How do Newton's Cradles connect to cancer treatments? Let's unpack the physics of some of our favorite desk toys, from dippy birds to perpetual motion machines, and explore how these scientific principles can be used beyond an office desk.

2024 will be a dangerous year for the world, says Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Forecasting the top geopolitical risks set to play out in the months to come, he untangles what's in store for the war...

We don't have to sacrifice our freedom for the sake of technological progress, says social technologist Divya Siddarth. She shares how a group of people helped retrain one of the world's most powerful AI models on a constitution they...

Leaders can't be afraid to disrupt the status quo, says pharmaceutical CEO Paul Hudson. In conversation with TED's Lindsay Levin, he shares how AI eliminates "unglamorous work" and speeds up operations while collaborations across...

After years of brand building, marketing veteran Sylvester Chauke realized that his industry had sold the world on overconsumption, with devastating consequences. He shares how marketers could instead promote sustainability with "honest...

A supportive community is the key to cultivating resilience and unlocking healing. Sharing the story of a transformative recovery program for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, human rights activist...

Theater has the power to transform the most pressing issues of our time from news stories into human stories, says director and playwright Amir Nizar Zuabi. Recounting his work on the journey of Little Amal — a 13-foot puppet symbolizing...

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...

Today, Hungary is in the gray zone between a dictatorship and a democracy, says activist Tessza Udvarhelyi. "This did not happen overnight." In a rousing talk, she reminds us just how close any country can come to authoritarianism — and...

I was in Arizona recently for Phoenix Comic-Con, and had the amazing pleasure of seeing one of Earth's greatest natural wonders… the Grand Canyon. More than a mile deep, and several miles across, it just defies belief. But I couldn't...

In recent years, immersive art exhibitions that place viewers amid the art have been a hot ticket. Popular ones featuring works from artists like van Gogh and Monet travel from city to city. But there are a growing number of permanent...

Our oceans don’t technically contain salt, but the ions salt is made of play a critical role in planet-wide processes that make the Earth habitable.

Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes on the planet, helping produce the food we eat and the air we breathe. Crop scientist Steve Long thinks it could be more efficient — and he's intent on giving it a boost. He shows how...

Irina Karamanos Adrian didn't plan on becoming Chile's First Lady — but she set out to transform the role all the same. She shares how she's fighting gender stereotypes and protecting democracy by shifting political power back to where...

US Congresswoman Lucy McBath has made it her mission to seek bipartisan solutions for gun safety, leading the way in sponsoring so-called "red flag" laws that prevent gun violence and mass shootings. In a searing and timely talk, she...

Tackling climate change costs a lot of money — and the financial sector is key to getting that money flowing. In a wide-ranging conversation, sustainable investment leaders Nili Gilbert and David Blood discuss where progress is being...

Sixty-six million years ago, near what’s now the Yucatán Peninsula, a juvenile sauropod feasted on horsetail plants on a riverbank. Earth was a tropical planet. Behemoth and tiny dinosaurs alike soared its skies and roamed its lands...

A 2006 study took a class of surgical residents and split them into two groups. Each received the same study materials, but one group was told to use specific study methods. When tested a month later, this group performed significantly...

Will you forgive me? asks community leader Sean Goode. He proposes that the promise of forgiveness before wrongdoing — what he calls "unapologetic grace" — can empower people to share their truths and create space to bridge our differences.

In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice...

The conflict in the Middle East has been a fraught subject for decades, including in the U.S., and especially within American Jewish and Muslim communities. And for almost as long, interfaith groups have sought to bring those communities...

Students who are starting to apply to colleges for the coming year are the first class to deal with the impact of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn affirmative action. For many high school students, this annual rite of passage is...

Is it possible that life on earth began with an out of this world rock buffet?

Unfortunately, the universe isn't made of sugarcoated fried dough. However, here are a few ways donuts are still managing to find their way into the physical world.