Follow Alice Sutton, a servant in Edwardian England, as she prepares the estate for a visitor and fights for women's suffrage. -- It’s just before dawn in 1906 at Wroxton Abbey, and 16-year-old Alice Sutton’s mind is already spinning. The underhousemaid has a full day ahead of her as the estate prepares for the evening’s guest: Prince Arthur. This is Alice’s chance to prove herself to her new employers — but there are other forces at play. Stephanie Honchell Smith details a day in the life of a ...
May 17, 2026•8 min
Watch the miraculous journey of infant sea turtles as these tiny animals run the gauntlet of predators and harsh conditions. Then, in numbers, see how human behavior has made their tough lives even more challenging. Lesson by Scott Gass, animation by Veronica Wallenberg and Johan Sonestedt. View the full lesson at: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-survival-of-the-sea-turtle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 17, 2026•6 min
Learn more at https://brilliant.org/TedEd -- A fleet of rebel spaceships is greeted by a frenzy of laser blasts – illuminating the sector with brilliant bursts of light. Science fiction has shown us scenes like this for decades, but the lasers in our daily lives seem far less dazzling and destructive. So, could sci-fi laser weaponry ever exist? And how do lasers even work in the first place? Christopher Baird investigates. Lesson by Christopher Baird, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio. This...
May 17, 2026•9 min
Dig into the construction of the Suez Canal, and discover how it became one of the world’s busiest maritime passages. -- Today, nearly 30% of all global ship traffic passes through the Suez Canal, totaling over 20,000 ships in 2021. The site of the canal had been of interest to rulers as far back as the second millennium BCE, but plans to construct a passageway were obstructed by cost, political strife, and the ever-shifting sands— until the 19th century. Lucia Carminati details the creation of ...
May 17, 2026•8 min
We all know the words around electricity, "charge," "positive," "battery", and more. But where do they come from and what do they really mean? Let the history of these words illuminate the physics of electric phenomena. Lesson by James Sheils, animation by TED-Ed. View the full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/electric-vocabulary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 17, 2026•10 min
Dig into the Bengali tale of a trio of siblings who attempt to scale the fearsome Magic Mountain to gain treasures for their home. -- Inspired by a king’s visit, a trio of siblings began building a palace, traveling far and wide to collect rare jewels, seeds, and marble. A holy man stopped by and told them of a Magic Mountain, east of north and north of east, where they’d find their most meaningful treasures. But, he said, only a true hero could complete the journey. Malay Bera shares the Bengal...
May 16, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-case-against-good-and-bad Don't take the easy route! Instead, use this little trick to improve your writing -- let go of the words "good" and "bad," and push yourself to illustrate, elucidate and illuminate your world with language. Lesson by Marlee Neel, animation by The STUDIO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•7 min
Puzzle through this classic ethical dilemma and decide: does your upbringing affect your moral responsibility for your actions? -- Jo the First is a ruthless dictator who rules with an iron fist. To most onlookers, his rule appears cruel and unjust. But for his beloved son JoJo, this life is all he’s ever known and he grows up to inherit his father’s role and style of rule. Given JoJo’s unusual upbringing, does he bear full moral responsibility for his actions? Michael Vazquez and Sarah Stroud d...
May 16, 2026•9 min
Could someone hack your pacemaker? At TEDxMidAtlantic, Avi Rubin explains how hackers are compromising cars, smartphones and medical devices, and warns us about the dangers of an increasingly hack-able world. (Filmed at TEDxMidAtlantic.) Talk by Avi Rubin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 16, 2026•22 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/calculating-the-odds-of-intelligent-alien-life Could there be intelligent life on other planets? This question has piqued imagination and curiosity for decades. Explore the answer with the Drake Equation -- a mathematical formula that calculates the possibility of undiscovered life. Lesson by Jill Tarter; Animation by TED-Ed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•10 min
Professional musicians share what makes a great pop song, and how to grow your songwriting skills to make your music stand out. -- "Think Like A Musician" connects you with working musicians who want to help the music-curious and music-passionate hone and share the gift of music with the world. Part interview, part animated course, our second season "Think Like A Songwriter" features artists sharing their insight on the ins and outs of fine-tuning your songwriting and crafting timeless, memorabl...
