NPR/TED Staff

Artists Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas strive to change perceptions of "bad neighborhoods" by arming locals with paintbrushes and a vision: to turn their neighborhoods into open-air art galleries.

Neuroscientist Steve Ramirez used lasers to enter the brains of mice and edit their memories. He imagines a future where this technology might be possible in humans as well.

Journalist Ali Velshi began his career to "speak truth to power." Now he worries that fake news has subverted the meaning of truth.

Years of research have taught Elizabeth Loftus just how unreliable our memories are. From tweaking a real memory to planting a completely fabricated one, tampering with our minds is surprisingly easy.

When Tristan Harris worked in Silicon Valley, his job was to direct users online to a particular website or service. Now, he speaks out against tech companies who manipulate their users' attention.

After a massive earthquake struck Japan in 2011, MIT's Joi Ito assembled a ragtag team of hackers and eager citizens to help assess the damage after the government came up short.

From genetically modified animals and crops, we can already manipulate DNA. But futurist Juan Enriquez argues soon we can take full control of human evolution to create a better life for all of us.

Does superhuman artificial intelligence sound like science fiction? Not for Sam Harris. He says it's not a question of if but when — with potentially destructive consequences.

It's hard to imagine how the future might look and feel. Anab Jain wants to change that. She designs prototypes of potentially grim futures to raise awareness of our choices in the present.

New gene editing tools hold a great deal of promise, but biologist Paul Knoepfler says we should be cautious. He warns altering DNA can have dire consequences, including a new form of eugenics.

Many think genetic makeup is fixed from the moment we're born. But Moshe Szyf says this understanding is incomplete because our experiences and environment have the power to change our basic biology.

Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris found an unsettling trend when examining patients at her clinic: trauma. She found that adversity can change a child's biology and result in severe health outcomes.

Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky says nearly all aspects of human behavior are explained by biology: from developments millions of years in the past to microscopic reactions happening in the present.

Are you introverted or extroverted? It depends. When it comes to personality, psychologist Brian Little says we can actually act against our biology — especially if we pursue a "core life project."

When a student complained that science textbooks were boring, teacher Tyler DeWitt got thinking about how he can make his lessons fun. DeWitt recounts his quest to make kids care about science.

Sal Khan turned tutoring lessons with his cousins into a series of free educational videos called Khan Academy. His goal: to make learning accessible for everyone, everywhere.

Andreas Schleicher created PISA, an exam that compares the knowledge of 15-year-olds from around the world. He says the test can help us understand why some countries perform better than others.

As principal of a low-performing school, Linda Cliatt-Wayman's students faced huge challenges. She shares how she transformed her school while providing unwavering love and support for her students.

Technology allows us to choose information to support our beliefs. In this new reality, cybersecurity expert Laura Galante says, it's easier for foreign governments to influence public opinion.

Stephanie Busari discusses the flip-side of fake news: denying real news. She recounts the kidnapping of Nigeria's Chibok schoolgirls and how some Nigerians believed the news was a government hoax.