There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language -- from an...

What if every dollar you spend today could save you 10 dollars tomorrow? Development expert Harjeet Singh reveals how climate solutions like floating farms and “sponge cities” that absorb floodwater aren’t just clever adaptations —...

Parenting an eye-rolling teenager glued to a gaming system is not a simple feat, but what if you could turn screen time into an opportunity for connection? Hannah Boquet shares how she decided to play video games with her kids and...

Oil companies may seem invincible, but they are more vulnerable than you think, says climate justice litigator Melinda Janki. She tells the story of how she took on ExxonMobil in her home country of Guyana, notching historic wins against...

In 1992, something unprecedented happened in Los Angeles: rival gang members negotiated a historic peace treaty, significantly reducing violence across the city. Aqeela Sherrills, one of the key negotiators of that treaty, continues to...

What if the worst ideas turned out to be the most interesting? Mischief-making artist Gabe Whaley shares how he built a collective of artists whose seemingly bad ideas — like selling 5,000 keys to the same car — often go viral and sell...

What if we could get a heads-up about serious health issues before they begin, from the moment a baby is born? In this groundbreaking talk, medical geneticist and physician-scientist Robert C. Green shares how his team at the BabySeq...

It’s not enough to do important work — we need to know it truly matters, says journalist Jennifer Wallace. Drawing on her research into firefighters, caregivers and more, she shows how simple acts of acknowledgment and connection can...

Factory farming is the greatest moral crisis we ignore, says farm animal welfare champion Lewis Bollard. He exposes the truth behind the "all natural" labels on your groceries and shows how technology and public pressure can uncover the...

Energy expert Sebastián Kind helped Argentina go from virtually no renewable energy to generating nearly 40 percent of its electricity from wind and solar in just six years, despite economic crises and skepticism. How did the country's...

What if saving lives and growing a company went hand in hand? Public health expert Myriam Sidibe thinks many businesses are going about social impact all wrong — and leaving millions of dollars on the table at the same time. Drawing from...

As a teenager, social entrepreneur Anshul Tewari didn’t see young voices represented in the conversations that mattered. His solution? A simple blog that has since transformed into Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth): India’s largest...

It's a hard nut to crack: in order to prevent food waste, we rely on plastic packaging and refrigeration, which harm the environment. What if we could turn to nature to address these challenges? Engineer and chemist Jenny Du shares how a...

Common knowledge is the secret engine of social life, letting us coordinate everything from meet-ups to markets to international diplomacy. In this fascinating talk, experimental cognitive scientist Steven Pinker explores its momentous...

Africa’s booming youth population is often seen as a "jobless generation." But in Kenya alone, young people are already adding more than 530 million dollars a month to the economy through informal businesses. Social entrepreneur Anuj...

Clean energy visionary Lei Zhang loves the Gobi Desert — the most Mars-like place on Earth. Why? Because of the promise it holds to provide the free, abundant solar and wind energy to fuel humanity’s next leap forward. Sharing the story...

How did a small, economically vulnerable country become a trailblazer in sustainable industry? Clean economy builder James Mnyupe explores how Namibia is teaming up with partners from around the world to turn sun, wind and water into...

AI won’t replace storytellers — it will give them superpowers, says film director Jason Zada. Showing how new technology allows creators to turn wild ideas into cinematic worlds at warp speed, Zada and the TED audience dream up the...

In 2014, the world’s second largest coal consumer made a bold promise: to increase its solar capacity from three gigawatts to 100 gigawatts in just eight years. Many people called it overly ambitious, but energy expert Kanika Chawla saw...

Insurance is the hidden engine that keeps the economy churning, but climate change is making home insurance unaffordable for many people, says climate risk advisor Amy Barnes. She reveals why soaring premiums aren't just bad news for...

Your smartphone, computer and electric car all depend on one thing — critical minerals buried deep underground. But there’s a catch: the mining industry has gotten dramatically worse at discovering new deposits just when we need them...

Over the last 40 years, Brazil has lost an area larger than California to deforestation — and 90 percent of the clear-cutting has been illegal, all part of a multi-billion-dollar global environmental crime economy. Civic entrepreneur...

What if ending food insecurity meant ditching charity models that haven’t been updated since the 1960s? Dion Dawson, TED Fellow and founder of Dion’s Chicago Dream, shares how he turned a spontaneous idea for giving back to his community...

Struggling communities don’t need handouts — they need bold new ways to root wealth. Meet Molly Hemstreet — a TED Fellow, Southern Appalachia native and cofounder of worker support network the Industrial Commons — who’s flipping the...