Crash Course
The Parable of the Sower: Crash Course Literature 406
This week, John is teaching you about the near-future dystopia in Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. Parable of the Sower tells the story of Lauren Oya Olamina, and her life growing up in a post-climate change, semi-lawless America....
TED Talks
TED: Are insect brains the secret to great AI? | Frances S. Chance
Are insects the key to brain-inspired computing? Neuroscientist Frances S. Chance thinks so. In this buzzy talk, she shares examples of the incredible capabilities of insects -- like the dragonfly's deadly accurate hunting skills and the...
TED Talks
TED: What time is it on Mars? | Nagin Cox
Nagin Cox is a first-generation Martian. As a spacecraft engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cox works on the team that manages the united States' rovers on Mars. But working a 9-to-5 on another planet -- whose day is 40...
TED Talks
TED: 3 ways to plan for the (very) long term | Ari Wallach
We increasingly make decisions based on short-term goals and gains -- an approach that makes the future more uncertain and less safe. How can we learn to think about and plan for a better future in the long term ... like,...
TED Talks
Shabana Basij-Rasikh: Dare to educate Afghan girls
Imagine a country where girls must sneak out to go to school, with deadly consequences if they get caught learning. This was Afghanistan under the Taliban, and traces of that danger remain today. 22-year-old Shabana Basij-Rasikh runs a...
TED Talks
Eva Galperin: What you need to know about stalkerware
"Full access to a person's phone is the next best thing to full access to a person's mind," says cybersecurity expert Eva Galperin. In an urgent talk, she describes the emerging danger of stalkerware -- software designed to spy on...
TED Talks
Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change
Given $50 billion to spend, which would you solve first, AIDS or global warming? Danish political scientist Bjorn Lomborg comes up with surprising answers.
TED Talks
TED: My solar-powered adventure | Bertrand Piccard
For the dawn of a new decade, adventurer Bertrand Piccard offers us a challenge: Find motivation in what seems impossible. He shares his own plans to do what many say can't be done -- to fly around the world, day and night, in a...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Gerrymandering: How drawing jagged lines can impact an election - Christina Greer
District lines, and the groups of voters within them, may seem arbitrary, but a lot of thought (and political bickering) is put into these carefully drawn lines. From "packing" a district to "cracking" a district--learn how the shape of...
TED Talks
Sara-Jane Dunn: The next software revolution: programming biological cells
The cells in your body are like computer software: they're "programmed" to carry out specific functions at specific times. If we can better understand this process, we could unlock the ability to reprogram cells ourselves, says...
Crash Course
Why the Evolutionary Epic Matters: Crash Course Big History
Today we're talking about evolution_basically the history of all life on Earth. The thing is, why are we talking about this. Well, the story of life, all the way back to single celled microbes billions of years ago, is all part of our...
SciShow
5 Ways Humans Have Changed The Earth
We are approaching a whole new era! . . .or at least a new epoch. Michael Aranda explains how humans are leaving their mark on the Geologic Time Scale.
TED Talks
TED: What would happen if we upload our brains to computers? | Robin Hanson
Meet the "ems" -- machines that emulate human brains and can think, feel and work just like the brains they're copied from. Futurist and social scientist Robin Hanson describes a possible future when ems take over the global economy,...
SciShow
Top 5 Coolest Things about Curiosity
In which Hank celebrates the landing of the Mars Curiosity Rover which you know was pretty freaking cool. So here are the Top Five Coolest Things about the Mars Curiosity Rover!
TED Talks
TED: 3 lessons on decision-making from a poker champion | Liv Boeree
Is it better to be lucky or good? Should we trust our gut feelings or rely on probabilities and careful analysis when making important decisions? In this quick talk, professional poker player Liv Boeree shares three strategies she's...
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: Let's scan the whole planet with LiDAR | Chris Fisher
We have archives of films, newspapers, even seeds -- what if we could make one for the entire surface of the earth? Drawing on his experience mapping an ancient city in the Honduran jungle, archaeologist Chris Fisher makes the case for...
TED Talks
TED: What security means to me | Eve Ensler
Playwright Eve Ensler explores our modern craving for security -- and why it makes us less secure. Listen for inspiring, heartbreaking stories of women making change.
TED Talks
TED: Climate change is becoming a problem you can taste | Amanda Little
Our food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and...
TED Talks
TED: This tiny particle could roam your body to find tumors | Sangeeta Bhatia
What if we could find cancerous tumors years before they can harm us -- without expensive screening facilities or even steady electricity? Physician, bioengineer and entrepreneur Sangeeta Bhatia leads a multidisciplinary lab that...
TED Talks
TED: Why earth may someday look like Mars | Anjali Tripathi
every minute, 400 pounds of hydrogen and almost 7 pounds of helium escape from earth's atmosphere into outer space. Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi studies the phenomenon of atmospheric escape, and in this fascinating and accessible talk,...
TED Talks
TED: A disability-inclusive future of work | Ryan Gersava
One billion people worldwide are living with a disability, and too many of them are left unemployed or feeling like they need to hide their conditions due to discriminatory hiring practices, says social innovator and TED Fellow Ryan...
TED Talks
TED: The future we're building -- and boring | elon Musk
elon Musk discusses his new project digging tunnels under LA, the latest from Tesla and SpaceX and his motivation for building a future on Mars in conversation with TeD's Head Curator, Chris Anderson.
TED Talks
TED: NFTs, the metaverse and the future of digital art | Elizabeth Strickler
In need of a brief yet illuminating lesson on the obsession with NFTs? Elizabeth Strickler breaks down the acronym and explains the fundamentals of non-fungible tokens, sharing how these digital assets are changing the landscape for...