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Be Smart.

Joe Hanson

We give you deep answers to simple questions about science and the rest of the universe. And also dad jokes. Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, PhD. He's a molecular biologist and an award-winning science communicator and journalist

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Today · 8 min
How Baby Sea Turtles Find Their Route Home
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate The cutest conservation story ever? Maybe. Do it for the turtles… SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Want to wear your love for science? We’ve got merch: http://dftba.com/besmart Special thanks to Dr. Donna Shaver and the Padre Island National Seashore Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery for having us! Andrés Herrera film courtesy of Dr. Thane Wibbels - University of Alabama at Birmingham References/Learn More: Bevan, E., et al. "Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) population." Ecosphere 7.3 (2016). Johnsen, Sönke, and Kenneth J. Lohmann. "The physics and neurobiology of magnetoreception." Nature Reviews Neuroscience 6.9 (2005): 703-712. Lohmann, Kenneth J., Nathan F. Putman, and Catherine MF Lohmann. "Geomagnetic imprinting: a unifying hypothesis of long-distance natal homing in salmon and sea turtles." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences105.49 (2008): 19096-19101. Lohmann, Kenneth, and Catherine Lohmann. "Detection of magnetic inclination angle by sea turtles: a possible mechanism for determining latitude." Journal of Experimental Biology 194.1 (1994): 23-32. Putman, Nathan F., et al. "Evidence for geomagnetic imprinting as a homing mechanism in Pacific salmon." Current Biology 23.4 (2013): 312-316. Shaver, Donna J., and Charles W. Caillouet Jr. "Reintroduction of Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtle to Padre Island National Seashore, Texas and its connection to head-starting." Herpetological Conservation and Biology 10.1 (2015): 378-435. Ueda, H. "Physiological mechanisms of imprinting and homing migration in Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp." Journal of fish biology 81.2 (2012): 543-558. ---------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Snapchat: YoDrJoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 6 min
Why Does Music Captivate Us?
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Why does music give us all the feels? Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub 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! Humans are the only species we know that creates and communicate using music, but it's still unclear how or why we do that, brain-wise. Is it just a lucky side effect of evolution, like Steven Pinker says? Or is it a deeper part of our evolutionary history, as people like Mark Changizi and Daniel Levitin argue? New evolutionary science says that we may read emotion in music because it relates to how we sense emotion in people's movements. We'll take a trip from Austin to Dartmouth to Cambodia to hear why music makes us feel so many feels. The connections between movement and music go far beyond dance moves! Mike over at Idea Channel has a different opinion, head on over and check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWWYE4eLEfk References for this episode: http://dft.ba/-5ECR Special thanks to Dartmouth's Thalia Wheatley and Beau Sievers, who did the research. You can read more about it here: http://wheatlab.virb.com/dynamics http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/18/why-does-music-move-us-so/ Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 6 min
What's The Most Accomplished Species on Earth?
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Life. There's just so MUCH of it! Click here to SUBSCRIBE -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub 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! For more on the numbers in the video, check out the blog: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/41790778768/episode-extra-life-by-the-numbers-how-do-we-know Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment below! Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) Music: Whalehawk: http://vimeo.com/musicstore/track/137257 Clips from this episode via: "Aspens" by Altitude Filmworks: http://vimeo.com/50345182 "Golden Aspen Meadow" by David Huting: http://vimeo.com/9695494 Red-billed queleas by Antero Topp: http://youtu.be/3_zLeu5n4yM Bacterial growth: http://youtu.be/gEwzDydciWc Dengue virus infection: http://youtu.be/0PUsdv1kDTc ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 5 min
My Afternoon With A Giant Pacific Octopus!
Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub More below: Joe went behind the scenes at Monterey Bay Aquarium to meet the Giant Pacific Octopus, a powerful and curious creature that challenges many of our notions of intelligence! ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 7 min
What’s The Hottest Hot and Coldest Cold?
