TED Fellow Saeed Taji Farouky's first feature film, The Runner, documents the life of an activist and runner from Western Sahara, shedding light on the little-known conflict in the region. As the film makes its world premiere July 13 at the Galway Film Festival, Taji Farouky tells us how this documentary came to be, and speaks of his vision f...

Early one morning, hours before the sun would rise, Lebanese-Egyptian artist, activist and historian Bahia Shehab was alone on the streets of Cairo, spray-painting a stenciled message that spoke out against the stripping of veiled women. It's a campaign she discussed in “A thousand times no,” her inspiring TED Talk, and it was not only a beaut...

These five different exercises -- all from TED speakers -- can help you add more thanks to your life. Feel free to do the challenges in any way that suits you, whether it’s in back-to-back days or spread out over weeks or months. Then, if some of them resonate with you more than others, focus on those and save the rest for another time. The...

They’ve become synonymous with the failure to adapt, but dinosaurs were actually marvels of speed, size, power and versatility, explains paleontologist Kenneth Lacovera. And they could represent one of our best hopes for the future. Albert Einstein was a complete and utter failure. It’s true he revolutionized science, invented our current frame...

The last time you got peeved, ticked or just plain enraged, did you stop and listen to what your mind was telling you? Ryan Martin, psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, has spent his career doing just that. Turns out, the thoughts that we have in response to the first flare of anger are what can send us over the ed...

A philosopher walks into a bar, and a barfly asks him, “What’s the meaning of life?” That philosopher is me, and it’s an inevitable question once people find out that I am a philosopher and psychology researcher who specializes in studying the meaning of life. I’ve been asked that question enough times to have a one-liner ready. I’ll firs...

Artist, activist and historian Bahia Shehab tells Alison Prato how she speaks out against social and political injustice in her adopted city of Cairo. Early one morning, hours before the sun was due to rise, Lebanese-Egyptian artist Bahia Shehab was alone on the streets of Cairo, spray-painting a stenciled message that spoke out against the s...

Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky shows us the surprising ways that our brains get mixed up between the physical and metaphorical -- and how this can pit us against each other. When humans put pigment to wall in Lascaux Cave more than 17,000 years ago, the point was to minimize the distance between object and representation, to be as close as poss...

Australian researcher Mark Cook is testing an experimental tool that could take the fear out of epilepsy -- both for patients and for the rest of the world. Imagine never knowing when and where you might black out. Maybe it could happen when you’re on the stairs or a busy street, or while traveling, working out, bathing. For people with epileps...

What capitalism prioritizes, the world does more of. So how can we change capitalism so that it focuses on what humans really want and need? Entrepreneur Andrew Yang has a surprising proposal. Think of the activities on the list below: Parenting or caring for loved ones Teaching or nurturing children Creating art, music, dance Working in ...

The term "showing off" gets a bad rap. But for Session 5 of TEDWomen 2018, a lineup of speakers and performers reclaimed the phrase -- showing off their talents, skills and whole extraordinary selves. Hosted by TED's head of conferences, Kelly Stoetzel, and head of curation, Helen Walters, the talks ranged from architecture and the environment t...

Women’s perspectives matter -- but with movie casts and crews dominated by men, Hollywood has long suggested otherwise. One way to fix this: support female filmmakers. Here’s a curated list of picks from writer, actor and activist Naomi McDougall Jones. The good news: a greater number of women were nominated for Oscars this year than in previou...

Women the world over are no longer accepting the status quo. They're showing up and pushing boundaries. Whatever their focus and talent -- business, technology, art, science, politics -- pioneers and their allies are joining forces in an explosion of discovery and ingenuity to drive real, meaningful change. At TEDWomen 2018 -- three days ...

Using glacier water and pipes (with a big boost from gravity), Indian engineer Sonam Wangchuk has devised a way to store water in the dry high desert. Amid the dusty peaks of the Himalayas in North India, fairytale-like ice towers soar 80 feet into the sky. They may look enchantingly unreal, but these cones -- formed out of glacial meltwater --...

We can all play a role in helping defuse even the most bitter conflicts. Veteran negotiator William Ury shares his hard-won insights. My passion in life is helping people and societies to move from no to yes. As a negotiator, mediator and cofounder of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University, I’ve spent more than four decades traveling ...

