Beginner Lessons

How scientists turn lakes into giant batteries

Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak? - Lorenzo García-Amaya

The “myth” of the boiling frog

The satisfying math of folding origami - Evan Zodl

What causes dandruff, and how do you get rid of it? - Thomas L. Dawson

Uncovering the brain's biggest secret - Melanie E. Peffer

Why didn’t this 2,000 year old body decompose? - Carolyn Marshall

What if every satellite suddenly disappeared? - Moriba Jah

The world’s most dangerous fart - Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti

When did humans start getting divorced? - Rod Phillips

Why bats don't get sick - Arinjay Banerjee

The Japanese myth of the trickster raccoon - Iseult Gillespie

The rise of the Ottoman Empire - Mostafa Minawi

Who decides how long a second is? - John Kitching

We can help you master public speaking - Chris Anderson

Savitri and Satyavan: The legend of the princess who outwitted Death - Iseult Gillespie

These squids can fly... no, really - Robert Siddall

A day in the life of an ancient Babylonian business mogul - Soraya Field Fiorio

Why should you read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”? - Yen Pham

The life cycle of a cup of coffee - A.J. Jacobs

Do personality tests work? - Merve Emre

The strange history of the world's most stolen painting - Noah Charney

The spear-wielding stork who revolutionized science - Lucy Cooke

What happens when you die? A poetic inquiry

This thought experiment will help you understand quantum mechanics - Matteo Fadel

Building the world's largest (and most controversial) power plant - Alex Gendler

Can you solve the monster duel riddle? - Alex Gendler

The world’s largest organism - Alex Rosenthal

The most colorful gemstones on Earth - Jeff Dekofsky

The myth of Loki and the deadly mistletoe - Iseult Gillespie

Why is pneumonia so dangerous? - Eve Gaus and Vanessa Ruiz

Which bag should you use? - Luka Seamus Wright and Imogen Ellen Napper

Can you solve the Alice in Wonderland riddle? - Alex Gendler

How fast is the speed of thought? - Seena Mathew

Why do you get a fever when you're sick? - Christian Moro

How do investors choose stocks? - Richard Coffin

How do steroids affect your muscles— and the rest of your body? - Anees Bahji

The other "Golden Rule" - David L. Hu

The dark history of bananas - John Soluri

Can you outsmart the fallacy that started a witch hunt? - Elizabeth Cox

A brief history of plastic

Why people fall for misinformation - Joseph Isaac

Can you solve the sorting hat riddle? - Dan Katz and Alex Rosenthal

Evolution’s great mystery - Michael Corballis

Can you outsmart the fallacy that fooled a generation of doctors? - Elizabeth Cox

Newton’s three-body problem explained - Fabio Pacucci

How do our brains process speech? - Gareth Gaskell

Volcanic eruption explained - Steven Anderson