Tag Archives: Culture & Society

The Irish Myth of the Giant’s Causeway

Every culture has used myths and legends to explain the natural world around them. Watch this short video on the story early Irish residents used to explain a particularly strange rock formation on the northern coast of the island.

Japan has always been refugee-averse. Then Ukraine happened.

Japan is taking huge strides to aid Ukrainian refugees, which could lead to policy changes in the future.

How Watching a Good Deed Elevates and Inspires

You might do a good deed for someone else just because it’s the right thing to do. Research shows, though, that you’re more likely to do that good deed if you’ve recently seen someone else do a good deed. This article discusses the infectiousness of altruism.

5 Ways to Find Career Ideas

Do you already know what kind of career you want to pursue? Then you are lucky—and unique. If, like most of your peers, you don’t know “what you want to be when you grow up,” consider the helpful tips in this article.

To the South Pole and Back – The Hardest 105 days of my life

Ben Saunders talks about his epic, 105-day trek to the South Pole and back; the same route taken by Captain Scott on his ill-fated 1912 expedition.

Ten things you didn’t know about Black Friday

Learn 10 surprising facts about Black Friday, the biggest shopping day in the year.

Holocaust survivors reunite with the woman who cared for them after the war

Andra and Tatiana Bucci, who were 4 and 6 years old when they were taken to a concentration camp, traveled to the U.S. as adults to reunite with their former caregiver, a kind woman they called “Manna.” Read this article about the reunion.

From Boys to Men: How Mentoring Is Smoothing the Road to Adulthood

A Band of Brothers is an organization in England that pairs troubled male teenagers with older men living in the same community to provide positive role models.

A Conversation with Sir Patrick Stewart

In 2010, a modern version of The Tragedy of Macbeth appeared on PBS’s Great Performances. The star of that groundbreaking production, Sir Patrick Stewart, discusses the choices he and director Rupert Goold made to bring Shakespeare’s work to life on the small screen.

Muckraking Journalist Jacob Riis and Gilded Age New York City

This lecture by Professor Daniel Czitrom from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts gives an overview of Jacob Riis. Watch the clips at the following marks for a look at some of Riis’s work and to get a sense of his purpose and relevance today: 20:38–25:10, 36:35–38:40, 45:02–47:35, and 50:56–52:16.

New Study Analyzes Heavy Metal Dancing

What is the relationship between mosh pits and nature? The answers to that question might surprise you! Two graduate students (who just so happen to be heavy-metal fans) are studying mosh pits to learn about particulate patterns and animal flocking behavior.

Play Me, I’m Yours

How can a piano, left in a public place for anyone to use, bring a community together? Read about this unexpected movement to find out.

‘Herd Mentality: Are we programmed to make bad decisions?

Most people want to be part of the popular crowd, but that desire could lead to bad decisions. Copying what our friends do or buy can result in relying too much on others. Find out why people should rely on their own instincts more than herd mentality.

Social Change

Review this collection of TED talks on social change; covering topics like justice, freedom, and the collective good.

Archaeologists Discover Temple in Egypt Inspired by Greek God Zeus

How far did the stories of ancient gods and heroes spread? New evidence suggests that many ancient cultures may have overlapped even more than we realized.

How Conformity Can Be Good and Bad for Society

Is it best to conform to the rules and expectations of a society, or should people do what they think is best, even it it makes them stick out from the herd? Click here to dig deeper into this question.