Science & Technology

The Spiritual Wisdom We Need for a Planet in Crisis | Tariq Al-Olaimy | TED

Published

3 months ago

January 27, 2026

As cascading climate challenges reshape our world, the most resilient systems are ones we often overlook. Ecological futurist Tariq Al-Olaimy has seen this firsthand in disaster-stricken communities, where church basements, mosque yards and temple networks form a “spiritual infrastructure” that sustains people long before formal aid arrives. Drawing on a decade of work with global faith coalitions, Al-Olaimy explores why spiritual traditions are uniquely equipped to navigate moments of collapse — and how aligning our inner values, economies and ecosystems may be essential to restoring life on a changing planet. (Recorded at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025)

Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Spirituality

Related Topics:countdown featured Religion spiritality TED TED Talk TED Talks TEDTalk TEDTalks

Up Next

A vision for school that prioritizes real-world problem solving, instead of teaching to test #TED

Don't Miss

Unboxing Samsung’s New Galaxy Book6 Ultra Laptop

10 Comments

@savag3salad813

January 27, 2026 at 11:11 am

FIRST

Reply
@MikkiThai13

January 27, 2026 at 11:15 am

SECOND

Reply
@FinalEyes777

January 27, 2026 at 11:26 am

so faith traditions are at the root of destroying truth, reason, politics, and possibly the environment and civilization, and… we need to look to faith traditions to rebuild in the ashes they created? lol no thanks. I’ll just stick to truth which gave birth to both science and religion anyways.

Reply
- @maryamw-d7l
  
  January 27, 2026 at 8:42 pm
  
  But how would you know what the truth is?
  
  Reply
- @FinalEyes777
  
  January 27, 2026 at 8:53 pm
  
  @maryamw-d7l do what? Is it true that 1=1 or that you are yourself or that a triangle has 3 sides?
  
  Everyone knows what truth is, until someone convinces them they dont.
  
  Reply
@ExistentialWolf

January 27, 2026 at 11:36 am

Interesting perspective, not withstanding the _lingo._ As a Catholic we believe that self struggle is rooted in one’s divergence from the core belief. The belief that you are on the right path to meet the maker. We believe you should always act for the good of everyone, and you will find comfort in your place. The value of more is only a consideration of everyone’s future. 🤣🤗🤪

Reply
@fractalflight5752

January 27, 2026 at 1:20 pm

I use a “contradiction key” – It Is, It Is not, Both, Neither, All, None. You can ask yourself any question imaginable and run it through this function. It nearly always produces an expansion of perception. For example, “Is the world in danger right now?”. It clarifies the vagueness of the question immediately. So more specific, “Is there reason for fear?”, Becomes, “Is there reason”… A question becomes simply “?”. The funniest solution is simply straightening out the question mark, “!”.

Reply
@506_egyrizalfajarmuharram7

January 27, 2026 at 1:51 pm

✋

Reply
@fluenteducation-abs

January 27, 2026 at 2:22 pm

I am from n
Bangladesh

Reply
@ahmadjonovvvvv

January 30, 2026 at 3:08 am

Faith
Thresholds
Contraction
Evolution
Consquential
Eldery couples
Poltitical leaders
Climate
Disposable
Arbitrarily
Resonating
Luminous
Posiblity
Diagnosis
Unravels
Invitation
Collapse
Preservation
Climate emergany
Primarily
Systematic solution
Devastated communities
Deepest resilience
Demonstrate
Contradiction
Imaginable
Expanasion
Perception

Reply

Science & Technology

The Nurse Who Can Smell Parkinson’s | Joy Milne | TED

What does Parkinson’s smell like? Ask nurse Joy Milne. Born with a hypersensitive nose, she spent a lifetime learning to recognize diseases through their scents. When she smelled Parkinson’s on her husband years before his diagnosis, she decided to put her gift to the test. Today, her extraordinary nose has been translated into a non-invasive…

Published

11 hours ago

May 3, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter:

Follow TED!
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:
Facebook:
X:

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more:

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Health

CNET

This Robot Looks Right Out of Star Wars

The $25,000 Tron 1 from LimX Dynamics looks like a mini AT-ST from Star Wars: here’s what it actually can do. 00:00 – Introducing the Star Wars-inspired Tron 00:11 – Durability and Speed Testing 00:34 – Real-World Applications: Deliveries and Inspections 01:15 – Autonomous Tours and Human Interaction 01:32 – Photobot: Autonomous Photography 01:55 –…

Published

14 hours ago

May 3, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

The $25,000 Tron 1 from LimX Dynamics looks like a mini AT-ST from Star Wars: here’s what it actually can do.

00:00 – Introducing the Star Wars-inspired Tron
00:11 – Durability and Speed Testing
00:34 – Real-World Applications: Deliveries and Inspections
01:15 – Autonomous Tours and Human Interaction
01:32 – Photobot: Autonomous Photography
01:55 – Pricing and Future Outlook

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

CNET

The Latest Folding iPhone Reports – April 30, 2026

There’s still a lot of rumor, speculation, and alleged leaks around the possibility of Apple releasing a foldable phone, but who would this be for, anyway? One guess: it could be for people who miss the iPad Mini, if the apps can just work. #ipad #iphone #iphoneultra #iphonefold Add CNET as a trusted news source…

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2026

CYBER TECH TV