When two young Mormon missionaries knock on Julia Sweeney's door one day, it touches off a quest to completely rethink her own beliefs, in this excerpt from Sweeney's solo show "Letting Go of God."

In the days following the tragic South Asian tsunami of 2004, the Rev. Tom Honey pondered the question, "How could a loving God have done this?" Here is his answer.

Nanahuatl, weakest of the Aztec gods, sickly and covered in pimples, had been chosen to form a new world. There had already been four worlds, each set in motion by its own "Lord Sun," and each had been destroyed. For a new world to be created, another god had to leap into the great bonfire and become the fifth sun. Will Nanahuatl complete the sa...

Economics writer Tim Harford studies complex systems -- and finds a surprising link among the successful ones: they were built through trial and error. In this sparkling talk from TEDGlobal 2011, he asks us to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes.

In mythological ancient Greece, Icarus flew above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, defying the laws of man and nature. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and he felt like one too. But, in his society, the line that separated god from man was absolute, and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cross it was severe. A...

Set in a small town in India, "The God of Small Things" revolves around fraternal twins Rahel and Estha, who are separated for 23 years after the fateful hours in which their cousin drowns, their mother's affair is revealed, and her lover is murdered. The book is set at the point of the twins' reunion and confronts the social mores of India. Lau...

Anjali Kumar went looking for God and ended up finding something else entirely. In an uplifting, funny talk about our shared humanity, she takes us on a spiritual pilgrimage to meet witches in New York, a shaman in Peru, an infamous "healer" in Brazil and others, sharing an important lesson: what binds us together is far stronger than what separ...

"Music was my Plan G," says Scott Mescudi, actor and the Grammy-winning rapper known as Kid Cudi. "It wasn't like I didn't try everything else. I tried everything else." Returning to his high school, he explains how he found success as an artist through a combination of hard work, determination and blocking out the haters. "There's no difference...

Baritone thunder. Snarling winds. Consuming downpours. Okeechobee, the hurricane of 1928, forced many to flee their ruined communities. But for Janie Crawford, it inspired an unexpected homecoming. So begins Zora Neale Hurston's acclaimed novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," about a Black woman's quest for love and agency. Tanya Boucicaut dives...

Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God. But one creature, Anansi, was determined to bring the stories down to Earth. Anansi went to Nyame and requested to take ownership of the world's stories. The Sky God told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished — but only if he could complete an impossible task. Emily Z...

Hephaestus, god of technology, was hard at work on his most ingenious invention yet. He was creating a new defense system for King Minos, who wanted fewer intruders on his island kingdom of Crete. But mortal guards and ordinary weapons wouldn't suffice, so the visionary god devised an indomitable new defender. Adrienna Mayor dives into the myth ...

Every morning, Helios unleashed his golden chariot, and set out across the sky. As the Sun God transformed dawn into day, he thought of his son, Phaethon, below. To prove to Phaethon that he was truly his father, Helios decided to grant him anything he wanted. Unfortunately, what Phaethon wanted was to drive Helios' chariot for a day. Iseult Gil...

The sun god was in love with the moon goddess, Ix Chel. But the goddess' grandfather was very possessive, and would not let the sun god anywhere near his beloved granddaughter. Desperate to be together, they escaped and were ready to light up the sky with their powerful rays. Unfortunately, their love story doesn't end happily ever after. Cynthi...

Ndidi Nwuneli has advice for Africans who believe in God -- and Africans who don't. To the religious, she advises against using God to outsource responsibility for what happens in their lives. To the non-religious, she asks that they keep an open mind and work with faith-based organizations, especially on issues like health care and education. "...

Long jealous of his older brother Osiris, the god who ruled all of Egypt, the warrior god Set plotted to overthrow him. Hosting an extravagant party as a ruse, Set announced a game— whoever could fit perfectly in a wooden chest could have it as a gift. But the chest was a coffin, trapping Osiris inside. Will his sisters be able to find and free ...