May 16, 2026•11 min
Dig into the Irish myth of lovers Gráinne and Diarmuid, and follow their journey as they flee from her betrothed, Fionn. -- Gráinne, princess of Tara and bride-to-be, was furious. She had thought she was betrothed to a young soldier, bold and brilliant enough to be her equal. Yet it soon became clear she was expected to marry Fionn, a warrior far past his prime. Not willing to suffer this insult, Gráinne decided that before the wedding she would exact her revenge. Iseult Gillespie shares the Iri...
May 16, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-pain-relievers-work Some people take aspirin or ibuprofen to treat everyday aches and pains, but how exactly do the different classes of pain relievers work? Learn about the basic physiology of how humans experience pain, and the mechanics of the medicines we've invented to block or circumvent that discomfort. Lesson by George Zaidan, animated by Augenblick Studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•6 min
Dig into the epic of Mwindo, a boy seeking vengeance upon his power-hungry and murderous father who has fled to the underworld. -- If any of his wives ever birthed a son, he’d be killed immediately. That was the threat Shemwindo, ruler of the village of Tubondo, had delivered, for he wanted all the power to himself. But he was about to meet his match— and enter a rivalry that would take him to the underworld and back. Joseph Mbele shares the epic journey of Mwindo and his quest for vengeance. Le...
May 16, 2026•9 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-contributions-of-female-explorers-courtney-stephens During the Victorian Age, women were unlikely to become great explorers, but a few intelligent, gritty and brave women made major contributions to the study of previously little-understood territory. Courtney Stephens examines three women -- Marianne North, Mary Kingsley and Alexandra David-Néel -- who wouldn't take no for an answer (and shows why we should be grateful that they didn't). Lesson by...
May 16, 2026•6 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-speed-up-chemical-reactions-and-get-a-date The complex systems of high school dating and chemical reactions may have more in common than you think. Explore five rules for speeding up chemical reactions in the lab that might just land you a date to a dance! Lesson by Mark Paricio & Aaron Sams, animation by Cognitive Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•7 min
Explore the viruses which can cause herpes, how the infection affects your body, and what makes it so hard to prevent and cure. -- In the 1st century CE, Emperor Tiberius made an unprecedented decision: banning kissing at all public events. This move was aimed at thwarting a puzzling outbreak, which many historians believe was an epidemic of oral herpes. Today, more than half the population is infected with herpes simplex virus. So, what causes herpes? And how can we treat it? Christine Johnston...
May 16, 2026•9 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-wacky-history-of-cell-theory Scientific discovery isn't as simple as one good experiment. The weird and wonderful history of cell theory illuminates the twists and turns that came together to build the foundations of biology. Lesson by Lauren Royal-Woods, animation by Augenblick Studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•9 min
Explore the 5 most common misconceptions about the Viking Age, and find out what living as a Viking was actually like. -- The Viking Age. When medieval, horn-helmeted Scandinavian men ravaged Europe, scribbling mysterious runes and toasting their victories in goblets forged from enemy skulls before bidding farewell in fiery funerals. Except… that’s not quite how it went. So, what were the Vikings actually like? Stephanie H. Smith debunks common misconceptions about the time period. Lesson by Ste...
May 16, 2026•9 min
Travel through the history of mapmaking and discover what big mistakes cartographers made about the world’s geography. -- For thousands of years, people made both functional maps and what are known as cosmographies, illustrating the earth and its position in the cosmos, often including constellations, gods, and mythic locations. These maps were meant to depict the world's geography, but weren't necessarily useful for navigation and contained some glaring mistakes. Kayla Wolf shares mapmaking’s b...