Want more cool physics? Check out Physics Girl! http://youtube.com/physicsgirl Be cool and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 12-06-18 The hottest and coldest temperatures in our universe are rarely witnessed, but in these rare spots, our understanding of physics is challenged. Weird things happen at extreme hot and absolute cold. References: Clark, J. B., Lecocq, F., Simmonds, R. W., Aumentado, J., and Teufel, J. D. (2017). Sideband cooling beyond the quantum backaction limit with squeezed light. Nature, 541(7636), 191. An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd ed, Bradley W Carroll and Dale A Ostlie, 2006. An Introduction to Thermal Physics, Daniel Schroeder, 1999. ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart SEND US STUFF: It’s Okay To Be Smart PO Box 303356 Austin, TX 78703 USA BOOKS WE’VE FEATURED: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Mara Johnson-Groh Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Karl Boettcher and Derek Borsheim Producers: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 7 min
Mindfulness in the Digital Age
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ In a world of distractions, how do we pay attention? It seems like every week someone tells us how the internet and the digital age are overloading our brains. Sure, sometimes it feels like we're being fed more information than we can handle, that we're paying attention to the wrong things. Are we giving our brain a fair shot? I explore some science that show how paying attention can be a bad thing, and then some science about how paying attention can be a very helpful thing Special cameos by Hank Green and Mike Rugnetta! Further reading: The original Simons and Chabris experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo The cocktail party effect: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/07/173613681/hear-that-in-a-din-of-voices-our-brains-can-tune-to-one The illusion of attention: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2011/aug/11/neuroscience-psychology How is the internet changing our brains? (Harold Rheingold and more) http://www.edge.org/q2010/q10_index.html#responses Sherry Turkle - Alone Together http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 17 min
The Strange Science of Why We Dream
Take the PBS Digital Studios audience survey: https://to.pbs.org/2021survey We’re on PATREON! Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 22-12-21 It would be a lot easier to study the science of dreaming if we weren’t asleep every time we did it. Why do we dream? What does dreaming do for our brains? How did dreaming evolve? Here’s a look at the current theories from psychology and neuroscience. References: Barrett, D. (2017), Dreams and creative problem-solving. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1406: 64-67. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13412 Carlo Cipolli, Roberto Bolzani, Cesare Comoldi, Rossana De Beni, Iino Fagioli, Bizarreness Effect in Dream Recall, Sleep, Volume 16, Issue 2, March 1993, Pages 163–170, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/16.2.163 Eagleman DM, Vaughn DA (2021). The Defensive Activation Theory: REM Sleep as a Mechanism to Prevent Takeover of the Visual Cortex. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 15:632853. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.632853 El-Solh, A. A. (2018). Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: Current perspectives. Nature and Science of Sleep, 10, 409–420.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30538593/ Hughes, J. Donald. (2000). Dream Interpretation in Ancient Civilizations. Dreaming. 10. 7-18. 10.1023/A:1009447606158. Káli, S., Dayan, P. Off-line replay maintains declarative memories in a model of hippocampal-neocortical interactions. Nature Neuroscience 7, 286–294 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1202 Montangero, Jacques and Ivanyi, Corinne and Saint-Hilaire, Zara. (2003). Completeness and accuracy of morning reports after a recall cue: Comparison of dream and film reports. Consciousness and cognition. 12. 49-62. 10.1016/S1053-8100(02)00029-6. Stickgold, R., Malia, A.; Maguire, D., Roddenberry, D., O'Connor, M. (2000). Replaying the Game: Hypnagogic Images in Normals and Amnesics. Science. 290 (5490): 350–353. doi:10.1126/science.290.5490.350. Valli, K., Revonsuo, A., Pälkäs, O., Ismail, K. H., Ali, K. J., and Punamäki, R.-L. (2005). The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming: Evidence from dreams of traumatized children. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(1), 188–218. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15766897/ van der Linden, S. The Science Behind Dreaming. Scientific American. July 26, 2011 Erin J. Wamsley, PhD, Karen Perry, MD, Ina Djonlagic, MD, Laura Babkes Reaven, MD, Robert Stickgold, PhD, Cognitive Replay of Visuomotor Learning at Sleep Onset: Temporal Dynamics and Relationship to Task Performance, Sleep, Volume 33, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 59–68, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/33.1.59 ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: Barbora Bei Ken Board T Clinger Attila Pix Burt Humburg DeliciousKashmiri Brian Chang Roy Lasris dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Amy Sowada Eric Meer Dustin Karen Haskell AlecZero Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 17 min
