Crash Course
Sound Production: Crash Course Film Production
Good sound is easy to miss because, usually, you're not paying attention to it. You're just simply, "in the story." But, sound recordists and engineers need to have a lot of technical know how as well as an instinct for story to help...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How a single-celled organism almost wiped out life on Earth - Anusuya Willis
There's an organism that changed the world. It caused the first mass extinction in Earth's history and also paved the way for complex life. How? Anusuya Willis explains how cyanobacteria, simple organisms that don't even have nuclei or...
TED Talks
Steven Johnson: How the "ghost map" helped end a killer disease
Author Steven Johnson takes us on a 10-minute tour of The Ghost Map, his book about a cholera outbreak in 1854 London and the impact it had on science, cities and modern society.
TED Talks
Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome
Neil Pasricha's blog 1000 Awesome Things savors life's simple pleasures, from free refills to clean sheets. In this heartfelt talk, he reveals the 3 secrets (all starting with A) to leading a life that's truly awesome.
TED Talks
His Holiness the Karmapa: The technology of the heart
His Holiness the Karmapa talks about how he was discovered to be the reincarnation of a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism. In telling his story, he urges us to work on not just technology and design, but the technology and design of the...
TED Talks
TED: Why I'm rowing across the Pacific | Roz Savage
Five years ago, Roz Savage quit her high-powered London job to become an ocean rower. She's crossed the Atlantic solo, and just started the third leg of a Pacific solo row, the first for a woman. Why does she do it? Hear her reasons,...
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 Talks
Philip Evans: How data will transform business
What does the future of business look like? In an informative talk, Philip Evans gives a quick primer on two long-standing theories in strategy -- and explains why he thinks they are essentially invalid.
TED Talks
TED: How record collectors find lost music and preserve our cultural heritage | Alexis Charpentier
For generations, record collectors have played a vital role in the preservation of musical and cultural heritage by "digging" for obscure music created by overlooked artists. Alexis Charpentier shares his love of records -- and stories...
Crash Course
The Parable of the Sower: Crash Course Literature 406
This week, John is teaching you about the near-future dystopia in Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. Parable of the Sower tells the story of Lauren Oya Olamina, and her life growing up in a post-climate change, semi-lawless America....
TED Talks
Tyler Cowen: Be suspicious of simple stories
Like all of us, economist Tyler Cowen loves a good story. But in this intriguing talk, he asks us to step away from thinking of our lives -- and our messy, complicated irrational world -- in terms of a simple narrative.
TED Talks
Ge Wang: The DIY orchestra of the future
Ge Wang makes computer music, but it isn't all about coded bleeps and blips. With the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, he creates new instruments out of unexpected materials—like an Ikea bowl—that allow musicians to play music that's both...
TED Talks
TED: On tennis, love and motherhood | Serena Williams and Gayle King
Twenty-three Grand Slam titles later, tennis superstar Serena Williams sits down with journalist Gayle King to share a warm, mischievous conversation about her life, love, wins and losses -- starting with the story of how she...
TED Talks
Rives: A story of mixed emoticons
Rives tells a typographical fairy tale that's short and bittersweet ;)
TED Talks
Ory Okolloh: How I became an activist
Ory Okolloh tells the story of her life and her family -- and how she came to do her heroic work reporting on the doings of Kenya's parliament.
TED Talks
TED: How to spot a liar | Pamela Meyer
On any given day we're lied to from 10 to 200 times, and the clues to detect those lies can be subtle and counter-intuitive. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, shows the manners and "hotspots" used by those trained to recognize...
Crash Course
The Eagle Huntress: Crash Course Film Criticism
During our Film History and Production series, we talked about how Film is an "Illusion of Reality." That filmmakers use shots, cuts, and narrative structure to trick us into believing what we're seeing. But, what happens when that...
TED Talks
TED: The press trampled on my privacy. Here's how I took back my story | Kate Stone
After a horrific accident put her in the tabloid headlines, Kate Stone found a way to take control of her narrative -- and help prevent others from losing their privacy, too. Learn how she reclaimed her story in this personal talk...
TED Talks
Shilo Shiv Suleman: Using tech to enable dreaming
Has our technology -- our cell phones and iPods and cameras -- stopped us from dreaming? Young artist Shilo Shiv Suleman says no, as she demos "Khoya," her new storybook for iPad, which floats us through a magical world in 7 minutes of...
TED Talks
Sakena Yacoobi: How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school
When the Taliban closed all the girls' schools in Afghanistan, Sakena Yacoobi set up new schools, in secret, educating thousands of women and men. In this fierce, funny talk, she tells the jaw-dropping story of two times when she was...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why should you read "Moby Dick"? | Sascha Morrell
A mountain separating two lakes. A room papered floor to ceiling with bridal satins. The lid of an immense snuffbox. These seemingly unrelated images take us on a tour of a sperm whale's head in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." Though the...
Crash Course
The Handmaid's Tale, Part 2: Crash Course Literature 404
This week, John Green continues to teach you about Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction, The Handmaid's Tale. In this installment, we're looking at Atwood's desire to tell a story from a female point of view, and what exactly it means...
TED Talks
Maira Kalman: The illustrated woman
Author and illustrator Maira Kalman talks about her life and work, from her covers for The New Yorker to her books for children and grown-ups. She is as wonderful, as wise and as deliciously off-kilter in person as she is on paper.
SciShow
Attack of the Brain-Eating Killer Songbirds
Zombies aren't coming for you brains, but for an unfortunate species of bats, the terror of seemingly sweet songbirds developing a taste for brains is a horrific reality.