TED Talks
Sarah Parcak: Archaeology from space
In this short talk, TED Fellow Sarah Parcak introduces the field of "space archaeology" -- using satellite images to search for clues to the lost sites of past civilizations.
Curated Video
Alexander the Great and the Situation ... the Great? Crash Course World History
In which you are introduced to the life and accomplishments of Alexander the Great, his empire, his horse Bucephalus, the empires that came after him, and the idea of Greatness. Is greatness a question of accomplishment, of impact, or...
TED Talks
TED: Let's design social media that drives real change | Wael Ghonim
Wael Ghonim helped touch off the Arab Spring in his home of egypt ... by setting up a simple Facebook page. As he reveals, once the revolution spilled onto the streets, it turned from hopeful to messy, then ugly and heartbreaking. And...
TED Talks
Mustafa Akyol: Faith versus tradition in Islam
Journalist Mustafa Akyol talks about the way that some local cultural practices (such as the seclusion of women) have become linked, in the popular mind, to the articles of faith of Islam. Has the world's general idea of the Islamic...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Egyptian myth of the death of Osiris | Alex Gendler
Long jealous of his older brother Osiris, the god who ruled all of Egypt, the warrior god Set plotted to overthrow him. Hosting an extravagant party as a ruse, Set announced a game— whoever could fit perfectly in a wooden chest could...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The forgotten queen of Egypt | Abdallah Ewis
The year is 1249 CE. King Louis IX is sailing the Nile, threatening to overthrow the sultan and capture Egypt. Egypt's commanders ask the sultan's wife, Shajar Al-Durr, to report this news to the injured sultan. But they don't know the...
SciShow
French Fries Aren't Really Going To Kill You
If you use the internet, you may have read about a nutritional study about the deadliness of fried potatoes. It's a little more complex than that, though. Even if you haven't heard of that one, we're pretty sure you've heard of the...
PBS
The Weird, Watery Tale of Spinosaurus
In 1912, a fossil collector discovered some strange bone fragments in the eerie, beautiful Cretaceous Bahariya rock formation of Egypt. Eventually, that handful of fossil fragments would reveal to scientists one of the strangest...
TED Talks
TED: A project of peace, painted across 50 buildings | eL Seed
eL Seed fuses Arabic calligraphy with graffiti to paint colorful, swirling messages of hope and peace on buildings from Tunisia to Paris. The artist and TED Fellow shares the story of his most ambitious project yet: a mural painted...
TED Talks
Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets
From simple alphabets to secret symbolic languages, graphic designer Saki Mafundikwa celebrates the many forms of written communication across the continent of Africa. He highlights the history and legacy that are embodied in written...
TED Talks
TED: This app knows how you feel -- from the look on your face | Rana el Kaliouby
Our emotions influence every aspect of our lives -- how we learn, how we communicate, how we make decisions. Yet they're absent from our digital lives; the devices and apps we interact with have no way of knowing how we feel. Scientist...
TED Talks
Bahia Shehab: A thousand times no
Art historian Bahia Shehab has long been fascinated with the Arabic script for 'no.' When revolution swept through Egypt in 2011, she began spraying the image in the streets saying no to dictators, no to military rule and no to violence.
TED Talks
Mikko Hypponen: Three types of online attack
Cybercrime expert Mikko Hypponen talks us through three types of online attack on our privacy and data -- and only two are considered crimes. "Do we blindly trust any future government? Because any right we give away, we give away for...
TED Talks
Munir Virani: Why I love vultures
As natural garbage collectors, vultures are vital to our ecosystem -- so why all the bad press? Why are so many in danger of extinction? Raptor biologist Munir Virani says we need to pay more attention to these unique and misunderstood...
TED Talks
TED: A Saudi, an Indian and an Iranian walk into a Qatari bar ... | Maz Jobrani
Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani takes to the TEDxSummit stage in Doha, Qatar to take on serious issues in the Middle East -- like how many kisses to give when saying “Hi,” and what not to say on an American airplane.
Crash Course
Medieval China: Crash Course History of Science
Like Egypt, Sumer, and Mesoamerica, ancient China represents a hydraulic civilization—one that maintained its population by diverting rivers to aid in irrigation—and one that developed writing thousands of years ago. Today, we’re going...
TED Talks
Wadah Khanfar: A historic moment in the Arab world
As a democratic revolution led by tech-empowered young people sweeps the Arab world, Wadah Khanfar, the head of Al Jazeera, shares a profoundly optimistic view of what's happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and beyond -- at this powerful...
SciShow
Why Are Honeybees Making Mummies?
Sure, honeybees make delicious honey. But have you ever heard of propolis, the spitty glue they use to mummify intruders?
TED Talks
Shereen El Feki: Pop culture in the Arab world
Shereen El Feki shows how some Arab cultures are borrowing trademarks of Western pop culture -- music videos, comics, even Barbie -- and adding a culturally appropriate twist. The hybridized media shows how two civilizations, rather than...
TED Talks
Dalia Mogahed: The attitudes that sparked Arab Spring
Pollster Dalia Mogahed shares surprising data on Egyptian people's attitudes and hopes before the Arab Spring -- with a special focus on the role of women in sparking change.
TED Talks
Bright Simons: To help solve global problems, look to developing countries
To address the problem of counterfeit goods, African entrepreneurs like Bright Simons have come up with innovative and effective ways to confirm products are genuine. Now he asks: Why aren't these solutions everywhere? From...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Chris A. Kniesly: History through the eyes of a chicken
The Ancient Egyptian king Thutmose III described the chicken as a marvelous foreign bird that "gives birth daily." Romans brought them on their military campaigns to foretell the success of future battles. Today, this bird occupies a...
TED Talks
Bobby Ghosh: Why global jihad is losing
Throughout the history of Islam, says journalist Bobby Ghosh, there have been two sides to jihad: one, internal, a personal struggle to be better, the other external. A small minority has appropriated the second meaning, using it as an...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How did they build the Great Pyramid of Giza? | Soraya Field Fiorio
As soon as Pharaoh Khufu ascended the throne circa 2575 BCE, work on his eternal resting place began. The structure's architect, Hemiunu, determined he would need 20 years to finish the royal tomb. But what he could not predict was that...