Crash Course
Poor Unfortunate Theater: Crash Course Theater #48
Poor Theater and Theater of the Oppressed were two sort of concurrent movements that shared some of the same aims. Jerzy Grotowski's Poor Theater eschewed the use of lighting, props, costumes, makeup, and many of the other trappings of...
Crash Course
Into Africa and Wole Soyinka: Crash Course Theater #49
It's difficult to talk about African theater thanks to colonialism. Pre-colonial Africa was home to many spoken languages, and not nearly as many written languages. The chain of oral tradition was broken by colonial policies, and so many...
Crash Course
Antonin Artaud and the Theater of Cruelty: Crash Course Theater #43
I don't mean it mean, but today we're going to be cruel. It's the fun-loving Theater of Cruelty, which was pioneered by the genius Antonin Artaud in France during the inter-war period in twentieth century. The Theater of Cruelty was...
TED Talks
TED: What should humans take to space (and leave behind)? | Jorge Mañes Rubio
TED talks about what should humans take to space (and leave behind)?
TED Talks
TED: A lyrical bridge between past, present and future | David Whyte
With his signature charm and searching insight, David Whyte meditates on the frontiers of the past, present and future, sharing two poems inspired by his niece's hike along el Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
TED Talks
The worldwide web of belief and ritual - Wade Davis
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Anthropologist Wade Davis muses on the worldwide web of belief and ritual that makes us human. He shares...
Crash Course
China, Zaju, and Beijing Opera: Crash Course Theater #25
This week we're headed to China to learn about the ancient origins of theater there. We'll look at the early days of wizard theater (not a typo), the development of classical Chinese theater, and the evolution of Beijing Opera.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A day in the life of an ancient Peruvian shaman
The year is 1400 BCE. At the temple of the fisherman, the morning is unusually still and this is just the latest in a series of troubling signs for Quexo, the village shaman. The villagers live off the sea, but this year the winds have...
SciShow
Calendars, Codes & Virgins: 3 Myths About the Maya
Hank talks about the Maya, and helps dispel some myths about their historic civilization, revealing how, ultimately, they were just like us: smart, flawed, and awesome.
Crash Course
Thespis, Athens, and The Origins of Greek Drama: Crash Course Theater #2
This week on Crash Course Theater, Mike is acting like theater started in Greece. Well, for the western theater, this is true. The earliest recorded drama in the west arose in Athen, and these early plays grew out or religious ritual....
Crash Course
What Is Theater? Crash Course Theater #1
Welcome to Crash Course Theater with Mike Rugnetta! In this, our inaugural week, we're going to ask the two classic questions about theater. 1.What is theater? And 2. Is it spelled -re or -er? Well, there's a clue to question two in the...
Curated Video
Landmarks - Grauman's Chinese Theatre
GRAUMAN S CHINESE THEATRE 6928 HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD MAY NOT IMMEDIATELY SPRING TO MIND AS A LANDMARK ADDRESS BUT WHEN YOU SAY GRAUMAN CHINESE THEATRE, MOST PEOPLE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU MEAN. FOR OVER 80 YEAR S MOVIE STARS HAVE CEMENTED...
Religion for Breakfast
What is Yom Kippur?
In this episode we examine the topic: What is Yom Kippur?
Curated Video
The Lost City of Peru
Over 2,000 years ago, a little known civilisation called the Moche dominated the North coast of Peru. Huge palaces and amazing artifacts were abandoned, buried under sand after a mass evacuation. Why? Earth Science - Weather - Learning...
Wonderscape
What Was Stonehenge's Purpose? Exploring Theories and Rituals
Discover the many theories about Stonehenge’s purpose, from its potential role as an ancient calendar to a site for religious rituals and burials. Learn about the evidence pointing to ceremonies, feasts, and even possible healing...
Curated Video
The Cure Sal e: A Cultural Gathering in Northern Nigeria
Every year at the end of September several different nomadic peoples gather at the pools and salt flats near Ingall in northern Niger. The grasses of the region are believed to have medicinal benefit for the animals and the festival that...
PBS
What Happened During Our Scary Slumber Party
Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board, Bloody Mary and Ouija are scary and entertaining rites of passage for kids and teens to participate in. But do these games actually work? And why do we love to scare each other so much at sleepovers?
Curated Video
The Many Gods of Yoruba Lore
In recent years we have seen a very welcome uptick in the number of fantasy books inspired by West African folklore. The Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism movements have paved the way for Black authors across the diaspora to build worlds...
PBS
How Bloody Mary Turns Fear Into Fun
By some accounts, she’s hideously mutilated but in others she is beautiful but bloody—more commonly though—every aspect of her appearance is vague. There’s even versions where she was a witch burned at the stake in Salem. In some...
Curated Video
How Vikings Transitioned from Seafarers to Settlers
The Vikings, known for their mysterious and brutal nature as well as their legendary navigation methods, sunstone, and their weaponry. Their decline is attributed to the rise of Christianity, which transformed their society to a more...
Curated Video
Chairing Meetings - Meetings as Conversations
Meetings are conversations - sometimes a series of conversations. So, in this video, we consider meetings as conversations and look at the five types of conversation that can make up a meeting.
Curated Video
The Sociology of Religion
Primatologist Frans de Waal (Emory University), two historians, Nile Green (UCLA) and David Hollinger (UC Berkeley) and David Goldberg, former Rabbi at Liberal Jewish Synagogue London, discuss different aspects of the sociology of religion.
Curated Video
Our Need For Ritual
David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue describes how we all share the need for ritual.
Curated Video
Religion and Science
Renowned polymath Freeman Dyson (Institute for Advanced Study) gives his views on religion, science and community.