With books and strategies, David Rothkopf helps people navigate the perils and opportunities of our contemporary geopolitical landscape.

In the US, your taxes fund academic research at public universities. Why then do you need to pay expensive, for-profit journals for the results of that research? Erica Stone advocates for a new, open-access relationship between the public and scholars, making the case that academics should publish in more accessible media. "A functioning democra...

"A political cartoon is a barometer of freedom," says Rayma Suprani, who was exiled from her native Venezuela for publishing work critical of the government. "That's why dictators hate cartoonists." In a talk illustrated with highlights from a career spent railing against totalitarianism, Suprani explores how cartoons hold a mirror to society an...

There are more ways to be civically engaged besides voting. Tap into your inner activist with these talks about inspiring change in your community.

There are more than 10,000 nuclear weapons in existence today, each one capable of causing immense destruction. Why don't we talk about this threat as much as some other major issues? In this practical talk, nuclear security expert Emma Belcher shares three questions you can ask your elected officials to gain a better understanding of nuclear we...

Social psychologist Dannagal G. Young breaks down the link between our psychology and politics, showing how personality types largely fall into people who prioritize openness and flexibility (liberals) and those who prefer order and certainty (conservatives). Hear why both sets of traits are crucial to any society -- and how our differences are ...

Over his decades-long career as a political activist, Ralph Nader has helped expose some of the greatest misdeeds of large corporations. You may be familiar with the real-world changes his work sparked: the Clean Air Act, automobile safety laws, regulation of the tobacco industry and more. Tracing the arc of his time advocating for change, Nader...

Head of TED Chris Anderson speaks with fascinating individuals to dig into some of the most provocative and powerful ideas of our time.

Get to know our continuously interconnected world with talks that transcend our traditional understanding of boundaries and their limitations.

Across history, protest has shaped societies in tremendous ways. These talks explore how movements catalyze monumental change.

A collection of our most inspired talks and performances highlighting the passion, importance and brilliance of theater.

A historic number of Latinx voters participated in the 2020 US presidential election, including a record number of young people casting their ballots for the first time. Civic leader María Teresa Kumar takes a look at the issues closest to youth Latinx voters, including health care, climate equity and racial justice, and considers how this growi...

Want your local politician to pay attention to an issue you care about? Send a monthly handwritten letter, says former mayor Omar Ahmad -- it's more effective than email, phone, or even writing a check. He shares four steps to writing a letter that works.

Civil rights leader and longtime US congressman John Lewis spent his life fighting for freedom and justice for everyone. In this illuminating conversation with lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson, Lewis discusses the essential importance of voting, shares encouraging words of wisdom for the generation of young people currently organizing in the ...

Take a peek into the fascinating world of American politics -- with a few talks from some political leaders themselves.

Farida Nabourema is a key voice in Togo’s pro-democracy movement.

Using software to inspire public debate and enable voter engagement, Pia Mancini hopes to upgrade modern democracy in Argentina and beyond.

At age 16, journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas found out he was in the United States illegally. Since then, he's been thinking deeply about immigration and what it means to be a US citizen -- whether it's by birth, law or otherwise. In this powerful talk, Vargas calls for a shift in how we think about citizenship and encourages us all t...

To get out of the mess we're in, we need a new story that explains the present and guides the future, says author George Monbiot. Drawing on findings from psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology, he offers a new vision for society built around our fundamental capacity for altruism and cooperation. This contagiously optimistic talk will...

In spring 2019, more than 17,000 Europeans from 33 countries signed up to have a political argument with a complete stranger. They were part of "Europe Talks," a project that organizes one-on-one conversations between people who disagree -- sort of like a Tinder for politics. Editor Jochen Wegner shares the unexpected things that happened when p...

From the Arab Spring to the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe, a new generation of freedom fighters -- entrepreneurs, journalists, activists -- shares powerful stories of resistance against dictatorships and oppression.

As a cofounder of Upworthy, and the author of "The Filter Bubble," Eli Pariser leverages technology to help build better and more democratic societies.

David Bismark demos a new system for voting that contains a simple, verifiable way to prevent fraud and miscounting -- while keeping each person's vote secret.

How do you stand up to authoritarianism? And what does it mean to be "fearless"? In this powerful talk, housewife-turned-politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya describes her unlikely bid to defeat Belarus's long-time autocratic leader in the nation's 2020 presidential election. Painting a vivid picture of how small acts of defiance flourished into ...

We need to think beyond national borders to solve global problems, says activist Colombe Cahen-Salvador. Reimagining the world's fractured systems of governance and calling out their ineffective responses to major issues -- from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change and human rights -- she introduces Atlas, a movement unifying people to cre...

Tshering Tobgay is the president of the People's Democratic Party in Bhutan.

In 2013, the world learned that the NSA and its UK equivalent, GCHQ, routinely spied on the German government. Amid the outrage, artists Mathias Jud and Christoph Wachter thought: Well, if they're listening ... let's talk to them. With antennas mounted on the roof of the Swiss Embassy in Berlin's government district, they set up an open network ...

There is a corruption at the heart of American politics, caused by the dependence of Congressional candidates on funding from the tiniest percentage of citizens. That's the argument at the core of this blistering talk by legal scholar Lawrence Lessig. With rapid-fire visuals, he shows how the funding process weakens the Republic in the most fund...

Thomas Piketty is an economist and professor at the Paris School of Economics. His 2014 book, "Capital in the Twenty-first Century," caused a sensation upon publication.

Erica Stone works at the intersection of writing, teaching, and community organizing.