Is civility a sham?
Teresa Bejan / Political theorist, author
This is why wildfires spread so quickly — and have gotten more dangerous

TED Talk: Tough truths about wildfires and details how we can help restore the natural balance of the landscape

A playbook to understanding power

Playlist: These talks highlight the reasons we as citizens should understand and challenge the powers that be.

Newest Talks

  1. Is civility a sham?
  2. My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee
  3. What to trust in a "post-truth" world
  4. The case for a decentralized internet
  5. The global goals we've made progress on -- and the ones we haven't
  6. How kids can help design cities

Trending

  1. Why it's worth listening to people you disagree with
  2. The mathematics of war
  3. Are you a giver or a taker?
  4. Can a divided America heal?
  5. How adoption worked for me
  6. How to get better at the things you care about

Recommended today

  1. My daughter, my wife, our robot, and the quest for immortality
  2. How to get better at the things you care about
  3. Why some people are more altruistic than others
  4. The Web as random acts of kindness
  5. Why wildfires have gotten worse -- and what we can do about it
  6. 3 lessons of revolutionary love in a time of rage

Explore playlists

TED-Ed lessons: feed your curiosity

  1. The myth of Sisyphus
  2. History vs. Henry VIII
  3. How folding paper can get you to the moon
  4. Can you solve the secret werewolf riddle?
  5. How big is infinity?
  6. How far would you have to go to escape gravity?

Open source, open world

  1. How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination
  2. The year open data went worldwide
  3. Discover the next mobile economy
  4. The mind behind Linux
  5. Massive-scale online collaboration
  6. The art of asking

Heard on TED Radio Hour

  1. Walk the earth ... my 17-year vow of silence
  2. The power of introverts
  3. Why I live in mortal dread of public speaking
  4. Cloudy with a chance of joy
  5. The art of stillness
  6. The nightmare videos of children's YouTube -- and what's wrong with the internet today

making superheroes: stories from TEDx

  1. What makes a superhero?
  2. The story behind Marvel's Muslim-American superheroine
  3. How I change perceptions by drawing comics
  4. The importance of diversity in the comic book universe
  5. How I brought Batman to Hollywood (and academia)
  6. Bring on the female superheroes!

What should I do with my life?

  1. Why you will fail to have a great career
  2. How great leaders inspire action
  3. Why some of us don't have one true calling
  4. How to find work you love
  5. Before I die I want to ...
  6. Should you live for your résumé ... or your eulogy?

Animals and us

  1. How humans and animals can live together
  2. Moral behavior in animals
  3. What ants teach us about the brain, cancer and the Internet
  4. Chimps have feelings and thoughts. They should also have rights
  5. A monkey economy as irrational as ours
  6. What are animals thinking and feeling?

strange new materials

  1. Silk, the ancient material of the future
  2. Toys and materials from the future
  3. Graphene: the impressive 2D material full of potential
  4. One very dry demo
  5. How we're harnessing nature's hidden superpowers
  6. Design at the intersection of technology and biology

About TED

TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 110 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.