There are few people I enjoy listening to more than Ken Robinson. An educator and expert on creativity, he is the author of the excellent book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, and his TED Talk on schools and creativity has been watched by more people than any other Talk. In this presentation, he offers both a candid description of why our current education is failing us as well as clear suggestions for making it better. The reason education is such an important topic, of course, is that it doesn’t just affect children and their parents, but all of us. Education shapes the emerging generation, the generation we will...

Ever try to limit yourself to just three words when you try to describe something special: a wonderful meal? a great movie? a favorite book? It can be really, really challenging. But at other times, on rare occasions, it’s incredibly easy. That’s the case with this TED Talk by Hyeonseo Lee as she talks about her escape from North Korea and subsequent life as a refugee and, eventually, activist. Three words: courageous, compelling, and (especially in light of our recent discussions) beautiful. I’ll say no more, except that to watch this video is to gain an appreciation for freedom, courage, and the human spirit. Note: If you are...

With Earth Day in mind, I’m going to suggest you find the time to watch Bill Gates’ TED Talk about why he’s backing – and investing heavily in – a new kind of energy technology that has phenomenal potential to change, well, just about everything about the energy conversation. The challenges we face, as Gates describes, are monumental. But so also is the creativity and commitment of some of the folks leading the charge to find solutions to our problems. If you’ve seen Bill Gates give earlier presentations, it’s kind of neat to see his growth in terms of his confidence, his use of illustrations and data, and his ability to engage...

Framing is everything. Do you call it “gun control” or “gun safety”? Are they “taxes” or “contributions”? Is your work in “fund raising” or “development”? The way you name these issues is not simply semantics, nor is it “spin.” The language we use contributes to the reality we perceive and interact with. This is never more true than when it comes to issues that touch upon cultural values. Which is why I think this TED Talk on mental illness is so important. We’ve heard a lot about mental health in the news of late, particularly the inadequate resources we have to help those suffering from mental illness and...