"We all feel a compelling need to watch stories, to tell stories ... to discuss the things that tell each one of us that we are not alone in the world," says TV titan Shonda Rhimes. A dominant force in television since "Grey's Anatomy" hit the airwaves, Rhimes discusses the future of media networks, how she's using her narrative-building skills ...

iPad storyteller Joe Sabia introduces us to Lothar Meggendorfer, who created a bold technology for storytelling: the pop-up book. Sabia shows how new technology has always helped us tell our own stories, from the walls of caves to his own onstage iPad.

Suzanne Duncan is a story skeptic. She explains what happens when our protective imagination drives a false narrative. Sometimes, she says, the everyday stories we tell ourselves - and how we think about our role in those stories - can do more harm than good.

Can children learn about critical topics via seemingly incongruous media like cartoons or oral storytelling? In this moving talk, screenwriter and director Fernando Salem champions the lasting power of storytelling, speaking to the ways in which a well-crafted narrative can help kids learn and retain history.

In the 1930s, broadcast radio introduced an entirely new form of storytelling; today, micro-blogging platforms like Twitter are changing the scene again. Andrew Fitzgerald takes a look at the (aptly) short but fascinating history of new forms of creative experimentation in fiction and storytelling.

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.

Powerful, personal stories of sharing one's true identity with the world.

It's been said that when an elder dies, it's as if a library is burned. Anthropologist Elizabeth Lindsey, a National Geographic Fellow, collects the deep cultural knowledge passed down as stories and lore.

What trials unite not only Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins but many of literature's most interesting heroes? And what do ordinary people have in common with these literary heroes? Matthew Winkler takes us step-by-step through the crucial events that make or break a hero. [Directed by Kirill Yeretsky, narrated by Matthew Winkler, music by Stephen L...

Béatrice Coron has developed a language of storytelling by papercutting multi-layered stories.

Filmmaker Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story," "WALL-E") shares what he knows about storytelling -- starting at the end and working back to the beginning. Contains graphic language ... (Note: this talk is not available for download.)

When a parent is sent to prison, the unintended victims of their crimes are their own children -- without stability and support, kids are at higher risk for mental health and development issues. In a heartfelt talk, Alan Crickmore explains how the charity Storybook Dads is keeping families connected through the simple act of storytelling.

The director of the award-winning documentary The War Tapes, Deborah Scranton is committed to using new technology to give people power to tell their own stories.

When Tracy Chevalier looks at paintings, she imagines the stories behind them: How did the painter meet his model? What would explain that look in her eye? Why is that man ... blushing? She shares three stories inspired by portraits, including the one that led to her best-selling novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Sit down, press play and prepare to be riveted by these beautiful, mysterious, moving talks.

These unforgettable stories will carry you through the slog of your everyday commute.

Working at the frontiers of interactive technology, Chris Milk stretches virtual reality into a new canvas for storytelling.

The legendary Eva Zeisel worked as a ceramics designer -- whose curvy, sensual pieces bring delight and elegance to tabletops around the world.

JD Schramm teaches future business leaders both the theoretical and practical aspects of communication.

Joe Sabia investigates new ways to tell stories -- meshing viral video and new display technologies with old-fashioned narrative.

In his work, economist Tyler Cowen looks at clues from pop culture, art, food, to gather data and make observations on the world's globalizing culture and commerce.

Thomas Hellum is an award-winning television producer who works at NRK Hordaland in Norway.

In this playfully delivered talk with a poignant message, comedian and podcaster Maeve Higgins delves into the stories about immigration she heard while traveling around the US (as an immigrant herself). "People should not be considered valuable just because they do something of value to us," Higgins says.

Diagnosed with cancer, Bruce Feiler worried first about his young family. So -- as he shares in this funny, rambling and ultimately thoughtful talk -- he asked his closest friends to become a "council of dads," bringing their own lifetimes of wisdom to advise his twin daughters as they grow.

In 2010, technologist Tan Le took the TEDGlobal stage to demo a powerful new interface. But now, at TEDxWomen, she tells a very personal story: the story of her family -- mother, grandmother and sister -- fleeing Vietnam and building a new life.

Nancy Duarte believes that ideas are the most powerful tools people have. Her passion is to help every person learn to communicate their world-changing idea effectively.

Ramona Pierson develops tools to revolutionize learning management and assessment systems -- her fourth career after aviation, neuropsychology and software development.

Using sleight-of-hand techniques and charming storytelling, illusionist Marco Tempest brings a jaunty stick figure to life onstage at TEDGlobal.

On the coast of Northern Ireland, a vast plateau of basalt slabs and columns called the Giant's Causeway stretches into the ocean. The scientific explanation for this is that it's the result of molten lava contracting and fracturing as it cooled in the wake of a volcanic eruption. But an ancient Irish myth has a different accounting. Iseult Gill...

Author Isabel Allende is 71. Yes, she has a few wrinkles—but she has incredible perspective too. In this candid talk, meant for viewers of all ages, she talks about her fears as she gets older and shares how she plans to keep on living passionately.