Why Deadly Viral Pandemics Are Becoming More Common
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 03-06-20 We’re on PATREON! Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Viruses keep jumping out of nature and into humans and getting us very sick in the process. So why do zoonotic spillovers like SARS-CoV-2 happen, and why are they becoming more frequent? We asked an expert. #coronavirus #zoonosis #itsokaytobesmart Special thanks to David Quammen For more, please read “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic” by David Quammen https://amzn.to/2AvxIta If you doubt the claim about Earth's viruses stretching millions of light-years, then read this Nature paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro2644.pdf Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: AlecZero Diego Lombeida Dustin Ernesto Silva George Gladding Jay Stephens Marcus Tuepker Megan K Bradshaw Peter Ehrnstrom Ron Kakar vincbis Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 12 min
How Your Brain Makes Time Pass Fast or Slow
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 01-09-20 We’re on PATREON! Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Time passes for all of us at the same rate of one second per second. But why does it sometimes feel like time is passing so fast, or so slowly? Especially during COVID? Let’s learn about how our brains keep track of and try to make sense of time, and how they get fooled. Watch our previous video about masks: https://youtu.be/0Tp0zB904Mc Our entire COVID-19 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsmqeqKj7M-pvu23aAUn6gtvDZAymnZ0K References: https://sites.google.com/view/how-perceive-time-references/home Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: AlecZero Amory Silva Amy Sowada Baerbel Winkler Benjamin Teinby Denzel Holmes Diego Lombeida Dustin Eric Meer George Gladding Jay Stephens Karen Haskell Marcus Tuepker Megan K Bradshaw Peter Ehrnstrom Robert Young Salih Arslan Vincbis Zenimal Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 5 min
Are You Sharing a Breath From Isaac Newton?
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ We all breathe the same air. Literally. Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Take a deep breath. Smell that? It could be a little eau de Einstein. Or maybe a whiff of Cleopatra. Here's an amazing thought: every time you breathe, you could be sharing air with everyone who's ever lived. A few million of the same air molecules that enter your lungs in a lifetime also entered Albert Einstein or Marie Curie's lungs! That's some smart air. Earth's atmosphere is big, but not as big as many people think. All the air that keeps us alive is just a thin candy shell around our planet. In this episode, echoing the words of John F. Kennedy, I'll show you the science of how we all share the same air. So let's be careful about what we're putting in it! References for this episode: http://dft.ba/-5AuU Read about John F. Kennedy's American University speech: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_speech Earth's atmosphere illustrated by Adam Nieman: http://adamnieman.posterous.com/ Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) Music: Johnny Ripper (with Ekoda) - Speak ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 10 min
Why Do More Species Concentrate Near the Equator?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Go to http://Raceforretirement.com and see how the action gap affects you. Follow all of our Peru adventures on this playlist: http://bit.ly/SmartPeru ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Special thanks to Rainforest Expeditions for hosting us! Visit http://www.perunature.com/ References: Wilson, E.O. "The Diversity of Life" http://eowilsonfoundation.org/the-diversity-of-life/ Eichhorn, Markus P. "Latitudinal gradients." Natural Systems: The organisation of life: 249-264. "Tropical Ecology" (textbook) by John Kircher (2011) http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9486.html Condamine, Fabien L., et al. "What causes latitudinal gradients in species diversity? Evolutionary processes and ecological constraints on swallowtail biodiversity." Ecology letters 15.3 (2012): 267-277. Jenkins, Clinton N., Stuart L. Pimm, and Lucas N. Joppa. "Global patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity and conservation." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.28 (2013): E2602-E2610. Mannion, Philip D., et al. "The latitudinal biodiversity gradient through deep time." Trends in ecology & evolution 29.1 (2014): 42-50. Mittelbach, Gary G., et al. "Evolution and the latitudinal diversity gradient: speciation, extinction and biogeography." Ecology letters 10.4 (2007): 315-331. Wiens, John J., et al. "Evolutionary and ecological causes of the latitudinal diversity gradient in hylid frogs: treefrog trees unearth the roots of high tropical diversity." The American Naturalist 168.5 (2006): 579-596. ---------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Snapchat: YoDrJoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 15 min
Space is Overflowing with Junk. Here's How to Clean It Up…
Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ We know pollution is a problem on earth, but we’re filling space with our junk too. And if we don’t figure out a way to clean up space junk, we could end our interstellar dreams before they even get started. Today, we’re visiting some cool engineers in Switzerland to learn about the space junk problem and the giant space claw that might be the perfect solution. References: https://sites.google.com/view/space-junk-references/home Filmed at ClearSpace - Lausanne, Canton Vaud, Switzerland ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Ed Eyden Jennifer Burton Charles Horton, Jr Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Baerbel Winkler Eric Meer Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 20 min
Scientists Finally Figured Out What Love Is For
The dumb things we do for love make a lot more sense than you think… ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 11-06-26 Love makes people do ridiculous things: quit jobs, cross continents, build monuments, and ignore every red flag in sight. But what if that's exactly what love evolved to do? This video explores the neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology of romance to explain why love can feel irrational—and why that may have helped make us human. References: https://sites.google.com/view/purpose-of-love-references/home Be Smart explores science questions you didn’t even know you wondered about. It is hosted and produced by Joe Hanson, PhD. We post new videos all the time, so please subscribe! If you enjoyed this video, hit the ‘like’ button, leave a comment, or watch another of our videos! CONNECT WITH ME ____________________________________ Website: https://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart/ https://www.instagram.com/drjoehanson/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/itsokaytobesmart A big thanks to our Brain Trust patrons: Baerbel Winkler, Bernadette Etienne, Brent Lopez, dani bowman, David Johnston, Ed Eyden, Eric Meer, Greg Olson, Jaap Westera, Karen Haskell, Marcus Pingel, Mike and Patty Loftis, Reuben Brewer SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES ____________________________________ Please email biz@itsokaytobesmart.com Stock video and images provided by Shutterstock, Artlist, and MotionArray Music provided by APM Written Joe Hanson Edited by Steven Simone Produced by Least Square Media and Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 8 min
Why Do Clouds Hover Aloft?
There's nothing wrong with having your head in the clouds! Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Big thank you to my favorite cloud scientist Dione Rossiter for help researching this episode! "The Cloudspotter's Guide" by Gavin Pretor-Pinney http://amzn.to/1s3kk2S The International Cloud Atlas: http://bit.ly/1q0kgLy William Rankin - The Man Who Rode the Thunder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cqQzcChFG0 Bacteria that live in the clouds: http://www.pnas.org/content/110/7/2575.abstract Mass of a cloud: http://mentalfloss.com/article/49786/how-much-does-cloud-weigh Amazing facts about clouds: http://blog.ted.com/2013/07/16/8-illuminating-facts-about-clouds/ A beginner's guide to being a cloudspotter: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/12/cloud-spotting-beginners-guide-predicting-weather How clouds affect climate change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDo7saKaEys The clouds and bushes in Super Mario Bros are the same thing: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/01/the-clouds-and-bushes-in-super-mario-bros-are-the-same/ Produced for PBS Digital Studios Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Dalton Allen - Post-production Intern Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 10 min
Why People Don't Trust Climate Science
Get the FACTS about climate change: http://youtu.be/ffjIyms1BX4 Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Scientists overwhelmingly agree that our climate is changing, Earth is getting warmer, sea levels are rising, and it's primarily because of humans putting lots of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Yet 4 in 10 Americans aren't convinced. Here's what psychologists and sociologists have to say about why some people don't believe in climate science. Last week's video: Climate Science - What You Need to Know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffjIyms1BX4 RECOMMENDED READING/SOURCES: "Don't Even Think About It" by George Marshall: http://amzn.to/1DCX6HU Also check out George Marshall's website: http://www.climateconviction.org/ "The Republican Brain" by Chris Mooney: http://bit.ly/1GJew1C "Unscientific America" by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum: http://amzn.to/1BQsocf "Fool Me Twice" by Shawn Lawrence Otto: http://bit.ly/12Y2Gnc Want to learn about the science of climate change and why humans are causing it, but in layman's terms? I recommend these books: Climate Change: Evidence and Causes (National Academy of Sciences/Royal Society) FREE ebook: http://amzn.to/1w6itfl Global Weirdness (Climate Central) http://amzn.to/1BtZZbP How to Change Minds About Our Changing Climate (Seth Darling + Douglas Sisterson) http://amzn.to/12jjcxN Produced for PBS Digital Studios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Kate Eads - Associate Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics Katie Graham - Director of Photography John Knudsen - Gaffer Dalton Allen - Post-Production Intern Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 21 min
