Researchers have identified many things -- like unpredictable laughter, pale skin, unkempt hair -- that people tend to find unsettling in others. But they’ve also realized this: We humans are pretty poor judges of who we should trust, says psychologist Julia Shaw. We sometimes use terms that ascribe negative traits to people we don’t know. Tha...

Women are slowly moving towards parity in the boardroom, but not in the bedroom. Why are straight women having less satisfying sex than men? And what can we do about it? The world is supposed to be improving for women. Incrementally, work is being done to combat sexual harassment, improve maternity-leave, and close the wage gap. But what abo...

About this event: Session 1 Sylvia Camarda: “Dancing through the dark” Sylvia is a professional dancer, born to an Italian immigrant family in Luxembourg. She refused to pursue a secure future, a big house, a big car and a solid bank account. Instead, she chose to become a dancer, an artist, and to pursue to road to freedom. Sylvia pushed herself to the li...

Designers solve problems and bring beauty to the world. At TEDNYC Design Lab, a night of talks at TED HQ in New York City hosted by design curator Chee Pearlman with content producer Cloe Shasha, six speakers pulled back the curtain to reveal the hard work and creative process behind great design. Speakers covered a range of topics, includin...

"We build them, we cross them, sometimes we burn them." TED Content Director Kelly Stoetzel kicks off TEDWomen 2017 with an explanation of how she and conference curator Pat Mitchell developed this year's rich conference theme, Bridges. "Over the next three days we’ll hear talks from artists and architects, entrepreneurs, scientists and acti...

In the United States, nearly 70 percent of the people held in local jails are there for one reason: they don’t have enough money to pay bail. Here’s a look at how this came to be and what it would take to change it. Here’s a riddle for you. In the past 15 years, the number of people jailed in the US has grown sharply (continuing a steady upward...

By training kids to interview their teachers, film them, and elicit their wisdom, Deepak Ramola is helping them gain valuable new skills and new appreciation for their elders. At a primary school in northern India, the tables have been turned on the typical teacher-student dynamic. As a student sits across from her instructor, she gently asks,...

US university presidents and chancellors, enough already. It’s time to end the consensual hallucination between university leadership, parents and students that in-person classes will be able to resume in the fall. The bold statements from presidents and provosts are symptomatic of the viruses that also plague American leadership and business...

Too many of us struggle to achieve a body ideal that’s just not obtainable by humans. It’s time to redefine what’s good, healthy and attractive on our own terms, say writers (and sisters) Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski. The Bikini Industrial Complex. That’s our name for the $100 billion cluster of businesses that profit by setting an unachiev...

WorkLife with Adam Grant Tuesday, July 20, 2021 Ed Pierson: I'd been retired two months when I heard the news and saw the TV news flash. It was a max airplane that crashed in the ocean. It was shocking. And then the second crash occurs. Adam Grant: In October 2018, a new Boeing 737 max plane flying out of Indonesia crashed and killed all pass...

Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter Wednesday, May 19, 2021 JEN GUNTER: I’m Dr. Jen Gunter. I love science, and I hate when people twist it. And there's a lot of twisted medical misinformation out there. "That’s ridiculous." "Oh It’s so painful." JEN GUNTER: We’re exposed to medical myths whether we are looking for them or not. There are news sto...

We asked TED speakers, TED-Ed educators and TED Fellows: “What books would you bring with you to a desert island?” In their deliciously diverse responses, you'll find there's something for every kind of reader. They offered up recommendations -- please use the following links to jump around the sections you're interested in -- for when you're h...

In a democracy, the power resides with the people. Here’s actionable advice on how you can get your share, from civics educator Eric Liu. Power is something we are often uncomfortable naming and talking about explicitly. In our everyday talk, power has a negative moral vibe: "power-mad", "power-hungry", "power trip". But power is no more inhere...

Craft -- in the timeless, universal sense of making -- connects us all. We craft our environments, our tools and toys, our transport and communications, our world. At Radical Craft -- an evening of talks curated by TED's design curator, Chee Pearlman, and co-hosted by Pearlman and Stephen DeBerry -- seven designers, inventors, artists, m...

