TED Talks
Molly Crockett: Beware neuro-bunk
Brains are ubiquitous in modern marketing: Headlines proclaim cheese sandwiches help with decision-making, while a “neuro” drink claims to reduce stress. There’s just one problem, says neuroscientist Molly Crockett: The benefits of these...
Crash Course
Congressional Decisions: Crash Course Government and Politics
This week Craig breaks out the crystal ball to try and figure out why our congresspeople do the things that they do. We’ll talk about the three motivating factors of congressional decisions - constituency, interest groups, and political...
TED Talks
Jacqueline Novogratz: Invest in Africa's own solutions
Jacqueline Novogratz applauds the world's heightened interest in Africa and poverty, but argues persuasively for a new approach.
TED Talks
TED: How Netflix changed entertainment -- and where it's headed | Reed Hastings
Netflix changed the world of entertainment -- first with DVD-by-mail, then with streaming media and then again with sensational original shows like "Orange Is the New Black" and "Stranger Things" -- but not without taking its fair share...
TED Talks
TED: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals | Tim Ferriss
The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss encourages us to fully envision and write down our fears in detail,...
TED Talks
TED: My battle to expose government corruption | Heather Brooke
Our leaders need to be held accountable, says journalist Heather Brooke. And she should know: Brooke uncovered the British Parliamentary financial expenses that led to a major political scandal in 2009. She urges us to ask our leaders...
SciShow
Magic Isn't Magic: It's Psychology
Magicians have a handy ace up their sleeve: Your brain, and they're not the only ones who know how to use it.
TED Talks
TED: To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation | Jessica Pryce
In this eye-opening talk about the impact of race and neighborhood on foster-care decisions, social worker Jessica Pryce shares a promising solution to help child welfare agencies make bias-free assessments about when to remove children...
SciShow
Game Theory: The Science of Decision-Making
With up to ten years in prison at stake, will Wanda rat Fred out? Game theory is looking at human interactions through the lens of mathematics.
TED Talks
TED: How do daily habits lead to political violence? | Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah
What drives someone to commit politically motivated violence? The unsettling answer lies in daily habits. Behavioral historian Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah shares startling insights into how seemingly mundane choices can breed polarization...
TED Talks
TED: 3 ways we can redesign cities for equity and inclusion | Vishaan Chakrabarti
Cities are engines of culture, commerce, knowledge and community, but they're also centers of inequality and poverty. As the world rebuilds from the coronavirus pandemic, can we transform cities into bastions of equity and...
TED Talks
Dan Phillips: Creative houses from reclaimed stuff
In this funny and inspiring talk, Dan Phillips tours us through a dozen homes he's built in Texas using recycled and reclaimed materials in wildly creative ways. Brilliant, low-tech design details will refresh your own drive to make more...
TED Talks
Henry Markram: A brain in a supercomputer
Henry Markram says the mysteries of the mind can be solved -- soon. Mental illness, memory, perception: they're made of neurons and electric signals, and he plans to find them with a supercomputer that models all the brain's...
TED Talks
TED: 5 ways to kill your dreams | Bel Pesce
All of us want to invent that game-changing product, launch that successful company, write that best-selling book. And yet so few of us actually do it. TED Fellow and Brazilian entrepreneur Bel Pesce breaks down five easy-to-believe...
TED Talks
Hajer Sharief: How to use family dinner to teach politics
Everyone should participate in decision-making and politics -- and it starts at home, says activist Hajer Sharief. She introduces a simple yet transformative idea: that parents can teach their children about political agency by giving...
TED Talks
Baba Shiv: Sometimes it's good to give up the driver's seat
Over the years, research has shown a counterintuitive fact about human nature: Sometimes, having too much choice makes us less happy. This may even be true when it comes to medical treatment. Baba Shiv shares a fascinating study that...
TED Talks
César Hidalgo: A bold idea to replace politicians
César Hidalgo has a radical suggestion for fixing our broken political system: automate it! In this provocative talk, he outlines a bold idea to bypass politicians by empowering citizens to create personalized AI representatives that...
TED Talks
TED: Watson, Jeopardy and me, the obsolete know-it-all | Ken Jennings
Trivia whiz Ken Jennings has made a career as a keeper of facts; he holds the longest winning streak in history on the US quiz show Jeopardy. But in 2011, he played a challenge match against IBM's supercomputer Watson -- and lost. With...
TED Talks
Margaret Gould Stewart: How giant websites design for you (and a billion others, too)
Facebook's "like" and "share" buttons are seen 22 billion times a day, making them some of the most-viewed design elements ever created. Margaret Gould Stewart, Facebook's director of product design, outlines three rules for design at...
TED Talks
TED: To raise brave girls, encourage adventure | Caroline Paul
Gutsy girls skateboard, climb trees, clamber around, fall down, scrape their knees, get right back up -- and grow up to be brave women. Learn how to spark a little productive risk-taking and raise confident girls with stories and advice...
TED Talks
Nicaila Matthews Okome: This is the side hustle revolution
Past generations found a company to work for and then stayed there for decades. But today, we rarely stay in the same job (let alone on the same career path) and we don't rely on a single income stream. The tools and resources are out...
TED Talks
Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier
We all want customized experiences and products -- but when faced with 700 options, consumers freeze up. With fascinating new research, Sheena Iyengar demonstrates how businesses (and others) can improve the experience of choosing.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars - Patrick Lin
Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can't completely avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it...
SciShow
Why We’re Bad at Guessing Other People’s Motives
Reading someone’s mind is an impossible task, but even just guessing at why they do the things they do is a lot harder than it might seem.