A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise: A True Story About Schizophrenia by Sandra Allen In college, Allen’s uncle sent her his autobiography in the mail -- the story of a man suffering from schizophrenia. The autobiography was written in all capital letters on a typewriter, and Allen’s vicarious memoir, which places her uncle’s story in context, is wri...

Part of Bangalore-based art duo Pors & Rao, Aparna Rao (watch her TED Talk) embeds high-tech and humor in interactive, sculptural artworks that awaken us to our own subtle behavioral patterns and emotional responses. What's your vision and motivation for making this art? I think it's more a compulsion than a vision. It all started with...

Life -- and love -- in limbo, as captured in these beautiful, poignant images from photographer Giles Duley. Photographer Giles Duley (TEDxExeter Talk: The power of a story) has dedicated himself to documenting the long-term impact of conflict on civilians with his project Legacy of War. A few years ago, in partnership with the UNHCR, the UN's ...

Like many parents, technology researcher Jordan Shapiro knew little about video games -- and what he knew, he didn't like. But that's what his kids wanted to play. Through exploration and experimentation, he found they can be used to teach valuable lessons and build togetherness. On afternoons when I have custody of my 11- and 13-year-old boys,...

Photographer Eman Mohammed captures the daily lives of incarcerated women and their children at one of the United States’ rare residential parenting programs. Eman Mohammed was just 19 when she began covering her native Gaza for a Bethlehem-based news agency. She spent more than a dozen years navigating violence and gunfire -- and sexism and ha...

If you happened upon a small park in Nasiriyah, Iraq, last June 28, you would have noticed a group of 15 people, fast asleep, with blue hard hats and orange vests nearby. This group was not homeless, nor staging some kind of occupation. They were volunteers from Iraq Builders who had traveled more than 350 kilometers to repair the badly dama...

Lon Hodge and his labradoodle, Gander, are at a McDonald’s near the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, a quick stop for a bite as they travel across the United States. “He never leaves my side,” Hodge explains to a curious woman, patting Gander on the flank. “He’s special.” Hodge and Gander are on the road interviewing the families of...

A well-designed flag can be a thing of beauty, inspiring pledges of allegiance galore. But weirdly, bad flags can inspire passion and loyalty too, suggesting that democracy and design don’t always work together hand-in-hand. In 1926, the Union of South Africa needed a flag -- badly. Formed in 1910 by the joining of four former colonies, South ...

In 2002, Ingrid Betancourt was campaigning to become president of Colombia when she was kidnapped by guerillas. She was held in the jungle for six years. With fear her constant companion, she learned how to use it and grow. The first time I felt fear I was 41 years old. People have always said I was brave. When I was little, I'd climb the highe...

If we want to effectively respond to climate change, we must understand the complex connections that exist between humans and ice. These relationships deserve our attention and respect, says glaciologist M Jackson. Our glaciers are disappearing. Glaciers worldwide that have existed for centuries are disappearing in human timescales -- our lifet...

The tables in bookstores can be overwhelming: Every book cover looks appealing, every blurb glows with praise. Sometimes, you just need a recommendation from a human, someone you trust. Below, 10 members of the TED community -- with very different points of view -- share the books they think you’ll enjoy this summer. Their selections are won...

Tech geek and entrepreneur Faisal Chohan builds online solutions and services with social value -- including Pakreport, which crowdsourced disaster-mapping in response to Pakistan's 2010 floods. His latest project, Saaf Pindi, won a $10,000 grant from TED's City 2.0 initiative to map poor sewerage infrastructure in urban Pakistan, seeking solu...

By joining the Beacon Hill Village in Boston, older people commit to helping each other while they stay in their own homes. And they have plenty of fun while doing it, says MIT AgeLab director Joseph F. Coughlin. Joan Doucette was sipping coffee in a small café at MIT, her bicycle resting next to her. The Institute tends to frown on bringing bi...

By using the first day as a time for people to tap into their best selves -- and not just fill out paperwork -- companies could ease their stress and bring out their full potential, says business school professor Daniel Cable. “There is a new war for talent happening in the workplace today,” says London Business School professor Daniel Cable. “...

Writer A.J. Jacobs was going through life feeling more grumpy than grateful. To start cultivating a thankful attitude, he decided to show some appreciation to the people behind his daily cup of coffee. Here’s what he discovered when he met his barista. Gratitude is not an emotion that comes naturally to me. My innate disposition is moderately g...