Paddy Ashdown is a former member of the British Parliament and a diplomat with a lifelong commitment to international cooperation.

After 20 years working with the presidents and prime ministers of 54 countries, Simon Anholt has a plan to make the world work better.

Maajid Nawaz works to promote conversation, tolerance and democracy in Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

With books and strategies, David Rothkopf helps people navigate the perils and opportunities of our contemporary geopolitical landscape.

How do we begin to address the massive shifts in nearly every facet of our lives? Asking the right questions is where to begin. About the book Press and reviews About the author

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks bluntly about politics and diplomacy, making the case that women's issues deserve a place at the center of foreign policy. Far from being a "soft" issue, she says, women's issues are often the very hardest ones, dealing directly with life and death. A frank and funny Q&A with Pat Mitchell...

We think of laughter as merely a response to something funny. In this talk, cognitive neuroscientist Sophie Scott argues that it's a complex social behavior that signals a lot more than a successful joke. Using hilarious examples of laughter as used in foreign policy interactions, she demonstrates how the deployment of a well-placed guffaw is ke...

It’s been an eventful first 100 days for the second Trump administration, which has featured tariff turmoil, shifting foreign policy and the upheaval of prior geopolitical relationships. In this discussion, political scientist Ian Bremmer separates signal from noise in the biggest stories of the day, evaluating the global economy, US-China relat...

The result of the 2024 US presidential election will be critical for Americans and the world. In a fascinating conversation, geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer digs into proposed policies from Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and explores how they think about everything from foreign policy to immigration and the economy. Discover unexpected similarit...

In this in-depth discussion on the implications of Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer explores the key issues that shaped the result — as well as the coming shifts in US foreign policy, from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the US-China relationship and the Middle East. Learn more about the economic pressur...

Samantha Power studies US foreign policy, especially as it relates to war and human rights. Her books take on the world's worst problems: genocide, civil war and brutal dictatorships.

Pulitzer winner Laurie Garrett studies global health and disease prevention. Her books include "The Coming Plague" and "Betrayal of Trust," about the crisis in global public health.

Strategist, technologist and policy expert Katherine Maher is an advocate for free and open societies.

A consultant to the CIA and the Department of Defense, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita has built an intricate computer model that can predict the outcomes of international conflicts with bewildering accuracy.

An investigative journalist who reports on the FBI’s misuse of informants in counterterrorism operations, Trevor Aaronson asks the question: Is the United States catching terrorists or creating them?

Fareed Zakaria hosts "Fareed Zakaria GPS" for CNN Worldwide and is a columnist for "The Washington Post," a contributing editor for "The Atlantic" and a bestselling author.

Benedetta Berti studies how conflicts impact civilians.

Rick Falkvinge, didn’t plan on becoming a politician, but his dedication to civil liberties and internet sovereignty led to him founding the Swedish Pirate Party in 2006.

Trevor Timm is the co-founder and executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports and defends journalism dedicated to transparency and accountability.

Julio Friedmann is a leading expert on carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Emily Leproust is an early pioneer in the synthesis and sequencing of DNA.

Foreign Policy magazine has picked its annual list of the 100 Top Global Thinkers and, nestled among their ranks, are many a TED Speaker. Below, watch the talks from those who appear on the 2012 list, as well as what number on the list they occupy. 3. Bill Clinton talks “rebuilding Rwanda” and Hillary Clinton makes a surprise appearance a...

The United States can create a more humane immigration system; in fact, it's been done before, says policy analyst David J. Bier. Pointing to the historical success of the US guest worker program, which allows foreign workers to legally enter and work in the country, Bier shows why expanding the program to Central Americans could alleviate the b...

Noreena Hertz looks at global culture -- financial and otherwise -- using an approach that combines traditional economic analysis with foreign policy trends, psychology, behavioural economics, anthropology, history and sociology.

Shai Reshef wants to democratize higher education.

Georgette Bennett works to counter hate and improve human rights. She'll take any opportunity to make the world a better place.

Audrey Choi is a thought leader on how finance can be harnessed to address public policy challenges.

In partnership across traditional boundaries, Howard Taylor leads efforts that leverage public and private resources to put a stop to violence against children and change harmful societal attitudes.

Evgeny Morozov wants to know how the Internet has changed the conduct of global affairs, because it certainly has ... but perhaps not in all the ways we think.