TED Talks
TED: Why climate change is a threat to human rights | Mary Robinson
Climate change is unfair. While rich countries can fight against rising oceans and dying farm fields, poor people around the world are already having their lives upended -- and their human rights threatened -- by killer storms,...
Crash Course
Deficits & Debts: Crash Course Economics
What is debt? What is a deficit? And do these things have different outcomes for individuals and nations? Adriene and Jacob answer all these questions and more on this week's Crash Course Econ. Deficit and debt are easy to misunderstand,...
TED Talks
TED: Mining minerals from seawater | Damian Palin
The world needs clean water, and more and more, we're pulling it from the oceans, desalinating it, and drinking it. But what to do with the salty brine left behind? In this intriguing short talk, TED Fellow Damian Palin proposes an idea:...
TED Talks
TED: A safe pathway to resettlement for migrants and refugees | Becca Heller
Human migration is both inevitable and growing. What are we as a global community doing to address it? asks human rights lawyer Becca Heller, who believes that every refugee and migrant deserves a safe pathway to resettlement. Through...
TED Talks
TED: The big-data revolution in health care | Joel Selanikio
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Collecting global health data is an imperfect science: Workers tramp through villages to knock on doors and ask...
TED Talks
TED: Globalization is ending. What's next? | Mike O'Sullivan
Globalization is on its deathbed, says economist Mike O'Sullivan. The question now is: What's next? Tracing the historical successes and failures of globalization, O'Sullivan forecasts a new world order where countries come together over...
TED Talks
TED: Can prejudice ever be a good thing? | Paul Bloom
We often think of bias and prejudice as rooted in ignorance. But as psychologist Paul Bloom seeks to show, prejudice is often natural, rational ... even moral. The key, says Bloom, is to understand how our own biases work -- so we can...
Crash Course
Global Stratification & Poverty: Crash Course Sociology
This week we’re taking our discussion of stratification global. We’ll look at First and Third World countries and the reasons why these terms are no longer used. We’ll introduce the four types of country categories we now use: high...
TED Talks
TED: What seaweed and cow burps have to do with climate change | Ermias Kebreab
Scientists have long known that cows are a huge source of the greenhouse gas methane, contributing up to four percent of emissions globally. But could there be a way to make cattle less -- ahem -- gassy? Animal scientist Ermias Kebreab...
TED Talks
TED: A warrior’s cry against child marriage | Memory Banda
Memory Banda’s life took a divergent path from her sister’s. When her sister reached puberty, she was sent to a traditional “initiation camp” that teaches girls “how to sexually please a man.” She got pregnant there — at age 11. Banda,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What does it mean to be a refugee? - Benedetta Berti and Evelien Borgman
About 60 million people around the globe have been forced to leave their homes to escape war, violence and persecution. The majority have become Internally Displaced Persons, meaning they fled their homes but are still in their own...
Crash Course
What is a “Developed” Country? Crash Course Geography
Today we’re going to discuss what it means for a place to be “developed”. Development is often associated with economic success — that is countries with higher standards of living and material wealth like those found in Europe and North...
TED Talks
TED: Tracking the whole world's carbon emissions -- with satellites and AI | Gavin McCormick
What we know today about global greenhouse gas emissions is mostly self-reported by countries, and those numbers (sometimes tallied manually on paper!) are often inaccurate and prone to manipulation. If we really want to get serious...
TED Talks
Simon Anholt: Which country does the most good for the world?
It's an unexpected side effect of globalization: problems that once would have stayed local—say, a bank lending out too much money—now have consequences worldwide. But still, countries operate independently, as if alone on the planet....
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How to create cleaner coal - Emma Bryce
It takes a lot of fuel to heat our homes, preserve our food, and power our gadgets. And for 40 percent of the world, cheap, plentiful coal gets the job done. But coal also releases pollutants into the air, causing environmental damage...
TED Talks
Alex Tabarrok: How ideas trump crises
The "dismal science" truly shines in this optimistic talk, as economist Alex Tabarrok argues free trade and globalization are shaping our once-divided world into a community of idea-sharing more healthy, happy and prosperous than...
TED Talks
TED: The ancient, earth-friendly wisdom of Mongolian nomads | Khulan Batkhuyag
There's a lot we can learn from Mongolian nomads about how to survive in the years to come, says environmental activist Khulan Batkhuyag. Taking us on a journey through the country's stunning rural landscape, she shows how Mongolian...
TED Talks
TED: How small countries can make a big impact on climate change | Nicola Sturgeon
When it comes to tackling climate change, the size of a country doesn't matter -- it's their ambition that counts, says First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. In a rousing talk, she shares examples of small nations -- from Bhutan...
TED Talks
TED: How to build a company where the best ideas win | Ray Dalio
What if you knew what your coworkers really thought about you and what they were really like? Ray Dalio makes the business case for using radical transparency and algorithmic decision-making to create an idea meritocracy where people can...
TED Talks
TED: Global ethic vs. national interest | Gordon Brown
Can the interests of an individual nation be reconciled with humanity's greater good? Can a patriotic, nationally elected politician really give people in other countries equal consideration? Following his TEDTalk calling for a global...
TED Talks
TED: See how the rest of the world lives, organized by income | Anna Rosling Rönnlund
What does it look like when someone in Sweden brushes their teeth or when someone in Rwanda makes their bed? Anna Rosling Rönnlund wants all of us to find out, so she sent photographers to 264 homes in 50 countries (and counting!) to...
TED Talks
TED: How fear of nuclear power is hurting the environment | Michael Shellenberger
We're not in a clean energy revolution; we're in a clean energy crisis, says climate policy expert Michael Shellenberger. His surprising solution: nuclear. In this passionate talk, he explains why it's time to overcome longstanding fears...
Crash Course
The Economics of Happiness: Crash Course Econ
They say money can't buy happiness, but who are they? Can money buy happiness? The answer is: sort of. While money may not be able to buy true happiness, lack of money can cause very real misery. Today, we look at the economics of...
Crash Course
Market Failures, Taxes, and Subsidies: Crash Course Economics
This week on Crash Course Econ, Jacob and Adriene are talking about failure. Specifically, we're talking about market failures. When markets don't provide a good or service efficiently, that's a market failure. When markets fail, often...