Two Pilobolus dancers perform "Symbiosis." Does it trace the birth of a relationship? Or the co-evolution of symbiotic species? Music: "God Music," George Crumb; "Fratres," Arvo Part; "Morango...Almost a Tango," Thomas Oboe Lee.

One day, Persephone was frolicking in a meadow with the nymph, Cyane. As they admired a flower, they noticed it tremble in the ground. Suddenly, the earth split, and a terrifying figure arose. It was Hades, god of the underworld. He wrenched Persephone from Cyane, dragged her into his inky chariot, and blasted back through the earth. Iseult Gill...

Kaki King, the first female on Rolling Stone's "guitar god" list, rocks out to a full live set at TED2008, including her breakout single, "Playing with Pink Noise." Jaw-dropping virtuosity meets a guitar technique that truly stands out.

Linking together the histories of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and Tracy K. Smith, poet and thinker Maria Popova crafts an astonishing story of how humanity came to see the edge of the observable universe. (Followed by an animated excerpt of "My God, It's Full of Stars," by Tracy K. Smith)

Devdutt Pattanaik takes an eye-opening look at the myths of India and of the West -- and shows how these two fundamentally different sets of beliefs about God, death and heaven help us consistently misunderstand one another.

For most of the year, the Gulf of Mexico is teeming with marine life, from tiny crustaceans to massive whales. But every summer, disaster strikes. Around May, animals begin to flee the area. And soon, creatures that can't swim or can't swim fast enough begin to suffocate and die off in massive numbers. What's going on? Kate Slabosky dives into t...

In this fascinating conversation, cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack delves into everything from the Big Bang theory to what we see at the edge of the observable universe to a few ways the cosmos might end. Stay tuned to hear Mack recite an original poem on the wonder and marvel of existence. (This conversation, hosted by deputy director of t...

Climate change is real, case closed. But there's still a lot we don't understand about it, and the more we know the better chance we have to slow it down. One still-unknown factor: How might clouds play a part? There's a small hope that they could buy us some time to fix things ... or they could make global warming worse. Climate scientist Kate ...

After a horrific accident put her in the tabloid headlines, Kate Stone found a way to take control of her narrative -- and help prevent others from losing their privacy, too. Learn how she reclaimed her story in this personal talk infused with humor and courage.

Soap operas and telenovelas may be (ahem) overdramatic, but as Kate Adams shows us, their exaggerated stories and characters often cast light on the problems of real life. In this sparkling, funny talk, Adams, a former assistant casting director for "As the World Turns," shares four lessons for life and business that we can learn from melodramas.

Breast milk grows babies' bodies, fuels neurodevelopment, provides essential immunofactors and safeguards against famine and disease -- why, then, does science know more about tomatoes than mother's milk? Katie Hinde shares insights into this complex, life-giving substance and discusses the major gaps scientific research still needs to fill so w...

In life's toughest moments, how do you go on living? Kate Bowler has been exploring this question ever since she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age 35. In a profound, heartbreaking and unexpectedly funny talk, she offers some answers -- challenging the idea that "everything happens for a reason" and sharing hard-won wisdom about how to ma...

Buildings are bad news for the climate -- the indoor spaces we spend most of our lives in emit 40 percent of the world's greenhouse gases. Rethinking how to create and occupy the spaces we inhabit, Katie McGinty, chief sustainability officer at Johnson Controls, walks us through smart, efficient and eco-friendly ways to decarbonize buildings -- ...

Sure, sports are about athleticism -- but what actually keeps fans invested? Journalist Kate Fagan takes a fascinating deep-dive into lesser-known moments in women's sports history and its media coverage, revealing why stakes and storylines are at the heart of what makes sports riveting.

The universe started with a bang -- but how will it end? With astonishing visuals, cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack takes us to the theoretical end of everything, some trillions of years in the future, in a profound meditation on existence, wonder and the legacy of humanity within the immensity of time and space.