PBS
When We Met Other Human Species
We all belong to the only group of hominins on the planet today. But we weren’t always alone. 100,000 years ago, Eurasia was home to other hominin species, some of which we know our ancestors met, and spent some quality time with.
Curated Video
When We First Made Tools
The tools made by our human ancestors may not seem like much when you compare them to the screen you’re looking at right now but their creation represents a pivotal moment in the origin of technology and in the evolution of our lineage.
PBS
When Lizards Took Over the World
Lizards are incredibly widespread and diverse but it took them a long time to get to where they are now. Because they used to face some pretty stiff competition from a group of lizard look-alikes.
PBS
When Giant Hypercarnivores Prowled Africa
These hyaenodonts gave the world some of its largest terrestrial, carnivorous mammals ever known. And while these behemoths were the apex predators of their time, they were no match for a changing world.
PBS
We Can “Bring Back” The Woolly Mammoth. Should We?
In the quest to understand how evolution basically built the woolly mammoth, we may have found the blueprints for building them ourselves.
PBS
The Missing Link That Wasn’t
The myth of the Missing Link--the idea that there must be a specimen that partly resembles an ape but also partly resembles a modern human--is persistent. But the reality is that there is no missing link in our lineage, because that’s...
PBS
When the Sahara Was Green
The climate of the Sahara was completely different thousands of years ago. And we’re not talking about just a few years of extra rain. We’re talking about a climate that was so wet for so long that animals and humans alike made...
PBS
There’s Something Weird About Neandertal DNA And It Might Be Our Fault
Maybe it’s a little self-centered that we can be pretty focused on the DNA that we got from Neanderthals – but we shouldn’t forget that gene flow goes both ways.
PBS
The Ghostly Origins of the Big Cats
All of today’s big cat species evolved less than 11 million years ago and yet their evolutionary history remains an almost total mystery. But scientists have recently discovered a major clue about the origins of the big cats, one that...
PBS
The Extreme Hyenas That Didn't Last
Hyenas weren’t always able to eat bones. In fact, only a few million years ago, they lived very different lives.
PBS
What Happened To Primates In North America?
Early primates not only lived in North America -- our primate family tree actually originated here! So what happened to those early relatives of ours?
PBS
How a Supervolcano Ignited an Evolutionary Debate
The Toba supervolcano was the biggest explosive eruption of the last 2.5 million years. And humans were around to see it, or at least feel its effects! But what were those effects?
Be Smart
Are We Running Out Of Food??
If you tried to sum up the last 150 years or so in one image, a chart of exponential growth would be a good place to start. It shows that some things change faster over time. You could apply it to life expectancy. Or compound interest....
Be Smart
Why Dung Beetles Stare At the Stars | IN OUR NATURE
Seemingly distant ecosystems, even half a world apart, are connected in surprising ways. In this special limited series, Emily Graslie and Trace Dominguez join me as we explore the universal rules of life that tie together Earth’s living...
Be Smart
These Death-Eating Scavengers Are Real Life-Savers | IN OUR NATURE
Seemingly distant ecosystems, even half a world apart, are connected in surprising ways. In this special limited series, Emily Graslie and Trace Dominguez join me as we explore the universal rules of life that tie together Earth’s living...
Be Smart
The Mystery of Earth's Disappearing Giants | IN OUR NATURE
Seemingly distant ecosystems, even half a world apart, are connected in surprising ways. In this special limited series, Emily Graslie and Trace Dominguez join me as we explore the universal rules of life that tie together Earth’s living...
TED Talks
TED: The tree-growing movement restoring Africa's vital landscapes | Wanjira Mathai
2023 Audacious Project grantee Wanjira Mathai is at the forefront of re-greening the planet. Through the forest restoration initiative Restore Local, she's working to help both Africa's people and its landscapes flourish. Learn more...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of history's most dangerous myths | Anneliese Mehnert
From the 1650s through the late 1800's, European colonists descended on South Africa. They sought to claim the region, becoming even more aggressive after discovering the area's abundant natural resources. To support their claims to the...
TED Talks
TED: School is just the start. Here's how to help girls succeed for life | Angeline Murimirwa
Education activist and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Angeline Murimirwa knows the power of educating girls, especially in places where they may not have easy access to schooling. But she says that's not enough. In an inspiring talk, she...
SciShow
Even Locusts Hate Plagues of Locusts
Plagues of locusts have been documented since ancient times, and they affect the food supply of one in ten people today. How can we stop them? Well, computer models of locusts swarms tell us every locust is scared to death of its neighbors.
SciShow
The World's Next Ocean
A volcanic eruption and series of earthquakes in 2005 were important not because they did a great deal of damage to humans, but because they’re geologic evidence of where Earth’s next ocean will most likely pop up.
SciShow
How Hyraxes Preserve the Past in Poo
Scientists who piece together our past can do so through the rare fossil or artifact, or they can go to one convenient location: a hyrax latrine.
SciShow
How Continent-Sized Dust Storms Form
In the future, we may see more continent-sized dust storms like the one nicknamed Godzilla, which crossed the Atlantic ocean in 2020. And since then, researchers have been looking into what caused such a colossal storm. If we can predict...
SciShow
Camel Dung was The First Probiotic
Back in the day, bacterial diseases like dysentery were super deadly, but the nomadic people in northern Africa had long known about an effective, if hard to swallow, cure.