In this video Paul Andersen shows how increasing ocean temperatures causes coral polyps to release their symbiotic algae. This process of coral bleaching decreases the availability of energy for the coral and may eventually lead to coral...

Where do you draw the line between work and life? Writer Simone Stolzoff explores the problem with defining yourself by your job — and shows what it takes to reclaim your time and sense of meaning beyond the office.

Electric eels can emit some of the largest shocks in the animal kingdom - but why don't they shock themselves?

How to Build a Better City

Who gets to be an entrepreneur? Saamra Mekuria-Grillo says the image we most commonly see — a guy in a hoodie — is a limiting representation of entrepreneurial success. She highlights the importance of young Black people seeing...

Connecting with the people you work with doesn't just make your team stronger — it's good for you too. Whether you've just joined a new organization or you're managing a remote team, these three tips from collaboration expert Mark T....

Electric vehicles need to be more than just eco-friendly — they have to be more chic, convenient and affordable than their gas-powered alternatives, says sustainability leader Cynthia Williams. She explores what it'll take for an...

In the US, people spend the overwhelming majority of their time inside buildings that burn fossil fuels, which are bad for both the environment and human health. (Think: breathing in air pollution from gas stoves, furnaces and water...

In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice...

Do you want to major in Astrophysics? Are you thinking about becoming (or ever just wondered how one becomes) an Astrophysicists? Do you want to know Matt O’Dowd’s origin story? Then buckle up and enjoy the ride and try your astrophysics...

With some of the highest energy bills in Southeast Asia and extreme weather to match, the Philippines experiences the climate crisis -- and climate activism -- as a part of daily life. Clean energy advocate Kala Constantino highlights...

So, "modern" is kind of a loaded term, but today we're going to talk about modern life in Europe, as it looked around the time the 19th century turned into the 20th. We'll look at what life was like in the rapidly growing urban centers...

Before he hit eighteen, Fred Swaniker had lived in Ghana, Gambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. What he learned from a childhood across Africa was that while good leaders can't make much of a difference in societies with strong institutions, in...

In this short, provocative talk, financier Sangu Delle questions whether microfinance — small loans to small entrepreneurs -- is the best way to drive growth in developing countries. "We seem to be fixated on this romanticized idea that...

There are a lot of stories out there about dogs who seemed to smell lung cancer on their owner’s breath, and a recent study found that some dogs can detect lung cancer in blood samples with astonishing accuracy. So why aren’t there...

We are living through the tech-enabled unraveling of full-time employment itself, says anthropologist Mary L. Gray. As the pandemic exposes and accelerates the shift to on-demand online labor, Gray takes us inside the jobs being created...

As we get into our unit on stratification, we inevitably return to our old friends, the three sociological paradigms. How to structural functionalism, social conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism each think about stratification?...

Everyone's talking about the "Internet of Things," but what exactly does that mean for our future? In this thoughtful talk, economist Marco Annunziata looks at how technology is transforming the industrial sector, creating machines that...

When global leaders think about which industries can fuel economic growth, the arts are often overlooked. But filmmaker Mehret Mandefro says the creative sector actually has the power to grow economies -- while also helping safeguard...

TED talks about who makes judges?

In 2011, Teresa Njoroge was convicted of a financial crime she didn't commit -- the result of a long string of false accusations, increasing bribe attempts and the corrupt justice system in her home in Kenya. Once incarcerated, she...

AI algorithms make important decisions about you all the time -- like how much you should pay for car insurance or whether or not you get that job interview. But what happens when these machines are built with human bias coded into their...

To futureproof your job against robots and AI, you should learn how to code, brush up on your math skills and crack open an engineering textbook, right? Wrong. In this surprisingly comforting talk, tech journalist Kevin Roose makes the...

Another economic reality is possible -- one that values community, sustainability and resiliency instead of profit by any means necessary. Niki Okuk shares her case for cooperative economics and a vision for how working-class people can...