Design is all around us, but much of it could be better, bolder, more elegant. This episode, TED speakers on the essence of good design in buildings, brands, the digital realm and the natural world. Guests include computer engineer Tony Fadell, architect Marc Kushner, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, design critic Alice Rawsthorn, and science writer Janine Benyus. (Original broadcast date: May 20, 2016)

In this episode, we explore ways to find quiet in our busy lives. How can we step back and make time to reflect in an increasingly distracted and hurried world? (Original broadcast date: November 21, 2014)

How much of who we are is biology? How much is learned? And how much can we change? This hour, TED speakers on how genes and experience collaborate — and compete — to make us who we are. Guests include neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, epigeneticist Moshe Szyf, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, and psychologist Brian Little.

Cancer is merciless. It can strike any time, spread without warning, and return unannounced. In this hour, TED speakers reframe not only how we treat cancer, but how we live with it and survive it. Guests include cancer technologist Jorge Soto, Dr. David Agus, Dr. Jay Bradner, Dr. Dean Ornish, and minister Debra Jarvis. (Original broadcast date: July 31, 2015)

For most of modern history, humans have placed smaller humans in institutions called schools. But what parts of this model still work? And what must change? This hour, TED speakers rethink education.TED speakers include teacher Tyler DeWitt, social entrepreneur Sal Khan, international education expert Andreas Schleicher, and educator Linda Cliatt-Wayman.

We live our lives by the calendar and the clock, but time is also an abstraction, even an illusion. In this hour, TED speakers explore how our sense of time changes depending on who and where we are. Guests include director Cesar Kuriyama, poet Rives, psychologist Dan Gilbert, psychologist Laura Carstensen, and cosmologist Sean Carroll. (Original broadcast date: June 19, 2015)

Most of us were raised to believe that tolerance is a good thing, but is it enough or just the bare minimum? This hour, TED speakers on how to move beyond tolerance to a place of deeper understanding. Guests include social scientist Arthur Brooks, diversity advocate Verna Myers, author Aspen Baker, and social entrepreneur and educator Aziz Abu Sarah. (Original broadcast date: April 22, 2016)

We often know how to plan for the future, but find it hard to take the necessary steps. This hour, TED speakers challenge the inevitable and explore what to do today to prepare ourselves for tomorrow.TED speakers include neuroscientists Daniel Levitin and Rebecca Brachman, writer (and neuroscientist) Lisa Genova, epidemiologist Seth Berkley, and behavioral economist Daniel Goldstein.

Moments of crisis can upend our lives, but can also help define them. This episode, TED speakers explore how a quick, compassionate or unexpected response can turn crisis into opportunity. Guests include physician Ken Kamler, motivational speaker Matt Weinstein, Melissa Fleming of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, activist Nancy Lublin and photojournalist Kitra Cahana. (Original broadcast date: April 1, 2016)

What lies beyond the reach of the naked eye, and how do these hidden forces shape our lives? This hour, TED speakers reveal forgotten cities, underwater canyons, tiny parasites, and a boiling river. TED speakers include computer scientist Abe Davis, ocean explorer Robert Ballard, science writer Ed Yong, space archaeologist Sarah Parcak, and geoscientist Andrés Ruzo. (Original broadcast date: March 18, 2016)