TED-Ed
TED-ED: How interpreters juggle two languages at once - Ewandro Magalhaes
Language is complex, and when abstract or nuanced concepts get lost in translation, the consequences may be catastrophic. Given the complexities of language and cultural exchange, how do these epic miscommunications not happen all the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained - Christina Greer
You vote, but then what? Discover how your individual vote contributes to the popular vote and your state's electoral vote in different ways--and see how votes are counted on both state and national levels.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: History vs. Richard Nixon - Alex Gendler
The president of the United States of America is often said to be one of the most powerful positions in the world. But of all the US presidents accused of abusing that power, only one has left office as a result. Does Richard Nixon...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How does money laundering work? - Delena D. Spann
Money laundering is the term for any process that "cleans" illegally obtained funds of their "dirty" criminal origins, allowing them to be used within the legal economy. And the practice is about as old as money itself. But how does it...
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...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis - Matthew A. Jordan
Imagine going about your life knowing that, at any given moment, you and everyone you know could be wiped out without warning at the push of a button. This was the reality for millions of people during the forty-five year period after...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The fight for the right to vote in the United States - Nicki Beaman Griffin
In the United States today, if you are over eighteen, a citizen, and the resident of a state, you can vote (with some exceptions). So, how have voting rights changed since the first election in 1789? Nicki Beaman Griffin outlines the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What gives a dollar bill its value? - Doug Levinson
The value of money is determined by how much (or how little) of it is in circulation. But who makes that decision, and how does their choice affect the economy at large? Doug Levinson takes a trip into the United States Federal Reserve,...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The ancient origins of the Olympics - Armand D'Angour
Thousands of years in the making, the Olympics began as part of a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus in the rural Greek town of Olympia. But how did it become the greatest show of sporting excellence on earth? Armand D'Angour...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What is McCarthyism? And how did it happen? - Ellen Schrecker
In the 1950s, as part of a campaign to expose suspected Communists, thousands of individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall - Konrad H. Jarausch
On August 13, 1961, construction workers began tearing up streets and erecting barriers in Berlin. This night marked the beginning of one of history's most infamous dividing lines: the Berlin Wall. Construction continued for a decade as...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is meningitis so dangerous? - Melvin Sanicas
In 1987, thousands of people gathered in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. But what started out as a celebration led to a worldwide health crisis: more than 2,000 cases of meningitis broke out, spreading across Saudi Arabia...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What happened to trial by jury? - Suja A. Thomas
In the United States today, juries decide less than 4% of criminal cases and less than 1% of civil cases filed in court. At the same time, jury systems in other countries are growing. So what happened in the US? And could the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights - Belinda Stutzman
Daily, Americans exercise their rights secured by the Constitution. The most widely discussed and debated part of the Constitution is known as the Bill of Rights. Belinda Stutzman provides a refresher course on exactly what the first ten...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: When is water safe to drink? - Mia Nacamulli
Water is refreshing, hydrating, and invaluable to your survival. But clean water remains a precious and often scarce commodity - there are nearly 800 million people who still don't have regular access to it. Why is that? And how can you...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why wasn't the Bill of Rights originally in the US Constitution? - James Coll
When you think of the US Constitution, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Free speech? The right to bear arms? These passages are cited so often that it's hard to imagine the document without them. But the list of freedoms known...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What you might not know about the Declaration of Independence - Kenneth C. Davis
In June 1776, a little over a year after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the US Continental Congress huddled together in a hot room in Philadelphia to talk independence. Kenneth C. Davis dives into some of the lesser known...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What really happened to the Library of Alexandria? - Elizabeth Cox
2,300 years ago, the rulers of Alexandria set out to fulfill a very audacious goal: to collect all the knowledge in the world under one roof. In its prime, the Library of Alexandria housed an unprecedented number of scrolls and attracted...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What caused the French Revolution? - Tom Mullaney
What rights do people have, and where do they come from? Who gets to make decisions for others, and on what authority? And how can we organize society to meet people's needs? Tom Mullaney shows how these questions challenged an entire...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Equality, sports, and Title IX - Erin Buzuvis and Kristine Newhall
In 1972, U.S. Congress passed Title IX, a law which prohibited discrimination against women in schools, colleges, and universities -- including school-sponsored sports. Before this law, female athletes were few and far between, and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What are the universal human rights? - Benedetta Berti
The basic idea of human rights is that each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are born, is entitled to the same basic rights and freedoms. That may sound straightforward enough, but it gets incredibly complicated as soon as...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why the metric system matters - Matt Anticole
For the majority of recorded human history, units like the weight of a grain or the length of a hand weren't exact and varied from place to place. Now, consistent measurements are such an integral part of our daily lives that it's hard...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The great conspiracy against Julius Caesar - Kathryn Tempest
On March 15th, 44 BCE, Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of about 60 of his own senators. Why did these self-titled Liberators want him dead? And why did Brutus, whose own life had been saved by Caesar, join in the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why should you read "The Handmaid's Tale"? - Naomi R. Mercer
Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction masterpiece The Handmaid's Tale explores the consequences of complacency and how power can be wielded unfairly. Atwood's chilling vision of a dystopian regime has captured readers' imaginations since...