Crash Course
Synge, Wilde, Shaw, and the Irish Renaissance: Crash Course Theater #36
The Irish Renaissance in the early 20th century included a wealth of new plays written both in Ireland, and by Irish ex-patriots elsewhere. W.B. Yeats, Lady Augusta Gregory, and J.M. Synge were creating a new national theater of Ireland...
Crash Course
The Birth of Off Broadway: Crash Course Theater #47
By the middle of the 20th century, the epicenter of American theater, the Broadway theater district in New York, was getting to be a pretty staid and commercial place. There was a lot of money to be made from prestige plays and dancing...
Crash Course
Realism Gets Even More Real: Crash Course Theater #32
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, theater was evolving rapidly in Europe. Impresarios like Georg II, Duke of the Duchy of Saxe Meinengen (in what is now Germany), were pushing theater troupes to new heights of realism. New...
TED Talks
TED: How webtoons are changing movies and TV | Hyeonmi Kim
Pop culture is changing thanks to a different kind of storytelling, says digital strategist Hyeonmi Kim. They're called webtoons: comic-like illustrations published in short segments and meant to be read on a smartphone in five to 10...
TED Talks
TED: The revolutionary power of diverse thought | elif Shafak
From populist demagogues, we will learn the indispensability of democracy, says novelist elif Shafak. "From isolationists, we will learn the need for global solidarity. And from tribalists, we will learn the beauty of cosmopolitanism." A...
TED Talks
Chris Bliss: Comedy is translation
Every act of communication is, in some way, an act of translation. Writer Chris Bliss talks about the way that great comedy can translate deep truths for a mass audience.
TED Talks
TED: How I accidentally changed the way movies get made | Franklin Leonard
How does Hollywood choose what stories get told on-screen? Too often, it's groupthink informed by a narrow set of ideas about what sells at the box office. As a producer, Franklin Leonard saw too many great screenplays never get made...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Beware of nominalizations (AKA zombie nouns) - Helen Sword
Few mistakes sour good writing like nominalizations, or, as Helen Sword likes to call them, zombie nouns. Zombie nouns transform simple and straightforward prose into verbose and often confusing writing. Keep your nouns away from...
TED Talks
TED: The beauty of being a misfit | Lidia Yuknavitch
To those who feel like they don't belong: there is beauty in being a misfit. Author Lidia Yuknavitch shares her own wayward journey in an intimate recollection of patchwork stories about loss, shame and the slow process of...
Crash Course
Florence and the Renaissance: Crash Course European History
The Renaissance was a cultural revitalization that spread across Europe, and had repercussions across the globe, but one smallish city-state in Italy was in many ways the epicenter of the thing. Florence, or as Italians might say,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: History vs. Augustus - Alex Gendler and Peta Greenfield
His reign marked the beginning of one of history's greatest empires . . . and the end of one of its first republics. Was Rome's first emperor a visionary leader who guaranteed his civilization's place in history, or a tyrant who...
Crash Course
Toni Morrison: Crash Course Black American History #48
Today, Clint Smith will teach you about the legendary writer Toni Morrison. Morrison is best known for her novels which chronicle the experiences of Black Americans throughout history. She was the first Black American Woman to win a...
Crash Course
Arts and Letters of the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Black American History
The Harlem Renaissance was one of the richest, most vibrant, and most culturally generative artistic periods in American history and the work that emerged from that period continues to shape the landscape of American arts and letters...
MinuteEarth
How We Make MinuteEarth Videos (Behind the Scenes)
An outline of how we make our videos.
Crash Course
Television Production: Crash Course Film Production
In our final episode of Crash Course Film Production, it's time to take a look at television production and how it differs from feature film production. It's subtle but it has a lot to do with how television shows make money for their...
Crash Course
Langston Hughes & the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Literature 215
In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was a poet and playwright in the first half of the 20th century, and he was involved in the Harlem Renaissance, which was a cultural movement among...
Crash Course
Roman Theater with Plautus, Terence, and Seneca: Crash Course Theater #6
In which Mike delves into the theater of ancient Rome. It wasn't all gladiators and Christian-killing, you know. There was theater, too. Roman drama drew heavily on Greek drama. So heavily, in fact, that many of the stories and...
TED Talks
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or...
Curated Video
Exploring the Magic of Literature: A Journey Through Different Book Genres
This video discusses the importance of literature for children and explores different types of books available to them, such as picture books and lullaby books. It emphasizes the power of reading to transport us to different worlds and...
Curated Video
How AI Caused The WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes
As you may know, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have been on strike for a while now. In this video, we'll explore how AI is responsible for the strikes and the dispute between the two unions. We'll also discuss the possible future of the strikes...
Brainwaves Video Anthology
Frank Abe - Teachers Make a Difference - Frank Chin
Frank AB was mentored by playwright Frank Chin, which introduced him to Asian-American literature and culture. This experience inspired Frank to focus on recovering and understanding authentic Asian-American cultural sensibilities. He...
Wonderscape
Using Antonym and Example Clues to Understand Unknown Words
Learn how readers can utilize antonym and example clues to decipher the meanings of unfamiliar words encountered while reading. Explore examples and practice identifying these types of context clues to enhance vocabulary comprehension....
Curated Video
ChatGPT for Creatives - Tropes and Cliches and How to Deal with Them
In this video, we will discuss the use of tropes and cliches in writing and how to deal with them effectively. It explains how tropes and cliches can sometimes be useful but can also make writing seem predictable and boring. We will look...
Great Big Story
Mitchell Kriegman, Behind the Scenes of Clarissa Explains It All
Discover insights from Mitchell Kriegman, creator of "Clarissa Explains It All," as he shares behind-the-scenes stories and the show's lasting impact