PBS
Why Does Caffeine Exist?
Today, billions of people around the world start their day with caffeine. But how and why did the ability to produce this molecule independently evolve in multiple, distantly-related lineages of flowering plants, again and again?
PBS
When the Sahara Was Green
The climate of the Sahara was completely different thousands of years ago. And we’re not talking about just a few years of extra rain. We’re talking about a climate that was so wet for so long that animals and humans alike made...
SciShow
The Real Paleo Diet
The paleo diet is becoming more popular, but research suggests its claims aren’t all that scientific. Hosted by: Michael Aranda
SciShow
What Happens When Food Goes Bad?
You've seen your fruit get moldy, or maybe your bread products. Sometimes old meat gets a funky smell. But what is actually happening scientifically when your food goes bad? It's pretty interesting. Join Hank Green for a new episode of...
Crash Course
Witches and Hags: Crash Course World Mythology #39
This week, Mike is teaching you about the most mythic of mythological creatures: Dragons. Cultures across the world (and across Westeros) tell stories of dragons, and their power to destroy, their power to prop up kings, and their power...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How horses changed history | William T. Taylor
People have been captivated by horses for a long time. They appear more than any other animal in cave paintings dating back 30,000 years. But how did horses make the journey from wild animals to ones humans could hitch themselves to and...
Curated Video
TIBET: CALL TO BOYCOTT TOURISM
Mandarin/Eng/Nat
Tibet is China's poorest province, still heavily dependent on the central government in Beijing for most of its revenue.
Tourism has been a crucial source of cash for the remote, mountainous region.
But some human...
Crash Course
What Is Outbreak Culture? Crash Course Outbreak Science
When we think of how we respond to outbreaks, we often think of physical things like vaccines or medicines, but there is another factor that is just as critical to understand: culture! Culture determines how we collaborate and use the...
TED Talks
Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty
TED collaborates with animator Andrew Park to illustrate Denis Dutton's provocative theory on beauty -- that art, music and other beautiful things, far from being simply "in the eye of the beholder," are a core part of human nature with...
MinuteEarth
Should We Contact Uncontacted Peoples
FYI: We try to leave jargon out of our videos, but if you want to learn more about this topic, here are some handy keywords to get your googling started: - isolated peoples: peoples living without significant contact with global...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A brief history of cannibalism - Bill Schutt
Human cannibalism is a lot more common than you might think. Dive into its complex history and see its uses in medicine, cultural rituals and in times of survival. -- 15th century Europeans believed they had hit upon a miracle cure: a...
TED Talks
TED: What it means to be intersex | Susannah Temko
For intersex people -- those born with sex characteristics outside the traditional definitions of female and male -- the stakes to appear "normal" are high. Drawing on her personal experience, Susannah Temko reveals the shame, prejudice...
Crash Course
Archetypes and Male Divinities: Crash Course World Mythology
This week on Crash Course Mythology, Mike is teaching you about the archetypes that are often associated with male divinities. We're going to talk about Fathers & Sons, Kings & Judges, Saviors & Sages, Shamans, Tricksters, and Lords of...
SciShow
Is Urine Really Sterile?
Despite what you might've seen on some wilderness-survival show, there's increasing evidence that your pee isn't sterile. So don't do anything crazy with it. Sci Show explains!
TED Talks
TED: What should humans take to space (and leave behind)? | Jorge Mañes Rubio
TED talks about what should humans take to space (and leave behind)?
TED Talks
TED: The tiny creature that secretly powers the planet | Penny Chisholm
Oceanographer Penny Chisholm introduces us to an amazing little being: Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic species on the planet. A marine microbe that has existed for millions of years, Prochlorococcus wasn't discovered...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: One of the most difficult words to translate... - Krystian Aparta
As simple as it seems, it's often impossible to accurately translate the word you without knowing a lot more about the situation where it's being said. Krystian Aparta describes the specific reasons why it can be difficult, citing...
SciShow
Why Do Some Words Sound So... Lumpy?
Some words just SOUND like the thing they refer to. But are these associations come from the specific culture we were raised in, or is there something more fundamental going on here?
SciShow
The Dark Side of Disgust
We’re all super familiar with the feeling we get when we smell rotten food or see gross bodily fluids. But this visceral emotion does a lot more than that, and it’s important understand to how the darker side of disgust can influence us.
TED Talks
TED: An invitation to reexamine your familiar world | Gillian Tett
Before entering the world of financial journalism, Gillian Tett was a cultural anthropologist who studied how the past influences our present thoughts and behaviors. In an entertaining talk, she shows how you can use an anthropological...
SciShow
When Food Goes Bad | Compilation
Food can't stay fresh forever. From moldy bread to brown apples, here's the science behind what happens when food goes bad.
Crash Course
How Does Language Move? Crash Course Geography
While we can’t explore every cultural trait in the world, language is an important system of spoken, signed, or written symbols humans use to express themselves. It’s a major marker of identity that often unites members of the same...
TED Talks
TED: Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent | Safwat Saleem
Artist Safwat Saleem grew up with a stutter -- but as an independent animator, he decided to do his own voiceovers to give life to his characters. When YouTube commenters started mocking his Pakistani accent, it crushed him, and his...
TED Talks
Daniel Bögre Udell: How to save a language from extinction
As many as 3,000 languages could disappear within the next 80 years, all but silencing entire cultures. In this quick talk, language activist Daniel Bögre Udell shows how people around the world are finding new ways to revive ancestral...