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Surprise Me!7 minutes
[ Art ]
The Artist Who Brought the World Joy One Egg at a Time
How can we spread joy with our work? Certainly, the answer is unique to each of us, but sometimes we need a little inspiration to get ourselves started. So let us introduce you to one of those sources of inspiration, Shari Kadar.
20 minutes
[ Innovation ]
How an Engineer Created a Band that Broke the Charts
By Sam Burns
Is what you’re doing in life what you always thought you would be doing? Could you take what you know and create something new that could never have existed without you? Here’s the story of an engineer turned rock star, whose story is one we can all relate to!
25 minutes
[ Thought Leaders ]
Building Futures One Plié at a Time
By Sam Burns
In a place where violence reigns, girls are finding refuge in a surprising way—and it’s all thanks to one amazing woman.
17 minutes
[ Culture ]
A Legacy Left in Stone
By Sam Burns
Stonemasonry is a craft that’s been around for millennia. It’s shaped some of the cities we know best and brought us beautiful pieces of art that we’re still uncovering around the world. But there are only a few of us left who still work with stone, so let’s see how these artists are connecting us to both our past and our future with their creations.
9 minutes
[ Innovation ]
Gunpowder, Stars, Art, and… Bigfoot?
By Sam Burns
When you see fireworks, you’re witnessing an art form with a surprisingly rich history. How fireworks grew from scaring away a creature of lore to the beautiful spectacle today is an incredible story that will leave you with a little more awe the next time you see the night sky light up.
26 minutes
[ Innovation ]
Are Video Games Bad for You, Really?
By Sam Burns
On the quest to find out the effect that video games have on the brain, researchers may have stumbled into something that could change the nature of medicine. We’re on the verge of prescribing video games, and these awesome creators walk us through it!
28 minutes
[ Culture ]
What Can We Do to Keep Our Life Memories?
By Sam Burns
So many small moments happen in our lives that make it amazing. But those moments tend to sneak by us and are easily forgotten and outsized by the bad times. How can we keep them fresh? And then pass them along to our loved ones?
5 minutes
[ Creativity ]
Transforming Pollution into a Powerful Platform for Change
Can pollution from your tailpipe be turned into something positive? Air-Ink has found a way to turn the smog that would normally end up in our lungs into inks that artists are using to raise awareness. This innovation points to new possibilities for our future—take a look.
5 minutes
[ Creativity ]
This Art Was Created by Bugs!
By Sam Burns
Sometimes, if we can keep innovating, we can keep doing what we love for the rest of our lives. And as for Steven Kutcher, well, his passion for bugs has taken him on some creative insect adventures! And you may have been connected to a few of them.
13 minutes
[ Art ]
Shadow Dancing Taking Us to New Worlds!
The dance troupe Pilobolus is known for their mind-bending work and their incredible experiments in shadow and performance will completely transform your sense of reality!
13 minutes
[ Creativity ]
There’s a Common Language We All Speak!
By Dr. Lynda
You are fluent in a language that you don’t even realize you know! And it might be a place we can find some real fun and eventually share the struggle for connection.
5 minutes
[ Creativity ]
These Books Could Be Hiding Secret Paintings on Their Pages
Fore-edge painting is a dying art form, but these beautiful, hidden works of art remind us to look for and celebrate the hidden beauty all around us!
11 minutes
[ Art ]
Trolls We Can All Come to Love!
By Dr. Lynda
What if we slowed our impulse to create new “stuff”, and instead, focused on using what we already have in excess? Take trash for example. Is there endless potential in the things we are discarding? Here’s is someone who is pointing to possibility in a wondrous way!
12 minutes
[ Creativity ]
What Are Conductors Even Doing?
Most of us have pretended to be an orchestra conductor at some point in our lives. The interesting thing is, we actually understand, on some level, what we’re doing, even if we know nothing about music! This is a fascinating and fun window into a world we never knew we shared.
18 minutes
[ Creativity ]
What’s the Pointe (Shoe)?
By Sam Burns
Pointe shoes are the most important tool for a ballet dancer, second only to their body. So who makes them and how they are prepared before each use is crucial to their career. Let’s take a look at this fascinating process…
26 minutes
[ Creativity ]
Can Super Mario Teach Us To Be More Successful?
There’s a tendency to look at what stands in our way to success and feel overwhelmed. But Mark Rober has a novel method to get around this, and he calls it the Super Mario Effect. Now, THIS is a game-changer!
8 minutes
[ Creativity ]
Insects Have Never Looked So Good!
By Sam Burns
The amazing, intricate structures of insects are something that belongs in museums—oh wait, they’re already there! Photographer Levon Biss has teamed up with one exhibit to bring us closer than we’ve ever been to these tiny creatures with his Microsculptures. You’ll never look at a bug the same way after you see these.
10 minutes
[ Creativity ]
This Performance is “Popping” Barriers
By Sam Burns
Bubbles have a way of instantly taking us back to the joys of childhood! Meet the family bringing the wonders of bubble making to new heights with a performance unlike any other!
16 minutes
[ Creativity ]
When Art and Science Intersect
By Sam Burns
This isn’t a photograph of the Getz Ice Shelf, its a drawing! Zaria Forman creates large-scale depictions of glaciers, and NASA’s Operation IceBridge invited her on a trip to get even closer to them. Here’s that story and the gorgeous creations that came from it!
7 minutes
[ Creativity ]
When Dance Creates Opportunities
By Sam Burns
Hussein Smko grew up in war-torn Iraq, and he’s turned his experience into an opportunity. Through his performance, this dancer is not only telling his story, but making it possible for others to share theirs.
13 minutes
The Case For Making Useless Things
How can we bring joy and humility back into the work we do? Why not have more fun! Simone Giertz is the queen of terrible robots, and she makes a great case for why we should embrace making “useless things”.
8 minutes
[ Art ]
Creative Growth: Where Artists with Disabilities Thrive
By Sam Burns
Creative Growth is a space where artists can hone their crafts, express themselves, and share their work with the public. This is one nonprofit making us rethink where our community focus actually is.
12 minutes
[ Art ]
Synesthesia: Wiring the Senses Together
Synesthesia could be called a superpower, so what is life like for people who can see music or taste color? This is the fascinating science behind it all!
16 minutes
[ Art ]
When (Artistic) Worlds Collide
What happens when you take a graffiti artist and a painter and give them one day to create a mural together? (Spoiler: it’s definitely some sort of magic!)
4 minutes
[ Art ]
The (Actual) Magic of Mona Lisa’s Smile
Great art can be hard to “get”, but here’s how Leonardo da Vinci used his masterful understanding of human perception to craft the Mona Lisa and transfix us 500 years later!
15 minutes
[ Business ]
A More Creative Future with Smog Vacuums and Glowing Sidewalks
By Dr. Lynda
What if every construction project needed to have both a practical outcome and a component past that; something that expands possibility? Here’s a guided tour of what that world might look like!
12 minutes
[ Art ]
The Craft Behind Paper
By Sam Burns
When’s the last time you stopped to appreciate how beautiful paper can be? Papermaking may be seen as a dying art form, but artisans like Gangolf Ulbricht are keeping the tradition alive!
15 minutes
[ Art ]
Why Does van Gogh’s The Starry Night Captivate Us?
We’ve all seen this painting before, but why do we love it so much? The answer is a fascinating mix of science, legend, mathematics, and our place in the universe.
7 minutes
[ Art ]
The Pieces of a Passion Project
By Sam Burns
There’s something unexplainably relaxing about finding yourself lost in your craft, whatever that craft may be. Suska Matsik, a talented mosaic artist, describes her connection to her process in the most beautiful way.