PBS
Henry Kissinger reflects on leadership, global crises and the state of U.S. politics
Between the war in Ukraine and tensions with China, President Biden's handling of foreign policy issues is being put to the test. In former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's new book, "Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy," he...
PBS
Modern Inspiration in Shakespeare
Jeffrey Brown talks to Kuwaiti writer and theater director Sulayman al-Bassam, whose company is presenting a Shakespeare play with a twist, "Richard III: An Arab Tragedy."
TED Talks
TED: The inaccurate link between body ideals and health | Nancy N. Chen
Global obesity rates are on the rise, but body shaming campaigns are doing more harm than good, says medical anthropologist Nancy N. Chen. Reflecting on how the cultural histories of body ideals have changed over time, she offers a new...
TED Talks
TED: How can groups make good decisions? | Mariano Sigman and Dan Ariely
We all know that when we make decisions in groups, they don't always go right -- and sometimes they go very wrong. How can groups make good decisions? With his colleague Dan Ariely, neuroscientist Mariano Sigman has been inquiring into...
TED Talks
TED: The link between inequality and anxiety | Richard Wilkinson
Why are global levels of anxiety and depression so high? Social epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson presents compelling data on the impact of inequality on mental health and social relationships in countries around the world. "Inequality,"...
TED Talks
TED: How economic inequality harms societies | Richard Wilkinson
We feel instinctively that societies with huge income gaps are somehow going wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart: real effects on health,...
Crash Course
Émile Durkheim on Suicide & Society: Crash Course Sociology
Now that we’ve talked a little bit about how sociology works, it’s time to start exploring some of the ideas of the discipline’s founders. First up: Émile Durkheim. We’ll explain the concept of social facts and how Durkheim framed...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Where we get our fresh water - Christiana Z. Peppard
Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of Earth's water, yet it is vital for human civilization. What are our sources of fresh water? In the first of a two part series on fresh water, Christiana Z. Peppard breaks the numbers down and...
SciShow
Distant Volcanoes Collapsed Dozens of Empires
Volcanoes, climate change, and Chinese history may seem like three phrases spit out of a random word generator, but the three things are more inherently linked than one may assume.
TED Talks
Sonia Shah: 3 reasons we still haven’t gotten rid of malaria
We’ve known how to cure malaria since the 1600s, so why does the disease still kill hundreds of thousands every year? It’s more than just a problem of medicine, says journalist Sonia Shah. A look into the history of malaria reveals three...
TED Talks
Kishore Mahbubani: How the West can adapt to a rising Asia
As Asian economies and governments continue to gain power, the West needs to find ways to adapt to the new global order, says author and diplomat Kishore Mahbubani. In an insightful look at international politics, Mahbubani shares a...
TED Talks
TED: How societies can grow old better | Jared Diamond
There's an irony behind the latest efforts to extend human life: It's no picnic to be an old person in a youth-oriented society. Older people can become isolated, lacking meaningful work and low on funds. In this intriguing talk, Jared...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The history of marriage - Alex Gendler
A white, puffy dress. Eternal love. A joint tax return. Marriage means something different to everyone and has changed over time and across cultures. Alex Gendler traces the history of getting hitched, providing insights on polygamy,...
TED Talks
TED: A new understanding of human history and the roots of inequality | David Wengrow
What if the commonly accepted narratives about the foundation of civilization are all wrong? Drawing on groundbreaking research, archaeologist David Wengrow challenges traditional thinking about the social evolution of humanity -- from...
TED Talks
TED: The new age of corporate monopolies | Margrethe Vestager
Margrethe Vestager wants to keep european markets competitive -- which is why, on behalf of the eu, she's fined Google $2.8 billion for breaching antitrust rules, asked Apple for $15.3 billion in back taxes and investigated a range of...
Crash Course
How We Got Here: Crash Course Sociology
So we know that sociology is the study of society, but what exactly *is* a society? Today we’re going to find out. We’ll look at Gerhard Lenski's classification of societies into five types, and the technological changes that turn one...
TED Talks
Laura Carstensen: Older people are happier
In the 20th century we added an unprecedented number of years to our lifespans, but is the quality of life as good? Surprisingly, yes! Psychologist Laura Carstensen shows research that demonstrates that as people get older they become...
Crash Course
Gender Stratification: Crash Course Sociology
Today we’re looking at how society becomes stratified along gender lines. We’ll discuss Raewyn Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinities and emphasized femininities. We’ll explore gender socialization in the home, media, and schools....
TED Talks
Eric X. Li: A tale of two political systems
It's a standard assumption in the West: As a society progresses, it eventually becomes a capitalist, multi-party democracy. Right? Eric X. Li, a Chinese investor and political scientist, begs to differ. In this provocative,...
Crash Course
Sex & Sexuality: Crash Course Sociology
While sociology is a social science, we can use it to explore some intensely personal, private things. Today we’ll explore what sociology can tell us about sex and sexuality. We’ll also see what the three sociological paradigms have to...
Crash Course
What Is Theater? Crash Course Theater #1
Welcome to Crash Course Theater with Mike Rugnetta! In this, our inaugural week, we're going to ask the two classic questions about theater. 1.What is theater? And 2. Is it spelled -re or -er? Well, there's a clue to question two in the...
Professor Dave Explains
Life in the Ice Age (Hunter-Gatherers)
New ReviewNow that humans are all over the world, what do their lives look like? How were they influenced by the Ice Age that occurred at that time? How complex can hunter-gatherer society become? Let's get a closer look!