Ideas change everything

Society

A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Society.

Video playlists about Society

The most popular TED Talks of 2022

What ideas intrigued and inspired the world this year? These TED Talks spread the quickest in 2022.

The most popular TED Talks of 2021

What ideas captured people's attention and took off the quickest? Here are the talks that intrigued and inspired in 2021.

The political mind

How do politics affect psychology, influence behavior and create polarization? A quest to demystify what the political does to society and the mind (and vice versa).

Celebrating (and deconstructing) the gender spectrum

These talks celebrate and break down what it means to live outside society's traditional (and outdated) understanding of gender.

See all playlists on Society

Talks about Society

Myriam Sidibe

What sex, soap and alcohol taught me about making an impact

Sonia Shah and Zeke Hernandez

The missing piece in the story of migration

Steven Pinker

How common knowledge shapes the world

Molly Hemstreet

A bold idea to rebuild the working class

Bill Heck and Stephanie Lepp

Why meeting in the middle isn’t enough for today’s trickiest debates

Michael Sun

How to recapture the joy of the early internet

Heni Ozi Cukier

Are we heading toward World War III?

Nada Majdalani

An unexpected plan for peace in the Middle East

Sitoyo Lopokoiyit and Jacqueline Novogratz

A story of moral imagination and bold entrepreneurship

Megan J. McArdle

I'll probably lose my job to AI. Here's why that's OK

Dan Taberski

The razor-thin line between contagion and connection

Greg Lukianoff

Let's get real about free speech

Athena Kugblenu

The fine art of fibbing

Carl Miller

Inside a dark web kill list

Ian Bremmer

Why Ukraine's drone attack on Russia changes war forever

Lei Cheng

What I learned about freedom in a secret Chinese prison

See all talks on Society

Exclusive articles about Society

How archaeology has shaped me as a parent

TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak has learned some key lessons about parenthood from her work as an archaeologist. At the same time, becoming a parent has given her new insights into what her work means.

Posted Sep 2016

I’m an Iranian-American Muslim. Here’s how that works

Iranian-American Muslim comedian Negin Farsad describes what happens when Islam meets Rumi meets apple pie.

Posted Aug 2016

How a great conversation is like a game of catch

As a radio host, Celeste Headlee has engaged in more than her fair share of discussions, and she has thought a lot about ways to bring out the best in a conversational counterpart. One thing she likes to say -- a good conversation is like a game of catch. Huh? She explains.

Posted Jul 2016