 Stellar astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, searching for places in the universe that could support life. So it's worth a listen when she asks us to think carefully about Mars. In this short talk, she suggests that we stop dreaming of Mars as a place that we'll eventually move to when we've messed up Earth, and to start thinking of planetary exploration and preservation of the Earth as two sides of the same goal. As she says, "The more you look for planets like Earth, the more you appreciate our own planet." Watch »  UN refugee commissioner António Guterres thinks we can solve the global refugee crisis -- and he offers compelling, surprising reasons why we must try. In conversation with TED's Bruno Giussani, Guterres discusses the historical causes of the current crisis and outlines the mood of the European countries that are trying to screen, shelter and resettle hundreds of thousands of desperate families. Bigger picture, he calls for all of us to practice acceptance and respect -- to defy groups like ISIS's anti-refugee propaganda and recruiting machine. Watch » |  Legendary duo Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin have been friends for decades. In a raw, tender and wide-ranging conversation hosted by Pat Mitchell, the three discuss longevity, feminism, the differences between male and female friendship, what it means to live well and women's role in future of our planet. "I don't even know what I would do without my women friends," Fonda says. "I exist because I have my women friends." Watch »  "If you want to go out and start your own cemetery" in the UK, says Alison Killing, "you kind of can." She offers an eye-opening economic and social perspective on an overlooked feature of our towns and cities: our cemeteries. She unpacks the fascinating, sometimes funny, often contradictory laws about where you can be buried. Watch » | |
