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

  1. 16 min ago

    Inside the Lab That Protects You From Your Car

    Crashing a car is usually not a good idea. But sometimes, it can save lives. ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ No one ever wants to get in a car crash. But if you ever do, be very thankful for the engineers who crash test cars. You may have seen crash test simulations on TikTok using physics engines like BeamNG but I promise you they are nothing compared to the real thing! Join us for this DEEP dive into the physics of car crashes and the ways that engineers hack Newton's laws to keep you safe. Filmed on location at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety https://www.iihs.org/ IIHS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iihs-hldi IIHS resources for teachers: https://classroom.iihs.org/ Crash test sensor car by PocketLab: https://www.thepocketlab.com/ References: https://sites.google.com/view/be-smart-crash-test-physics/home Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub 0:00 Intro - Deep dive into crash testing 1:37 Welcome to crash test HQ 2:25 She crashes cars for a living 3:42 A visit with Isaac Newton 5:41 Why Newton's 2nd law rules all 11:21 New problems, new crash tests 14:37 Very finely-tuned violence 17:58 How engineers prepare a crash test (lots of duct tape) 20:42 Who you callin' dummy, dummy? 25:02 Car go BOOM (and the aftermath) 31:00 In the future, will cars be smart enough not to crash? 36:24 Conclusion and extras ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Charles Horton, Jr Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Millennial Glacier Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Eric Meer 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Inside the Lab That Protects You From Your Car

  2. 1 hr ago

    What's the Eldest Living Creature?

    Big thank you to Rachel for lending her voice and photos to this episode! 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 "The Oldest Living Things In The World" by Rachel Sussman: Amazon: http://amzn.to/1uZ6wJp Public Library: http://bit.ly/1s2gCnb Species featured in this video: Bristlecone pine: http://bit.ly/1o3zW4p Baobab: http://bit.ly/1qJo6ul Pando: http://bit.ly/1tLlRLU Map lichens: http://bit.ly/WVgoFh Yucca: http://bit.ly/1uZ71my Creosote: http://bit.ly/1xUZrpj Llareta: http://bit.ly/1ANGYPC Black coral: http://bit.ly/1zLWn1s Barrel sponge: http://bit.ly/1opvDjb Posidonia sea grass: http://bit.ly/UVoN9u Pond cypress: http://bit.ly/1okVPY6 "Old Tjikko" spruce: http://bit.ly/1s30eq7 Stromatolites: http://bit.ly/1pyymXs Siberian Actinobacteria: http://bit.ly/1xUZ5yR Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Editing/Motion Graphics - Andrew Matthews Gaffer - John Knudsen Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock Produced for PBS Digital Studios Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are © Rachel Sussman, used with permission ----------- 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

    What's the Eldest Living Creature?

  3. 2 hr ago

    Is Height Genetic?

    I'm tall. Here's why! Make watching our videos a habit and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ I’m tall. Most of the people in my family are tall. Does that mean my son will be tall? Turns out the inheritance of height is a lot more complicated than we thought. Scientists know that nature (genes) and nurture (environment) both play a role, but after more than a century of questions, we’re only just now starting to get some answers REFERENCES: Fryar, C.D. et al. (2016). Anthropometric reference data for children and adults: United States, 2011–2014. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 3(39). NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. (2016). A century of trends in adult human height. eLife 5:e13410. Visscher, P.M. et al. (2007). Genome partitioning of genetic variation for height from 11,214 sibling pairs. American Journal of Human Genetics 81:1104–10. Zimmer, C. (2018). She has her mother’s laugh: The powers, perversions, and potential of heredity. New York: Dutton. http://bit.ly/2xi5H0M ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart 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: Maria Ter-Mikaelian Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Matt Fultz 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

  4. 3 hr ago

    The Appetizing Science of CHEESE!