May 16, 2026•7 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-key-to-media-s-hidden-codes Colors, camera angles and logos in the media can all prompt immediate associations with emotions, activities and memories. Learn to decode the intricate system of symbols that are a part of everyday life -- from media messages to traffic signs. Lesson by Ben Beaton, animation by TED-Ed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•9 min
Explore what causes vaginal discharge, what’s a healthy baseline, and how to identify when there are unhealthy changes in the fluids. -- Our bodies are constantly producing, purging, and recycling secretions to fulfill all sorts of functions. Our reproductive organs are no exception. Vaginas are engaged in ongoing cycles of fluid discharge. But it can be hard to know what is "normal" when there’s a taboo in talking about it. So, what’s healthy discharge? And when is there cause for concern? Eliz...
May 16, 2026•9 min
One bag of apples, one apple, one slice of apple -- which of these is one unit? Explore the basic unit of math (explained by a trip to the grocery store!) and discover the many meanings of one. Lesson by Christopher Danielson, animation by TED-Ed. View the full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/one-is-one-or-is-it Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•6 min
Learn more at https://brilliant.org/TedEd -- In 1900, Greek divers stumbled upon a 2,000-year-old shipwreck whose contents would shake our understanding of the ancient world. Among the remains were fragments of mangled wood and corroded metal, which archaeologists soon realized were parts of the oldest geared device ever discovered — and humankind’s first computer. So, how did it work? Max G. Levy explains the Antikythera mechanism. Lesson by Max G. Levy, directed by Vicente Numpaque, Hernando B...
May 16, 2026•9 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/an-exercise-in-time-perception-matt-danzico Why is that some experiences feel like they last forever, while others fly by? We tend to miscalculate the time it takes to engage in novel activities due to the influence of memories. Matt Danzico explains why your childhood feels like it lasted forever and why that beach vacation seemed like two months rather than two weeks. Lesson by Matt Danzico, animation by London Squared Productions. Learn more about y...
May 16, 2026•8 min
Where do squid, jellyfish and other sea creatures begin life? The story of a sea urchin reveals a stunningly beautiful saga of fertilization, development and growth in the ocean depths. Lesson by Tierney Thys, visualization by Christian Sardet (CNRS/Tara Oceans), Noé Sardet, and Sharif Mirshak (Plankton Chronicles Project, Parafilms). View the full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-life-begins-in-the-deep-ocean Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•9 min
Dig into the science of what makes period cramps so painful, and find out what we still don’t know about this common experience. -- Period pain affects hundreds of millions of people. Anywhere from 50 to 90% of people who menstruate deal with painful abdominal or pelvic cramps during their period. Individual experiences can vary, from mild discomfort, to throbbing aches, to contraction-like cramps that rival the pain of labor. So, why do menstrual cramps hurt so much? Chen X. Chen explains this ...
May 16, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/five-fingers-of-evolution How can a "thumbs up" sign help us remember five processes that impact evolution? The story of the Five Fingers of Evolution gives us a clever way of understanding change in gene pools over time. Lesson by Paul Andersen, animation by Alan Foreman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 16, 2026•8 min
Dig into the surprisingly complex lives of Neanderthals, and explore theories on what happened to our evolutionary cousins. -- In 1856, quarriers working in Germany’s Neander Valley discovered several mysterious fossils. The remains changed hands until being identified as the skullcap and femur bones of something ancient and human, but not quite us. It soon became clear they belonged to an extinct human species— the first ever known to science: Neanderthals. Bruce Hardy explores what happened to...
May 16, 2026•10 min
Dig into trickle-down economics, which claims that tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy stimulate the economy and improve people's lives. -- In 1981, the US economy was struggling: unemployment rates were climbing and inflation had peaked at an all-time high. To combat these issues, President Reagan introduced a number of economic policies, including tax cuts for large corporations and high-income earners. But did these policies actually stimulate economic growth or improve circumstances fo...
May 16, 2026•6 min
