Ideas worth spreading

Evolution

A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Evolution.

Video playlists about Evolution

Theories of evolution

The enduring ideas, discoveries and observations that define and expand life as we know it.

The evolution of music

How did music transform into what it is today? A brief journey through time, sound and rhythm.

Get into your genes

Try on these talks about the traits that make you who you are.

Fascinating history

Be transported through the centuries with these talks for your inner (and outer) history buff.

See all playlists on Evolution

Talks about Evolution

G. Richard Scott

Why do we have crooked teeth when our ancestors didn't?

Prosanta Chakrabarty

The new natural history

Susan Freitas and Darren Parker

How does this all-female species reproduce?

Joshua Paul Dale

Why do you want to squeeze cute things?

How do oysters make pearls?

The benefits of daydreaming

This weird trick will help you summon an army of worms

Noah R. Bressman and Douglas Fudge

The world's slimiest animal

What can animals teach us about sex and gender?

Luka Seamus Wright

These animals are also plants ... wait, what?

What is the rarest color in nature?

Ameya Gondhalekar

Why are cockroaches so hard to kill?

Self-assembling robots and the potential of artificial evolution

Alexandra Minna Stern and Natalie Lira

The movement that inspired the Holocaust

Thomas W. Cronin

Which animal has the best eyesight?

Why do cats have vertical pupils?

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Exclusive articles about Evolution

Why does running give you a high? A look at the science

And it's not just running -- you can get these feelings of bliss and well-being from other kinds of physical activity too. Research psychologist Kelly McGonigal explains how we can get it and why it exists.

Posted Apr 2020

Humans aren’t the only ones that help out their adult kids — here’s why animals do it too

Did you know that meerkats stay close to home, even as adults, so they can inherit territory when Mom dies? Or that North American red squirrel mothers gift real estate to their kids (complete with stockpiles of food)? Evolutionary biologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and writer Kathryn Bowers make the case for why parents -- animals and humans -- should remain involved in the lives of their full-grown offspring.

Posted Mar 2020

What can cavefish teach us about the world?

These weird-looking, isolated aquatic creatures probably won’t star in a Pixar film anytime soon, but by studying them, we can learn about our planet’s past and its future, says evolutionary biologist and ichthyologist Prosanta Chakrabarty.

Posted May 2018

See all articles on Evolution