TED Talks
TED: What does the future hold? 11 characters offer quirky answers | Sarah Jones
Sarah Jones changes personas with the simplest of wardrobe swaps. In a laugh-out-loud improvisation, she invites 11 "friends" from the future on stage—from a fast-talking Latina to an outspoken police officer—to ask them questions...
SciShow
Why Do We Blush?
Aw, don't be embarrassed everyone does it! Quick Questions explains what causes blushing, which Darwin called "the most peculiar and most human of all expressions."
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What's the definition of comedy? Banana. - Addison Anderson
What makes us giggle and guffaw? The inability to define comedy is its very appeal; it is defined by its defiance of definition. Addison Anderson riffs on the philosophy of Henri Bergson and Aristotle to elucidate how a definition draws...
SciShow
The Secret to Unbelievably Fast Internet: Twisting Light
You might finally be able to watch that 4k video without buffering, thanks to quantum mechanics and orbital angular momentum.
TED Talks
Robert Thurman: We can be Buddhas
In our hyperlinked world, we can know anything, anytime. And this mass enlightenment, says Buddhist scholar Bob Thurman, is our first step toward Buddha nature.
TED Talks
Luke Syson: How I learned to stop worrying and love "useless" art
Luke Syson was a curator of Renaissance art, of transcendent paintings of saints and solemn Italian ladies -- Very Serious Art. And then he changed jobs, and inherited the Met's collection of ceramics -- pretty, frilly, "useless"...
PBS
Is a Tagged Instagram More Than Just a Photo?
The hashtag, so simple and ubiquitous, raises the image from mere photo to a new complex entity.
SciShow
Pumas and Slither the Gopher Snake: SciShow Talk Show #12
Hank and Katherine talk about the wild cat known variously as a puma, mountain lion, cougar, panther and catamount and then Jessi from Animal Wonders brings a special animal guest to visit.
TED Talks
Nathaniel Kahn: Scenes from "My Architect"
Nathaniel Kahn shares clips from his documentary "My Architect," about his quest to understand his father, the legendary architect Louis Kahn. It's a film with meaning to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between art and love.
TED Talks
Aparna Rao: Art that craves your attention
In this charming talk, artist Aparna Rao shows us her latest work: cool, cartoony sculptures (with neat robotic tricks underneath them) that play with your perception -- and crave your attention. Take a few minutes to simply be delighted.
SciShow
How Can a Saw Know What It’s Cutting?
Table saws, while quite useful for woodworking, are also dangerous machines, which is why some incredible safety mechanisms have been invented to help you remain one with your body parts.
TED Talks
Paul MacCready: A flight on solar wings
Paul MacCready -- aircraft designer, environmentalist, and lifelong lover of flight -- talks about his long career.
TED Talks
Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong
In a moving and madly viral video last year, composer Eric Whitacre led a virtual choir of singers from around the world. He talks through the creative challenges of making music powered by YouTube, and unveils the first 2 minutes of his...
TED Talks
Julian Baggini: Is there a real you?
What makes you, you? Is it how you think of yourself, how others think of you, or something else entirely? Philosopher Julian Baggini draws from philosophy and neuroscience to give a surprising answer.
TED Talks
Jennifer 8. Lee: Why 1.5 billion people eat with chopsticks
Author Jennifer 8. Lee explains how the chopstick spread from the East to the West -- and was designed to give you the perfect bite.
TED Talks
Steven Strogatz: The science of sync
Mathematician Steven Strogatz shows how flocks of creatures (like birds, fireflies and fish) manage to synchronize and act as a unit -- when no one's giving orders. The powerful tendency extends into the realm of objects, too.
TED Talks
Karen Armstrong: Let's revive the Golden Rule
Weeks from the Charter for Compassion launch, Karen Armstrong looks at religion's role in the 21st century: Will its dogmas divide us? Or will it unite us for common good? She reviews the catalysts that can drive the world's faiths to...
TED Talks
Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy
We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent's research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.
SciShow
Smaller, Better, Faster, Stronger: the "Antibodies" of the Future | Antibodies Mini-Series Part 3
These days, we’re pretty good at harnessing the power of antibodies for medicines and as molecular tools, but they do have some drawbacks. So, cutting-edge researchers are hoping to develop smaller and more stable alternatives, and...
TED Talks
Golan Levin: Art that looks back at you
Golan Levin, an artist and engineer, uses modern tools -- robotics, new software, cognitive research -- to make artworks that surprise and delight. Watch as sounds become shapes, bodies create paintings, and a curious eye looks back at...
TED Talks
Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite!
Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension -- and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we're caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for...
SciShow
Human-Powered Helicopters and a Red Fox: SciShow Talk Show #8
Da Vinci imagined a helicopter powered solely by human muscles. Now more than 500 years later, two teams are using advanced materials to try and make that dream come true. Hank and Catilin discuss these two teams and the Sikorsky Prize...
SciShow
Founding An Inbreeding-Free Space Colony
How much genetic diversity would we need to found a colony on another planet?
TED Talks
Del Harvey: Protecting Twitter users (sometimes from themselves)
Del Harvey heads up Twitter’s Trust and Safety Team, and she thinks all day about how to prevent worst-case scenarios -- abuse, trolling, stalking -- while giving voice to people around the globe. With deadpan humor, she offers a window...