In the past three decades, says Michael Sandel, the US has drifted from a market economy to a market society; it's fair to say that an American's experience of shared civic life depends on how much money they have. (Three key examples:...

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....

Early education is critical to children's success -- but millions of kids in the United States still don't have access to programs that prepare them to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Enter the UPSTART Project, a plan to bring early...

In which John Green continues to teach you about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. You'll learn about romantic vs Romantic, the latter of which is a literary movement. John will also look at a few different critical readings of Frankenstein,...

In which John continues the discussion of JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. This week John reads the novel with Salinger's life story in mind. John explores how Salinger's war experience, educational background, and romantic life inform...

Ann Morgan considered herself well read -- until she discovered the "massive blindspot" on her bookshelf. Amid a multitude of english and American authors, there were very few books from beyond the english-speaking world. So she set an...

You might know of dyslexia as a reading disorder, but years of research suggests that people with dyslexia might struggle with processing letters because they also have trouble processing rhythm.

We've made some great strides in understanding the human genome, but before we can tackle genetic engineering, we have some "chicken and egg" problems to figure out.

You may have noticed that checkout lines often have whozits and whatzits galore, but your opinion of them mostly depends on how a couple different regions of your brain work.

Jessi and Squeaks brought home a whole bunch of books! But they aren't quite sure how to get them up the stairs into the house. Join them as they learn about ramps and how these simple machines help us with our work!

Look to your left. Look to your right. Look at this video. Today, John Green is going to teach you how to read laterally, using multiple tabs in your browser to look stuff up and fact check as you read. Real-time fact-checking an help...

Want to learn a new language but feel daunted or unsure where to begin? You don't need some special talent or a "language gene," says Lýdia Machová. In an upbeat, inspiring talk, she reveals the secrets of polyglots (people who speak...

You may have heard about a study that found pigeons can visually recognize what printed words look like. Does that mean these birds can read?

Everybody loves dinosaurs, and we wouldn't know nearly as much as we do if it weren't for a person named Mary Anning.

Why is RNA just as cool as DNA? Join the Amoeba Sisters as they compare and contrast RNA with DNA and learn why DNA should be sharing the limelight! Table of Contents: 00:00 Intro 0:54 Similarities of DNA and RNA 1:35 Contrasting DNA and...

With hard work and perseverance, we can change the way we process the world, and if you’ve learned how to read, you’ve successfully re-trained an entire area of your brain!

The task sounds like it should be pretty easy, but the Stroop task is a fantastic, and very well studied, example of how your brain’s automatic processing can trip you up!

Would you like to spend all day thinking about dinosaurs? Well, some scientists do! Find out all about what it means to be a paleontologist!

A fortuneteller's ability to read your future might seem magical, but those “psychic powers” have way more to do with psychology than the supernatural. Chapters cognitive biases 0:09 COLD READING 0:29 Barnum effect 1:28 subjective...

While many researchers are focusing on finding a difference in brains of people with dyslexia, some new research suggests it might not just be in their brains, but in their eyes.

Researchers have noticed a decline in reading ability starting in your 40s. And learning more about why this happens might help us tell the difference between healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

Reflecting on moments that shaped his life, actor Ethan Hawke examines how courageous expression promotes healing and connection with one another -- and invites you to discover your own unabashed creativity. "There is no path till you...

In which John Green teaches you how to assess the sources of information you find on the internet. The growing suspicion of expertise is a growing problem on the internet, and it can be very difficult to figure out which sources are...

Technology should work for us, but what happens when it doesn't? Comedian Chuck Nice explores the unintended consequences of technological advancement and human interaction -- with hilarious results.