Explore these talks that flip old conventions, reimagining them for a brighter, better tomorrow.

We all love parsing the twists and folds of a good old-fashioned mystery -- of all kinds.

Raised listening to his dad's old records, Joey Alexander plays a brand of sharp, modern piano jazz that you likely wouldn't expect to hear from a pre-teenager. Listen as the 11-year-old delights the TED crowd with his very special performance of a Thelonious Monk classic.

Natalie Merchant sings from her poetry-inspired album "Leave Your Sleep," which pairs lyrics from poets -- from Gerard Manley Hopkins to a near-forgotten 10-year-old girl in Brooklyn -- with simple melodies and her unmistakable voice. Stay for an encore performance of her hit "Thank You," dedicated to a notable philanthropist in the audience.

Give old things new life and even imagine a futuristic perspective on repurposing everyday items with these fun and thoughtful talks.

What do you do with an outdated encyclopedia in the information age? With X-Acto knives and an eye for a good remix, artist Brian Dettmer makes beautiful, unexpected sculptures that breathe new life into old books.

There's an irony behind the latest efforts to extend human life: It's no picnic to be an old person in a youth-oriented society. Older people can become isolated, lacking meaningful work and low on funds. In this intriguing talk, Jared Diamond looks at how many different societies treat their elders -- some better, some worse -- and suggests we ...

Most 12-year-olds love playing videogames -- but Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like "Bustin Jeiber," a whack-a-mole game, he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers.

DJs make remixes, cross-pollinating old sounds with new. But all of us engage in this conversation between the past and present, making ideas resonate over and over again.

In 1485, King Richard III of England was killed in battle and hastily buried in Leicester. But during the English Reformation, his remains were lost ... for five centuries, until a cross-disciplinary team from the University of Leicester set out to relocate them. In a delightfully detailed talk full of archaeology, forensic science, royal geneal...

Nature is wonderfully abundant, diverse and mysterious -- but biological research today tends to focus on only seven species, including rats, chickens, fruit flies and us. We're studying an astonishingly narrow sliver of life, says biologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, and hoping it'll be enough to solve the oldest, most challenging problems in ...

What makes our bodies age ... our skin wrinkle, our hair turn white, our immune systems weaken? Biologist Elizabeth Blackburn shares a Nobel Prize for her work finding out the answer, with the discovery of telomerase: an enzyme that replenishes the caps at the end of chromosomes, which break down when cells divide. Learn more about Blackburn's g...

Why do we love our favorite stories? Do they need a beginning, middle and end, and a character who changes by the conclusion? Masters of storytelling explore new answers to age-old questions of the craft.

It may not appear very lively six feet underground, but a single teaspoon of soil contains more organisms than there are human beings on the planet. From bacteria and algae to fungi and protozoa, soils are home to one quarter of Earth's biodiversity. And perhaps soil's most important inhabitants are its microbes. Carolyn Marshall digs into how s...

We've cued up two hours of live music straight from the TED stage. Listen for a wide range of virtuoso musicians -- on some very surprising instruments ...

Tired of working the same old way? Maybe it's time to update your approach. These talks will inspire you to make the innovative shifts needed to foster a better and more successful professional mindset. (Curated in partnership with Upwork.)

A list of the jazziest performances to hit the TED stage, straight from the bandstand.

No matter the generation, these talks are perfect for bringing everyone together to learn, wonder and laugh.

Immerse yourself in the weirdly wonderful world of art made from unconventional materials.

From rides to homes and beyond, we're sharing everything these days, with the help of digital tools. But as modern and high-tech as the sharing economy seems, it's been alive in Africa for centuries, according to author Robert Neuwirth. He shares fascinating examples -- like apprenticeships that work like locally generated venture capital and sy...

Science fiction writer Monica Byrne imagines rich worlds populated with characters who defy our racial, social and gender stereotypes. In this performance, Byrne appears as a hologram named Pilar, transmitting a story of love and loss back to us from a near future when humans have colonized the universe. "It's always funny what you think the fut...

Urban planner Ryan Gravel shares the story of how his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, rallied to build a massive urban park that will transform an abandoned railroad track into 22 miles of public green space called the Atlanta BeltLine. The places we live aren't inevitable, he says -- and if we want something different, we need to speak up.

Take a trip around the globe and enjoy music from all corners of the Earth.

Dubbed the millennial whisperer, 19-year-old author and CEO Jared Kleinert has spent thousands of hours studying the millennial mind. Kleinert explains why young people hold more power today than at any other time in history, and explores what sets this group apart.

Some simple (and honestly sort of scary) ways we can potentially prolong the human life.

Why are we so obsessed with age? From quests for youth to immortality, these speakers explore the science of staying alive.

Satan, the beast crunching sinners' bones. Lucifer, the fallen angel. Mephistopheles, the trickster striking deals. These three divergent devils are all based on Satan of the Old Testament. But unlike any of these literary devils, the Satan of the Bible was a relatively minor character. So how did he become the ultimate antagonist, with so many ...

Masterful, riveting performances of lyric, rhythm and rhyme.

What would happen if new companies hired, fired, and managed in the same way as football clubs? What if new employers "bought" their new hires, and paid old employers a fee, à la Cristiano Ronaldo? In this short talk, Yusuf contemplates the consequence of playing the old corporate game by new rules.

Violinist Sirena Huang gives a technically brilliant and emotionally nuanced performance. In a charming interlude, the 11-year-old praises the timeless design of her instrument.