Gym teacher Hank gives us the full story of the past, present, and future of birth control.

Sometimes culture can seem invisible like when we're surrounded by signals that tell us we're with others who are like us, but if we live or travel somewhere where the traits that define social norms are not our traits, culture can...

Phones, TVs, solar panels, and electric car batteries are all made of some rare and unusual elements. As our modern world creates more and more of these technologies, will things go from "rare" to "nonexistent" and what will we do then?

In which John Green teaches you about China's Revolutions. While the rest of the world was off having a couple of World Wars, China was busily uprooting the dynastic system that had ruled there for millennia. Most revolutions have some...

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Morocco has 3/4 of the world’s known...

Garbage Doesn't Lie

People have been exploring the oceans since prehistoric times, way before they had GPS to help them figure out where they were. Here are 6 ingenious ways our ancestors navigated the oceans.

Hank reveals why our love affair with the rare earth elements has a dark side.

Today we’re going to talk about the link between population and food energy. As the world's population keeps growing, finding ways to provide enough food and water for everyone while supporting a sustainable environment can be tricky! ...

In 2018, a single power plant produced more energy than the world's largest coal-powered and gas-powered plants combined. China's Three Gorges Dam relies on running water, and is capable of producing more energy than any other power...

Forget lab rats — meet the Chinese or striped-back hamster, an unassuming little rodent whose role in research over the years has led to breakthroughs in genetics, pharmaceutics and more!

Like the Industrial or the Einsteinian Revolution, the Space Race is a trope, or way of organizing historical events into a story that makes sense. In this story, the two great powers that emerged after World War Two—the United States...

In which John Green teaches you about China's Revolutions. While the rest of the world was off having a couple of World Wars, China was busily uprooting the dynastic system that had ruled there for millennia. Most revolutions have some...

In which John Green teaches you about Imperialism. In the late 19th century, the great powers of Europe were running around the world obtaining colonial possessions, especially in Africa and Asia. The United States, which as a young...

What happens when a dream you've held since childhood ... doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach...

Consider the classic white t-shirt. Annually, we sell and buy 2 billion t-shirts globally, making it one of the most common garments in the world. But how and where is the average t-shirt made, and what's its environmental impact? Angel...

Jay Walker explains why two billion people around the world are trying to learn English. He shares photos and spine-tingling audio of Chinese students rehearsing English -- "the world's second language" -- by the thousands.

Xu Xian had just received an invitation to the opening ceremony of a new temple. His wife, Bai Su Zhen, warned him not to attend, but Xu Xian, a devout Buddhist, felt obligated to make an appearance. What they didn't know was that these...

In which John Green teaches you, at long last, about the most exceptional bunch of empire-building nomads in the history of the world, the Mongols! How did the Mongols go from being a relatively small band of herders who occasionally...

Trace the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire which, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, became the largest contiguous land empire in history. -- It was the largest contiguous land empire in history— stretching from Korea to Ukraine,...

SARS-CoV-2 is a new kind of coronavirus that appeared suddenly in late 2019. The disease it causes, called COVID-19, is now showing signs that it's able to spread outside of its place of origin. This raises some questions... like, do we...

In which John Green teaches you about European Imperialism in the 19th century. European powers started to create colonial empires way back in the 16th century, but businesses really took off in the 19th century, especially in Asia and...

People around the world are demanding clean air -- and cities are starting to respond, says electrification advocate Monica Araya. She takes us on a world tour of urban areas that are working to fully electrify their transportation...

Shopping is about more than just what you buy: it's a treasure hunt to discover something new, a negotiation to get a great deal, a time to catch up with friends and family. But for many, online shopping has turned the experience into an...