TED Talks
TED: Courage, the most important virtue | Bari Weiss
In an unflinching look at issues that widen the political divide in the US, journalist and editor Bari Weiss highlights why courage is the most important virtue in today's polarized world. She shares examples of people who have spoken up...
SciShow
This Animal Lays Eggs AND Has Live Young
You might think that an animal either lays eggs or has live young. But these species prove it's a lot more complicated than that.
TED Talks
TED: What happens when we deny people abortions? | Diana Greene Foster
How does getting an abortion — or not — influence a woman's life? Demographer Diana Greene Foster puts forward the results of The Turnaway Study, her landmark work following nearly 1,000 women through abortion or childbirth, presenting...
SciShow
This Element Doesn't Fit the Periodic Table
One of the most famous elements in the periodic table doesn't really belong anywhere chemists would like to put it.
TED Talks
TED: 3 ways to better connect with your coworkers | Mark T. Rivera
Connecting with the people you work with doesn't just make your team stronger — it's good for you too. Whether you've just joined a new organization or you're managing a remote team, these three tips from collaboration expert Mark T....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How advanced is whale talk? | David Gruber and Shane Gero
Soon after whaling ships began operating in the North Pacific, an interesting trend emerged. Within just a few years, whalers saw a 58% drop in their successful strikes. Sperm whales had suddenly become harder to kill— they had begun...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: 3 tips on how to study effectively | TED-Ed
A 2006 study took a class of surgical residents and split them into two groups. Each received the same study materials, but one group was told to use specific study methods. When tested a month later, this group performed significantly...
TED Talks
TED: The unexpected way spirituality connects to climate change | Gopal D. Patel
Environmental activist Gopal D. Patel thinks the climate movement could learn a lot from one of the longest-standing social initiatives in human history: religion. Exploring three areas where frameworks from faith traditions could...
PBS
How Our Deadliest Parasite Turned To The Dark Side
Around 10,000 years ago, somewhere in Africa, a microscopic parasite made a huge leap. With a little help from a mosquito, it left its animal host - probably a gorilla - and found its way to a new host: us.
PBS
When Penguins Went From The Sky To The Sea
Today, we think of penguins as small-ish, waddling, tuxedo-birds. But they evolved from a flying ancestor, were actual giants for millions of years, and some of them were even dressed a little more casually.
PBS
When the Synapsids Struck Back
Synapsids were the world’s first-ever terrestrial megafauna but the vast majority of these giants were doomed to extinction. However some lived on, keeping a low profile among the dinosaurs. And now our world is the way it is because of...
PBS
How the Starfish Got Its Arms
The story of how the starfish got its arms reminds us that even animals that might be familiar to us today can have incredibly deep histories - ones that stretch back almost half a billion years.
PBS
How Pollination Got Going Twice
The world of the Jurassic was a lot like ours - similar interactions between plants and insects were happening, but the players have changed over time. Because it looks like pollination by insects actually got going twice.
PBS
Are We All Actually Archaea?
The unexpected discovery of an entirely new domain of life was pretty huge and surprising - even if archaea do just look like bacteria. But, in recent years, it’s been their connection to us that's turned out to be particularly full of...
PBS
Why The Paleo Diet Couldn't Save The Neanderthals
These relatives of ours lived in Eurasia for more than 300,000 years. They were expert toolmakers, using materials like stone, wood, and animal bone. They were also skilled hunters and foragers, and may even have created cave art. So...
PBS
The Ancient Human Species With A Missing Body
Only a handful of Denisovan fossils have been identified. In the absence of actual body fossils, it’s impossible for us to reconstruct their morphology, right?
PBS
How Vertebrates Got Teeth... And Lost Them Again
As revolutionary as teeth were, they would go on to disappear in some groups of vertebrates. But why?
PBS
How the Walrus Got Its Tusks
The rise and fall of ancient walruses, and how modern ones got their tusks, is a story that spans almost 20 million years. And while there are parts of the story that we’re still trying to figure out, it looks like tusks didn’t have...
PBS
How South America Made the Marsupials
Throughout the Cenozoic Era -- the era we’re in now -- marsupials and their metatherian relatives flourished all over South America, filling all kinds of ecological niches and radiating into forms that still thrive on other continents.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of history's most dangerous myths | Anneliese Mehnert
From the 1650s through the late 1800's, European colonists descended on South Africa. They sought to claim the region, becoming even more aggressive after discovering the area's abundant natural resources. To support their claims to the...
TED Talks
TED: How to supercharge renewables and energize the world | Rebecca Collyer
The power sector generates the electricity that sustains modern life -- but it's also the number one contributor to climate change. We need a swift and equitable shift to renewable energy, says 2023 Audacious Project grantee and...
SciShow
Adorable Dolphin Kiddos Play Like Us
Whether it's solo or with a friend, young dolphins love to partake in a bit of play.
SciShow
You're Basically A Mushroom
The tree of life you learned in school is wrong, even if you just graduated. We like to sort eukaryotes into big kingdoms or supergroups, but scientists can't agree what those groups should be. Here's why that's a good thing.
SciShow
Why You Have to Blink to Walk
When we picture the first tetrapods, or land vertebrates, crawling out of the ocean, we probably imagine they need legs. But evolution also had to bestow another important adaptation before they could leave the water: blinking!