PBS
Were These Monsters Inspired by Fossils? (w/ Monstrum!)
People have been discovering the traces and remains of prehistoric creatures for thousands of years. And they’ve also probably been telling stories about fantastic beasts since language became a thing. So, is it possible that the...
SciShow
Chimera Cats and Your Mom
Hank talks about chimeras, and why Venus the cat probably isn't one - but your mom might be!
Crash Course
Witches and Hags: Crash Course World Mythology #39
This week, Mike is teaching you about the most mythic of mythological creatures: Dragons. Cultures across the world (and across Westeros) tell stories of dragons, and their power to destroy, their power to prop up kings, and their power...
Crash Course
Mythical Horses: Crash Course World Mythology #37
Horses have been human companions for thousands of years, and have been essential companions and tools for the development of human culture. So, it makes sense that horses would make their way into our most important stories. Today,...
Crash Course
Freud, Jung, Luke Skywalker, and the Psychology of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #40
In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and how a lot of their work was influenced by myth and mythology. While Freud and Jung aren't quite as revered as they once were, they were undoubtedly a huge...
Crash Course
Crash Course World Mythology Preview
Crash Course Mythology with Mike Rugnetta is here, and we have the preview video to prove it. We'll be uploading Friday afternoons to fulfill all your hunger for foundational cultural stories and whatnot.
Crash Course
Cities of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology
This week on Crash Course Mythology, we're getting urban. Mike Rugnetta is the man with the orange umbrella who's about to give you a free tour of mythical cities. We'll talk about a few cities that didn't exist, but we're going to focus...
Crash Course
The Apocalyspe: Crash Course World Mythology
Mike Rugnetta is going to tell you stories of death, destruction, divine judgment, damnation, and the occasional happy ending. That's right, this week we're talking about the Apocalypse. Actually we're talking about a bunch of ways the...
Crash Course
American Floods: Crash Course World Mythology
We don't want to deluge you with information on the subject, but this week on Crash Course Mythology, Mike Rugnetta is talking once again about floods. We're looking at ancient flood myths in the Americas, and what they can tell us about...
Crash Course
Floods in the Ancient Near East: Crash Course World Mythology
This week on Crash Course mythology, Mike is talking to you about floods. You may have heard the story of Noah and the Ark from the Bible, but that is not the only deluge story humans tell. It's a common thing across culture. You could...
Crash Course
Yu the Engineer and Flood Stories from China: Crash Course World Mythology
On this Crash Course in World Mythology, Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about floods and deluges, specifically in China. In Chinese myth, flood stories pretty much all revolve around a guy named Yu the Great, or Yu the Engineer. In the...
Crash Course
Archetypes and Male Divinities: Crash Course World Mythology
This week on Crash Course Mythology, Mike is teaching you about the archetypes that are often associated with male divinities. We're going to talk about Fathers & Sons, Kings & Judges, Saviors & Sages, Shamans, Tricksters, and Lords of...
Crash Course
African Pantheons and the Orishas: Crash Course World Mythology
So, today we're talking about African Pantheons. Now, you might say, that's ridiculous. Africa isn't a single place with a single pantheon, and we'd be fools to try and cover all that in an eleven minute video. You'd be right. Instead...
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...
Crash Course
Mythical Trees: Crash Course World Mythology
This week on CC Myth, Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about mythical trees. There are lots of trees in myth, and we've touched on some of them before, but today we're going to focus on three trees from three different traditions. We'll...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The scientific origins of the Minotaur - Matt Kaplan
The myth of the Minotaur tells the story of an enraged beast forever wandering the corridors of a damp labyrinth, filled with a rage so intense that its deafening roar shakes the earth. But is this story just fiction, or an attempt of...
Crash Course
Hermes and Loki and Tricksters Part 2: Crash Course World Mythology
In which Mike Rugnetta continues to teach you about tricksters. In this episode, we're talking about tricksters as culture heroes. Basically, a culture hero is someone whose creativity adds to their mythological culture. We'll learn how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of Pandora's box - Iseult Gillespie
Pandora was the first mortal woman, breathed into being by Hephaestus, god of fire. The gods gave her gifts of language, craftsmanship and emotion. From Zeus she received two gifts: the trait of curiosity and a heavy box screwed tightly...
TED Talks
Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs. West -- the myths that mystify
Devdutt Pattanaik takes an eye-opening look at the myths of India and of the West -- and shows how these two fundamentally different sets of beliefs about God, death and heaven help us consistently misunderstand one another.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of Jason, Medea, and the Golden Fleece | Iseult Gillespie
In Colchis, the hide of a mystical flying ram hangs from the tallest oak, guarded by a dragon who never sleeps. The only way Jason can pry it from King Aeetes' clutches and win back his promised throne is by facing three perilous tasks—...
Crash Course
Herakles. Or Hercules. A Problematic Hero: Crash Course World Mythology
This week, Mike Rugnetta re-introduces Herakles, the strong man of Greek and Roman myth. Strongman with a darkside, that is. You'll learn about Herakles' 10 actually 12 labors, the story of his birth, his death, some of his marriages,...
Crash Course
The Mwindo Epic: Crash Course World Mythology
In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about the hero of The Congo, Mwindo! Mike will tell you the stories of Mwindo's birth, his many deaths, and his evolution from a braggy superhuman baby to a wise, superhuman leader of his people. Along...
SciShow
Chimera Cats and Your Mom
Hank talks about chimeras, and why Venus the cat probably isn't one - but your mom might be
Crash Course
The Dying God: Crash Course World Mythology
This week on Crash Course World Mythology, it's the Circle of Life. And Death. And sometimes, Life again. Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about Dying Gods, by which I mean gods that die, and then return to life. You'll learn about the Corn...