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The way we're taught to live has got to change, says author Casey Gerald. Too often, we hide parts of...

How To Go To Space (with XKCD!)

Humorist John Hodgman rambles through a new story about aliens, physics, time, space and the way all of these somehow contribute to a sweet, perfect memory of falling in love.

During our last several episodes, Europe and the European-controlled world have been in crisis. Wars, disease, climate changes, and shifts in religious and political power threw the European world into turmoil. People were looking for a...

Natalie Merchant sings from her poetry-inspired album "Leave Your Sleep," which pairs lyrics from poets -- from Gerard Manley Hopkins to a near-forgotten 10-year-old girl in Brooklyn -- with simple melodies and her unmistakable voice....

Hyenas communicate via an information-dense physical medium (hyena butter) - and now MinuteEarth does too (book).

Paper cuts are tiny compared to other injuries you may have experienced, but they hurt… A LOT! This has to do with your hands being pretty sensitive, and the fact that the edges of paper are like tiny saws.

Rosalind Franklin was a British scientist who helped discover the structure of DNA, but you most likely haven't heard of her. Hank will attempt to fix this gap in your knowledge on today's SciShow: Great Minds.

Hank unravels the fascinating yarn of how the world came to use so-called Arabic numerals -- from the scholarship of ancient Hindu mathematicians, to Muslim scientist Al-Khwarizmi, to the merchants of medieval Italy.

Diane Benscoter spent five years as a "Moonie." She shares an insider's perspective on the mind of a cult member, and proposes a new way to think about today's most troubling conflicts and extremist movements.

Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing...

In which John continues the discussion of JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. This week John reads the novel with Salinger's life story in mind. John explores how Salinger's war experience, educational background, and romantic life inform...

In his introduction to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," L. Frank Baum claims that the book is simply an innocent children's story. But some scholars have found hidden criticisms of late-nineteenth-century economic policies in the book. Is...

Space is where things happen. Time is when things happen. And sometimes, in order to really look at the universe, you need to take those two concepts and mash them together. In this first lesson of a three-part series on space-time,...

Christien Meindertsma, author of "Pig 05049" looks at the astonishing afterlife of the ordinary pig, parts of which make their way into at least 185 non-pork products, from bullets to artificial hearts.

If you can find a phone book these days, science is here to help you rip it in half with your bare hands!

Ann Morgan considered herself well read -- until she discovered the "massive blindspot" on her bookshelf. Amid a multitude of english and American authors, there were very few books from beyond the english-speaking world. So she set an...

Book designer Chip Kidd knows all too well how often we judge things by first appearances. In this hilarious, fast-paced talk, he explains the two techniques designers use to communicate instantly -- clarity and mystery -- and when, why...

When you hear the word, "Work," what is the first thing you think of? Maybe sitting at a desk? Maybe plowing a field? Maybe working out? Work is a word that has a little bit of a different meaning in Physics and today, Shini is going to...

In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Sylvia Plath. When a lot of people think about Sylvia Plath, they think about her struggles with mental illness and her eventual suicide. Her actual work can get lost in the shuffle a...

Customers want to feel what they buy is authentic, but "Mass Customization" author Joseph Pine says selling authenticity is tough because, well, there's no such thing. He talks about a few experiences that may be artificial but make...

Musty, with hints of vanilla, coffee, and maybe fresh cut grass-- why do old books smell the best?

So, what would happen if you dropped a hammer and a feather at the same time, from the same height? Well, the hammer would hit the ground first, right? But why? You might think it's because the hammer is heavier, or has more mass than...

We all have origin stories and identity myths, our tribal narratives that give us a sense of security and belonging. But sometimes our small-group identities can keep us from connecting with humanity as a whole -- and even keep us from...