Journey to the Microcosmos

Season 72019

Take a dive into the tiny, unseen world that surrounds us! With music by Andrew Huang, footage from James Weiss, and narration by Hank Green, we want to take you on a fascinating, reflective journey through the microcosmos.

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30 Episodes

E01 Meet the Microcosmos

Join us on the first episode of Journey to the Microcosmos as we take a dive into the tiny, unseen world that surrounds us! With music by Andrew Huang, footage from James Weiss, and narration by Hank Green, we hope to take you on a fascinating, reflective journey!

June 24, 2019

E02 How Microscopic Hunters Get Their Lunch

On this week's journey, we explore the ways things eat in the microcosmos, from Stentors filter feeding to Dileptus hunting down and absorbing its prey.

July 1, 2019

E03 Stentors: Single-Celled Giants

It's time to meet a single-celled organism that is bigger than a tardigrade! We'll learn how Stentors reproduce, why they look like trumpets, and why some of them are just SO BLUE!

July 8, 2019

E04 How Do Microorganisms Reproduce?

How do stentors make more stentors? Does Paramecium reproduce sexually or asexually? Find out on this week's journey as we explore the ways the microcosmos reproduce!

July 15, 2019

E05 Where Did Eukaryotic Cells Come From? - A Journey Into Endosymbiotic Theory

1.8 billion years ago, a cell ate another cell, but it didn't digest it, and without that happening, we would not exist. This week we explore the origins of eukaryotic cells and ask the question, "Are our cells more than ourselves?"

July 22, 2019

E06 Tardigrades: Chubby, Misunderstood, & Not Immortal

We know these cute little water bears can survive the vacuum of space but are they actually immortal? We'll explore that and other misconceptions about tardigrades in this week's journey!

July 29, 2019

E07 How Do Protozoa Get Around?

If you were a protozoan, how would you zoom zoom zoom all around the microcosmos? From false feet to microtubules, find out how these single-celled eukaryotes make their way through the universe.

August 5, 2019

E08 Diatoms: Tiny Factories You Can See From Space

We owe so much to diatoms! They help us make beer, paint, and kitty litter, and they're responsible for some of the air you're breathing right now!

August 12, 2019

E09 Mysterious Jiggly Crystals and Other Intracellular Structures

Let's journey deep into the cells themselves to take a look at some of the structures that keep cells alive and others that do... something... that we'll figure out someday... probably.

August 20, 2019

E10 How Do Colonies Help Microorganisms Survive?

In the microcosmos, it's dangerous to go alone. This week we go on a journey into colonies to find out why sticking together is such a great strategy!

August 26, 2019

E11 Death in the Microcosmos

Death is inevitable and mysterious, even in the microcosmos. Stentors, heliozoans, and yes, even tardigrades, experience death in many different ways.

September 2, 2019

E12 Euglenoids: Single-Celled Shapeshifters

Euglenoids have had a very, very long time to evolve, and that has led to the things they have evolved into being extremely diverse—so diverse that, combined with the varied shape-shifting abilities of its member species, euglenoids have proven challenging to both identify and classify.

September 9, 2019

E13 Hydra: Stretchy, Speedy, & Probably Immortal

The hydra of mythology may not be as far off from reality as you think! Let's take a journey to the mall to meet our tentacled, regenerating friends!

September 16, 2019

E14 Relax and Enjoy the View

This week, we're taking a bit of a break, but we thought you might also like one. So, today, let's all just sit and look at our lovely little friends while we take a breath and enjoy Andrew Huang's amazing music.

September 23, 2019

E15 Life Without Oxygen? Challenge Accepted

Slimy, a little smelly, maybe even a little gross, but to many organisms, the oxic-anoxic transition is a shifting chemical boundary that has created a challenge for life...a challenge it conquered.

October 1, 2019

E16 Rotifers: Charmingly Bizarre & Often Ignored

We also don't really know what rotifers are... but we'll try to tell you as much as we know!

October 7, 2019

E17 The Microscopic Circle of Life

Life is chemistry. From diatom to Diana, life is not a magical imbued trait, is a process of the physics of our universe. The precise and convoluted chemistry of life requires specific physical and chemical situations. And this planet has a dizzying variety of such circumstances that, over millions or even billions of years, living chemical systems have evolved to thrive in.

October 14, 2019

E18 Amoebas: Occasional Brain-Eaters

Yes, they might eat your brain, but there's a lot more to amoebas than that!

October 21, 2019

E19 The Colors of the Microcosmos

We see the colors of the microcosmos every single week, but let's stop and ask why our some microbes are bright green, while others are a golden brown.

October 28, 2019

E20 Eating, Hatching, and Crashing into the Moon: More About Tardigrades

This week, the microcosmos meet the cosmos as we explore even more fascinating things about our friend, the tardigrade. We'll discuss their weird weird mouths, how we take care of our tardigrades, and what's going to happen to those tardigrades that crashed into the moon.

