TED Talks
Jay Walker: My library of human imagination
Jay Walker, curator of the Library of Human Imagination, conducts a surprising show-and-tell session highlighting a few of the intriguing artifacts that backdropped the 2008 TED stage.
TED Talks
Odes to vice and consequences - Felix Dennis
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Media big shot Felix Dennis roars his fiery, funny, sometimes racy original poetry, revisiting haunting memories...
Crash Course
The Railroad Journey and the Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History 214
In which John Green teaches you about railroads, and some of the ways they changed the world, and how they were a sort of microcosm for the Industrial Revolution as a whole. Prior to the invention of steam powered railroads, pretty much...
TED Talks
The tribes we lead - Seth Godin
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past:...
TED Talks
Benjamin Wallace: The price of happiness
Can happiness be bought? To find out, author Benjamin Wallace sampled the world's most expensive products, including a bottle of 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc, 8 ounces of Kobe beef and the fabled (notorious) Kopi Luwak coffee. His critique...
TED Talks
Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time
Educating the poor is more than just a numbers game, says Shukla Bose. She tells the story of her groundbreaking Parikrma Humanity Foundation, which brings hope to India's slums by looking past the daunting statistics and focusing on...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Alex Gendler: Why should you read "The Master and Margarita"?
The Devil has come to town. But don't worry– all he wants to do is stage a magic show. This absurd premise forms the central plot of Mikhail Bulgakov's masterpiece, "The Master and Margarita." Its blend of political satire, historical...
TED Talks
Scott McCloud: The visual magic of comics
In this unmissable look at the magic of comics, Scott McCloud bends the presentation format into a cartoon-like experience, where colorful diversions whiz through childhood fascinations and imagined futures that our eyes can hear and touch.
MinutePhysics
Weigh a Million Dollars with Your Mind
A million dollars is a ton of money. But how much does it weigh?
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What's the fastest way to alphabetize your bookshelf? - Chand John
You work at the college library. You're in the middle of a quiet afternoon when suddenly, a shipment of 1,280 books arrives. The books are in a straight line, but they're all out of order, and the automatic sorting system is broken. How...
TED Talks
Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0
What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a "religion for atheists" -- call it Atheism 2.0 -- that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual...
TED Talks
Jarrett J. Krosoczka: How a boy became an artist
This talk paints the funny and touching story of a little boy who pursued a simple passion: to draw and write stories. With the help of a supporting cast of family and teachers, Jarrett J. Krosoczka tells how he grew up to create beloved...
TED Talks
TED: The beauty of being a misfit | Lidia Yuknavitch
To those who feel like they don't belong: there is beauty in being a misfit. Author Lidia Yuknavitch shares her own wayward journey in an intimate recollection of patchwork stories about loss, shame and the slow process of...
TED Talks
Brian Dettmer: Old books reborn as art
What do you do with an outdated encyclopedia in the information age? With X-Acto knives and an eye for a good remix, artist Brian Dettmer makes beautiful, unexpected sculptures that breathe new life into old books.
TED Talks
TED: The real-life superheroes helping Syrian refugees | Feras Fayyad
Society has a set of stories it tells itself about who refugees are and what they look like, says documentarian and TED Fellow Feras Fayyad. With his films, he's on a mission to separate the facts about refugees from fiction, as a form...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Leonora Neville: The princess who rewrote history
Anna Komnene, daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexios, spent the last decade of her life creating a 500-page history of her father's reign called "The Alexiad." As a princess writing about her own family, she had to balance her loyalty to...
TED Talks
Erin McKean: The joy of lexicography
Is the beloved paper dictionary doomed to extinction? In this infectiously exuberant talk, leading lexicographer Erin McKean looks at the many ways today's print dictionary is poised for transformation.
SciShow Kids
4 Things to Do When It's Too Cold Outside! | Winter Science | SciShow Kids
Jessi and Squeaks were supposed to go sledding today, but it's really cold outside! That won't stop them from having fun, though! Join them as they look back on some great experiments to do on a freezing cold day!
TED Talks
TED: How to design a library that makes kids want to read | Michael Bierut
When Michael Bierut was tapped to design a logo for public school libraries, he had no idea that he was embarking on a years-long passion project. In this often hilarious talk, he recalls his obsessive quest to bring energy, learning,...
TED Talks
Jean-Baptiste Michel + Erez Lieberman Aiden: What we learned from 5 million books
Have you played with Google Labs' Ngram Viewer? It's an addicting tool that lets you search for words and ideas in a database of 5 million books from across centuries. Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel show us how it works,...
TED Talks
Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film
Canadian filmmaker Martin Villeneuve talks about "Mars et Avril," the sci-fi spectacular he made with virtually no money over a seven-year stretch. In this charming talk, he explains the various ways he overcame financial and logistical...
TED Talks
TED: A librarian's case against overdue book fines | Dawn Wacek
Libraries have the power to create a better world; they connect communities, promote literacy and spark lifelong learners. But there's one thing that keeps people away: the fear of overdue book fines. In this thought-provoking talk,...
TED Talks
Jarrett J. Krosoczka: Why lunch ladies are heroes
Children's book author Jarrett Krosoczka shares the origins of the Lunch Lady graphic novel series, in which undercover school heroes serve lunch...and justice! His new project, School Lunch Hero Day, reveals how cafeteria lunch staff...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can love and independence coexist? | Tanya Boucicaut
Baritone thunder. Snarling winds. Consuming downpours. Okeechobee, the hurricane of 1928, forced many to flee their ruined communities. But for Janie Crawford, it inspired an unexpected homecoming. So begins Zora Neale Hurston's...