TED Talks
Bahia Shehab: A thousand times no
Art historian Bahia Shehab has long been fascinated with the Arabic script for 'no.' When revolution swept through Egypt in 2011, she began spraying the image in the streets saying no to dictators, no to military rule and no to violence.
TED Talks
Mikko Hypponen: Three types of online attack
Cybercrime expert Mikko Hypponen talks us through three types of online attack on our privacy and data -- and only two are considered crimes. "Do we blindly trust any future government? Because any right we give away, we give away for...
TED Talks
Munir Virani: Why I love vultures
As natural garbage collectors, vultures are vital to our ecosystem -- so why all the bad press? Why are so many in danger of extinction? Raptor biologist Munir Virani says we need to pay more attention to these unique and misunderstood...
TED Talks
TED: A Saudi, an Indian and an Iranian walk into a Qatari bar ... | Maz Jobrani
Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani takes to the TEDxSummit stage in Doha, Qatar to take on serious issues in the Middle East -- like how many kisses to give when saying “Hi,” and what not to say on an American airplane.
Crash Course
Medieval China: Crash Course History of Science
Like Egypt, Sumer, and Mesoamerica, ancient China represents a hydraulic civilization—one that maintained its population by diverting rivers to aid in irrigation—and one that developed writing thousands of years ago. Today, we’re going...
TED Talks
Wadah Khanfar: A historic moment in the Arab world
As a democratic revolution led by tech-empowered young people sweeps the Arab world, Wadah Khanfar, the head of Al Jazeera, shares a profoundly optimistic view of what's happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and beyond -- at this powerful...
SciShow
Why Are Honeybees Making Mummies?
Sure, honeybees make delicious honey. But have you ever heard of propolis, the spitty glue they use to mummify intruders?
TED Talks
Shereen El Feki: Pop culture in the Arab world
Shereen El Feki shows how some Arab cultures are borrowing trademarks of Western pop culture -- music videos, comics, even Barbie -- and adding a culturally appropriate twist. The hybridized media shows how two civilizations, rather than...
TED Talks
Dalia Mogahed: The attitudes that sparked Arab Spring
Pollster Dalia Mogahed shares surprising data on Egyptian people's attitudes and hopes before the Arab Spring -- with a special focus on the role of women in sparking change.
TED Talks
Bright Simons: To help solve global problems, look to developing countries
To address the problem of counterfeit goods, African entrepreneurs like Bright Simons have come up with innovative and effective ways to confirm products are genuine. Now he asks: Why aren't these solutions everywhere? From...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Chris A. Kniesly: History through the eyes of a chicken
The Ancient Egyptian king Thutmose III described the chicken as a marvelous foreign bird that "gives birth daily." Romans brought them on their military campaigns to foretell the success of future battles. Today, this bird occupies a...
TED Talks
Bobby Ghosh: Why global jihad is losing
Throughout the history of Islam, says journalist Bobby Ghosh, there have been two sides to jihad: one, internal, a personal struggle to be better, the other external. A small minority has appropriated the second meaning, using it as an...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How did they build the Great Pyramid of Giza? | Soraya Field Fiorio
As soon as Pharaoh Khufu ascended the throne circa 2575 BCE, work on his eternal resting place began. The structure's architect, Hemiunu, determined he would need 20 years to finish the royal tomb. But what he could not predict was that...
Crash Course
Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars All Without a Flamewar Crash Course World History
In which John Green teaches you the history of Islam, including the revelation of the Qu'ran to Muhammad, the five pillars of Islam, how the Islamic empire got its start, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and more. Learn about hadiths, Abu...
SciShow
BigBrain & Supermoon
From brains to heavenly bodies, this week brings us some super-sized science... BigBrain is the highest resolution map of the human brain that's ever existed; a super high resolution interactive model of King Tut's tomb for anyone to...
SciShow
Hank Meets a Giant Squid and Other News
Hank is back in the studio and is very excited to be able again to share news of the universe with you, including his encounter with a giant squid, an English king discovered under a parking lot, new pyramids discovered in Africa, and...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: History vs. Cleopatra - Alex Gendler
She was the most notorious woman in ancient history, a queen who enraptured not one but two of Rome's greatest generals. But was she just a skilled seductress or a great ruler in her own right? Alex Gendler puts this controversial figure...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The real story behind Archimedes' Eureka! - Armand D'Angour
When you think of Archimedes' Eureka moment, you probably imagine a man in a bathtub, right? As it turns out, there's much more to the story. Armand D'Angour tells the story of Archimedes' biggest assignment -- an enormous floating...
Crash Course
Decolonization and Nationalism Triumphant Crash Course World History
In which John Green teaches you about the post-World War II breakup of most of the European empires. As you'll remember from previous installments of Crash Course, Europeans spent several centuries sailing around the world creating...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The pharaoh that wouldn't be forgotten - Kate Narev
Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh during the New Kingdom in Egypt. Twenty years after her death, somebody smashed her statues, took a chisel and attempted to erase the pharaoh's name and image from history. But who did it? And why? Kate...
Be Smart
How The Pyramids Were Built (Pyramid Science Part 2)
Just because something is difficult doesn't mean it's impossible. Over the past centuries, archaeologists, historians, and engineers have reconstructed a great deal of the technology and science used to build the Egyptian pyramids. This...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How the Suez Canal changed the world | Lucia Carminati
Today, nearly 30% of all global ship traffic passes through the Suez Canal, totaling over 20,000 ships in 2021. The site of the canal had been of interest to rulers as far back as the second millennium BCE, but plans to construct a...
Crash Course
Indian Pantheons: Crash Course World Mythology
In which Mike Rugnetta continues our unit on pantheons with the complex Indian pantheon, focusing on stories that were written in Sanskrit. We start with a violent creation story. We talk about the concept of Brahman, and the...
Crash Course
The Crusades - Pilgrimage or Holy War Crash Course World History
In which John Green teaches you about the Crusades embarked upon by European Christians in the 12th and 13th centuries. Our traditional perception of the Crusades as European Colonization thinly veiled in religion isn't quite right. John...