Why Music Moves Us
AdultsHumanMusicNeuroscience...Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move!
Life by the Numbers
AdultsAnimalsBiologyNature...There are now more than 7 billion human beings on Earth, and that got me wondering: How successful are we compared to other species? I take a look at out how our numbers stack up to some other domains of life. It turns out that biomass, or what things weigh, can be more important than how many of something there are. Find out how our numbers stack up against everything from bugs to bacteria, and get ready for some mind-blowing numbers!
Can You Erase Bad Memories?
AdultsBiologyHumanNeuroscience...What if you could delete specific memories?
A brief history of melancholy
AdultsHistoryPsychologyMental Health...If you are a living, breathing human being, chances are you have felt sad at least a few times in your life. But what exactly is melancholy, and what (if anything) should we do about it? Courtney Stephens details our still-evolving understanding of sadness -- and even makes a case for its usefulness.
3 Questions That Could Change The World from Kid President
AdultsInternet CultureSocietyHumanDo you dare to do something awesome?
Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
AdultsEqualitySocietyCulture...Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion
AdultsEducationPhilosophyHumanRita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.
This Girl Befriends A Dangerous Moray Eel
AdultsAnimalsHumanRelationships...This unlikely friendship is really amazing.
A Message to the Depressed.
AdultsMental HealthPhilosophyPsychology...Depression is frightening but you're never alone.
Train rescue: Commuters use people power to free man trapped
AdultsSocietyTransportationAutomotive...Scores of passengers, together with staff at Stirling station, managed to tilt the carriage so the man could free his leg which was wedged in the gap. The man was boarding a Perth-bound train at about 8:50am when he slipped and became stuck.
How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?
AdultsHealthHumanNeuroscience...If you get too little, or too much, your brain could suffer.
The luckiest unlucky man to ever live
AdultsLifeTransportationSurvival...Most people don't escape death even once. Frane Selak has survived just about every type of vehicular accident.
How do we smell?
AdultsHumanNeuroscienceScience...An adult human can distinguish up to 10,000 odors. You use your nose to figure out what to eat, what to buy and even when it's time to take a shower. But how do the molecules in the air get translated into smells in your brain? Rose Eveleth charts the smelly journey through your olfactory epithelium and explains why scent can be so subjective.