cared-for patient and now a caregiver himself, Scott Williams highlights the invaluable role of informal caregivers -- those friends and relatives who, out of love, go the extra mile for patients in need. From personal care to...
SciShow
The Tiny Molecule Responsible for Startle Syndrome
Flinching in response to an unexpected loud noise might not be pleasant, but it's also not a problem for most people. For one family, however, getting startled would cause their bodies to go stiff and fall.
TED Talks
Elizabeth Lesser: Take "the Other" to lunch
There's an angry divisive tension in the air that threatens to make modern politics impossible. Elizabeth Lesser explores the two sides of human nature within us (call them "the mystic" and "the warrior”) that can be harnessed to elevate...
TED Talks
TED: What I learned as a prisoner in North Korea | Euna Lee
In March 2009, North Korean soldiers captured journalist Euna Lee and her colleague Laura Ling while they were shooting a documentary on the border with China. The courts sentenced them to 12 years of hard labor, but American diplomats...
TED Talks
TED: How loss helped one artist find beauty in imperfection | Alyssa Monks
Painter Alyssa Monks finds beauty and inspiration in the unknown, the unpredictable and even the awful. In a poetic, intimate talk, she describes the interaction of life, paint and canvas through her development as an artist, and as a...
TED Talks
TED: The little problem I had renting a house | James A. White Sr.
Fifty-three years ago, James A. White Sr. joined the US Air Force. But as an African American man, he had to go to shocking lengths to find a place for his young family to live nearby. He tells this powerful story about the lived...
TED Talks
TED: The life-changing power of assistive technologies | Jane Velkovski
This chair is my legs -- this chair is my life, says accessibility champion Jane Velkovski, who uses a wheelchair after being diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). With clarity and poise, he shares how his first motorized...
TED Talks
TED: Immigrant voices make democracy stronger | Sayu Bhojwani
In politics, representation matters -- and that's why we should elect leaders who reflect their country's diversity and embrace its multicultural tapestry, says Sayu Bhojwani. Through her own story of becoming an American citizen, the...
TED Talks
TED: I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper
What's it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing ... everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America's most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her...
TED Talks
Cesar Kuriyama: One second every day
There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life -- how are you going to remember them all? Director Cesar Kuriyama shoots one second of video every day as part of an ongoing project to collect all the special bits...
TED Talks
TED: My desperate journey with a human smuggler | Barat Ali Batoor
Photojournalist Barat Ali Batoor was living in Afghanistan -- until his risky work forced him to leave the country. But for Batoor, a member of a displaced ethnic group called the Hazara, moving home to Pakistan proved dangerous too. And...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The myth of Oisin and the land of eternal youth - Iseult Gillespie
In a typical hero's journey, the protagonist sets out on an adventure, undergoes great change and returns in triumph to their point of origin. But in the Irish genre of myth known as echtrai, the journey to the otherworld ends in a point...
TED Talks
TED: How moms shape the world | Anna Malaika Tubbs
Mothers undeniably impact and shape history -- but their stories are often left out or misrepresented, says sociologist and author Anna Malaika Tubbs. This erasure limits policies to support mothers and their essential roles in society....
TED Talks
Wes Moore: How to talk to veterans about war
Wes Moore joined the US Army to pay for college, but the experience became core to who he is. In this heartfelt talk, the paratrooper and captain -- who went on to write "The Other Wes Moore" -- explains the shock of returning home from...
TED Talks
TED: A queer vision of love and marriage | Tiq Milan and Kim Katrin Milan
Love is a tool for revolutionary change and a path toward inclusivity and understanding for the LGBTQ+ community. Married activists Tiq and Kim Katrin Milan have imagined their marriage -- as a transgender man and cis woman -- a model of...
TED Talks
Diane Benscoter: How cults rewire the brain
Diane Benscoter spent five years as a "Moonie." She shares an insider's perspective on the mind of a cult member, and proposes a new way to think about today's most troubling conflicts and extremist movements.
SciShow
Why Do We Ride Horses But Not Zebras
Zebras and horses are very similar - so why do we only ride one but not the other?
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of the original star-crossed lovers | Shannon Zhao
In the court of the Jade Emperor, a young princess had a special skill: she could pluck clouds from the sky and spin them into the softest robes. But her craft was the same day after day, and she longed for new inspiration. So the Queen...
TED Talks
My mother's final wish -- and the right to die with dignity | Elaine Fong
After a terminal cancer diagnosis upended 12 years of remission, all Elaine Fong's mother wanted was a peaceful end of life. What she received instead became a fight for the right to decide when. Fong shares the heart-rending journey to...
TED Talks
America Ferrera: My identity is a superpower -- not an obstacle
Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director and activist America Ferrera. Tracing the contours of her career, she calls for more authentic representation of different cultures in media --...
TED Talks
What COVID-19 revealed about US schools -- and 4 ways to rethink education | Nora Flanagan
The abrupt shift to online learning due to COVID-19 rocked the US education system, unearthing many of the inequities at its foundation. Educator Nora Flanagan says we can reframe this moment as an opportunity to fix what's long been...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Taino myth of the cursed creator | Bill Keegan
Before the world of humans began, there was the world of the gods. Four brothers wandered this celestial realm. One day, the brothers snuck into a spirit's house and spotted a giant gourd hanging in the corner. But as they tried to look...