How the CIA Secretly Surveilled Climate Change
Cold War… warming planet? We’re on PATREON! ►► Support us: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ A few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a top-secret, first-of-its-kind US spy satellite program was declassified, leading to the unexpected story of how former enemies became scientific allies, and technology invented for Cold War espionage was repurposed to study and combat the newest and greatest threat to human civilization: Climate Change. Thank you to the following for help in researching this video: Michael McElroy D. James Baker The Office of Vice President Al Gore 0:00 Peeking behind the Iron Curtain 1:52 Spies in space 2:53 A time machine… but for Earth 3:41 Early days of the Space Race 5:37 Code name: CORONA 8:37 No more Iron Curtain… now what? 10:48 Spies… but for the Earth 13:20 New data & unlikely allies 16:31 Teamwork makes the dream work 17:46 Support us on Patreon! Note: The thumbnail for this episode includes a picture of Joe Hanson created with a text-to-image generative AI tool SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Millennial Glacier Mark Littlehale Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Eric Meer Dustin Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ This episode of Be Smart is licensed exclusively to YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 10 min
Antibiotic Resistance and the Ascent of Superbugs
----------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D Follow me on Twitter/Instagram: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Kate Eads - Associate Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Director of Photography John Knudsen - Gaffer Dalton Allen - Post-Production Intern Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- Last week's video: The Recipe For Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuBWjY9BpEc More videos: Why Does February Have 28 Days? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKaHTh-_Gs Why Vaccines Work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aNhzLUL2ys Why Are Some People Left-Handed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPvMUpcxPSA Where Does the Smell of Rain Come From? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcE5x8s0B8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 9 min
97% of Climate Scientists Really Do Agree
Subscribe to HOT MESS! ►► http://bit.ly/hotmess_sub Watch the first episode: https://youtu.be/LKhGg0jDZTc ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 19-04-18 Do 97% of climate scientists really agree that humans are the main cause of climate change? Yep! Here’s what the 97 percent statistic *really* means. Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub REFERENCES: http://bit.ly/2HJHMOK ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter:@DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart SEND US STUFF: It’s Okay To Be Smart PO Box 303356 Austin, TX 78703 USA BOOKS WE’VE FEATURED: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Derek Borsheim Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 13 min
How Do We Measure How Vast the Universe Is?
Watch me host @HighSchoolQuizShow! https://www.youtube.com/@HighSchoolQuizShow Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Since the time of the ancient Greeks, scientists have been constructing a cosmic measuring tape to measure the universe from our own backyard all the way to its ever-expanding edge: the cosmic distance ladder. In this video, we climb that ladder and explore how each rung has revealed something new and previously unthinkable about the universe we live in. References: https://sites.google.com/view/cosmic-distance-references/home 0:00 How far away are things? 1:05 Near, far, parallax that star 3:25 Island universes and Hubble's blinking star 5:51 Redshifted rainbows and the expanding universe 7:41 Supernovae and the end of everything 9:08 Conclusion: The ladder of discovery 10:00 I'm hosting a game show! ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Ed Eyden Jennifer Burton Charles Horton, Jr Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Baerbel Winkler Eric Meer Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 10 min
Glass is Solid… So Why Is It Clear?
Thank you to CuriosityStream for supporting PBS! For more information, go to https://curiositystream.com/smart and USE code SMART. ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 23-12-20 PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY Follow me to Overview on PBS Terra! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjez0W8SPXc Glass is made of sand, which is a kind of rock. But glass is transparent, and rocks aren’t transparent. What’s up with that? Why is glass clear? And why can I sit on a chair? And why can we touch anything? Today we zoom down to the weird world of electron clouds and quantum touching to find the answers. We’re on PATREON! Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: Ahmed Elkhanany Emile Edhouse Zenimal Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Denzel Holmes Robert Young Amy Sowada Benjamin Teinby Eric Meer Jay Stephens Peter Ehrnstrom Oliver and Arden Bradshaw Dustin Marcus Tuepker George gladding vincbis . Karen Haskell AlecZero Diego Lombeida Zenimal Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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