In which John Green teaches you about nonviolence and peace movements in the 20th century. What is nonviolence? What is a peace movement? Well. traditionally, humans often resort to violence when they come into conflict. In the 20th...

The Middle East is a climate hotspot, with many parts of the region set to experience an increase in temperature by five to eight degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Palestinian peace activist Nada Majdalani discusses how the...

Climate change doesn't just melt ice caps, it also fuels conflict, corruption and division worldwide, explains TED Fellow and journalist Peter Schwartzstein. From droughts in Syria to rising seas in Bangladesh, he explores how climate...

Asano Naganori, lord of Akō domain, fixed his gaze on Kira Yoshinaka, a senior master of ceremony. Asano extended his short sword, charged through the castle, and struck Kira. While the wound wasn’t fatal, its consequences would be. What...

How can Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace? Palestinian peacemaker Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli peacemaker Maoz Inon discuss the immeasurable tragedies they've experienced growing up in the region — and how they choose reconciliation...

On paper, law professor Samar Ali and public affairs strategist Clint Brewer seem to come from very different — and perhaps opposing — backgrounds. But their friendship shows why political polarization in the US isn't as intractable as...

How do we defend people's freedom and dignity against authoritarianism, when the "law of war" doesn't seem to apply anymore? In the face of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, human rights lawyer and Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk...

The fossil fuel industry is a factory of fairy tales, says activist and School Strike for Climate organizer Luisa Neubauer. Tracing the industry's five-decade trickle of lies about climate science, she busts the myth that economic growth...

Paul Andersen emphasizes the importance of cooperation in living systems. He starts with a brief description of game theory and why countries at peace do better over the long term. He then explains how microscopic cells cooperate in...

During the Soviet Union era, therapy was often used as a tool of political oppression. Since then, Russia has seen major reforms in mental health care -- but stigmas and distrust for the practice still live on. Psychologist and TED...

The Protestant Reformation didn't exactly begin with Martin Luther, and it didn't end with him either. Reformers and monarchs changed the ways that religious and state power were organized throughout the 16th and early 17th centuries....

The real reason you buy insurance may have as much to do with pleasing your psyche as it does protecting your wallet. Behavioral psychologist Orit Tykocinski explores the connection between insurance and the reality-distorting risks of...

In Libya, Zahra' Langhi was part of the "days of rage" movement that helped topple the dictator Gaddafi. But -- then what? In their first elections, Libyans tried an innovative slate of candidates, the "zipper ballot," that ensured equal...

Iran and Israel: two nations with tense relations that seem existentially at odds. But for all their antagonistic rhetoric, there is a recent hidden history of collaboration, even friendship. In an informative talk, Trita Parsi shows how...

Strong faith is a core part of Alaa Murabit's identity -- but when she moved from Canada to Libya as a young woman, she was surprised how the tenets of Islam were used to severely limit women's rights, independence and ability to lead....

Severine Autesserre studies the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is in the middle of the deadliest conflict since World War II; it's been called "the largest ongoing humanitarian crisis in the world.” The conflict seems hopelessly,...

Taking lessons from a historical pattern called "Thucydides's Trap," political scientist Graham Allison shows why a rising China and a dominant United States could be headed towards a violent collision no one wants -- and how we can...

The first step to world peace is for people to meet each other. We can't all travel the world at the same time, but we can meet each other in other ways. In this talk, Jehane Noujaim unveils her 2006 TED Prize wish: to bring the world...

The world needs clean power, but decarbonization calls for a massive increase in the mining and extraction of minerals like lithium, graphite and cobalt. Environmental peacemaking expert Olivia Lazard sheds light on the scramble for...

Aristophanes, often referred to as the Father of Comedy, wrote the world's earliest surviving comic dramas. They're stuffed full of parodies, songs, sexual jokes and surreal fantasy -- and they've shaped how comedy's been written and...

Fifty years of armed conflict in Colombia has left the countryside riddled with land mines that maim and kill innocent people who happen across them. To help keep communities safe from harm, TED Resident Carlos Bautista is developing an...

If you've watched the news or followed politics, chances are you've heard the term Orwellian thrown around in one context or another. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means, or why it's used so often? Noah Tavlin...

In Lebanon there is one gunshot a year that isn’t part of a scene of routine violence: The opening sound of the Beirut International Marathon. In a moving talk, marathon founder May El-Khalil explains why she believed a 26.2-mile running...

"War and Peace." A tome. A slog. The sort of book you shouldn't read in bed because if you fall asleep it could give you a concussion. Right? Only partly. "War and Peace" is a long book, sure, but it's also a thrilling examination of...