It's a fact: Dangle a cat video in front of almost anyone, and they’ll drop everything to watch it. It’s something that conservationist and entrepreneur Ashwin Naidu is counting on. He is hoping that fishing cats -- little-known, endangered, wetland-dwelling felines like the one shown above -- grab our attention and galvanize us caring about ...

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...

In attempting the first solo crossing of Antarctica, Ben Saunders battled white-out landscapes, shifting snows and mind-altering monotony -- all while pulling hundreds of pounds of supplies. Here’s what he discovered on his incredible journey. In 2004, 27-year-old polar explorer Ben Saunders (TED Talk: To the South Pole and back, the hardest 10...

In agricultural entrepreneur Trang Tran’s native Vietnam, farmers traditionally burn the straw and husks that remain after the rice harvest. This practice happens at least twice a year for two months at a time, releasing noxious smoke and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Tran’s solution: using rice straw to cultivate mushrooms. Her soci...

The phrase “truth or dare” is a false binary -- facing the truth often requires daring action, and vice versa. That’s why, at TED2015: Truth and Dare, the two go hand-in-hand. TED2015 happens March 16-20 in Vancouver and Whistler, and we dare to think this will be the most provocative, invigorating, mind-shifting TED yet. The 58 speakers on o...

What's that too-often quoted aphorism? "Good artists copy; great artists steal"? In this nuanced conversation, biologist and founder of Biomimicry 3.8 Janine Benyus speaks with Tim Brown, chief executive of IDEO, to discuss what's really interesting about borrowing. Tim Brown: As a creative person, I’ve always believed that I can’t be creativ...

“This is a little different than the mainstage at TED, in a sense that this is a little more relaxed,” says our host, the poet and TED speaker Clint Smith. “These are speakers who have not been selected specifically for the mainstage, but they’re just as talented, just as brilliant, and just as important.” A spectrum of ideas, stories, pe...

Greg Gage, onstage at TED Fellows Talks. Photo: Ryan Lash On the afternoon before TED2012 mainstage sessions begin, the Center Theater was packed to the rafters for two sessions of TED Fellows talks. Here's what happened ... Christine Marie, shadow artist With a clap of thunder and a flash of light, the TED2012 Fellows talks open with...

The lights go down. A voice emerges — strong and hopeful. It’s Laurene Powell Jobs, the founder of philanthropic powerhouse Emerson Collective. “Among the many things I love about TED is the simplicity and clarity of its mission — to spread ideas,” she says. “But in order to create lasting change at scale, we need to turn the boldest of thes...

Science catalyzes progress. It allows us to explore our biggest questions, generate new ideas and seek out solutions. At TED@NAS, 19 speakers and performers explored how science is igniting change and fueling our way forward -- through radical collaboration, quantum leaps and bold thinking. The event: TED@NAS, for which The National Acade...

Charmian Gooch, co-founder of anti-corruption NGO Global Witness, tracks money to expose deep-rooted global corruption. In yesterday's talk, Gooch demonstrates that dirty money goes all the way to the top, and more sinister is that these cases of corruption are well-known to leaders and corporate elites. Nobody -- banks, big oil, government ...