Some inventions are about solving a need. Others are about opening up our understanding of the world. Still others are motivated by a sense of whimsy or adventure. At TED@IBM, 14 speakers shared ideas that fit into all of these categories. Themed “Necessity & Invention,” the second edition of TED@IBM challenged the often-repeated trui...

Monday, November 1, 2021 Mona Chalabi: I’ve spent the past seven years trying to imagine two alternate realities: Life in New York, and life in London. I moved to New York in 2014. I went for a job that felt like it could have been my big break. I made friends in New York. I had boyfriends, and then I had ex-boyfriends. I had a job, and then I...

How to Be a Better Human Monday, June 27, 2022 Chris Duffy: You’re listening to How to Be a Better Human. I’m your host Chris Duffy. Today on the show, we’re talking to one of the most famous street artists in the world, J.R. He’s got this iconic look where he always wears dark glasses and a hat so no one knows exactly what he looks like. And...

Today, infectious diseases race across the world, and one country’s health problem can affect the entire global economy. For these and other reasons, Alanna Shaikh says global health is a matter of “mutual survival.” While working her day job at an international aid organization, Alanna moonlights as a (refreshingly frank) blogger on internati...

The seven speakers lived up to the two words in the title of the session. Their talks showcased both our collective insanity -- the algorithmically-assembled extremes of the Internet -- and our humanity -- the values and desires that extremists astutely tap into -- along with some speakers combining the two into a glorious salad. Let's dig i...

Tuesday, October 26, 2021 Hey WorkLifers, it’s Adam Grant, and this is Taken for Granted, my podcast with the TED Audio Collective. I’m an organizational psychologist, and this series is about rethinking assumptions we often take for granted about how we work, lead, and live. This is my second conversation with CEO extraordinaire Indra Nooyi, wh...

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...

Monday, November 29, 2021 Mona Chalabi: One winter a couple years ago, some of my cousins came to visit me in New York. I have about 90 cousins, so I’m not going to say anything controversial about favorites, but I’m really close with these two. They’re sisters and I’ll call them Reem and Leila. I decided to introduce them to my boyfriend at ...

About this event: When local can mean everything from our solar system to your community, Your Backyard becomes a universe of amazing ideas. SPEAKERS STEVE DUNCAN urban spelunker and photographer As an urban historian and photographer, Steve tries to peel back the layers of a city to see what's underneath. From the tops of bridges to the depths of sewer ...

ReThinking with Adam Grant Indra Nooyi Says It’s Time for Leaders to Care (part 2) November 2, 2021 Adam Grant (AG): Hey WorkLifers, it’s Adam Grant, and this is Taken for Granted, my podcast with the TED Audio Collective. I’m an organizational psychologist, and this series is about rethinking assumptions we often take for granted about how we ...

ReThinking with Adam Grant The four-day work week: luxury or necessity? (Transcript) November 22, 2022 [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant. Welcome back to ReThinking: my podcast is on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people to explore new ...

It's time for TED Fellows Talks, the Rio edition! Twenty TED Fellows and Senior Fellows opened the conference in the stunning Golden Room of the Copacabana Palace Hotel. In Session 1, learn more about a grassroots marine conservation movement in Madagascar, a vending machine that dispenses food staples in Chile and a new database of African ...

Re:Thinking with Adam Grant Mark Cuban doesn’t believe in following your passions Sept 13, 2022 [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey everyone. It's Adam Grant. Welcome back to Re:Thinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people to explore how they thi...

Real life is chaotic and surprising and impossible to balance. Work-life Jenga is all about making the best out of each moment in our lives, one piece at a time, says political leader and author Stacey Abrams. I reject the idea of work-life balance. The phrase is a bald-faced lie, designed to hang over the human psyche like the Sword of Damocle...

Re:Thinking with Adam Grant Busting the myths of the brain with neuroscientist Chantel Prat October 4, 2022 [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant. Welcome back to ReThinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people to explore n...

Books can entertain, sucking you like a tornado into incredible new worlds. Books can teach, giving you a richer understanding of time periods, people and ideas you’ve never been exposed to. But books can do so much more. In today’s talk, TED's own Lisa Bu introduces us to the concept of “comparative reading,” the practice of reading book...