TED Talks
Helen Fisher: Why we love, why we cheat
Anthropologist Helen Fisher takes on a tricky topic – love – and explains its evolution, its biochemical foundations and its social importance. She closes with a warning about the potential disaster inherent in antidepressant abuse.
TED Talks
TED: How we can use light to see deep inside our bodies and brains | Mary Lou Jepsen
In a series of mind-bending demos, inventor Mary Lou Jepsen shows how we can use red light to see and potentially stimulate what's inside our bodies and brains. Taking us to the edge of optical physics, Jepsen unveils new technologies...
TED Talks
Vilayanur Ramachandran: The neurons that shaped civilization
Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran outlines the fascinating functions of mirror neurons. Only recently discovered, these neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviors, some of which formed the foundations of human civilization as...
TED Talks
Tim Jackson: An economic reality check
As the world faces recession, climate change, inequity and more, Tim Jackson delivers a piercing challenge to established economic principles, explaining how we might stop feeding the crises and start investing in our future.
TED Talks
Nina Tandon: Could tissue engineering mean personalized medicine?
Each of our bodies is utterly unique, which is a lovely thought until it comes to treating an illness -- when every body reacts differently, often unpredictably, to standard treatment. Tissue engineer Nina Tandon talks about a possible...
TED Talks
Sanjay Pradhan: How open data is changing international aid
How do we make sure that development and aid money actually goes to the people who most need it? Sanjay Pradhan of the World Bank Institute lays out three guidelines to help relief efforts make the most impact -- while curbing...
TED Talks
TED: America's forgotten working class | J.D. Vance
J.D. Vance grew up in a small, poor city in the Rust Belt of southern Ohio, where he had a front-row seat to many of the social ills plaguing America: a heroin epidemic, failing schools, families torn apart by divorce and sometimes...
TED Talks
Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies
Patricia Kuhl shares astonishing findings about how babies learn one language over another -- by listening to the humans around them and "taking statistics" on the sounds they need to know. Clever lab experiments (and brain scans) show...
TED Talks
Michel Laberge: How synchronized hammer strikes could generate nuclear fusion
Our energy future depends on nuclear fusion, says Michel Laberge. The plasma physicist runs a small company with a big idea for a new type of nuclear reactor that could produce clean, cheap energy. His secret recipe? High speeds,...
TED Talks
Tony Wyss-Coray: How young blood might help reverse aging. Yes, really
Tony Wyss-Coray studies the impact of aging on the human body and brain. In this eye-opening talk, he shares new research from his Stanford lab and other teams which shows that a solution for some of the less great aspects of old age...
TED Talks
TED: How to have a healthier, positive relationship to sex | Tiffany Kagure Mugo and Siphumeze Khundayi
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. From our fear of women's bodies to our sheepishness around the word "nipple," our ideas about sex need an upgrade,...
TED Talks
TED: The bridge between suicide and life | Kevin Briggs
For many years Sergeant Kevin Briggs had a dark, unusual, at times strangely rewarding job: He patrolled the southern end of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a popular site for suicide attempts. In a sobering, deeply personal talk...
TED Talks
TED: The architectural mastermind behind modern Singapore | Liu Thai Ker
Cities designed like families can last for generations. Skeptical? Look to master architect Liu Thai Ker, who transformed Singapore into a modern marvel with his unique approach to sustainable urban design. Liu shares creative wisdom and...
TED Talks
TED: It's impossible to have healthy people on a sick planet | Shweta Narayan
The doctrine of "first, do no harm" is the basis of the Hippocratic Oath, one of the world's oldest codes of ethics. It governs the work of physicians -- but climate and health campaigner Shweta Narayan says it should go further. In this...
TED Talks
TED: The informal settlements reshaping the world | Jota Samper
Creative, sustainable solutions find their home in the thousands of informal neighborhoods across the world. Urban planner Jota Samper believes these often overlooked settlements (also known as slums) should be regarded as hubs of...
TED Talks
Love, sorrow and the emotions that power climate action | Knut Ivar Bjørlykhaug
Picture your favorite place in nature. How would you feel if it disappeared tomorrow? In this love letter to the planet, social worker and environmental activist Knut Ivar Bjørlykhaug invites us to confront the deep, difficult emotions...
TED Talks
A stealthy reimagining of urban public space | Elizabeth Diller
Cities are becoming increasingly privatized: commercial real estate dominates the streets, carving up open space that once belonged to the public and selling it as a commodity to the highest bidder. Architect Elizabeth Diller explores...
TED Talks
TED: 3 ways your company's data can jump-start climate action | Massimo Russo
From helping build smart cities to supporting the sustainable energy sector, the possibilities of big data are endless. But many companies are still wary of sharing data that could expose them to risk and diminish their competitive...
TED Talks
Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor: Why it's so hard to talk about the N-word
Historian Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor leads a thoughtful and history-backed examination of one of the most divisive words in the English language: the N-word. Drawing from personal experience, she explains how reflecting on our points of...
TED Talks
Kriti Sharma: How to keep human bias out of AI
AI algorithms make important decisions about you all the time -- like how much you should pay for car insurance or whether or not you get that job interview. But what happens when these machines are built with human bias coded into their...
TED Talks
P.J. Parmar: How doctors can help low-income patients (and still make a profit)
Modern American health care is defined by its high costs, high overhead and inaccessibility -- especially for low-income patients. What if we could redesign the system to serve the poor and still have doctors make money? In an...
TED Talks
Cary Fowler: One seed at a time, protecting the future of food
The wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a vast treasury buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse...
TED Talks
Hanna Rosin: New data on the rise of women
Hanna Rosin reviews startling new data that shows women actually surpassing men in several important measures, such as college graduation rates. Do these trends, both US-centric and global, signal the "end of men"? Probably not -- but...
TED Talks
Kevin Bales: How to combat modern slavery
In this moving yet pragmatic talk, Kevin Bales explains the business of modern slavery, a multibillion-dollar economy that underpins some of the worst industries on earth. He shares stats and personal stories from his on-the-ground...