PBS
The Missing Link That Wasn’t
The myth of the Missing Link--the idea that there must be a specimen that partly resembles an ape but also partly resembles a modern human--is persistent. But the reality is that there is no missing link in our lineage, because that’s...
PBS
The Invisible Barrier Keeping Two Worlds Apart
In between two of the islands of Indonesia, there’s an ancient line that is both real and…not real.
PBS
That Time the Mediterranean Sea Disappeared
How could a body of water as big as the Mediterranean just...disappear? It would take decades and more than 1,000 research studies to even start to figure out the cause -- or causes -- of one of the greatest vanishing acts in Earth’s...
PBS
That Time the American West Blew Up
How is it possible to have cataclysmic eruptions without any real cataclysm?
PBS
How the Andes Mountains Might Have Killed a Bunch of Whales
At a site known as Cerro Ballena or Whale Hill, there are more than 40 skeletons of marine mammals -- a graveyard of ocean life dating back 6.5 million to 9 million years ago, in the Late Miocene Epoch. But the identity of the killer...
PBS
How Plate Tectonics Transformed Los Angeles
Despite the profound changes we’ve made here in recent history, the epic saga of Los Angeles' natural history is still visible - and even striking - if you know where and how to look for it.
PBS
How Earth's First, Unkillable Animals Saved the World
They have survived every catastrophe and every mass extinction event that nature has thrown at them. And by being the little, filter-feeding, water-cleaning creatures that they are, sponges may have saved the world.
PBS
When the Sahara Was Green
The climate of the Sahara was completely different thousands of years ago. And we’re not talking about just a few years of extra rain. We’re talking about a climate that was so wet for so long that animals and humans alike made...
PBS
When a Billion Years Disappeared
In some places, the rocks below the Great Unconformity are about 1.2 billion years older than those above it. This missing chapter in Earth’s history might be linked to a fracturing supercontinent, out-of-control glaciers, and maybe the...
Be Smart
Sand Dunes Shouldn’t Exist (Here’s Why They Do)
How can sand, blown by the wind, form such intricate and beautiful patterns as ripples and dunes? The answer is a surprising secret of self-organization. In this video, we travel to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado to climb the...
Be Smart
The Impossible Hugeness of Deep Time
Humans have a hard time with really big numbers, especially when it comes to DEEP TIME. The history of the Earth took a lot longer than you think, trust me. But I’m here to help you put it in perspective. With some string.
Be Smart
Why No One Can Agree What’s REALLY the Tallest Mountain
What's the tallest mountain on Earth? It might seem like an easy question to answer, but in reality it's one that brings up more NEW questions than answers. It turns out that the way we measure mountains rests on a lot of approximations,...
Be Smart
When Will We Stop Using Oil?
We've heard news of "peak oil" and "the end of the oil age" for years now, but we keep coming up with ways to find and pump more of it to the surface. Rising CO2 levels and the changing climate that results from burning fossil fuels mean...
Be Smart
The Unbelievable Story of Earth’s Most Epic Flood
One day around 15,000 years ago, a wall of ice 2,000 feet tall and 30 miles wide suddenly broke wide open, and it unleashed the largest flood that we know of in the history of Earth. Come and hit the road with me as we search for the...
Be Smart
Apollo’s Most Important Discovery (Inside NASA’s Moon Rock Vault!)
Fifty years ago, we sent the first astronauts to walk on the moon’s face. But what they brought back is just as important as what got them there. I’m talking about moon rocks, guys. And I got to go visit NASA’s lunar sample vault to...
SciShow
We’re Wrong About How Mountains Form
We think we know how mountains form. Plate tectonics causes rock to be pushed up at fault boundaries. Except that model is hard to prove, and a new study suggests it might actually be a lot more complicated.
SciShow
This Diagram of Earth Is a Lie
When you learned about the Earth’s interior in school, you were probably shown a diagram that looked like a perfect layer cake. But we've known for a long time that that diagram is... inaccurate at best, and leaves out information that...
SciShow
The World's Next Ocean
A volcanic eruption and series of earthquakes in 2005 were important not because they did a great deal of damage to humans, but because they’re geologic evidence of where Earth’s next ocean will most likely pop up.
SciShow
The Truth Behind the Disappearing Lakes
Around the world, there are lakes that disappear without warning. Then, suddenly without warning, they sometimes return! This vanishing and reappearing affect reveals some surprising connections. Learn all about it with Hank on this new...
SciShow
The Biggest Volcano and Small Testes
Hank reviews the latest in science news, including the discovery of Element 115, the biggest volcano on Earth, and new insights into what it might mean to have small testicles.
SciShow
Is the Mystery of Earth's 1.2 Billion Missing Years Solved? | SciShow News
For the last hundred and fifty years or so, geologists have been trying to wrap their heads around the mystery: in some places, the geologic record just seems to jump by over billion years. And last week, a paper was published that may...
SciShow
How Washington Became a Ship Graveyard: A SciShow Field Trip #3
Olympic National Park is temporarily closed as Washington, the US, and the world work to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We filmed this series in early January and are currently at home practicing social distancing. We hope...
SciShow
Earth's Not-So-Juicy Center
Hank takes us on a journey to center of the Earth to explain both how the solid core formed and why it is so important for life as we know it.
SciShow
Why These 5 Rocks Actually Glow
If you're lucky enough to find a glowing rock, it likely doesn't mean you're the chosen one. In fact, it could have to do with one of these five phenomena! Learn about the quantum mechanics of glowing rocks in this new SciShow Episode...