New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly shares a portfolio of her wise and funny cartoons about modern life -- and talks about how humor can empower women to change the rules.

There's a mistaken belief in today's working world that leaders need to be serious all the time to be taken seriously. The research tells a different story. Based on the course they teach at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, behavioral scientist Jennifer Aaker and corporate strategist Naomi Bagdonas delve into the surprising power of humor...

Can artificial intelligence be funny, or is comedy a uniquely human trait? In this witty and insightful talk, cartoonist Bob Mankoff explores the art of humor, the evolution of AI and what happens when the two collide.

Great TED Talks illuminate an idea. Sometimes, they do it while making you laugh. These talks will bring a smile to your face. Please note: Vigorous debate ensued among our staff about which talks to include. So we hope you'll find something for every sense of humor.

In this hilarious talk, comedian and director Taika Waititi considers the factors that drive an artist to make work, arguing that creative work needs to be fueled (to some degree) by fun -- and why a little humor can go a long way.

With levity and profound insight, artist Maira Kalman reflects on life, death, dinner parties, not knowing the right answers, the joys of eating a hot dog from a street vendor and more. This talk, interwoven with her delightful paintings, is itself an artwork that seems to hold the entirety of life in all its absurd glory.

Artist and TED Fellow Aparna Rao re-imagines the familiar in surprising, often humorous ways. With her collaborator Soren Pors, Rao creates high-tech art installations -- a typewriter that sends emails, a camera that tracks you through the room only to make you invisible on screen -- that put a playful spin on ordinary objects and interactions.

These hilarious talks won’t just make you laugh out loud -- they’ll make you think twice.

In this joke-laden talk, Kasha Patel uses the standup comedy format to make a case for combining science communication with humor in order to make the former more accessible and the latter more educational.

Eduardo Sáenz de Cabezón links science with humor and stories.

Radio host Adam Spencer fills Sydney's drive-time mornings with smart math and science talk.

The wonderful Nellie McKay sings "Mother of Pearl" (with the immortal first line "Feminists don't have a sense of humor") and "If I Had You" from her sparkling set at TED2008.

Can a computer crack a joke? Can it even have a sense of humor? For computer engineer and aspiring comedian Vinith Misra, this is not just a curiosity. By analyzing data sets in social media, Misra discovers ways to help us connect with each other, and make our often frustrating relationship with machines funnier and friendlier.

Marc Abrahams writes about research that makes people laugh, and then think.

Why are some people really funny and others ... not so much? Comedian Chris Duffy shows how you can sharpen your sense of humor and start laughing every day — by seeing the world like a kid.

These quirky talks remind us that life is funny, weird, sweet, absurd.

The New Yorker receives around 1,000 cartoons each week; it only publishes about 17 of them. In this hilarious, fast-paced, and insightful talk, the magazine's longstanding cartoon editor and self-proclaimed "humor analyst" Bob Mankoff dissects the comedy within just some of the "idea drawings" featured in the magazine, explaining what works, wh...

Performance artist and storyteller Rives has been called "the first 2.0 poet," using images, video and technology to bring his words to life.

Kid President commands you to wake up, listen to the beating of your heart and create something that will make the world awesome. This video from SoulPancake delivers a soul-stirring dose of inspiration that only a 9-year-old can give.

Which of the following is awesome: your lunch or the Great Pyramid of Giza? Comedian Jill Shargaa sounds a hilarious call for us to save the word "awesome" for things that truly inspire awe.

Jamil Abu-Wardeh jump-started the comedy scene in the Arab world by founding the Axis of Evil Middle East Comedy Tour, which brings standup comedians to laughing audiences all over the region. He's found that, by respecting the "three B's" (blue material, beliefs and "bolitics"), the Axis of Evil comics find plenty of cross-border laughs.

With humor and charm, mathematician Eduardo Sáenz de Cabezón answers a question that's wracked the brains of bored students the world over: What is math for? He shows the beauty of math as the backbone of science — and shows that theorems, not diamonds, are forever. In Spanish, with English subtitles.

Great design is a never-ending journey of discovery -- for which it helps to pack a healthy sense of humor. Sociologist and surfer-turned-designer David Carson walks through a gorgeous (and often quite funny) slide deck of his work and found images.

With humor and persistence, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dives into the hidden but influential world of brand marketing, on his quest to make a completely sponsored film about sponsorship. (And yes, onstage naming rights for this talk were sponsored too. By whom and for how much? He'll tell you.)

A sought-after pro speaker and the founder of Playfair, Matt Weinstein wants to bring teamwork into work, and fun and humor into team building.

With simple lines and pointed jokes that skewer injustice, Patrick Chappatte's editorial cartoons view the tragic, the farcical and the absurd through a lens of unfettered humor.

Chip Kidd doesn't judge books by their cover, he creates covers that embody the book -- and he does it with a wicked sense of humor. In this deeply felt (and deeply hilarious) talk, he shares the art and the philosophy behind his cover designs. (This talk is from The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rock...

With tart humor, Hayley Yeates makes the case that investing in cultural diversity is just as important as fostering gender diversity.

Illustrator and humorist Bruce McCall paints our imagined future -- a supercharged, streamlined fantasyland that teeters on the edge of hysteria.

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys? These talks, which offer unique insights on the things we play with—from teddy bears to Legos to yo-yos.