NPR/TED Staff

Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti says many modern cities feel cold, austere, and anonymous. He advocates for designing more vibrant and inclusive cities that are reminiscent of the scale of older cities.

As Albuquerque's mayor, Richard Berry tried a new approach to addressing panhandling: offering work and connecting homeless with city services. He says it's a more humane option more cities can try.

OluTimehin Adegbeye says that in the world's megacities, the most vulnerable get left behind — including in her city, Lagos. But it's these people, she says, that most deserve space in modern cities.

Architect Liz Ogbu has seen the pain gentrification creates for displaced communities. She wonders how we can create ways for longtime residents to stay and reap the benefits of gentrification.

Writer Emily Levine has stage IV lung cancer. But instead of fearing the inevitable, she decided to embrace her new reality, and face death with humor and gratitude for a life well-lived.

Before Jason's wife Amy died, she wrote a heartbreaking farewell essay: "You May Want To Marry My Husband." Jason Rosenthal remembers Amy's life — and the lessons he learned from her death.

Lux Narayan analyzed 2000 New York Times obituaries, of both famous and not-so-famous people, over a two-year period. One common thread among them? A fierce desire to help others.

Mortician Caitlin Doughty is trying to find a more natural and sustainable way to bury our loved ones. But to get there, she says: we need to rethink how we view death altogether.

How can we better cope with grief? After observing funerals around the world, banker and travel blogger Michelle Knox suggests we talk about death with our loved ones — especially when we're healthy.

It might seem like the world is getting worse and worse. But psychologist Steven Pinker says that across the board, data suggests we've made a lot of progress. The question is — will it continue?

When it comes to global progress, Tyler Cowen says there's much more to the story than numbers can tell. And it's important, he says, to pay attention to the inherent "messiness" of the data.

Post-recession, journalist Hanna Rosin noticed an economic shift: jobs dominated by men were on the decline, jobs dominated by women were on the rise. But does that data signify meaningful progress?

Environmental activist Paul Gilding says the world has been growing too fast for too long. And now...the Earth is full. The only solution, he says, is to radically change the way we consume.

To fully understand progress, economist Michael Green says we must weigh social well-being and wealth. But by using this new measurement, he noticed something striking — the U.S. falls far behind.

When James Kirchick was in college, someone he found deeply offensive spoke on campus. Rather than protest, James attended the talk. He says free speech benefits everyone, especially the powerless.

Turkish novelist Elif Shafak has seen firsthand what can happen when a country restricts free speech. She says democracy depends on the right to openly exchange diverse, even oppositional, ideas.

Political scientist Jeffrey Howard says democracies should allow all types of speech — even if they're hurtful. The key, he says, is to respond with conversation rather than confrontation.

In college, Zachary Wood joined a group that invites provocative speakers to campus, hoping to spark dialogue. But he soon learned not everyone wants to hear from those with whom they disagree.

Anand Giridharadas spent two years researching a man who committed a string of hate crimes after 9/11. Along the way, he uncovered a striking story of mercy from an unlikely source: the man's victim.

Before starting his podcast, Dylan Marron thought the only way to fight hate was to shut down opposing viewpoints. But after calling several of his trolls, he realized conversation was more effective.