The year is 1030 CE. Chu Hong's best friend, Liang Gao, tells him that the local magistrate has been spotted holding a surprise archery competition in a nearby town and will arrive at their village soon. This is Hong’s chance to showcase...

Book: Empire Falls

A conversation with the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist about her book, "Paradise."

Starting tomorrow, the European Union plans to start sending back some of the 170,000 migrants and refugees who have made the dangerous journey by sea to Europe this year. Along another main migrant sea route from North Africa toward...

Ethnic-Armenian forces last week handed over two regions to Azerbaijani

control as part of Russia-brokered armistice that ended the six-week
war
over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Moscow has sent peacekeepe
rs to the...

In Sicily and across Italy, towns are on the brink of extinction. Locals have been leaving these picturesque communities, with their antique buildings and narrow roads, in search of economic opportunity, and few babies are being born...

Amidst the wave of anti-migrant sentiment coursing through Europe, one village has shown a rare level of hospitality to those making the journey across the Mediterranean. In Skala Sykaminia, located on the Greek island of Lesbos,...

Our descendants own the future, but the decisions and actions we make now will tremendously impact generations to come, says philosopher Roman Krznaric. From a global campaign to grant legal personhood to nature to a groundbreaking...

A war zone can pass for a mostly peaceful place when no one is watching, says investigative journalist and TED Fellow Anjan Sundaram. In this short, incisive talk, he takes us inside the conflict in the Central African Republic, where he...

If you live in the United States, you may live in the Eastern Standard Time Zone. Or maybe you live in Mountain Standard Time or one of the other standardized time zones. But these time zones have not always been around. In fact, it's a...

Have you ever turned on a faucet in your sink or shower and wondered where that water comes from? Jessi and Squeaks explore how we get water to our homes!

Slime can be great, but when it's the wrong kind of slime (you know, the kind that can kill you?), it gets added to the list of things Hank wishes he didn't have to worry about. Scientists call it biofilm, and it's a type of bacterial...

Where did all the lumps and bumps on buildings go? When did city architecture become so ... dull? Here to talk about why cities need inspiring architecture, designer Thomas Heatherwick offers a path out of the doldrums of urban monotony...

Not long after drama reappeared in the unlikely home of European churches, the church decided again it didn't like theater. And so, the budding dramatic scene was kicked out into the harsh elements of the outdoors. So, they started...

Shopping in Germany can be somewhat baffling because it’s often difficult to predict when a store will or won’t be open. Thankfully, an increasing number of stores are liberalizing their hours. Generally, large stores, supermarkets, and...

Howcast - Learn about the best ways to get around the Caribbean island Jamaica in this Howcast travel video.

Travel Smart hops catches a Brittany Ferry across to France for this episode, looking at the reasons why the country is your perfect getaway in the autumn months.Ben Parker and Annabel Grossman grace the south of France, where the crowds...

Saddle up! In this episode, we head to the American West during the 1800s, when pioneers traveled across the plains in wagons, looking for new land. We’ll learn what life was like on the frontier—what people ate, how they built homes,...

Learn about Manifest Destiny, the 19th-century belief that the United States was meant to expand across North America. This video covers the history behind the idea, key events like the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Trail, and the...

The Townshend Acts of 1767-68 imposed heavy taxes on American colonists, sparking widespread protests and setting the stage for the American Revolution.

In this video, we explore the historical significance of castles and their purpose as protective structures. From their origins as safe havens for townspeople during times of threat, to their transformation into private residences for...

Chevauchée, 1355 AD Battle of Poitiers Part 1 of 2

In Poitou-Charentes, the Thouars’ Community of Towns is leading the way in renewable energy with solar parks, wind farms, and sustainable construction. This initiative demonstrates how bioclimatic buildings and community efforts can...

Learn all about the upcoming 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse and the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse! 0:00 – Introduction 0:40 – Annular Solar Eclipse 2023 Explanation 1:49 – Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Explanation 2:11 – Best Viewing Locations 2:46 –...