Be Smart
When the CIA Spied on Planet Earth
In 1995, a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a top-secret, first-of-its-kind US spy satellite program was declassified, leading to the unexpected story of how former enemies would become scientific allies, and technology...
TED Talks
TED: When Biden met Xi (and what's going on with the US and China) | Ian Bremmer
US President Joe Biden and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping recently met in San Francisco. It was the first time Xi had visited the US in six years — and the first time the two leaders had met in person in a year....
SciShow
The Nuclear Bunker Full of Cannibal Ants
There's an abandoned Soviet nuclear bunker in Poland full of cannibal ants. And weird as it sounds, it's helping us learn more about the behavior of social insects.
SciShow
Atlas: The Little Rocket That Still Can
In 1962, John Glenn went into orbit on an Atlas rocket, and thus began a family of rockets that lasted for 60 years!
SciShow
Launching Rockets Mid-Air
If you picture a rocket launch, do you imagine it taking off from a hot air balloon? In this episode, we'll learn how using balloons to launch sounding rockets advanced our understanding of planet Earth, radiation, and how to keep...
SciShow
How We Fixed the Most Radioactive Place on Earth
Once upon a time, there was a lake that was so radioactive, that standing on its shore for more than an hour would almost definitely kill you. Join Olivia to learn how it got that bad in the first place, and what was done to fix it!
SciShow
Was The Apollo Mission a Mistake? | A SciShow Documentary
The Apollo program was famous for being risky and expensive. It sent multiple daring astronauts to the moon, but had a crunched timeline, and lacked modern tech. In this special episode of SciShow, we'll be discussing... was the Apollo...
PBS
Cold War Face-off
Jim Lehrer discusses the significance of Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis with the presidential historians and Sergei Khrushchev, the son of the late Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. (screening copy available upon request)
PBS
Why 'Doctor Zhivago' Was Dangerous (Book Conversation) (July 8, 2014)
When Boris Pasternak finished his novel ÃDr. ZhivagoÓ in 1956, Soviet authorities refused to publish the tale of an individualÂs struggle amid the Russian Revolution. A new book, ÃThe Zhivago Affair,Ó tells the story of how...
PBS
The Remarkable Political And Diplomatic Legacy Of James Baker
Former Secretary of State James Baker’s distinguished career and service to every Republican president from Gerald Ford to George W. Bush has elevated him to elder statesman status. Now, his life, career and legacy are examined in a new...
PBS
Paul Nitze Interview (October 26, 1989)
Jim Lehrer interviews American diplomat Paul Nitze on his views of the Soviet Union.
PBS
Why Jimmy Carter may be the most misunderstood president in American history
Why Jimmy Carter May Be The Most Misunderstood President In American History
Crash Course
The Cold War and Consumerism: Crash Course Computer Science
Today we’re going to step back from hardware and software, and take a closer look at how the backdrop of the cold war and space race and the rise of consumerism and globalization brought us from huge, expensive codebreaking machines in...
Crash Course
Protests East and West: Crash Course European History
The post-World War II decades in Europe are sometimes called the Thirty Glorious Years. As those years wore on, tensions between East and West grew, and economic growth slowed or was unevenly distributed across Europe, protests and...
TED Talks
Rob Reid: How synthetic biology could wipe out humanity -- and how we can stop it
The world-changing promise of synthetic biology and gene editing has a dark side. In this far-seeing talk, author and entrepreneur Rob Reid reviews the risks of a world where more and more people have access to the tools and tech needed...
TED Talks
TED: Iran and Israel: Peace is possible | Trita Parsi
Iran and Israel: two nations with tense relations that seem existentially at odds. But for all their antagonistic rhetoric, there is a recent hidden history of collaboration, even friendship. In an informative talk, Trita Parsi shows how...
SciShow
Was the Apollo Program a Bad Idea A SciShow Documentary
The Apollo program was famous for being risky and expensive. It had a crunched timeline, daring astronauts, and lacked modern tech, and that all kind of makes you wonder… was the Apollo program a bad idea?
TED Talks
Parag Khanna: Mapping the future of countries
Many people think the lines on the map no longer matter, but Parag Khanna says they do. Using maps of the past and present, he explains the root causes of border conflicts worldwide and proposes simple yet cunning solutions for each.
TED Talks
Jason Pontin: Can technology solve our big problems?
In 1969, Buzz Aldrin’s historical step onto the moon leapt mankind into an era of technological possibility. The awesome power of technology was to be used to solve all of our big problems. Fast forward to present day, and what's...
SciShow
How We Used the Moon to Send Radio Messages
In the early days of the Cold War, it was difficult to send and receive messages across the globe. Before the US launched its first satellite in January 1958, the military tried a creative solution: bouncing radio waves off the Moon.
TED Talks
Nick Bostrom: How civilization could destroy itself -- and 4 ways we could prevent it
Humanity is on its way to creating a "black ball": a technological breakthrough that could destroy us all, says philosopher Nick Bostrom. In this incisive, surprisingly light-hearted conversation with Head of TED Chris Anderson, Bostrom...
TED Talks
TED: Stand with Ukraine in the fight against evil | Garry Kasparov
Ukraine is on the front line of a war between freedom and tyranny, says chess grandmaster and human rights advocate Garry Kasparov. In this blistering call to action, he traces Vladimir Putin's rise to power and details his own path from...
TED Talks
TED: Let's rethink America's military strategy | Thomas Barnett
In this bracingly honest talk, international security strategist Thomas Barnett outlines a post-Cold War solution for the foundering U.S. military that is both sensible and breathtaking in its simplicity: Break it in two.