How do politics affect psychology, influence behavior and create polarization? A quest to demystify what the political does to society and the mind (and vice versa).

In 2018, to mark the 400th anniversary of the first recorded arrival of enslaved Africans to American shores, Mindy Fullilove worked with her class at the New School to create a timeline of inequality in the United States, incorporating the narratives of a range of marginalized groups. Their purpose was to visualize the ecology of inequality, si...

A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and then a full-length marathon on hot, dry ground -- with no breaks in between: the legendary Ironman triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, is a bucket list goal for champion athletes. But when Minda Dentler decided to take it on, she had bigger aspirations than just another medal around her neck. She tells the sto...

Fascinating talks that seek to unravel some of the most fundamental, yet unexplainable parts of the cosmos.

Do you have a favorite T-shirt or pair of jeans that transforms you and makes you feel confident -- makes you feel like you? That's because what you wear can affect your mood, your health and your self-esteem, says fashion designer Mindy Scheier. Inspired by her son, who was born with a degenerative disorder that makes it hard for him to dress h...

Numbers, patterns and equations are at the core of these talks, which will teach you how to fold better origami and how to quantify history.

A treat for your mind and your eyeballs.

An illuminating, if not slightly chilling, exploration of what makes a psychopath.

Some advice and perspectives to keep in mind when your company's going through structural changes.

Droids, mushrooms, pranks, fractals -- Reggie Watts shares some simple tools for brain expansion.

Listen closely -- Marvin Minsky's arch, eclectic, charmingly offhand talk on health, overpopulation and the human mind is packed with subtlety: wit, wisdom and just an ounce of wily, is-he-joking? advice.

Linus Torvalds transformed technology twice -- first with the Linux kernel, which helps power the Internet, and again with Git, the source code management system used by developers worldwide. In a rare interview with TED Curator Chris Anderson, Torvalds discusses with remarkable openness the personality traits that prompted his unique philosophy...

Daniel Kish expands the perceptual toolbox of both blind and sighted humans by teaching echolocation -- the ability to observe our surroundings via sound.

After he swam the North Pole, Lewis Pugh vowed never to take another cold-water dip. Then he heard of Lake Imja in the Himalayas, created by recent glacial melting, and Lake Pumori, a body of water at an altitude of 5300 m on Everest -- and so began a journey that would teach him a radical new way to approach swimming and think about climate cha...

MOMA design curator Paola Antonelli previews the groundbreaking show Design and the Elastic Mind -- full of products and designs that reflect the way we think now.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is a man with many plans. The founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX sits down with TED curator Chris Anderson to share details about his visionary projects, which include a mass-marketed electric car, a solar energy leasing company and a fully reusable rocket.

Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media ("Make:" magazine, anyone?) shares his favorite TED Talks with notes about why each one had an impact. Surprise: It's not all tech.

Developmental behavior studies spearheaded by Laura Schulz are changing our notions of how children learn.

Disquieting, thought-provoking tales that will ensnare your mind and keep you up well into the night.

Natalie Gunn makes a case for thinking of our minds and bodies as a continuum rather than a duality. She's especially intrigued by how this continuum may relate to cancer and whether our mindset impacts the disease. Natalie argues that we have to take the question seriously: "We need to investigate how a disease of the body could be impacted by ...

What happens when a dream you've held since childhood ... doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books.

Amishi Jha studies how we pay attention: the process by which our brain decides what's important out of the constant stream of information it receives. Both external distractions (like stress) and internal ones (like mind-wandering) diminish our attention's power, Jha says -- but some simple techniques can boost it. "Pay attention to your attent...

Photographer Levon Biss was looking for a new, extraordinary subject when one afternoon he and his young son popped a ground beetle under a microscope and discovered the wondrous world of insects. Applying his knowledge of photography to subjects just five millimeters long, Biss created a process for shooting insects in unbelievable microscopic ...

Psychopathic killers are the basis for some must-watch TV, but what really makes them tick? Neuroscientist Jim Fallon talks about brain scans and genetic analysis that may uncover the rotten wiring in the nature (and nurture) of murderers. In a too-strange-for-fiction twist, he shares a fascinating family history that makes his work chillingly p...

Sebastian Seung is a leader in the new field of connectomics, currently the hottest space in neuroscience, which studies, in once-impossible detail, the wiring of the brain.

Curious what goes on inside a tiny human mind? They can’t talk (yet), but babies know a lot more than you think.

Need something smart to chew on? As you eat lunch, cue up these delightful talks, as invigorating for the mind as a cup of coffee.

Venom can kill ... or it can cure. In this fascinating talk, marine chemical biologist Mandë Holford shares her research into animal venom, from killer sea snails to platypuses and slow lorises -- and explores its potential to one day treat human diseases like cancer. The mechanism behind this powerful substance is still mysterious, Holford says...

What would a city designed for the blind be like? Chris Downey is an architect who went suddenly blind in 2008; he contrasts life in his beloved San Francisco before and after -- and shows how the thoughtful designs that enhance his life now might actually make everyone's life better, sighted or not.

Why do arguments change people's minds in some cases and backfire in others? Hugo Mercier explains how arguments are more convincing when they rest on a good knowledge of the audience, taking into account what the audience believes, who they trust, and what they value. [TED-Ed Animation by TED-Ed]