Sebastian Junger, “Our Lonely Society Makes It Hard to Come Home From War”  Sebastian Junger has seen war up close, and he knows the impact that battlefield trauma has on soldiers. But he suggests there’s another major cause of pain for veterans when they come home: the experience of leaving the tribal closeness of the military and returning to an alienating and bitterly divided modern society. “Sometimes, we ask ourselves if we can save the vets,” Junger says. “I think the real question is if we can save ourselves.”

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.   The group watches a TED Talk and then discusses the ideas raised in the presentation.