How can you find strength during life's most difficult moments? Author Suleika Jaouad's experience detailed in the documentary "American Symphony," an intimate portrait of her life as she grapples with illness, is a testament to finding...

Buying cheap clothing online can be satisfying, but it comes with not-so-hidden environmental costs. When designer Diarra Bousso was growing up in Senegal, her family bought and created new outfits for longevity rather than on impulse —...

Women are routinely underestimated, overlooked, interrupted, talked over or mistaken for someone more junior at the workplace. Author Mary Ann Sieghart calls this the "authority gap" — all the ways women are (still) taken less seriously...

On paper, law professor Samar Ali and public affairs strategist Clint Brewer seem to come from very different — and perhaps opposing — backgrounds. But their friendship shows why political polarization in the US isn't as intractable as...

Standardized testing is deeply woven into the fabric of US education, but does it foster genuine learning? Educator Tanishia Lavette Williams sheds light on the racial biases, financial costs and limited effectiveness of this kind of...

Leaders can't be afraid to disrupt the status quo, says pharmaceutical CEO Paul Hudson. In conversation with TED's Lindsay Levin, he shares how AI eliminates "unglamorous work" and speeds up operations while collaborations across...

In an ode to the Persian language, author Leili Anvar unfurls the work of 13th-century mystic poet Rumi and reflects on how poetry gives meaning to our lives.

A supportive community is the key to cultivating resilience and unlocking healing. Sharing the story of a transformative recovery program for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, human rights activist...

Access to information is the key to unlocking human rights for all, says equality champion Paige Alexander. From educating female entrepreneurs on how to launch life-sustaining businesses to murals, billboards and other creative ways of...

Instead of seeing life's challenges as obstacles, I see them as an obstacle course — a fascinating array of tests that I'm curious to see if I can pass, says community builder Maryam Banikarim. Telling the story of her experience...

Storyteller Golriz Lucina recounts how the historic sacrifice of Iranian 19th-century poet and mystic Táhirih planted the seeds for the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests today, offering an inspiring lesson in the value of acting with...

Don't second-guess what "distracts" you, says actor-producer Yara Shahidi; that's your curiosity coming through. The star of hit shows like "black-ish" and "grown-ish" tells how she learned to spot clues to her own future — and how you...

How does getting an abortion — or not — influence a woman's life? Demographer Diana Greene Foster puts forward the results of The Turnaway Study, her landmark work following nearly 1,000 women through abortion or childbirth, presenting...

Today, Hungary is in the gray zone between a dictatorship and a democracy, says activist Tessza Udvarhelyi. "This did not happen overnight." In a rousing talk, she reminds us just how close any country can come to authoritarianism — and...

Democracy is the most compelling vision we have for self-governance, says freedom advocate Yordanos Eyoel. Taking a stand against predatory and opportunist authoritarian forces, she shares how to reimagine, accelerate and protect the...

The James Webb Space Telescope is the most ambitious space observatory ever launched, and nobody hyped it more than us. So is it putting in work? Oh, boy, yes. Yes it is.

You may be familiar with plants that have hair, like fuzzy peaches. But these plant take their 'dos to the next level, because their hairs are deadly.

Trust funds aren't just for humans. Animals pass on generational wealth too, meaning even the animal kingdom isn't free of nepo babies.

The world has plenty of clean energy. The problem is storing that energy and getting it where we need it, when we need it, says battery recycling pioneer Emma Nehrenheim. While batteries are fundamental to powering a sustainable future,...

Every day, people around the world spend 16 billion hours on unpaid care work — cooking for families, caring for children and older relatives and other routine household tasks — often in addition to other jobs. Employment advocate Sharmi...

There's a saying that comedy is tragedy plus time. Perhaps that's why some of our biggest problems feel easiest to manage with a dose of humor. Comedian, journalist and actor Roy Wood Jr. has spent his career finding the silly in the...

The vast, white surface of Antarctica stretches for over 3 million square kilometers. On the coast of this expanse, just a few meters beneath the ice, lies a remarkably diverse realm that is home to over 8,000 species of sea denizens who...

South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s with a visionary constitution, but the promises of that constitution are largely unfulfilled to this day. Public leader Lindiwe Mazibuko explores how poor leadership failed to deliver a...

Democracy is the most compelling vision we have for self-governance, says freedom advocate Yordanos Eyoel. Taking a stand against predatory and opportunist authoritarian forces, she shares how to reimagine, accelerate and protect the...