Consider the following scenario: a highly infectious, sometimes deadly respiratory virus infects humans for the first time. It spreads rapidly worldwide, and the WHO declares a pandemic. The death toll starts to rise and everyone is asking the same question: when will the pandemic end? Alex Rosenthal details the three main strategies governments...

Looking to put your skills to use to fight the pandemic? Consider joining The Global Hack, a virtual hackathon designed to rapidly develop solutions to the coronavirus crisis. Designer and technologist Marko Russiver shares the motivation behind a movement looking to help people build post-pandemic resilience. (This virtual conversation is part ...

How can we stop the next pandemic before it starts? Disease researchers Pardis Sabeti and Christian Happi introduce Sentinel, an early warning system that detects and tracks viral threats in real time -- and could help stop them before they spread. Learn more about the cutting-edge technology that powers the system and how the Sentinel team is h...

What happens to a tourist paradise when no one shows up to visit? Rapa Nui, known to many as Easter Island, typically welcomes more than 120,000 visitors each year—which is a lot for a place with only 10,000 residents. After COVID-19 shuts down flights to this remote island, citizens reimagine what their lives, their livelihood, and their home c...

The coronavirus pandemic won't be the last crisis to test public health systems worldwide, says physician and health policy leader Georges C. Benjamin. He details what's needed to lead us out of the pandemic and prevent future ones -- including a robust governmental health entity equipped with updated technology and well-trained staff -- and exp...

An effective COVID-19 vaccine is just the first step in ending the pandemic, says global health strategist Johanna Benesty. In this illuminating talk, she explores the various barriers to "equitable access" -- making sure COVID-19 therapeutics are available to all -- and shares a creative approach to research and development that could ensure va...

As the threat of COVID-19 continues, infectious disease expert and TED Fellow Adam Kucharski answers five key questions about the novel coronavirus, providing necessary perspective on its transmission, how governments have responded and what might need to change about our social behavior to end the pandemic. (This video is excerpted from a 70-mi...

Examining the facts and figures of the coronavirus outbreak, epidemiologist Larry Brilliant evaluates the global response in a candid interview with head of TED Chris Anderson. Brilliant lays out a clear plan to end the pandemic -- and shows why, to achieve it, we'll have to work together across political and geographical divides. "This is not t...

As the surreal reality of COVID-19 unfolded around the world, musician Damian Kulash and OK Go started working on a song, looking to art as a way to access something past the immediate anxiety of the moment while sheltering in place. Inspired by the ritual of raising a cheer for frontline workers every evening and some incongruous bouts of hope,...

Philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates offers insights into the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing why testing and self-isolation are essential, which medical advancements show promise and what it will take for the world to endure this crisis. (This virtual conversation is part of the TED Connects series, hosted by head of TED Chris Anders...

Head of TED Chris Anderson speaks with fascinating individuals to dig into some of the most provocative and powerful ideas of our time. (Made possible with the support of Lexus.)

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of Project Management Institute)

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of Verizon)

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of Steelcase)

The coronavirus pandemic is more global, dramatic and unusual than any crisis we've seen in a long time, says journalist Fareed Zakaria. Listen as he shares his perspective on how we can recover from the economic fallout, why certain countries were able to avoid major outbreaks and what this might mean for the balance of global power. (This virt...

Bill Gates talks best (and worst) case scenarios for the coronavirus pandemic in the months ahead, explaining the challenges of reducing virus transmission, providing an update on promising vaccine candidates, offering his thoughts on reopening and even taking a moment to address conspiracy theories circulating about himself. Stay tuned for his ...

Poet and policymaker Aaron Maniam describes how the language we use to explain COVID-19 shapes the way we think about it -- whether it's as a "war," a "journey" or, as he suggests, an "ecology." He encourages us to explore a range of imaginative, interlocking metaphors to gain a deeper understanding of the pandemic -- and shows how this can help...

Museums are vessels of memory, knowledge, inspiration and dreams. Anne Pasternak, director of the Brooklyn Museum, makes the case for cultural institutions to take a leading role in supporting the world's recovery from COVID-19 -- and shows how, in times of turmoil and disruption, the arts help us come together, heal and rebuild a better society...

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of Cognizant)

When catastrophe strikes, art prevails -- and has done so for centuries. In this fascinating talk, writer and director Cara Greene Epstein places the closing of theaters during the coronavirus pandemic in a historical context, exploring how we can use this intermission to imagine a more just, representative and beautiful world, onstage and off.

Mandatory lockdowns, quarantines and shelter-in-place orders meant to contain COVID-19 have created a shadow pandemic of domestic abuse, says physician Kemi DaSilva-Ibru. Sharing alarming statistics on the rise of gender-based violence worldwide, she describes how Nigeria quickly retrained a squadron of basic health care providers to respond to ...

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of Qatar Foundation)

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work for good. Can it also change it for the better? Consultant Patty McCord reviews four key insights employers and employees alike gleaned from their shift to working from home -- and shares how companies can use what they learned in lockdown to creatively and innovatively rethink how we do business.

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of BCG)

Could we anticipate the next big disease outbreak, stopping a virus like Ebola before it ever strikes? In this talk about frontline scientific research, ecologist Daniel Streicker takes us to the Amazon rainforest in Peru where he tracks the movement of vampire bats in order to forecast and prevent rabies outbreaks. By studying these disease pat...

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks offers thoughts on how we can navigate the coronavirus pandemic with courage, hope and empathy. With wisdom and clarity, he speaks on leadership, fear, death, hope and how we could use this moment to build a more just world. Watch for a special, impromptu prayer about halfway through the conversation. (This virtual conv...

Build Back Better features thought leaders and change agents evaluating our pre-pandemic systems and practices in an effort to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. (Made possible with the support of U.S. Air Force)

The coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything we've ever seen in health care, says emergency physician Esther Choo. Sharing insights into how health workers are responding to the outbreak, she explains what makes this public health emergency different from others -- and provides a few simple things you can do to help. Watch to the end to hear abou...

As COVID-19 continues to spread, the world is facing two existential threats at once: a public health emergency and an economic crisis. Political theorist Danielle Allen describes how we can ethically and democratically address both problems by scaling up "smart testing," which would track positive cases with peer-to-peer software on people's ce...