By loading kids with high expectations and micromanaging their lives at every turn, parents aren't actually helping. At least, that's how Julie Lythcott-Haims sees it. With passion and wry humor, the former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford...

We’ve visited lots of places in our solar system in the last 60 years, but modern technology has made an unlikely candidate the hottest new frontier of solar system exploration: asteroids. Today, we’ll take a look at a few exciting...

Picking common and scientific names is a puzzle of taxonomy, and sometimes we end up naming huge frogs "Mountain Chickens". So, let's figure out this puzzle.

Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the other? Tests...

Justin Baldoni wants to start a dialogue with men about redefining masculinity -- to figure out ways to be not just good men but good humans. In a warm, personal talk, he shares his effort to reconcile who he is with who the world tells...

"To make a difference in the life of a child ... I made the commitment to tell my personal story," says educator Lisa Godwin. In this moving talk, she shares her experience of overcoming childhood trauma with the quiet, unwavering...

A few days before she turned 61, writer Anne Lamott decided to write down everything she knew for sure. She dives into the nuances of being a human who lives in a confusing, beautiful, emotional world, offering her characteristic...

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...

China's one-child policy ended in 2015, but we're just beginning to understand what it was like to live under the program, says TED Fellow and documentary filmmaker Nanfu Wang. With footage from her film "One Child Nation," she shares...

In part 3 of our special series on human ancestry, we investigate how closely related we all really are. Basic math tells us that all humans share ancestors. But you'll be amazed at how recently those shared ancestors lived. Thanks to...

What does Kendrick Lamar have in common with Disney's "Moana"? They recognize our common humanity and show us how to love ourselves and one another, says writer and educator Chloé Valdary. She shares how she uses pop culture to help...

At 18, Natalie Warne's work with the Invisible Children movement made her a hero for young activists. She uses her inspiring story to remind us that no one is too young to change the world.

One way of thinking about family life says that there are stages that families move through: courtship, marriage, child-rearing, and family life in your later years. We’ll also discuss changing patterns of marriage and childbearing in...

After his son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Billy Samuel Mwape realized that his project management skills might be put to use to support his child's special needs. In this inspiring, personal talk, he describes how project...

A quarter of the world's population cares a lot about the Chinese zodiac. even if you don't believe in it, you'd be wise to know how it works, says technologist and entrepreneur ShaoLan Hseuh. In this fun, informative talk, ShaoLan...

For over 30 years, thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered under Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Three sisters would go on to lead an underground revolution. But while their courage inspired...

Ida B. Wells was an investigative journalist, civil rights leader, and anti-lynching advocate who fought for equality and justice. -- In the late 1800’s, lynchings were happening all over the American South, often without any...

Have you ever seen or experienced something and wished you spoke up? Writer Sakinah Hofler makes the case for writing as a tool to help you process difficult memories and reclaim the power they may hold. Pick up a pen or pull up a...

Growing up in the public eye, multi-hyphenate creator Bryce Dallas Howard experienced the familiar pressure to share her life with the world on social media. But with her mother's steadfast guidance, Howard learned to set personal...

Your teeth carry secrets: centuries of history about your ancestors, from where they lived to what they ate and where they traveled. Bioarchaeologist Carolyn Freiwald traces the story of human migration across the Americas -- from Mayan...

Fathers have a profound impact on their children's lives, yet an estimated ten million kids in the US see their dads less than once a month. Through his advocacy and mental health center, therapist Charles C. Daniels, Jr. empowers...

Today we are investigating our moral obligations to our parents and our families. Do we owe our parents anything as adults? Would it be a good idea to license parents? We’ll explore these questions as well as the ethics of care, and some...

Please Note: This episode contains post-mortem photographs: those of people taken after their death. If you would prefer not to see those images, please feel welcome to look away from the screen at 0:17 to 0:27 and listen...

Have you ever thought about all the different kinds of groups you’re a part of? Like, there’s the friends you hang out with and your family, your hockey team, your Crash Course fan club, and that’s just for starters! And even though...