TED Talks
TED: Sci-fi stories that imagine a future Africa | Nnedi Okorafor
My science fiction has different ancestors -- African ones, says writer Nnedi Okorafor. In between excerpts from her "Binti" series and her novel "Lagoon," Okorafor discusses the inspiration and roots of her work -- and how she opens...
TED Talks
TED: The case for co-ops, the invisible giant of the economy | Anu Puusa
Think capitalism is broken? Try cooperativism, says co-op enthusiast and researcher Anu Puusa. She lays out how cooperatives -- businesses owned, operated and controlled by their members -- can both make money and have a positive impact...
TED Talks
How web video powers global innovation - Chris Anderson
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. TED's Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated...
SciShow
An Asteroid Visited Us From Outside the Solar System!
Earth has received its first speedy visitor from another star system, A/2017 U1, and the Dawn Mission has helped astronomers gather more evidence about possible former oceans on Ceres.
SciShow
The Science Behind the Pimple Popping Phenomenon
For some reason, popping pimples gives many people a satisfying rush - but why? And why is there a whole television show dedicated to watching other people do it?!
Be Smart
Is There Intelligent Life Beyond Earth?
Now that we know planets are common in our galaxy, how would we tell if one holds life? Sure, it will take incredibly powerful telescopes and ambitious new space missions, but what are we looking for? What are we listening for? How do we...
TED Talks
TED: The little risks you can take to increase your luck | Tina Seelig
Luck is rarely a lightning strike, isolated and dramatic -- it's much more like the wind, blowing constantly. Catching more of it is easy but not obvious. In this insightful talk, Stanford engineering school professor Tina Seelig shares...
TED Talks
Arianna Huffington: How to succeed? Get more sleep
In this short talk, Arianna Huffington shares a small idea that can awaken much bigger ones: the power of a good night's sleep. Instead of bragging about our sleep deficits, she urges us to shut our eyes and see the big picture: We can...
TED Talks
Peter Saul: Let's talk about dying
We can't control if we'll die, but we can "occupy death," in the words of Peter Saul, an emergency doctor. He asks us to think about the end of our lives -- and to question the modern model of slow, intubated death in hospital. Two big...
TED Talks
Bill Stone: Inside the world's deepest caves
Bill Stone, a maverick cave explorer who has plumbed Earth's deepest abysses, discusses his efforts to mine lunar ice for space fuel and to build an autonomous robot for studying Jupiter's moon Europa.
TED Talks
Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination
Massimo Banzi helped invent the Arduino, a tiny, easy-to-use open-source microcontroller that's inspired thousands of people around the world to make the coolest things they can imagine -- from toys to satellite gear. Because, as he...
TED Talks
TED: What I learned from Nelson Mandela | Boyd Varty
In the cathedral of the wild, we get to see the best parts of ourselves reflected back to us. Boyd Varty, a wildlife activist, shares stories of animals, humans and their interrelatedness, or "ubuntu" -- defined as, "I am, because of...
SciShow
The Unsung Mission That Made Apollo Possible
Before we could set foot on the moon, the Surveyor missions were sent to give future astronauts some sure footing.
SciShow
The Absolute Worst Thing About Butterflies
Who doesn’t love to gaze at a beautiful butterfly fluttering by? Aesthetically speaking, they are simply wonderful to watch. Wonderful, that is, unless you are getting a rare glimpse of pheromone laced coremata.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Do IQ tests actually measure intelligence?
In 1905, psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon designed a test for children who were struggling in school in France. Designed to determine which children required individualized attention, their method formed the basis of the...
TED Talks
TED: How I built a jet suit | Richard Browning
We've all dreamed of flying -- but for Richard Browning, flight is an obsession. He's built an Iron Man-like suit that leans on an elegant collaboration of mind, body and technology, bringing science fiction dreams a little closer to...
TED Talks
Kate Bowler: "Everything happens for a reason" -- and other lies I've loved
In life's toughest moments, how do you go on living? Kate Bowler has been exploring this question ever since she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age 35. In a profound, heartbreaking and unexpectedly funny talk, she offers some...
PBS
Will Starshot's Insterstellar Journey Succeed?
Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Starshot is an interstellar travel expedition unlike any other before it. It's many years in the making and is contingent on a series of incredible advancements in nanotechnology, materials science and laser...
TED Talks
Randall Munroe: Comics that ask "what if?"
Web cartoonist Randall Munroe answers simple what-if questions ("what if you hit a baseball moving at the speed of light?") using math, physics, logic and deadpan humor. In this charming talk, a reader's question about Google's data...
SciShow
Mars's Surface Is Messed Up | The Martian Dichotomy
Most rocky planets have pretty consistent surface features, with a fairly even mix of mountains and basins in each hemisphere. This is NOT the case on Mars! What do scientists know about this mystery?
PBS
Super Mario Brothers as Surrealist Art?
We all know the Mario Brothers. But have you ever stepped back and tried looking at those games from a fresh perspective? They're bananas! There are armored turtles who stand on their hind legs and steal princesses! There are bullets...
TED Talks
Lucy McRae: How can technology transform the human body?
TED Fellow Lucy McRae is a body architect -- she imagines ways to merge biology and technology in our own bodies. In this visually stunning talk, she shows her work, from clothes that recreate the body's insides for a music video with...
3Blue1Brown
But what is the Fourier Transform? A visual introduction.
An animated introduction to the Fourier Transform, winding graphs around circles.