Hundreds of millions of people lack access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, relying on highly polluting diesel and firewood for power and light. Working to brighten the future in her home country of Malawi and beyond, energy access...

Pharmaceutical companies often only patent drugs they can monetize, creating synthetic versions of remedies already available in nature. In this quick talk, physician and entrepreneur Jeff Chen offers a path to affordable, effective...

When programmer Tiffani Ashley Bell learned that thousands of people in Detroit were facing water shutoffs because they couldn't afford to pay their bills, she decided to take action -- in the simplest, most obvious way possible. It's an...

In the US, the very same blood test can cost $19 at one clinic and $522 at another clinic just blocks away -- and nobody knows the difference until they get a bill weeks later. Journalist Jeanne Pinder says it doesn't have to be this...

As globalization and technological advances bring us hurtling towards a new integrated future, Ian Goldin warns that not all people may benefit equally. But, he says, if we can recognize this danger, we might yet realize the possibility...

During the financial crisis, the central banks of the United States, United Kingdom and Japan created $3.7 trillion in order to buy assets and encourage investors to do the same. Michael Metcalfe offers a shocking idea: could these same...

Between 2006 and 2016, the number of drug patents granted in the United States doubled -- but not because there was an explosion in invention or innovation. Drug companies have learned how to game the system, accumulating patents not for...

Solar-powered LED lightbulbs could transform the lives of rural Haitians, but as Daniel Schnitzer found, they don't simply sell themselves. At TEDxPittsburgh, he shows how smart health and energy products for the developing world are...

At the online University of the People, anyone with a high school diploma can take classes toward a degree in business administration or computer science — without standard tuition fees (though exams cost money). Founder Shai Reshef...

If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you, right? Not in US civil court. From high legal fees to confusing paperwork and expensive lawyers, it can be difficult to settle civil matters. Entrepreneur and TED Fellow...

Becky Blanton planned to live in her van for a year and see the country, but when depression set in and her freelance job ended, her camping trip turned into homelessness. In this intimate talk, she describes her experience of becoming...

In need of a brief yet illuminating lesson on the obsession with NFTs? Elizabeth Strickler breaks down the acronym and explains the fundamentals of non-fungible tokens, sharing how these digital assets are changing the landscape for...

In part 4 of our special series on human ancestry and evolution, we look into the future. Now that genetic engineering tools like CRISPR allow us to edit our genes, how will that impact human evolution going forward? Are designer babies...

Struggling to budget and manage finances is common -- but talking honestly and openly about it isn't. Why do we hide our problems around money? In this thoughtful, personal talk, author Tammy Lally encourages us to break free of "money...

What makes a great leader? Management theorist Simon Sinek suggests, it’s someone who makes their employees feel secure, who draws staffers into a circle of trust. But creating trust and safety — especially in an uneven economy — means...

Can we solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution and end extreme poverty at the same time? That's the ambitious goal of The Plastic Bank: a worldwide chain of stores where everything from school tuition to cooking fuel and more is...

We’ve all heard the phrase “Time is money.” But what do these two things actually have to do with one another? German Nande explains the math behind interest rates, revealing the equation that will allow you to calculate the future value...

What are we worried about in terms of health? What's really gonna kill us? How different is that from the past? All this and more on this week's Healthcare Triage News.

Maybe the person working near you, the one who dragged himself to work and is now coughing and sneezing, couldn't afford to stay home. Each week about 1.5 million Americans without paid sick leave go to work despite feeling ill. At least...

Molnupiravir is a broad-spectrum antiviral that has been in development for quite some time - it was first tested as an Ebola drug and is now showing promise against Covid-19. In this episode we take a look at what we know so far and...

Education in China is compulsory for all children, but there is unequal quality and access for families in the countryside. Learn more about the Chinese education structure and how it is evolving to give students more choices. China's...

Explore interesting facts about the IT sector, highlighting the industry's growth, diversity, and impact on the global economy.

It is estimated that every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria. Medicines continue to be the main tool in fighting it—but, with growing resistance to existing drugs, there is an urgent need to discover new ones and distribute them at...

Henry Ford didn’t invent the car, but he changed the world by making cars affordable and accessible. His ideas transformed how things were made and how people lived. In this episode, we explore the the life of Henry Ford—from the...