TED Talks
Robert Gordon: The death of innovation, the end of growth
The US economy has been expanding wildly for two centuries. Are we witnessing the end of growth? Economist Robert Gordon lays out 4 reasons US growth may be slowing, detailing factors like epidemic debt and growing inequality, which...
TED Talks
TED: Texting that saves lives - Nancy Lublin
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. When Nancy Lublin started texting teenagers to help with her social advocacy organization, what she found was...
TED Talks
Robert Neuwirth: The power of the informal economy
Robert Neuwirth spent four years among the chaotic stalls of street markets, talking to pushcart hawkers and gray marketers, to study the remarkable "System D," the world's unlicensed economic network. Responsible for some 1.8 billion...
TED Talks
Alex Tabarrok: How ideas trump crises
The "dismal science" truly shines in this optimistic talk, as economist Alex Tabarrok argues free trade and globalization are shaping our once-divided world into a community of idea-sharing more healthy, happy and prosperous than...
TED Talks
TED: A political party for women's equality | Sandi Toksvig
Women's equality won't just happen -- not unless more women are put in positions of power, says Sandi Toksvig. In a disarmingly hilarious talk, Toksvig tells the story of how she helped start a new political party in Britain, the Women's...
TED Talks
TED: How the news distorts our worldview - Alisa Miller
Alisa Miller, head of Public Radio International, talks about why -- though we want to know more about the world than ever -- the media is actually showing us less. Eye-opening stats and graphs.
TED Talks
Jennifer Granholm: A clean energy proposal -- race to the top!
Kicking off the TED2013 conference, Jennifer Granholm asks a very American question with worldwide implications: How do we make more jobs? Her big idea: Invest in new alternative energy sources. And her big challenge: Can it be done with...
TED Talks
Lesley Hazleton: The doubt essential to faith
When Lesley Hazleton was writing a biography of Muhammad, she was struck by something: The night he received the revelation of the Koran, according to early accounts, his first reaction was doubt, awe, even fear. And yet this experience...
TED Talks
TED: A vision of crimes in the future | Marc Goodman
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. The world is becoming increasingly open, and that has implications both bright and dangerous. Marc Goodman paints a...
TED Talks
TED: How small countries can make a big impact on climate change | Nicola Sturgeon
When it comes to tackling climate change, the size of a country doesn't matter -- it's their ambition that counts, says First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. In a rousing talk, she shares examples of small nations -- from Bhutan...
TED Talks
Bruce Schneier: The security mirage
The feeling of security and the reality of security don't always match, says computer-security expert Bruce Schneier. In his talk, he explains why we spend billions addressing news story risks, like the "security theater" now playing at...
TED Talks
Dan Pacholke: How prisons can help inmates live meaningful lives
In the United States, the agencies that govern prisons are often called 'Department of Corrections.' And yet, their focus is on containing and controlling inmates. Dan Pacholke, Deputy Secretary for the Washington State Department of...
TED Talks
Noah Feldman: Politics and religion are technologies
Noah Feldman makes a searing case that both politics and religion -- whatever their differences -- are similar technologies, designed to efficiently connect and manage any group of people.
TED Talks
TED: How fear of nuclear power is hurting the environment | Michael Shellenberger
We're not in a clean energy revolution; we're in a clean energy crisis, says climate policy expert Michael Shellenberger. His surprising solution: nuclear. In this passionate talk, he explains why it's time to overcome longstanding fears...
TED Talks
TED: How innovation and technology can fight global hunger | Bernhard Kowatsch
Social entrepreneur Bernhard Kowatsch shares real-life examples of how a business approach focused on accelerating tech (like a blockchain-supported way to bring food to refugees or a machine that fortifies flour at small mills in...
TED Talks
TED: Why healthy soil matters now more than ever | Jane Zelikova
From nourishing our foods to storing massive amounts of carbon, soil is teeming with diverse microbial life that could slow global warming. Climate change scientist Jane Zelikova calls for agricultural practices that protect Earth's soil...
TED Talks
James B. Glattfelder: Who controls the world?
James Glattfelder studies complexity: how an interconnected system -- say, a swarm of birds -- is more than the sum of its parts. And complexity theory, it turns out, can reveal a lot about how the world economy works. Glattfelder shares...
TED Talks
Alice Bows-Larkin: Climate change is happening. Here's how we adapt
Imagine the hottest day you've ever experienced. Now imagine it's six, 10 or 12 degrees hotter. According to climate researcher Alice Bows-Larkin, that's the type of future in store for us if we don't significantly cut our greenhouse gas...
TED Talks
Mikko Hypponen: How the NSA betrayed the world's trust -- time to act
Recent events have highlighted, underlined and bolded the fact that the United States is performing blanket surveillance on any foreigner whose data passes through an American entity -- whether they are suspected of wrongdoing or not....
TED Talks
Jared Diamond: Why do societies collapse?
Why do societies fail? With lessons from the Norse of Iron Age Greenland, deforested Easter Island and present-day Montana, Jared Diamond talks about the signs that collapse is near, and how -- if we see it in time -- we can prevent it.
TED Talks
TED: 4 ways we can avoid a catastrophic drought | David Sedlak
As the world's climate patterns continue to shift unpredictably, places where drinking water was once abundant may soon find reservoirs dry and groundwater aquifers depleted. In this talk, civil and environmental engineer David Sedlak...
TED Talks
TED: A young scientist's quest for clean water | Deepika Kurup
Deepika Kurup has been determined to solve the global water crisis since she was 14 years old, after she saw kids outside her grandparents' house in India drinking water that looked too dirty even to touch. Her research began in her...
TED Talks
TED: Climate change isn't a distant threat -- it's our reality | Selina Neirok Leem
Every year, ocean levels rise and high tides flood the low-lying Marshall Islands in the Pacific, destroying homes, salinating water supplies and disrupting livelihoods. In a stirring poem and talk, youth climate warrior Selina Neirok...
TED Talks
TED: How I went from child refugee to international model | Halima Aden
Halima Aden made history when she became the first hijab-wearing model on the cover of Vogue magazine. Now she returns to Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp -- where she was born and lived until the age of seven -- to share an inspiring message...