Tyler DeWitt recognizes that textbooks are not the way to get young people interested in science. Instead, he teaches science by making it fun and fantastical.

SETI researcher Seth Shostak bets that we will find extraterrestrial life in the next twenty-four years, or he'll buy you a cup of coffee. He explains why new technologies and the laws of probability make the breakthrough so likely -- and predicts how the discovery of civilizations far more advanced than ours might affect us here on Earth.

In a disturbing — but fascinating — walk through history, Frances Larson examines humanity's strange relationship with public executions … and specifically beheadings. As she shows us, they have always drawn a crowd, first in the public square and now on YouTube. What makes them horrific and compelling in equal measure?

Rishi Manchanda has worked as a doctor in South Central Los Angeles for a decade, where he’s come to realize: His job isn’t just about treating a patient’s symptoms, but about getting to the root cause of what is making them ill—the “upstream" factors like a poor diet, a stressful job, a lack of fresh air. It’s a powerful call for doctors to pay...

In a world of too many options and too little time, our obvious choice is to just ignore the ordinary stuff. Marketing guru Seth Godin spells out why, when it comes to getting our attention, bad or bizarre ideas are more successful than boring ones.

You're lifting weights. The first time feels easy, but each lift takes more and more effort until you can't continue. Inside your arms, the muscles responsible for the lifting have become unable to contract. What's going on? Christian Moro explains how exactly our muscles operate, and what causes them to become fatigued. [Directed by Nichola Lat...

Fashion executive turned TV host Bevy Smith is here to tell it as she sees it. Get ready for some "Bevelations."

Laura Snyder weaves tales of Victorian-era scientists that have been described as “fit for Masterpiece Theater.”

Have you ever suffered from exertional heat stroke? This condition is caused by intense activity in the heat and is one of the top three killers of athletes and soldiers in training. Douglas J. Casa explains heat stroke's tremendous effects on the human body and details an action plan in case it ever happens to someone you know. [Directed by Ver...

Shonda Rhimes, the titan behind Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, is responsible for some 70 hours of television per season, and she loves to work. "When I am hard at work, when I am deep in it, there is no other feeling," she says. She has a name for this feeling: The hum. The hum is a drug, the hum is music, the hum is G...

AnnMarie Thomas works on the playful side of engineering -- using cool tools to teach and help others.

Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn't the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of "grit" as a predictor of success.

The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest, produce important nutrients, regulate the immune system, and protect against harmful germs. And while we can't control all the factors that go into maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, we can manipulate the balance of our microbes by paying attention to what we eat. Shilpa Rave...

Lost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it.

Chad Frischmann is working to get humanity to "drawdown," the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis.

Deval Patrick is a poor kid from the South Side of Chicago who, with grit, determination and the help and kindness of others, has lived the American Dream.

While it may not be simple or easy, these fascinating talks make aerospace engineering a little more accessible to the average person.

These speakers embrace and express who they are, what they stand for, and by living their truth invite you to do the same.

BCG's Shervin Khodabandeh helps businesses get real impact from AI by working with them to build game-changing capabilities.

Three billion people in the world don't have access to a consistent water supply, due to issues not limited to infrastructure, supply or mismanagement -- and for some, water may flow every two days or even ten. Sustainability engineer Anu Sridharan launched an organization in India that wants to fix this using cellphones and the power of crowdso...

"Down down, baby, down down the roller coaster..." Hip-hop owes a lot to the queens of double dutch. Ethnomusicologist Kyra Gaunt takes us on a tour of the fascinating history of the jump rope.

Struggling to budget and manage finances is common -- but talking honestly and openly about it isn't. Why do we hide our problems around money? In this thoughtful, personal talk, author Tammy Lally encourages us to break free of "money shame" and shows us how to stop equating our bank accounts with our self-worth.

Armed with bracing logic, wit and her "public-health nerd" glasses, Elizabeth Pisani reveals the myriad of inconsistencies in today's political systems that prevent our dollars from effectively fighting the spread of HIV. Her research with at-risk populations -- from junkies in prison to sex workers on the street in Cambodia -- demonstrates the ...

Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness. In this deeply moving, humorous and potentially life-changing talk, she challenges a culture that prizes positivity over emotional truth and discusses the powerful strategies of emotiona...

Leah Buechley is an MIT electronics designer who mixes high and low tech to create smart and playful results.

A writer and stand-up comedian, Aparna Nancherla is one of the most exciting new voices to hit the comedy scene.

Becca Heller is dedicated to helping displaced people worldwide find a safe place to live — and a safe way to get there.

Paula Hammond, head of MIT's Department of Chemical Engineering, is developing new technologies to kill cancer cells.

Thomas Suarez, a 12 year old, taught himself to build iphone apps.

Melinda French Gates is cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she puts into practice the idea that every life has equal value.