After his HIV diagnosis, former pro rugby player Gareth Thomas set out on a mission to tackle the stigma and shame that prevent people from getting the testing and care they need. In this empowering talk, Thomas shares his mission to...

Anti-Satellite weaponry, giant X-ray lasers and kinetic impact missiles nicknamed the "Rods from God." Find out about the history of the real star wars that have been waged over the past 50 years.

Since 2000, the annual number of people convicted of crimes in the United States has stayed steady, but the average number of people in jail each year has shot up. How can that be? The answer lies in the bail system— which isn't doing...

By the early 1900’s, nearly every region of the globe had been visited and mapped, with only two key locations left: the North and South Poles. After two Americans staked claim to reaching the North Pole, a Norwegian explorer and a...

Black Americans have long fought in America's wars, very often fighting for a country that doesn't always fight for them. Today we'll learn about the experience of Black Americans in World War II. We'll look at the ways Black men and...

Afflicting nearly 1 in 10 Americans, syphilis was ravaging the U.S. in the 1930s. Many doctors believed syphilis affected Black and white patients differently, and the Public Health Service launched an experiment to investigate,...

After visiting all 50 US states to talk to people about racial literacy, Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi expected to hear personal stories of race, culture and intersectionality; what they weren't expecting was how their unique upbringing...

A few weeks before his release from prison, Jarrell Daniels took a class where incarcerated men learned alongside prosecutors. By simply sitting together and talking, they uncovered surprising truths about the criminal justice system and...

Sled dogs are the best endurance athletes in the world thanks to a weird quirk in their metabolism.

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When we talk about the American Revolution and Revolutionary War, the discussion often involves lofty ideals like liberty, and freedom, and justice. The Declaration of Independence even opens with the idea that "all men are created...

Conceptual artist and TED Fellow Sanford Biggers uses painting, sculpture, video and performance to spark challenging conversations about the history and trauma of black America. Join him as he details two compelling works and shares the...

We all have origin stories and identity myths, our tribal narratives that give us a sense of security and belonging. But sometimes our small-group identities can keep us from connecting with humanity as a whole -- and even keep us from...

Leah Chase's New Orleans restaurant Dooky Chase changed the course of American history over gumbo and fried chicken. During the civil rights movement, it was a place where white and black people came together, where activists planned...

Kicking off the TED2013 conference, Jennifer Granholm asks a very American question with worldwide implications: How do we make more jobs? Her big idea: Invest in new alternative energy sources. And her big challenge: Can it be done with...

Wofford College president Bernie Dunlap tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who taught him about passionate living and lifelong learning.

This week, we're back in Europe to learn about Realism and Naturalism. In the 19th Century, playwrights like Eugene Scribe, Alexandre de Dumas Fils, and Emile Zola remade the French theater, first with Realism, and later with Naturalism....

Imagine a workplace where people of all colors and races are able to climb every rung of the corporate ladder -- and where the lessons we learn about diversity at work actually transform the things we do, think and say outside the...

Nina Jablonski says that differing skin colors are simply our bodies' adaptation to varied climates and levels of UV exposure. Charles Darwin disagreed with this theory, but she explains, that's because he did not have access to NASA.

A more equal world starts with you. Citing a formative moment from her own life, equity advocate Nita Mosby Tyler highlights why showing up and fighting for others who face injustices beyond your own lived experience leads to a fairer,...

Imagine two aliens racing across outer space to their moon. Who can we deem the fastest alien? With DIRT -- or the equation Distance = Rate x Time -- we can calculate their rates, using the distance they traveled and the time they took....

Two tiny handprints stamped into a cake. A mirror that shatters without warning. A trail of cracker crumbs strewn along the floor. Everyone at 124 Bluestone Road knows their home is haunted— but there's no mystery about the spirit...

Before the creation of humanity, the Greek gods won a great battle against a race of giants called the Titans. Most Titans were destroyed or driven to the eternal hell of Tartarus. But the Titan Prometheus, whose name means foresight,...

Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberle Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon;...

Halima Aden made history when she became the first hijab-wearing model on the cover of Vogue magazine. Now she returns to Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp -- where she was born and lived until the age of seven -- to share an inspiring message...