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MinuteEarth – Minute Earth — Earth Sciences
MinuteEarth – Minute Earth

From the creators of the popular science show with millions of YouTube subscribers comes the MinuteEarth podcast. Every episode of the show dives deep into a science question you might not even know you had – but once you hear the answer, you’ll want to share it with everyone you know. Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short, entertaining explanation jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. We’ll tell the incredible story of how monkeys crossed the Atlantic ocean on natural rafts, and we’ll explain why it gets hotter the deeper you dig underground.

Copyright: © MinuteEarth 2024

Latest Episodes:

Mountain weather Jul 20, 2025

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MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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Soil creep Jul 19, 2025

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MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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Why We Faint (When Other Animals Don't) Jul 18, 2025

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

"Fight or flight": an instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation that readies animals (including humans) to either resist forcibly or escape
Fainting: loss of consciousness caused by a temporary lack of oxygen to the brain, also known as “syncope.”
Vasovagal syncope: a type of fainting that happens when your body overreacts to an emotional trigger like being in danger, seeing blood, or even just hearing some shocking news.
Tonic immobility: an instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation that causes some animals to relax their muscles and “freeze” in place, sometimes causing them to fall over
Jump scare: a technique often used in horror films meant to scare the audience with a sudden change on screen, usually paired with a loud sound

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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How Do Some Waves Get SO Big? Jul 17, 2025

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

Amplitude - The distance between the crest and trough of a wave.
Bathymetry - The measurement of depth of water in oceans, seas, or lakes.
Nazaré Canyon - An undersea canyon just off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest submarine canyon in Europe, reaching depths of about 5,000 meters (16,000 ft) deep and a length of about 230 kilometers (140 mi).
Plunging Breaker - Occurs when there are rapid depth changes. The crest of the wave becomes very steep, and the rear of the wave violently plunges over the front.
Reef Break - A location where waves break over a reef, often amplifying them.
Spilling Breaker - Occurs when the seafloor slopes gradually. As the wave becomes unstable, energy is dissipated by water spilling over the crest of the wave.
Swell - a slow, regular movement of the sea in rolling waves that do not break.
Wave period - The time between waves.

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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The Ecology of Superheroes Jul 16, 2025

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

carbon sequestration: the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide
productivity: the rate of generation of biomass (and therefore carbon storage) in an ecosystem

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you like what we do, you can help us!

- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Buy our book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://minuteearth.com/books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Proteins: Explained Jul 15, 2025

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

Amino acids: are organic compounds that contain amino (–NH2) and carboxyl (–COOH) functional groups, along with a side chain specific to each amino acid.
Proteins: are macromolecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Most proteins fold into unique 3D structures. The shape into which a protein naturally folds is known as its native conformation.
Alpha helix (α-helix): is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues earlier along the protein sequence.
Beta sheet (β-sheet): is a common motif of the regular protein secondary structure and consists of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone hydrogen bonds, forming a generally twisted, pleated sheet.
Ribbon diagrams: are 3D schematic representations of protein structure that shows the overall path and organization of the protein backbone in 3D. Ribbon diagrams are generated by interpolating a smooth curve through the polypeptide backbone. α-helices are shown as coiled ribbons or thick tubes, β-strands as arrows, and non-repetitive coils or loops as lines or thin tubes.

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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Which Will Kill You First? Jul 14, 2025

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

Hyperthermia: a medical condition where an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal
Hypothermia: a medical doncition that occurs when an individual's body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different
Denaturation: the alteration of a protein shape through some form of external stress (for example, heat), so that it can no longer carry out its cellular function

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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Subterranean River Jul 13, 2025

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MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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Chimps and Bonobos Jul 12, 2025

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MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

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- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Why "Nothing" Matters in Science Jul 11, 2025

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

Null result: a result in a scientific study that doesn’t support the hypothesis
Premature birth: also known as preterm birth, is a birth that occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy
XENON1T: a highly sensitive experiment to search for direct interactions of dark matter particles. It’s located deep under Italy’s Gran Sasso mountain at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory.

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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If you like what we do, you can help us!

- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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