The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards: Crash Course US History #1

In which John Green kicks off Crash Course US History! Why, you may ask, are we covering US History, and not more World History, or the history of some other country, or the very specific history of your home region? Well, the reasons are many. But, like it or not, the United States has probably meddled in your country to some degree in the last 236 years or so, and that means US History is relevant all over the world. In episode 1, John talks about the Native Americans who lived in what is now the US prior to European contact. This is a history class, not archaeology, so we’re mainly going to cover written history. That means we start with the first sustained European settlement in North America, and that means the Spanish. The Spanish have a long history with the natives of the Americas, and not all of it was positive. The Spanish were definitely not peaceful colonizers, but what colonizers are peaceful? Colonization pretty much always results in an antagonistic relationship with the locals. John teaches you about early Spanish explorers, settlements, and what happened when they didn’t get along with the indigenous people. The story of their rocky relations has been called the Black Legend. Which is not a positive legend.

Turn on the captions. You’ll like it!

Follow us!
@thecrashcourse
@realjohngreen
@crashcoursestan
@raoulmeyer
@saysdanica
@thoughtbubbler

Crash Course Biology & Ecology Outtakes

Things don’t always go as planned in the studio – to everyone’s enjoyment, except Hank’s.

Before I Got My Eye Put Out – The Poetry of Emily Dickinson: Crash Course English Lit #8

In which John Green concludes the Crash Course Literature mini-series with an examination of the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Sure, John explores the creepy biographical details of Dickinson’s life, but he also gets into why her poems have remained relevant over the decades. John discusses Dickinson’s language, the structure of her work, her cake recipes. He also talks about Dickinson’s famously eccentric punctuation, which again ends up relating to her cake recipes. Also, Dickinson’s coconut cake recipe is included. Also, here are links to some of the poems discussed in the video:

Faith is a Fine Invention: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177763

I Heard a Fly Buzz–When I Died: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174972

Before I Got My Eye Put Out: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182805

Follow us!
@thecrashcourse
@realjohngreen
@crashcoursestan
@raoulmeyer
@saysdanica

Conservation and Restoration Ecology: Crash Course Ecology #12

Hank wraps up the Crash Course on ecology by taking a look at the growing fields of conservation biology and restoration ecology, which use all the kung fu moves we’ve learned about in the past eleven weeks and apply them to protecting ecosystems and to cleaning up the messes that we’ve already made.

Like Crash Course: http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Follow Crash Course: http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse

Table of Contents
1) Types of Diversity 3:00
2) Conservation Biology 4:12
A) Small Population Conservation 4:26
B) Declining Population Conservation 5:50
3) Restoration Ecology 7:06
A) Structural Restoration 7:30
B) Bioremediation 7:48
C) Biological Augmentation 8:03

References and image licenses for this episode can be found in the Google document here: http://dft.ba/-3DIH

Holden, JD, and the Red Cap- The Catcher in the Rye Part 2: Crash Course English Literature #7

In which John continues the discussion of JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. This week John reads the novel with Salinger’s life story in mind. John explores how Salinger’s war experience, educational background, and romantic life inform the events of Holden Caulfield’s life. How did Holden get to be such a whiny, self-absorbed teen? While it’s not a great idea to read novels too biographically, Salinger’s life surely informed Holden’s. Watch on to get an idea just how much.

Pollution: Crash Course Ecology #11

Hank talks about the last major way humans are impacting the environment in this penultimate episode of Crash Course Ecology. Pollution takes many forms – from the simplest piece of litter to the more complex endocrine distruptors – and ultimately, humans are responsible for it all.

Like Crash Course: http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Follow Crash Course: http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse
T*mbl Crash Course: http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com

Table of Contents

1) Natural Compounds 01:12:1
a) Carbon 01:35
b) Nitrogen and Phosphorous 02:11:2
c) Cyanide 04:05
d) Mercury 05:15
e) Sulfur & Nitrogen Dioxide 05:58

2) Synthetic Compounds 06:51
a) Endocrine Disruptors 07:09

References for this episode can be found in the Google document here: http://dft.ba/-3wpP

Language, Voice, and Holden Caulfield: The Catcher in the Rye Part 1

In which John Green examines JD Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye. John pulls out the old school literary criticism by examining the text itself rather than paying attention to the biographical or historical context of the novel (that’s for next week). Listen, words matter. The Catcher in the Rye has managed to endure without a movie adaptation because a lot of its quality arises from the book’s language. Find out how Holden’s voice, his language, and his narrative technique combine to make the novel work. Also, Thought Bubble gives us a quick rundown of the plot, in which Ikea Monkey may or may not appear.

5 Human Impacts on the Environment: Crash Course Ecology #10

Hank gives the run down on the top five ways humans are negatively impacting the environment and having detrimental effects on the valuable ecosystem services which a healthy biosphere provides.

Like Crash Course? http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Follow Crash Course! http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse
T*mbl Crash Course: http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com

Table of Contents
Ecosystem Services 00:51
The Importance of Biodiversity 04:07
Deforestation 06:42
Desertification 06:49
Global Warming 07:59
Invasive Species 08:51
Overharvesting 09:20

Crash Course/SciShow videos referenced in this episode:
Hydrologic and Carbon Cycles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D7hZpIYlCA
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leHy-Y_8nRs
Ecological Succession: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZKIHe2LDP8
Climate Change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Jxs7lR8ZI
Invasive Species: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDOwTXobJ3k
Food Shortage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPLJP84xL9A

References and image licenses for this episode can be found in the Google document here: http://dft.ba/-3n5P

Nitrogen & Phosphorus Cycles: Always Recycle! Part 2 – Crash Course Ecology #9

Hank describes the desperate need many organisms have for nutrients (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) and how they go about getting them via the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.

Like Crash Course! http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Follow Crash Course! http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse

Table of Contents

Nitrogen Cycle 1:46
Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria 2:32
Nitrifying Bacteria 3:24
Denitrifying Bacteria 4:34
Phosphorous Cycle 5:16
Lithosphere 5:27
Plants 5:56
Animals 5:56
Decomposers 5:56
Aquatic & Marine Ecosystems 6:24
Sedimentation & Weathering 6:55
Synthetic Fertilizers 7:23

References and image licenses for this episode can be found in the Google document here: http://dft.ba/-3fDT