A phone call to a US prison or jail can cost up to a dollar per minute -- a rate that forces one in three families with incarcerated loved ones into debt. In this searing talk about mass incarceration, criminal justice advocate and TED Fellow Bianca Tylek exposes the predatory nature of the billion-dollar prison telecom industry and presents straightforward strategies to dismantle the network of corporations that has a financial interest in seeing more people behind bars for longer periods of time.
Dirt biking is more than just a pastime -- it's an opportunity to disrupt the cycle of poverty and provide enriching STEM education, says TED Fellow Brittany Young. In this perspective-shifting talk, she shares how her team is working with students and street riders to create safe spaces, transferable skills and community.
You may be experiencing burnout and not even know it, say authors (and sisters) Emily and Amelia Nagoski. In an introspective and deeply relatable conversation, they detail three telltale signs that stress is getting the best of you -- and share actionable ways to feel safe in your own body when you're burning out. (This conversation, hosted by TED curator Cloe Shasha Brooks, is part of TED's "How to Deal with Difficult Feelings" series.)
Get the behind-the-scenes story from visual strategist Dan Goods about how a single question launched NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab into action at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, propelling an unprecedented pivot from space-exploring robots to live-saving ventilators. It'll inspire you to wonder: "Is what I'm doing right now the most important thing I can be doing?"
Conventional wisdom frames the ideal career path as a linear one -- a ladder to be climbed with a single-minded focus to get to the top. Career development consultants Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper invite you to replace this outdated and limiting model with "squiggly" careers: dynamic, open-ended growth paths tailor-made for your individual needs, talents and ambitions. A radical rethink for anyone who feels restricted and defined by the limits of the corporate ladder.
In this practical talk, cybersecurity expert Nadya Bartol brings this crucial topic out into the open, lifting the shame around tech mistakes and offering creative ways to celebrate and reward good cybersecurity habits at work and beyond.
Parents, take a deep breath: how your kids turn out isn't fully on you. Of course, parenting plays an important role in shaping who children become, but psychologist Yuko Munakata offers an alternative, research-backed reality that highlights how it's just one of many factors that influence the chaotic complexity of childhood development. A rethink for anyone wondering what made them who they are today and what it means to be a good parent.
What has the coronavirus pandemic taught us about ourselves and our relationships? In a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation, leadership expert Simon Sinek shares his own experience caring for his mental health as the world shut down. He discusses why we need to nurture friendships (in both good times and bad), explains why anyone can be a leader -- and reveals the secret to discovering your "why" in life. (This virtual conversation, hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit ted.com/membership to become a TED Member.)
Think capitalism is broken? Try cooperativism, says co-op enthusiast and researcher Anu Puusa. She lays out how cooperatives -- businesses owned, operated and controlled by their members -- can both make money and have a positive impact on the environment and local communities. With co-ops, Puusa says, doing good business and doing good at the same time becomes possible.
We all experience feelings of guilt or shame at some point. What should we do with them? Clinical psychologist June Tangney differentiates between constructive guilt and crippling shame so that we can learn to better identify and manage our feelings. (This video is part of TED's "How to Deal with Difficult Feelings" series.)
The pandemic forced the world to work together like never before and, with unprecedented speed, bore a new age of health and medical innovation. Physician-scientist Daniel Kraft explains how breakthroughs and advancements like AI-infused antiviral discoveries and laboratory-level diagnostic tools accessible via smartphones are paving the way for a more democratized, connected and data-driven future of medicine and personalized care.
How do you rediscover a happier, more purpose-driven (and less productivity-obsessed) self in the wake of the pandemic? Quiz yourself alongside work futurist Dominic Price as he lays out a simple yet insightful four-part guide to assessing your life in ways that can help you reconnect with what's really important.
Children of immigrants in the US often experience a unique kind of guilt, brought on by the pressures of navigating different cultures, living up to their parents' expectations and taking on extra family responsibilities. Mental health advocate Sahaj Kaur Kohli offers helpful strategies for dealing with these difficult feelings -- starting with defining your own values and creating space for self-compassion. (This conversation, hosted by TED speaker development curator Cloe Shasha Brooks, is part of TED's "How to Deal with Difficult Feelings" series.)
If you're a frequent flier, you're also a major polluter. What if there was a way to travel the world with less impact on the environment? In this quick, exciting talk, aviation entrepreneur and TED Fellow Cory Combs lays out how electric aircraft could make flying cleaner, quieter and more affordable -- and shares his work on Electric EEL, the largest hybrid-electric plane ever to fly.
Why do we trust some companies and not others? Using real-world examples, digital trust advisor Marcos Aguiar decodes this make-or-break quality -- and offers seven tools to help leaders design a foundation of trust into their business ecosystems in order to achieve long-term success.
What does gender equality have to do with climate change? A lot more than you might think. Empowering women and girls around the world is one of the most important ways to combat carbon pollution and is projected to reduce CO2-equivalent gases by a total of 80 billion tons. Entrepreneur, scientist and TED Fellow Rumaitha Al Busaidi looks at why women are more likely to be impacted and displaced by climate catastrophes -- and explains why access to education, employment and family planning for all women and girls is the key to our climate future.
Why are humans so slow to react to looming crises, like a forewarned pandemic or a warming planet? It's because we're reluctant to rethink, say organizational psychologist Adam Grant. From a near-disastrous hike on Panama's highest mountain to courageously joining his high school's diving team, Grant borrows examples from his own life to illustrate how tunnel vision around our goals, habits and identities can find us stuck on a narrow path. Drawing on his research, he shares counterintuitive insights on how to broaden your focus and remain open to opportunities for rethinking.
The way we behave politically, socially, economically and ecologically isn't working, says community organizer and activist Tai Simpson. Sharing the creation myth of her Nez Perce tribe, she advocates for a return to the "old ways" guided by Indigenous wisdom that emphasize balance, community and the importance of intergenerational storytelling in order to protect what's sacred.
As theaters closed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the creatives who populated their stages were plunged into a state of seemingly endless uncertainty. Aided by a delightful and metaphorically resonant piece of performance art, multidisciplinary artist Daniel J. Watts shares a personal perspective on reframing this moment of global stasis as an opportunity to reset and reflect on the potential of what comes after.
Which sounds more urgent: "global warming" or "pollution blanket overheating planet"? In this actionable talk, communications strategist John Marshall explains why we need to rethink how we talk about climate change -- and offers small but mighty language adjustments to get people to more intuitively understand and care about this existential threat.