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Does Defacing Art = Activism?
Art is the perfect tool for activists to get across their message and make people pay attention. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn about the centuries-long practice of iconoclasm, how art intersects with protest...
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Why Is Art So Expensive?
What makes a painting worth millions of dollars? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’re looking at the history behind today’s art industry and how we determine an artwork’s financial value. We’ll also learn how the big...
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Is AI-Generated Art Original? (Authenticity & Originality)
What’s the line between inspiration and flat-out appropriation? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we grapple with questions about artistic originality and authenticity that have plagued the art world for hundreds of years. In...
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Graffiti, Street Art & Murals: What We Learn from Public Art
Independent public art like graffiti and street art often gets a bad rap, thanks to its legal classification as vandalism. But these art forms have much to offer as a means for people to speak truth to power and take ownership of...
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How a Banana Sold for $150,000: Modern Art
Our cultural perspectives shape how we perceive art, including who we see as contributing to its most important movements. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll get to the truth behind the creation of modernism and bust the...
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Origins of Color (Trade & Exchange)
How can the color “red” be a global commodity? How can the way a statue stands be a sign of cultural exchange? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll explore how trade networks have moved both materials and ideas — and how...
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Bodies in Art
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll hold a mirror to our bodies…in art, anyway. We’ll learn what portraits and self-portraits can tell us about the people they represent and about artists who’ve used bodies to critique...
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The Hidden Meanings in Nature Art
From sunsets to double rainbows, nature’s full of beautiful things. So it’s not surprising that artists have found inspiration in Mother Nature for millennia. What is surprising is the wide variety of human concerns that nature art has...
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How Do Religions Use Art?
From the Egyptian Book of the Dead to Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas, humans have always reached for art to express religious ideas and impulses. In this episode, we’ll explore how concepts of the divine and spirituality intersect with...
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What Is Good Art?
What makes some art valuable enough to hang in museums? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll look at different ways we can figure out the value of art beyond the number on the price tag, and we’ll examine how culture,...
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Should We Separate Art from the Artist?
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll keep digging into the myth of the Great Artist, with whether we can—or should—separate artists’ personal actions and beliefs from the art they create. Art historians are exploring new...
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What Makes an Artist “Great”?
Michelangelo. Vincent Van Gogh. Pablo Picasso. The story of art history is told through the biographies of individual celebrity artists. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn about where the myth of the Great Artist...
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The History of Museums
In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn why museums are so much more than just collections of interesting and pretty objects. Their legacy includes everything from violence to theft, to, oddly enough, mermaid hands.
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How to Look at Art
How long do you typically look at an artwork, and what can you learn in that time? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll acquire a toolbox of terms to help us discover how all art is influenced by the time and place it was...
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Why We Study Art
Art history is much more than names, dates, and creepy babies. It helps us understand how history itself gets constructed and told. In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll learn how interpreting artwork reveals connections...
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Crash Course Art History Preview
Welcome to Crash Course Art History! Over the next 22 episodes, Sarah Urist Green will explore the hidden stories behind artworks. We’ll make connections across time and space, unlock the secrets of the past, and look ahead to the art of...
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What Is Kink?: Sex Ed #15
What does it mean to be kinky? In our final episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll learn that some “unusual” sexual desires are actually pretty common. We’ll talk about the differences between kinks, fetishes, and paraphilias, and the...
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Unpacking Masturbation: Sex Ed #14
If almost everybody masturbates, why can’t we talk about it? In this myth-busting episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll uncover the history of how masturbation became taboo, the person who made sex toys better for everyone, and the ways...
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What to Know About Orgasms: Sex Ed #13
Why and how do we orgasm? In this episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll break down “the Big O”—its physical aspects, gendered expectations, and misconceptions. Plus, a fun cameo from a penis-camera.
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Let's Talk About Porn Literacy: Sex Ed #12
Like it or not, porn exists. In this episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we unpack the pros and cons of pornography, its long and storied history, and how to engage with it critically and safely.
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What Is Consent?: Sex Ed #11
Consent seems as simple as “yes” or “no” — but is it? In this episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll explore how affirmative consent reframed the conversation, why context matters, and the importance of checking in with your partner — and...
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Understanding Abortion: Sex Ed #10
Abortion is complicated. In this episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll cover what happens during abortions, why people get them, and what people actually think about the topic.
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Pregnancy & Childbirth: Sex Ed #9
Most sex ed tells you how not to get pregnant… but what if you want to? In this episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll traverse the complex journey of getting pregnant, being pregnant, and going through childbirth—with all the strange...
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Birth Control Explained: Sex Ed #8
There are so many different types of contraception to choose from. So…where do you start? In this episode of Crash Course Sex Ed, we’ll uncover the complicated history of birth control and many of the options available today—plus, why we...