TED Talks
TED: Why I chose a gun | Peter van Uhm
Peter van Uhm is the Netherlands' chief of defense, but that does not mean he is pro-war. In this talk, he explains how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not a desire for bloodshed -- and why we need armies if we want peace.
TED Talks
TED: 3 questions to ask yourself about US citizenship | Jose Antonio Vargas
At age 16, journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas found out he was in the United States illegally. Since then, he's been thinking deeply about immigration and what it means to be a US citizen -- whether it's by birth, law or...
TED Talks
Patrick Chappatte: The power of cartoons
In a series of witty punchlines, Patrick Chappatte makes a poignant case for the power of the humble cartoon. His projects in Lebanon, West Africa and Gaza show how, in the right hands, the pencil can illuminate serious issues and bring...
TED Talks
TED: This is what it's like to go undercover in North Korea | Suki Kim
For six months, Suki Kim worked as an English teacher at an elite school for North Korea's future leaders -- while writing a book on one of the world's most repressive regimes. As she helped her students grapple with concepts like...
TED Talks
Arvind Gupta: Turning trash into toys for learning
At the INK Conference, Arvind Gupta shares simple yet stunning plans for turning trash into seriously entertaining, well-designed toys that kids can build themselves -- while learning basic principles of science and design.
TED Talks
TED: What if we eliminated one of the world's oldest diseases? | Caroline Harper
Thousands of years ago, ancient Nubians drew pictures on tomb walls of a terrible disease that turns the eyelids inside out and causes blindness. This disease, trachoma, is still a scourge in many parts of the world today -- but it's...
TED Talks
Al Gore: What comes after An Inconvenient Truth?
At TED2009, Al Gore presents updated slides from around the globe to make the case that worrying climate trends are even worse than scientists predicted, and to make clear his stance on "clean coal."
TED Talks
Iqbal Quadir: How mobile phones can fight poverty
Iqbal Quadir tells how his experiences as a kid in poor Bangladesh, and later as a banker in New York, led him to start a mobile phone operator connecting 80 million rural Bangladeshi -- and to become a champion of bottom-up development.
TED Talks
Fahad Al-Attiya: A country with no water
Imagine a country with abundant power -- oil and gas, sunshine, wind (and money) -- but missing one key essential for life: water. Infrastructure engineer Fahad Al-Attiya talks about the unexpected ways that the small Middle Eastern...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How is power divided in the United States government? - Belinda Stutzman
Articles I-III of the United States Constitution allow for three separate branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial), along with a system of checks and balances should any branch get too powerful. Belinda Stutzman...
Crash Course
Samurai, Daimyo, Matthew Perry, and Nationalism Crash Course World History
In which John Green teaches you about Nationalism. Nationalism was everywhere in the 19th century, as people all over the world carved new nation-states out of old empires. Nationalist leaders changed the way people thought of themselves...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The Akune brothers: Siblings on opposite sides of war - Wendell Oshiro
There are many stories that can be told about World War II, from the tragic to the inspiring. But perhaps one of the most heart-rending experiences was that of the Akune family, divided by the war against each other, and against their...
TED Talks
TED: Why it's too hard to start a business in Africa -- and how to change it | Magatte Wade
Many African countries are poor for a simple reason, says entrepreneur Magatte Wade: governments have created far too many obstacles to starting and running a business. In this passionate talk, Wade breaks down the challenges of doing...
TED-Ed
Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal | Alex Gendler
In the 19th century, the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America's west coast. But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east. The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey was...
Crash Course
Productivity and Growth: Crash Course Economics
Why are some countries rich? Why are some countries poor? In the end it comes down to Productivity. This week on Crash Course Econ, Adriene and Jacob investigate just why some economies are more productive than others, and what happens...
TED Talks
TED: How India could pull off the world's most ambitious energy transition | Varun Sivaram
India has a historic opportunity to power its industrialization with clean energy -- and its energy choices will make or break the world's fight against climate change, says clean energy executive, physicist and author Varun Sivaram....
TED Talks
Nandan Nilekani: Ideas for India's future
Nandan Nilekani, the visionary co-founder of outsourcing pioneer Infosys, explains four brands of ideas that will determine whether India can continue its recent breakneck progress.
Crash Course
Foreign Aid and Remittance: Crash Course Econ
What is foreign aid? How much foreign aid does the United States distribute each year. Comparatively, not much. In fact, foreign aid only accounts for a small fraction of most nations' overall spending. But it's hugely important. Foreign...
Crash Course
The Economics of Immigration: Crash Course Econ
Is Immigration good or bad? Immigration is a touchy subject in the United States. The 2016 election has been filled with debate about the subject, and both proponents and opponents have lots of reasons for their stance. But, this is a...
TED Talks
TED: Lessons on leaving the world better than you found it | Sophie Howe
Sophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for delivering long-term...
TED Talks
TED: The origins of blackface and Black stereotypes | Dwan Reece
If you're wondering why blackface -- mimicking people of African descent via stereotypes and makeup-darkened skin -- is a big deal, then perhaps a little history lesson can help demystify the outcry. Dwan Reece, curator at the National...
TED Talks
TED: What the Russian Revolution would have looked like on social media | Mikhail Zygar
History is written by the victors, as the saying goes -- but what would it look like if it was written by everyone? Journalist and TED Fellow Mikhail Zygar is on a mission to show us with Project1917, a "social network for dead people"...
TED Talks
Will Hurd: A wall won't solve America's border problems
"Building a 30-foot-high concrete structure from sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to do border security," says Congressman Will Hurd, a Republican from Texas whose district encompasses two times zones and...
TED Talks
Mitchell Besser: Mothers helping mothers fight HIV
In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV infections are more prevalent and doctors scarcer than anywhere else in the world. With a lack of medical professionals, Mitchell Besser enlisted the help of his patients to create mothers2mothers -- an...