    I am an absolute freak for cheese. Next to bread, it might be our oldest biotechnology! Here's some of the science about how it's made and where it comes from. 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 ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Special thanks to Kara Chadbourne from Antonelli's Cheese in Austin, TX!!! She's a cheese genius. Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios ----------- 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

    The Appetizing Science of CHEESE!

  5. 4 hr ago

    Why Does Time Only Go Forward?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Arrow of Time FAQ: http://preposterousuniverse.com/eternitytohere/faq.html Arrow of Time wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_of_time Sean Carroll's TED talk on time and the multiverse: http://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_distant_time_and_the_hint_of_a_multiverse Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Stock video via Videoblocks Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios ----------- 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

    Why Does Time Only Go Forward?

  6. 5 hr ago

    Why Do We Itch?

    Scratch that itch and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Check out our friends from Above the Noise: http://bit.ly/2KMBMG3 ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ It’s one of the most annoying sensations our bodies can feel, but does anything feel better than when you scratch an itch? Ok, maybe *some* things. But itching and scratching are up there. How does this weird sensation work? And what is itching for? References: http://bit.ly/2IiIqWn ----------- 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: Kimberly McCoy 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

  7. 6 hr ago

    Does Someone Else Have Your Face? Doppelgängers Explained!

    To learn more about Brilliant, check out https://brilliant.org/BeSmart/ SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ They say everyone has a doppelgänger, but is that really true? This week we meet a young woman who found her own look-alike, and figure out how we actually recognize faces. TEST YOUR FACE MEMORY! Cambridge Memory Test http://bit.ly/2Gh0UXo Thorn Child Finder Challenge http://bit.ly/2QQxmnp Acknowledgements: Dr. Teghan Lucas, University of New South Wales Dr. Martin Eimer, Cambridge University Dr. Michael Sheehan, Cornell University Amanda Green (her real Instagram is @4mandagreen) Ruben van der Dussen/Thorn Cheng et al. (2017). The Code for Facial Identity in the Primate Brain. Cell 169, 6 (1013-1028. http://dx.doi.org./10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.011 Huckenbeck (2013). Identification of the Living. University Clinic Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany. Elsevier Ltd. Johnson et al. (1991) Newborns’ preferential tracking of face-like stimuli and its subsequent decline. Cognition. 40(1-2):1-19. Lucas et al. (2016). Comparing the face to the body, which is better for identification? International Journal of Legal Medicine. 130(2):533-40 DOI 10.1007/s00414-015-1158-6 Lucas et al. (2015). Are human faces unique? A metric approach to finding single individuals without duplicates in large samples. Forensic Science International 257 514.e1–514.e6 Parr (2011) The evolution of face processing in primates. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. 366, 1571. DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0358 Robertson et al. (2016). Unfamiliar face recognition : Security, surveillance and smartphones. The Journal of the Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center. (14-21). Thomas (2013). Forensic Anthropology of the Living. Human Skeleton In Forensic Medicine (408-435). ----------- 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: Sarah Keartes Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Derek Borsheim and Sara Roma Producers: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. 7 hr ago

    Sonic Hedgehog Gene - Why You Have Thumbs Rather Than Fins

    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 ↓ Ever wonder why you have thumbs? Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub The human hand, with its multi-talented thumb, might be man's greatest tool. But did you know we can trace that thumb, and the hand and arm it's connected to, all the way back to a 375 million-year-old fish named Tiktaalik? This week I sit down with paleontologist and geneticist Dr. Neil Shubin to learn what a fish, and a little blue hedgehog, can teach us about the evolution of thumbs. Be sure to watch Neil Shubin's special 3-part series "Your Inner Fish" on your local PBS station, premiering Wednesday, April 9 at 10 PM Eastern! http://www.pbs.org/your-inner-fish/home/ Also check out Neil's book "Your Inner Fish": http://amzn.to/1ssBCFt Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- 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

    Sonic Hedgehog Gene - Why You Have Thumbs Rather Than Fins
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About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Joe Hanson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    286