Be Smart
What's the Largest Living Thing On Earth?
The biggest thing that has ever lived on Earth… is a tree? Hard to believe, but it’s true. Travel with me to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to go inside the most massive species on our planet, and learn what unique and special...
Be Smart
What If We Could See Nature In Infrared?
Why are trees and other plants green? Seems like a simple question. But the answer is full of surprises. Using a special camera that can pick up light just beyond the visible range, into the near-infrared, you’ll get to see trees like...
TED Talks
TED: What's it like to be a giant sequoia tree? | Ersin Han Ersin
Artist Ersin Han Ersin invites us to step inside a giant sequoia tree, peering through the bark into the tapestry of life within. Discover how his multisensory installations explore the concept of "umwelt," or the unique sensory...
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 Talks
TED: The growing megafire crisis -- and how to contain it | George T. Whitesides
Megafires, or fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are becoming more frequent worldwide, wreaking havoc on landscapes and communities -- and fire experts say the problem is only going to get worse. George T. Whitesides is focused on...
TED Talks
TED: Why are we making pizza boxes out of endangered trees? | Nicole Rycroft
If we're going to solve the climate crisis, we need to talk about supply chains, says biodiversity champion and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Nicole Rycroft. Her organization, Canopy, partners with key industry leaders to overhaul their...
SciShow
You're Basically A Mushroom
The tree of life you learned in school is wrong, even if you just graduated. We like to sort eukaryotes into big kingdoms or supergroups, but scientists can't agree what those groups should be. Here's why that's a good thing.
SciShow
The Future Of Trees Is Liquid
We love trees, but the main problem is that they aren't exactly travel-sized. However, new technology wants to bring the fresh-air benefits of trees to places that the real deal just can't thrive, like dense urban areas!
MinuteEarth
Mushroom Wars
Two mushroom guilds with vastly different strategies are locked in competition for forest dominance.
MinuteEarth
When Tree Planting Goes Wrong
Trees are a super-efficient way to sequester carbon, but since planting the wrong trees in the wrong place can do more harm than good, we need to go about tree planting more carefully.
MinuteEarth
The 3 Reasons This Tree Has Lived 5000 Years
Methuselah’s environment lacks nutrients, water, and oxygen. In other words, it’s the perfect place to grow very very old.
SciShow
Inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
SciShow takes you inside the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster to show you how, nearly 30 years later, life has adapted and persisted.
SciShow
Turns Out "The Lorax" Is Probably a Real Monkey
Scientists found, on a Kenyan plateau, a tree and a monkey that you might just know. But humans make changes, as we often do, and now these small creatures may soon fade from view.
SciShow
Mistletoe: The Holiday Plant That Shouldn’t Exist
Mistletoe's ability to stay green through harsh, cold weather has made it a symbol of holiday romance for centuries. But it relies on some very strange (and occasionally disgusting) adaptations to stay vibrant and healthy all winter long.
SciShow
5 of the World's Most Bizarre Seeds
Some plants have very unique ways to disperse their seeds. Olivia introduces 5 of the most bizarre seeds in the world!
SciShow
North America’s Destructive, Invasive… Earthworms
Earthworms may be good for your garden, but they also have the potential to disrupt forest ecosystems across much of North America.
SciShow
Laser Archaeology: Revealing the Amazon's Urban Jungle
Hard-to-reach places, like the Amazon rainforest, can hide traces of past civilizations. But scientists are finding ways to explore these areas from above and discover the effects these ancient peoples had on their environment.
SciShow
Our Entire Society is Built on a Geological Fluke
If a tree falls into the forest and doesn't decompose, what happens to it?
SciShow
Wood-eating Clams: The Real Kraken?
For thousands of years, a sea creature has plagued sailors by attacking and devouring their ships. It is so destructive that reportedly it swiss-cheesed the hulls of Christopher Columbus’s ships, sinking at least two of them.
SciShow
Crabs, Cockroaches, and 3 Other Pollinators That Aren't Bees
Bees aren’t the only pollinators out there. Some of the other, more surprising pollinators aren't just unconventional, they give us unique examples of how the relationship between pollinators and plants evolved in the first place. Hosted...
SciShow
Wasp Nests and Bee Hives
How can you tell the difference between a yellowjacket and a hornet? And how much cosmic XP do you need to evolve a wasp into a bee? Follow the insect that stung you, and discover the fascinating world of wasp nests and bee hives.
SciShow
7 Species That Were Saved From Extinction
Humans are pretty good at destroying things. Like habitats, animal populations... you catch my drift. But, there have been a few species that humans have helped bring back from the brink of extinction.
SciShow
The Secrets of Ancient Earthquakes Revealed by Science
Did you know that nature contains clues that can uncover ancient earthquakes that occurred decades, or even centuries ago? Join us for a fascinating look into the world of ancient earthquakes, and see how yesterday's quakes compare to...