SciShow
Can Cold Showers Actually Change Your Life?
Many people swear that a cold shower every morning has the power to change your life, and improve your health- but can this be proved by science? Join us as Hank Green dives into the world of cold showers and discusses whether these...
Crash Course
Synge, Wilde, Shaw, and the Irish Renaissance: Crash Course Theater #36
The Irish Renaissance in the early 20th century included a wealth of new plays written both in Ireland, and by Irish ex-patriots elsewhere. W.B. Yeats, Lady Augusta Gregory, and J.M. Synge were creating a new national theater of Ireland...
PBS
Harnessing Boys' Strengths & Passions to Improve Academic Achievement (May 7, 2014)
Increasingly, boys appear to be falling behind girls academically. Test statistics, grades and college degrees are part of the story, but experts are also concerned about the messages young men get about masculinity. Gwen Ifill talks...
PBS
Rosa Parks Trained for Life Full of Activism
Gwen Ifill talks with biographer Jeanne Theoharis, whose book "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks" offers a complex portrait of the woman best known for refusing to give up her seat on an Alabama bus in 1955.
PBS
Isabel Allende's Newest Historical Novel Tells Familiar Story Of Refugee Life
"A Long Petal of the Sea," a new historical novel by renowned writer Isabel Allende, draws upon events spanning from the Spanish civil war to the 1973 coup in her native Chile -- and with resonance for the experience of refugees today....
PBS
The tough decision of which species to save from extinction
Roughly 1 million species of wildlife face extinction worldwide, according to a recent United Nations report. Ecologist and author Rebecca Nesbit joins Geoff Bennett to discuss the ethics and decision-making process behind figuring out...
PBS
What Does it Mean to be a Girl? How Parents Can Help Daughters Decide for Themselves (May 6, 2014)
In the last few decades, a multi-billion dollar industry has evolved around princess stories and toys. But in contrast to this pink and purple "girlie" world are alternatives emphasizing more diverse interests and portraying different...
TED Talks
TED: The creativity and community behind fanfiction | Cecilia Aragon
The wildly diverse, thoughtful and hilarious world of fanfiction -- where writers reimagine favorite stories like "Harry Potter," "Pokémon," "My Little Pony" and more -- is ever-growing and becoming a vital social and learning tool....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Silvia Moreno-García: Titan of terror: the dark imagination of H.P. Lovecraft
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...
SciShow
Can Cold Showers Really Improve Your Health?
Some people tout the health and productivity benefits of cold showers, but how much do they really do?
SciShow
Science Says You Shouldn't Drink Your Whiskey "Neat"
If you’ve ever sauntered up to the bar and ordered a whiskey neat, you might have felt cool doing it. But... is that really the best way to drink whiskey? Let's ask science!
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
TED: The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker's Comma Queen | Mary Norris
Copy editing for The New Yorker is like playing shortstop for a Major League Baseball team -- every little movement gets picked over by the critics, says Mary Norris, who has played the position for more than thirty years. In that time,...
SciShow
Einstein’s Greatest Mistake: SciShow Talk Show with David Bodanis
Hank gets to chat with David Bodanis: an author, and expert on Albert Einstein. They discuss Einstein's fame and his feelings about the aesthetics of science, as well as Bodanis' upcoming book: "Einstein's Greatest Mistake".
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...
TED Talks
TED: Living beyond limits | Amy Purdy
When she was 19, Amy Purdy lost both her legs below the knee. And now ... she's a pro snowboarder (and a killer competitor on "Dancing with the Stars"!). In this powerful talk, she shows us how to draw inspiration from life's obstacles.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Who was the world's first author? - Soraya Field Fiorio
4,300 years ago in ancient Sumer, the most powerful person in the city of Ur was banished to wander the vast desert. Her name was Enheduanna, and by the time of her exile, she had written forty-two hymns and three epic poems— and Sumer...
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...
SciShow
Pliny The Elder: Great Minds
Before there was Google, there were encyclopedias. The very idea of these vast collections of knowledge can be credited to Pliny The Elder. So who was he, and why does he seem to pop up everywhere from Alchemy to Zoology? Hank has the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Everything you need to know to read Homer's "Odyssey" - Jill Dash
An encounter with a man-eating giant. A sorceress who turns men into pigs. A long-lost king taking back his throne. On their own, any of these make great stories. But each is just one episode in the "Odyssey," a 12,000-line poem spanning...
Crash Course
To Kill a Mockingbird, Part I - Crash Course Literature 210
In which John Green teaches you about Harper Lee's famous (and only) novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. John will cover a bit about Harper Lee's personal life, (seeing as this novel has some autobiographical elements) and her long association...
Crash Course
How and Why We Read: Crash Course English Literature
In which John Green kicks off the Crash Course Literature mini series with a reasonable set of questions. Why do we read? What's the point of reading critically. John will argue that reading is about effectively communicating with other...