November 4, 2019

E21 Are Microbes Good or Bad for Humans?

Where is the line between good and bad microorganisms and why do we seem to know so much more about the bad ones?

November 11, 2019

E22 Paramecium: The White Rat of Ciliates

These world travelers might be, well, almost everywhere, but there is a still a lot we don't know about the famous paramecium.

November 18, 2019

E23 Microorganisms Are Cleaning the Water You Drink

Microbes are used for everything from baking to brewing, but wastewater treatment is where they do some of their most important work.

November 25, 2019

E24 What Microscope Do We Use? (And Other Frequently Asked Questions)

December 3, 2019

E25 What Humans and Stentors Have in Common

This week, we're diving back into the world of Stentors to find out what humans and Stentors have in common!

December 9, 2019

E26 Gastrotrichs: Four Day Old Grandmothers

These little hairy-bellied friends lead a very interesting life, albeit a short one.

December 16, 2019

E27 We Recorded Some Strange Goop. What Is It?

This week's journey comes to you unedited and in real-time as we explore a mysterious infection.

December 23, 2019

E28 What If All the Microbes Disappeared?

In a world without microbes, this channel wouldn't exist. But there are other, more important things that would stop existing as well, and today we're going to explore just what could survive a world without our little micro friends, and for how long.

December 31, 2019

E29 Desmids: The Symmetrical Algae That's Full of Crystals

January 6, 2020

E30 Microbes Don’t Actually Look Like Anything

January 14, 2020

Journey to the Microcosmos

E01 Meet the Microcosmos

E02 How Microscopic Hunters Get Their Lunch

E03 Stentors: Single-Celled Giants

E04 How Do Microorganisms Reproduce?

E05 Where Did Eukaryotic Cells Come From? - A Journey Into Endosymbiotic Theory

E06 Tardigrades: Chubby, Misunderstood, & Not Immortal

E07 How Do Protozoa Get Around?

E08 Diatoms: Tiny Factories You Can See From Space

E09 Mysterious Jiggly Crystals and Other Intracellular Structures

E10 How Do Colonies Help Microorganisms Survive?

E11 Death in the Microcosmos

E12 Euglenoids: Single-Celled Shapeshifters

E13 Hydra: Stretchy, Speedy, & Probably Immortal

E14 Relax and Enjoy the View

E15 Life Without Oxygen? Challenge Accepted

E16 Rotifers: Charmingly Bizarre & Often Ignored

E17 The Microscopic Circle of Life

E18 Amoebas: Occasional Brain-Eaters

E19 The Colors of the Microcosmos

E20 Eating, Hatching, and Crashing into the Moon: More About Tardigrades

E21 Are Microbes Good or Bad for Humans?

E22 Paramecium: The White Rat of Ciliates

E23 Microorganisms Are Cleaning the Water You Drink

E24 What Microscope Do We Use? (And Other Frequently Asked Questions)

E25 What Humans and Stentors Have in Common

E26 Gastrotrichs: Four Day Old Grandmothers

E27 We Recorded Some Strange Goop. What Is It?

E28 What If All the Microbes Disappeared?

E29 Desmids: The Symmetrical Algae That's Full of Crystals

E30 Microbes Don’t Actually Look Like Anything

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E01 Meet the Microcosmos

E02 How Microscopic Hunters Get Their Lunch

E03 Stentors: Single-Celled Giants

E04 How Do Microorganisms Reproduce?

E05 Where Did Eukaryotic Cells Come From? - A Journey Into Endosymbiotic Theory

E06 Tardigrades: Chubby, Misunderstood, & Not Immortal

E07 How Do Protozoa Get Around?

E08 Diatoms: Tiny Factories You Can See From Space

E09 Mysterious Jiggly Crystals and Other Intracellular Structures

E10 How Do Colonies Help Microorganisms Survive?

E11 Death in the Microcosmos

E12 Euglenoids: Single-Celled Shapeshifters

E13 Hydra: Stretchy, Speedy, & Probably Immortal

E14 Relax and Enjoy the View

E15 Life Without Oxygen? Challenge Accepted

E16 Rotifers: Charmingly Bizarre & Often Ignored

E17 The Microscopic Circle of Life

E18 Amoebas: Occasional Brain-Eaters

E19 The Colors of the Microcosmos

E20 Eating, Hatching, and Crashing into the Moon: More About Tardigrades

E21 Are Microbes Good or Bad for Humans?

E22 Paramecium: The White Rat of Ciliates

E23 Microorganisms Are Cleaning the Water You Drink

E24 What Microscope Do We Use? (And Other Frequently Asked Questions)

E25 What Humans and Stentors Have in Common

E26 Gastrotrichs: Four Day Old Grandmothers

E27 We Recorded Some Strange Goop. What Is It?

E28 What If All the Microbes Disappeared?

E29 Desmids: The Symmetrical Algae That's Full of Crystals