TED Talks
TED: Planet City -- a sci-fi vision of an astonishing regenerative future | Liam Young
Get transported on a stunningly rendered, sci-fi safari through Planet City: an imaginary metropolis of 10 billion people, from the brain of director and architect Liam Young. Explore the potential outcomes of an urban space designed to...
TED Talks
TED: A sci-fi vision of life in 2041 | Chen Qiufan
Sci-fi writer Chen Qiufan doesn't fear a dystopian future. Instead, he believes developments in artificial intelligence will make all of our lives better, healthier and safer. He takes us on a tour of the next 20 years of AI and shares...
SciShow
We're Getting Closer to Real-Life Tricorders
Many of us have longed for cool sci-fi inventions like a holodeck or replicators, but there's one tool we're actually getting pretty darn close to creating: the medical tricorder.
SciShow
Can We Redirect Asteroids like in Armageddon? | SciShow News
If you think punching an asteroid to knock it off the course to Earth’s destruction is purely for science fiction, you might only be right a for a little longer! Plus, scientists are being thrown for a loop with the orbits of planets...
TED Talks
TED: Fun, fierce and fantastical African art | Wanuri Kahiu
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. We're so used to narratives out of Africa being about war, poverty and devastation, says TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu....
TED Talks
TED: Can light stop the coronavirus? | David Brenner
Far-UVC light is a type of ultraviolet light that kills microbes and viruses and, crucially, seems to be safe to use around humans. Radiation scientist David Brenner describes how we could use this light to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2,...
SciShow
Could Wormholes Really Exist?
If wormholes aren't just convenient plot devices for science fiction writers, they're still much weirder than anything we could make up.
TED Talks
TED: Sci-fi stories that imagine a future Africa | Nnedi Okorafor
My science fiction has different ancestors -- African ones, says writer Nnedi Okorafor. In between excerpts from her "Binti" series and her novel "Lagoon," Okorafor discusses the inspiration and roots of her work -- and how she opens...
Crash Course
Educational Technology: Crash Course Computer Science
Today we’re going to go a little meta and talk about how computer science can support learning with educational technology. We here at Crash Course are big fans of interactive in-class learning and hands-on experiences, but we also...
SciShow
Life on an Eyeball Planet? It's Possible
Tidally locked planets could be more common than Earth-like planets! And these 'eyeball planets' might even be a promising place to look for unique lifeforms!
TED Talks
TED: A sci-fi vision of love from a 318-year-old hologram | Monica Byrne
Science fiction writer Monica Byrne imagines rich worlds populated with characters who defy our racial, social and gender stereotypes. In this performance, Byrne appears as a hologram named Pilar, transmitting a story of love and loss...
Crash Course
The Parable of the Sower: Crash Course Literature 406
This week, John is teaching you about the near-future dystopia in Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. Parable of the Sower tells the story of Lauren Oya Olamina, and her life growing up in a post-climate change, semi-lawless America....
SciShow
Apocalypse? How?!
Hank debunks several apocalypse theories that predict Earth's demise in 2012.
TED Talks
David R. Liu: Can we cure genetic diseases by rewriting DNA?
In a story of scientific discovery, chemical biologist David R. Liu shares a breakthrough: his lab's development of base editors that can rewrite DNA. This crucial step in genome editing takes the promise of CRISPR to the next level: if...
SciShow
5 Unusual Places to Look for Life | Compilation
From "superhabitable planets" that can potentially sustain life longer than earth to rogue planets that don't even orbit a star, we’ve talked about some strange places that could host extraterrestrial life over the last few years. Here...
SciShow
Roswell & New Signals from Space
With news of radio signals from distant galaxies, a government agency that wants to investigate extra-terrestrial life, and the 66th anniversary of the Roswell Incident, this week has felt like a '90s science fiction melodrama. Hank's...
SciShow
How Close Are We to Building Force Fields?
Sci-fi technology is often more fiction than science, but it turns out there are actually some real-world labs that are working on developing force fields!
TED Talks
Anders Ynnerman: Visualizing the medical data explosion
Medical scans can produce thousands of images for a single patient in seconds, but how do doctors know what's useful? Scientific visualization expert Anders Ynnerman shows us sophisticated new tools -- like virtual autopsies -- for...
TED Talks
James Cameron: Before Avatar ... a curious boy
James Cameron's big-budget (and even bigger-grossing) films create unreal worlds all their own. In this personal talk, he reveals his childhood fascination with the fantastic -- from reading science fiction to deep-sea diving -- and how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Infinity according to Jorge Luis Borges | Ilan Stavans
What would it be like to have a limitless memory? Can the meaning of life be found in an infinite library? Is time a labyrinth or a single moment? Jorge Luis Borges explored these questions of infinity in his many works. His body of...
TED Talks
TED: Every day you live, you impact the planet | Jane Goodall
Legendary primatologist Jane Goodall says that humanity's survival depends on conservation of the natural world. In conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, she tells the story of her formative days working with chimpanzees, how she...
SciShow
9 Futuristic Materials
Learn about some materials that seem like they should belong in science fiction, but actually exist today! CHAPTERS View all AEROGELS 0:46 FLOWER UNAFFECTED BY FLAME Credit: NASA 1:25 INVISIBILITY CLOAKS 2:28 LOTUS LEAF Credit: Thomas...
TED Talks
TED: And for my next trick, a robot | Marco Tempest
Marco Tempest uses charming stagecraft to demo EDI, the multi-purpose robot designed to work very closely with humans. Less a magic trick than an intricately choreographed performance, Tempest shows off the robot’s sensing technology,...
Crash Course
The Handmaid's Tale, Part 1: Crash Course Literature 403
In which John Green teaches you about Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale. John looks at some of the themes in this classic dystopian novel, many of which are kind of a downer. The world of Gilead that Atwood...