In 1969, Buzz Aldrin’s historical step onto the moon leapt mankind into an era of technological possibility. The awesome power of technology was to be used to solve all of our big problems. Fast forward to present day, and what's happened? Are mobile apps all we have to show for ourselves? Journalist Jason Pontin looks closely at the challenges ...

Meet the tardigrade: a 1-millimeter animal capable of surviving environmental extremes of heat, cold and high radiation. Science educator Thomas Boothby examines the chemical processes that preserve tardigrade physiology under duress and explains how they can inspire solutions to some of humanity’s own weather-related problems.

Hilary Cottam wants to redesign the welfare state using the power of relationships.

Driving in Johannesburg one day, Tapiwa Chiwewe noticed an enormous cloud of air pollution hanging over the city. He was curious and concerned but not an environmental expert -- so he did some research and discovered that nearly 14 percent of all deaths worldwide in 2012 were caused by household and ambient air pollution. With this knowledge and...

Nancy Lublin, cofounder and former CEO of Crisis Text Line, uses technology and data to save lives.

Jonathan Tepperman writes on the world's most pervasive and seemingly intractable challenges.

Alexander Betts explores ways societies might empower refugees rather than pushing them to the margins.

Professor Sajay Samuel's proposal to reduce the burden of student loans is part of his larger preoccupation with thinking beyond the conventional categories of economics and ecology.

Michael Green is part of the team that has created the Social Progress Index, a standard to rank societies based on how they meet the needs of citizens.

Sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen are on a mission to ban plastic bags in Bali.

Haley Van Dyck is building a startup at the White House and recruiting world-class technology talent to change how government works for the American people.

As "Captain of Moonshots" for X, Astro Teller oversees the secret projects that could reshape our lives in coming decades.

As president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Dan Gross seeks to cut US gun deaths in half by 2025.

Zaria Forman uses visual art to connect people with the impact of climate change.

It may seem that big problems require big solutions, but ad man Rory Sutherland says many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers. To illustrate, he uses behavioral economics and hilarious examples.

Lisa Dyson thinks a new class of crops might help us reinvent agriculture -- and feed the world.

In his memoir, "There Will Be No Miracles Here," Casey Gerald reimagines what it means to truly live and succeed in our society.

Big problems need big solutions, sparked by big ideas, imagination and audacity. In this talk, journalist Gail Reed profiles one big solution worth noting: Havana’s Latin American Medical School, which trains global physicians to serve the local communities that need them most.

As president of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur Brooks is changing the way conservatives think about poverty and opportunity.

What's the difference between heroes and leaders? In this insightful talk, Lorna Davis explains how our idolization of heroes is holding us back from solving big problems -- and shows why we need "radical interdependence" to make real change happen.

Brute computing force alone can't solve the world's problems. Data mining innovator Shyam Sankar explains why solving big problems (like catching terrorists or identifying huge hidden trends) is not a question of finding the right algorithm, but rather the right symbiotic relationship between computation and human creativity.

Jessica Shortall is a working mom of two and author of Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Mom's Survival Guide to Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work.

Fascinating, forward-thinking talks that highlight the importance of diversity — in its many forms — within the tech industry.

Nathan Myhrvold and team's latest inventions -- as brilliant as they are bold -- remind us that the world needs wild creativity to tackle big problems like malaria. And just as that idea sinks in, he rolls out a live demo of a new, mosquito-zapping gizmo you have to see to believe.

Your company might have donated money to help solve humanitarian issues, but you could have something even more useful to offer: your data. Mallory Freeman shows us how private sector companies can help make real progress on big problems -- from the refugee crisis to world hunger -- by donating untapped data and decision scientists. What might y...

Why do we often neglect big problems, like the financial crisis and climate change, until it's too late? Policy strategist Michele Wucker urges us to replace the myth of the "black swan" -- that rare, unforeseeable, unavoidable catastrophe -- with the reality of the "gray rhino," the preventable danger that we choose to ignore. She shows why pre...

When it comes to big problems like climate change, we tend to focus on big solutions -- but many of the best ideas come from people on the ground, facing day-to-day conservation battles. Sharing her effort to protect the Leseur ecosystem in Indonesia (the last place on Earth where the Sumatran rhino, tiger, elephant and orangutan still roam toge...

In the face of three simultaneous crises -- health, the economy and climate -- do we have a chance to do capitalism differently? Economist Mariana Mazzucato explains why we shouldn't try to go back to normal after the pandemic but should instead rethink how governments work together with businesses to solve big problems. Learn more about how gov...

Great, practical advice on ways to responsibly invest (time, money, and even your company's data) for the good of our global society.

Paul Romer's research on catch-up growth in low- and middle-income countries has emphasized the importance of government policies that encourage orderly urban expansion.