Sarah Parcak uses satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above earth to uncover hidden ancient treasures buried beneath our feet. There's a lot to discover; in the egyptian Delta alone, Parcak estimates we've excavated less than a...

This week on Crash Course Literature, John Green is continuing to talk about Shakespeare's dark, bloody, Scottish play, Macbeth. This time around, we're looking at the play's characters operate, how the play deals with gender, and the...

This week, researchers announced a novel cancer drug has become the first of its kind to reach clinical trials. Also, new research into vampire bat friendships could help us learn more about animal (and human) behavior.

The world-changing promise of synthetic biology and gene editing has a dark side. In this far-seeing talk, author and entrepreneur Rob Reid reviews the risks of a world where more and more people have access to the tools and tech needed...

Humans are great at creating, and solving, problems. Hank talks with Gina McCarthy about the biggest public health problem we face today: climate change. Gina McCarthy is the Director of C-CHANGE (Center for Climate, Health and the...

The climate crisis has been largely caused by irresponsible adults in developed countries, but it's the children of developing nations -- like Zimbabwean environmental activist Nkosilathi Nyathi -- that suffer from the most disastrous...

Floods, droughts, heat waves and cold blasts -- why is the weather becoming more extreme? Environmentalist and "America's weatherman" Al Roker discusses the link between climate change and disruptions to weather patterns worldwide,...

DO A BARREL ROLL! Or at least, try…? The iconic move from Star Fox seems so easy, just press a button and BOOM. The ship rolls. But HOW? Barrel rolls in atmosphere are easy to execute with the use of ailerons, but in space, it's a...

William Black is a former bank regulator who’s seen firsthand how banking systems can be used to commit fraud — and how “liar's loans” and other tricky tactics led to the 2008 US banking crisis that threatened the international economy....

HEPA filters are the basis of modern filtration - but they also represent a straight line from the Manhattan Project to your living room!

In a dystopian world, your resistance group is humanity's last hope. Unfortunately, you've all been captured by the tyrannical rulers and brought to the ancient coliseum for their deadly entertainment. Will you be able to solve the...

Singing in Spanish, Portuguese and English, LADAMA brings a vibrant, energizing and utterly danceable musical set to the TED stage. In between performances of their songs "Night Traveler" and "Porro Maracatu," they discuss how...

Humans have been battling heartburn for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But recently the incidence has risen, making it a common complaint worldwide. What causes this problem, and how can it be stopped? Rusha Modi details the...

We'll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says...

As if you needed any more proof that alcohol just makes weird stuff happen, Quick Questions explains why alcohol can make you /feel/ warm, when it's actually making your body colder. You'll never think of brandy the same way again!

If a doctor has told you to quit smoking, that's not just because they're worried about lung cancer. Those cigarettes are messing up your body's natural healing process in more ways than one.

Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he's drawing attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris...

You’re cruising down the highway when all of a sudden endless rows of brake lights appear ahead. There’s no accident, no stoplight, no change in speed limit, or narrowing of the road. So why is there so much traffic? It's due to a...

Koalas are pretty darn cute, but...they aren’t the brightest bulb on the continent. They will only eat eucalyptus leaves off the branch. On a plate, a koala won’t recognize their one and only food. Yet, somehow, koalas are still alive....

From Siri to Alexa to Google, virtual assistants already permeate our lives. What will the next generation of these digital helpers look and sound like? Customer experience professional Karen Lellouche Tordjman gives us a glimpse of...

Tesla's Autopilot system is the most advanced available right now, but it has limitations, and some of those limitations might be us.

This week Craig talks about police searches and seizures. Now, the fourth amendment says that you have the right to be protected against "unreasonable searches and seizures" but what exactly does this mean? Well, it's complicated. The...

For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet, says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of the 15 big...

Accepting the 2006 TED Prize, Dr. Larry Brilliant talks about how smallpox was eradicated from the planet, and calls for a new global system that can identify and contain pandemics before they spread.