Society has a set of stories it tells itself about who refugees are and what they look like, says documentarian and TED Fellow Feras Fayyad. With his films, he's on a mission to separate the facts about refugees from fiction, as a form of resistance -- for himself, his daughter and the millions of other Syrian refugees across the world. A harrow...

Vishal Vaid and his band explore a traditional South Asian musical form in this mesmerizing improv performance. Sit back and let his music transport you.

As climate change accelerates, finding clean alternatives to fossil fuels is more urgent than ever. Social entrepreneur Vaitea Cowan believes green hydrogen is the answer. Watch as she shares her team's work mass producing electrolyzers -- devices that separate water into its molecular components: hydrogen and oxygen -- and shows how they could ...

There's an invisible health threat right under our feet, says investigative journalist Yvette Cabrera. She digs into the pervasive problem of lead contamination in soil — a particular risk for children in cities — and shares her action plan to map urban soils and help create healthier communities.

Could smartphones and cameras be our most powerful weapons for social justice? Through her organization Witness, Yvette Alberdingk Thijm is developing strategies and technologies to help activists use video to protect and defend human rights. She shares stories of the growing power of distant witnesses -- and a call to use the powerful tools at ...

Vishal Vaid brings a modern perspective to the traditional music of India, creating melodies that evoke his culture’s past while shaping popular music’s future.

Fadi Chehadé is focused on finding ways for society to benefit from technology and strengthening international cooperation in the digital space.

Lvcas Fiat finds inspiration at the intersection of science, conservation and design. Whether focused on monumental trees or microscopic bugs, his work reveals the often unnoticed beauty of wildlife.

A selection of potentially planet-saving TED Talks from Countdown, TED's initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis

Feras Fayyad's films bear witness to the struggles of his fellow Syrians, as they struggle to survive and save their neighbors.

Vaitea Cowan wants to create a world where green hydrogen is readily available -- and fossil fuels are a thing of the past.

Yvette Alberdingk Thijm helps activists use video and technology to protect and defend human rights.

Technology architect Fadi Chehadé helped set up the infrastructure that makes the internet work -- essential things like the domain name system and IP address standards. Today he's focused on finding ways for society to benefit from technology. In a crisp conversation with Bryn Freedman, curator of the TED Institute, Chehadé discusses the ongoin...

In this captivating talk, journey into the surprisingly colorful nights of the Amazon Rainforest, as artistic entomologist Leo Lanna and designer Lvcas Fiat introduce us to the shapeshifting wonder of a creature they've fallen in love with: the praying mantis. Using an innovative approach that fuses science, art and conservation, Lanna and Fiat ...

Take a trip around the globe and enjoy music from all corners of the Earth.

Welcome to "Shape Your Future," a groundbreaking selection of new talks from the TED Fellows. These talks are snapshots of influential, new ideas from leading voices in medicine, human rights, conservation, astrophysics, education and beyond. Dive in to discover what (and who) is shaping your future -- and apply to become a TED Fellow at go.ted....

¿Cuál es la responsabilidad social de los artistas? Fernanda Castillo, actriz mexicana, describe su camino para descubrir su papel social y el impacto que tiene en la gente que la sigue.​

When two young Mormon missionaries knock on Julia Sweeney's door one day, it touches off a quest to completely rethink her own beliefs, in this excerpt from Sweeney's solo show "Letting Go of God."

Economics writer Tim Harford studies complex systems -- and finds a surprising link among the successful ones: they were built through trial and error. In this sparkling talk from TEDGlobal 2011, he asks us to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes.

In the days following the tragic South Asian tsunami of 2004, the Rev. Tom Honey pondered the question, "How could a loving God have done this?" Here is his answer.

¿Será que algunas características de tu voz, como su tono o timbre, afectan tu credibilidad --y la de tus ideas-- frente a los demás? En esta didáctica charla, la Dra. Emma Rodero, profesora de comunicación y artista de voice over, nos muestra técnicas para aprender a manejar las características de la voz que influyen la percepción de nuestra au...

Hod Lipson demonstrates a few of his cool little robots, which have the ability to learn, understand themselves and even self-replicate.

Euna Lee strives to be a voice for the voiceless and a window for those with no access to outside information.

Formally or informally, human societies across place and time have made rules to bind and dissolve couples. The stakes of who can obtain a divorce, and why, have always been high. Divorce is a battlefield for some of society's most urgent issues, including the roles of church and state, individual rights, and women's rights. Rod Phillips digs in...

For as many people as there are on Earth, there are as many answers to the question: Are you there, God? These talks offer a spectrum of personal perspectives on faith, from ardent atheists to devout believers.

Long ago, the ancestral gods of Fiji settled on the Pacific archipelago. They eventually metamorphosed into various forms, with the god Dakuwaqa transforming into a shark. But he was unsatisfied. He became proud and greedy and wanted to establish himself as the mightiest god, and dominate all of Fiji’s islands. Raiana McKinney and Esther Wozniak...

On January 17, 1920, less than one hour after spirits had become illegal throughout the United States, armed men robbed a Chicago freight train and made off with thousands of dollars worth of whiskey. It was a first taste of the unintended consequences of Prohibition. So what exactly was Prohibition, and why did it happen? Rod Phillips investiga...

Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages. The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey. So how did alcohol come to fuel global trade and exploration? Roderick Phillips expl...

Ragnarok has been raging for far too long; many gods and heroes have fallen, and the rest can barely stand. Loki, his bright eyes dimmed by exhaustion, asks to meet. He proposes that you and he settle the conflict with a game atop a sacred table engraved with your names. Can you beat the infamous trickster and win the right to rule the new world...