17:04
Randall Munroe’s Thousand-Word Challenge
In “Thing Explainer,” XKCD’s Randall Munroe explains nuclear power, continental drift, and the periodic table, using only the thousand most common English words.
47:47
Somewhat Silly Science Earns Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.
27:50
Why Machines Discriminate—and How to Fix Them
Big data sets can perpetuate the same biases present in our culture, teaching machines to discriminate when scanning resumes and approving loans.
22:49
Can Science Untangle Our Transit Maps?
Scientists are taking lessons from psychology and cognitive science to figure out what works—and what doesn’t—in transit map design.
10:38
How YOU Solved the Science Club Message Challenge
The Science Club meets to discuss your innovative methods for getting a message from one place to another.
Thanksgiving Science
From cranberries to turkey snoods to giant balloons, Thanksgiving is stuffed full of science.
21:19
Wearable Superpowers for Earth and Beyond
Technologists Lucy Dunne and Brad Holschuh talk about ultrasonic gloves that “see” through smoke, a real-life Back to the Future jacket, and more wearable innovations.
15:23
It All Started With a Hoverboard: How Back to the Future II Envisioned 2015
Academy Award-nominated visual effects art director John Bell talks about how he imagined the then-distant world of 2015 for “Back to the Future II.”
17:27
Government Glitches: What Happens When IT Projects Fail
Bob Charette reflects on a decades-worth of IT fails in government and what can be done to improve the outcome of these projects.
Build A Cloud Chamber
Observe the radioactive particles all around you by building a cloud chamber using a clear container, dry ice, and a little rubbing alcohol.