Susan Shaw is an internationally recognized marine toxicologist, author and explorer.

Have you ever actually read the terms and conditions for the apps you use? Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad and his team at the Norwegian Consumer Council have, and it took them nearly a day and a half to read the terms of all the apps on an average phone. In a talk about the alarming ways tech companies deceive their users, Myrstad shares insights abou...

Eric Haseltine applies discoveries about the brain to innovation and forecasting game-changing advances in science and technology.

In a talk that's equal parts funny and urgent, consultant Vinay Shandal shares stories of the world's top activist investors, showing how individuals and institutions can take a page from their playbook and put pressure on companies to drive positive change. "It's your right to have your money managed in line with your values," Shandal says. "Us...

In a deeply moving letter to her grandmother, Xiye Bastida reflects on what led her to become a leading voice for global climate activism -- from mobilizing school climate strikes to speaking at the United Nations Climate Summit alongside Greta Thunberg -- and traces her resolve, resilience and profound love of the earth to the values passed dow...

Dan Berkenstock and his team at Skybox Imaging are rethinking how to take photographs from space.

Ebony Roberts works to lift the veil of shame for those who have an incarcerated loved one.

TED Fellow Matilda Ho is shaping the startup landscape to create more sustainable food systems in China.

Bozoma Saint John is the global Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix.

To save the achoque -- an exotic (and adorable) salamander found in a lake in northern Mexico -- scientists teamed up with an unexpected research partner: a group of nuns called the Sisters of the Immaculate Health. In this delightful talk, science journalist Victoria Gill shares the story of how this unusual collaboration saved the achoque from...

Most of us want to do the right thing when it comes to the environment. But things aren’t as simple as opting for the paper bag, says sustainability strategist Leyla Acaroglu. A bold call for us to let go of tightly-held green myths and think bigger in order to create systems and products that ease strain on the planet.

While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.

The pandemic forced the world to work together like never before and, with unprecedented speed, bore a new age of health and medical innovation. Physician-scientist Daniel Kraft explains how breakthroughs and advancements like AI-infused antiviral discoveries and laboratory-level diagnostic tools accessible via smartphones are paving the way for...

Witness the unveiling of Countdown, a major global campaign to cut greenhouse gas emissions. TED has partnered with scientists, policy makers, organizations, activists and more to create an initiative that everyone in the world can be part of. Check out http://countdown.ted.com to learn how you can get involved — and help turn the tide on climat...

Truth comes from the collision of different ideas, and theater plays an essential role in showing us that truth, says legendary artistic director Oskar Eustis. In this powerful talk, Eustis outlines his plan to reach (and listen to) people in places across the US where the theater, like many other institutions, has turned its back -- like the de...

"Complete silence is very addictive," says Rebecca Knill, a writer who has cochlear implants that enable her to hear. In this funny, insightful talk, she explores the evolution of assistive listening technology, the outdated way people still respond to deafness and how we can shift our cultural understanding of ability to build a more inclusive ...

Could the telephone be used as a healthcare device? Mathematician Max Little believed that it could. Because Parkinson’s disease causes unusual tremors in the voice, Little realized that a 30-second phone call could be all that’s needed to diagnose the disease, which devastates millions of people worldwide. As Little shared at TEDGlobal 2012, in...

The weekend. Social Security. Health insurance. What do these things have in common? They all exist thanks to the advocacy of labor unions. Political economist Margaret Levi explains how these organizations forge equality and protect worker rights, calling for a 21st-century revival of the labor movement in order to build a more equitable future.

Many people across the world don't have access to healthy food -- while in other places tons of food go to waste. Social entrepreneur Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli thinks we can take bold steps to fix this problem. She lays out what it would take to build a more equitable, sustainable food system that nourishes all people and asks us to widen our perspe...

Philosopher-comedian Emily Levine talks (hilariously) about science, math, society and the way everything connects. She's a brilliant trickster, poking holes in our fixed ideas and bringing hidden truths to light. Settle in and let her ping your brain.

Is the American obsession with individual freedom really such a great idea? What other cultures know about how to make good choices. Sit down at a restaurant in France, and there's a menu. Salmon with rice. French beans. Wine. If you ask for potatoes instead of rice, the restaurant will say no. Because it is their menu. Not yours. To an America...

Photo: James Duncan Davidson Jim Stengel enters the TED courtroom to make the case that it's time to change the state of business. But he starts his story with the tale of his younger brother, Bob, who grew up to be a star physician and to whom he was super-close from childhood. You can hear his pride as he describes Bob, "the finest huma...

Thirty years ago today, Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh 128k at an Apple shareholders’ meeting. Excitement was high after the airing of the now-classic commercial “1984” during the Super Bowl two days before, and the demo -- complete with the “Chariots of Fire” theme song -- lived up to the hype. The unveiling was the backdrop for another...

In this deceptively casual talk, Charles Leadbeater weaves a tight argument that innovation isn't just for professionals anymore. Passionate amateurs, using new tools, are creating products and paradigms that companies can't.

Literature has long been fascinated with fostered, adopted and orphaned children, from Moses to Cinderella to Oliver Twist to Harry Potter. So why do many parentless children feel compelled to hide their pasts? Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay tells his own moving story.

Sovereign credit ratings are kind of like Consumer Reports for nations -- just as people read car magazines or washing machine reviews before buying, investors read ratings to determine how to invest their money. Sovereign credit ratings assess a country's debt and its ability and willingness to repay it. And whether citizens of a country re...

What would a sustainable, universally beneficial economy look like? "Like a doughnut," says Oxford economist Kate Raworth. In a stellar, eye-opening talk, she explains how we can move countries out of the hole -- where people are falling short on life's essentials -- and create regenerative, distributive economies that work within the planet's e...

This post is part of TED’s “Build Back Better” series, featuring thought leaders and change agents evaluating our systems and practices to create a more sustainable, efficient and just world. To see more ideas from the series, go here. What will the world -- and specifically, the world of work -- look like over the next decade? While m...

Lucianne Walkowicz, speaking at the TEDGlobal 2011 TED Fellows Talks, Monday, July 11, 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED Lars Jan, transmedia director: Lars creates multimedia performances that questions the boundaries between truth and fiction. Collaborating with "Paul," a character that operates in the rea...

Kindness can go a long way when it comes to reshaping a business. Having saved a fashion company from the brink of bankruptcy, entrepreneur James Rhee shares the value of investing in a culture of compassion at work -- and shows why we should all lead with our hearts.