TED Talks
TED: Walk the earth ... my 17-year vow of silence | John Francis
For almost three decades, John Francis has been a planetwalker, traveling the globe by foot and sail with a message of environmental respect and responsibility (for 17 of those years without speaking). A funny, thoughtful talk with...
TED Talks
TED: Redemption Song | John Legend
John Legend is on a mission to transform America's criminal justice system. Through his Free America campaign, he's encouraging rehabilitation and healing in our prisons, jails and detention centers -- and giving hope to those who want...
Crash Course
The Election of 1860 & the Road to Disunion Crash Course US History
In which John Green teaches you about the election of 1860. As you may remember from last week, things were not great at this time in US history. The tensions between the North and South were rising, ultimately due to the single issue of...
TED Talks
TED: The global goals we've made progress on -- and the ones we haven't | Michael Green
We are living in a world that is tantalizingly close to ensuring that no one need die of hunger or malaria or diarrhea, says economist Michael Green. To help spur progress, back in 2015 the United Nations drew up a set of 17 goals around...
TED Talks
Mark Forsyth: What's a snollygoster? A short lesson in political speak
Most politicians choose their words carefully, to shape the reality they hope to create. But does it work? Etymologist Mark Forsyth shares a few entertaining word-origin stories from British and American history (for instance, did you...
TED Talks
TED: Doesn't everyone deserve a chance at a good life? | Jim Yong Kim
Aspirations are rising as never before across the world, thanks in large part to smartphones and the internet -- will they be met with opportunity or frustration? As President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim wants to end extreme...
TED Talks
TED: The hidden reason for poverty the world needs to address now | Gary Haugen
Collective compassion has meant an overall decrease in global poverty since the 1980s, says civil rights lawyer Gary Haugen. Yet for all the world's aid money, there's a pervasive hidden problem keeping poverty alive. Haugen reveals the...
TED Talks
Hasan Elahi: FBI, here I am!
After he ended up on a watch list by accident, Hasan Elahi was advised by his local FBI agents to let them know when he was traveling. He did that and more ... much more.
Crash Course
Gambling: Crash Course Games
Today we're going to talk about gambling. Now, gambling is interesting because it could be argued that gambling doesn't even have anything to do with games. It's usually about making money after all - which makes it much closer to work....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Blood, concrete, and dynamite: Building the Hoover Dam | Alex Gendler
In the early 20th century, the US had expanded from coast to coast, but many cities in the southwest still lacked reliable water sources. The Colorado River's erratic flow and frequent floods made it unreliable for agriculture, and the...
TED Talks
Eric Liu: How to revive your belief in democracy
Civic evangelist Eric Liu shares a powerful way to rekindle the spirit of citizenship and the belief that democracy still works. Join him for a trip to "Civic Saturday" and learn more about how making civic engagement a weekly habit can...
SciShow
How the White House Killed Two Presidents
Working in the White House in the 1840s may have been more hazardous than we thought.
TED Talks
Bill Gross: A solar energy system that tracks the sun
Bill Gross, the founder of Idealab, talks about his life as an inventor, starting with his high-school company selling solar energy plans and kits. Learn here about a groundbreaking system for solar cells -- and some questions we haven't...
TED Talks
TED: An election redesign to restore trust in US democracy | Tiana Epps-Johnson
Election infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, says technologist Tiana Epps-Johnson, and, even worse, election officials are increasingly being attacked simply for doing their jobs. How can the country rebuild trust in its...
SciShow
The Disappearing Monarch and the Oldest Mammal on Earth
SciShow News starts the new year off with unusual animal news, including a crisis for the iconic monarch butterfly, and new research into what makes bowhead whales the longest-living mammals on Earth.
Crash Course
The Underground Railroad Crash Course Black American History
Escape was one of the many ways that enslaved people resisted their captivity in the system of American slavery. The Underground Railroad was not literally a railroad. It was a network of people, routes, and safe houses that helped...
TED Talks
TED: When technology can read minds, how will we protect our privacy? | Nita Farahany
Tech that can decode your brain activity and reveal what you're thinking and feeling is on the horizon, says legal scholar and ethicist Nita Farahany. What will it mean for our already violated sense of privacy? In a cautionary talk,...
TED Talks
T. Boone Pickens: Let's transform energy -- with natural gas
The US consumes 25% of the world's oil -- but as energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens points out onstage, the country has no energy policy to prepare for the inevitable. Is alternative energy our bridge to an oil-free future? After losing $150...
TED Talks
Phil Borges: Photos of endangered cultures
Photographer Phil Borges shows rarely seen images of people from the mountains of Dharamsala, India, and the jungles of the Ecuadorean Amazon. In documenting these endangered cultures, he intends to help preserve them.
Crash Course
Ida B. Wells Crash Course Black American History
In this video, we'll learn about the life story of journalist, orator, teacher, suffragette, and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Ida B. Wells made her name writing and speaking and working to improve the lives of Black...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Who owns the "wilderness"? | Elyse Cox
In 1903, US President Theodore Roosevelt took a camping trip in California's Yosemite Valley with conservationist John Muir. Roosevelt famously loved the outdoors, but Muir had invited him for more than just camping: Yosemite was in...
Crash Course
Presidential Power: Crash Course Government and Politics
This week Craig looks at the expressed powers of the President of the United States - that is the ones you can find in the Constitution. From appointing judges and granting pardons, to vetoing laws and acting as the nation’s chief...
TED-Ed
Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment | Susan M. Reverby
Afflicting nearly 1 in 10 Americans, syphilis was ravaging the U.S. in the 1930s. Many doctors believed syphilis affected Black and white patients differently, and the Public Health Service launched an experiment to investigate,...
Crash Course
The Transatlantic Slave Trade Crash Course Black American History
Today we're learning about the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which brought millions of captive Africans to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries, with the largest number of people trafficked between 1700 and 1808. We'll look at...