Across sub-Saharan Africa, small farmers are the bedrock of national and regional economies—unless the weather proves unpredictable and their crops fail. The solution is insurance, at a vast, continental scale, and at a very low,...

Born in 1731 to freed slaves on a farm in Baltimore, Benjamin Banneker was obsessed with math and science. And his appetite for knowledge only grew as he taught himself astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and the study of the natural...

There's something amazing growing in the city of Detroit: healthy, accessible, delicious, fresh food. In a spirited talk, fearless farmer Devita Davison explains how features of Detroit's decay actually make it an ideal spot for urban...

Arcane books of forbidden lore, disturbing secrets in the family bloodline, and terrors so unspeakable the very thought of them might drive you mad. These have become standard elements in modern horror stories. But they were largely...

There are some foods that are so popular that they are at risk of going extinct. What are they and why is it so difficult to harvest them?

Humans have been eating seafood for thousands of years, but some animals don’t grow very fast, and others taste pretty gross for at least part of the year. To solve these problems, scientists sometimes turn to genetics. If you eat...

Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's...

In December 1910, the exiled former leader Manuel Bonilla boarded a borrowed yacht and set sail for Honduras in hopes of reclaiming power by whatever means necessary. Bonilla had a powerful backer: the notorious organization known...

TED talks about what farmers need to be modern, climate-friendly and profitable

Corn currently accounts for more than one tenth of our global crop production. And over 99% of cultivated corn is the exact same type: Yellow Dent #2. This means that humans grow more Yellow Dent #2 than any other plant on the planet. So...

Hundreds of ant species have been farming for tens of millions of years.

A safe space to save money is life-changing -- especially for the 60 million smallholder farmers in West Africa (the majority being women) who often live on less than two dollars a day. Poverty fighter Anushka Ratnayake introduces her...

There’s a lot of confusion over what organic means, and food with that label might not be as healthy or environmentally friendly as you think.

Find out why Flannery O’Connor, an American novelist, is known as a master of the grotesque in Southern Gothic literature. -- Flannery O’Connor scribbled tales of outcasts, intruders and misfits staged in the world she knew best: the...

In which John Green teaches you about the (English) colonies in what is now the United States. He covers the first permanent English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the various theocracies in Massachusetts, the feudal kingdom in Maryland,...

You might have heard about animals behaving oddly right before an earthquake hits. But are these reports more than just anecdotes?

Sam the bat would love to visit Mars one day, but he's going to need more than a few sandwiches if he's going to stay for long.<br/>

The way we fish for popular seafood such as salmon, tuna and shrimp is threatening to ruin our oceans. Paul Greenberg explores the sheer size and irrationality of the seafood economy, and suggests a few specific ways we can change it, to...

Every day, humans literally flush a valuable resource down the toilet: nitrogen. But there are some animals that have figured out a way to recycle the extra nitrogen in their bodies by moving it not to their livers, but to their mouths!

Did you know that there were over 200 types of cows? Join Jessi and Squeaks as they discuss some cool facts about these amazing animals.

Wind is an ever increasing source of power worldwide, which means wind farms continue to be constructed. And choosing where to place those farms seems straightforward, but it might not actually be best to place the in the windiest places!

From the starter plants in your window to giant agriculture, there's a lot of science to cover before dinner.

Ever wondered what makes those balls of white foam you sometimes find clinging to plants? Spittlebugs create these bubbly cocoons after feeding on a plant’s fluids; but unfortunately, their eating habits help transmit a deadly bacteria...

From improving vaccines to modifying crops to solving crimes, DNA technology has transformed our world. Now, for the first time in history, anyone can experiment with DNA at home, in their kitchen, using a device smaller than a shoebox....