Hank Green: Attention. It's our most valuable resource. It's kind of all that we have. 

So why is it so hard not to constantly give it away? 

Hi, I'm Hank Green. 

Sage: I'm Sage. 

Amanda Montell: I'm Amanda Montell. 

Kousha Navidar: I'm Kousha Navidar. 

Curly Velasquez: I'm Curly Velasquez. 

Che Jim: I'm Che Jim. 

Lily Gladstone: [in Native language:] Hello, friends! My name is Eagle Woman and I come from The Blackfoot People. 

John Green: Hi, I'm John Green. 

Shan Boodram: Hi, I'm Shan Boodram. 

Hank Green: And this is Crash Course. 

[Theme music]

Okay, I think it's very important that you pay attention to this video  So we've got a plan. 

At random points, I'm going to flip a coin, and if it's heads, I get to eat a peanut M&M, and if it's tails, I get to eat a clove of garlic. 

What's really driving what we pat attention to? Is it the dreaded algorithm, the result of some evil genius design, or is it human nature that we are the ones who are simply hard-wired for distraction and outrage and whatever this is? [Cat playing piano]

Social media platforms, including YouTube, are what's called complex systems, meaning behaviour happens in non-linear ways, often unpredictably, and you can't fully understand it by looking at just individual components. 

Instead, you have to look at how those components interact. 

[Attention check!]

Oh my God, we're flipping a coin already. We're flipping a coin already. We got heads. The door is heads. 

Peanut M&M. 

When we talk about social media algorithms these days, we are mostly talking about content recommendation algorithms. That's how your various feeds get generated and constantly optimised based on your previous behaviour. 

And the thing is, there's so much more data on your implicit or knee-jerk unthinking behaviour, like how long you lingered on a video, for example, than on your explicit or intended behaviour, like clicking thumbs up or thumbs down. 

And that means that algorithms are plugged into our most under-baked lizard brain reactions, giving us more and more of that video you hate-watched in the moment and then felt gross about later, and less and less of what the best versions of ourselves actually want to see. 

And that, in turn, puts pressure on creators to optimise for things like outrage. 

I have an example of this. 

My brother recently made a video called "We Know How to End Tuberculosis", and it was on track to be one of the Vlogbrothers' worst performing videos in recent history. Even though it is literally about the deadliest infectious disease of all time, and the fact that we know how to cure it. 

So, I changed the title of the video. I changed it to "Elon cancelled This... Let's Do It Anyway", and it went from being our worst performing video of the month to the best performing video of the month. 

Which was good for educating the world about tuberculosis, but also I still felt kind of bad about it. 

So, you see what I mean? It's hard not to give in to this pressure to change your story so it latches onto negative emotions. 

It's everywhere. It's how news is framed. It's in the scientific information we receive and so much more. 

And algorithms aren't just amplifying outrage. Some studies have even shown that lies spread more quickly than true information on social media precisely because they seem novel or surprising. They capture our attention. 

[Attention check!]

OK, there it is. They capture our attention, and thus I capture... I got another heads, everybody. I dropped it. I love this game.

It's going to be hilarious when I don't eat any garlic. [Clip of him eating garlic]

But here's the thing. Over here at Crash Course, we're not really playing the algorithm game.

I mean, we will try to hook you with engaging titles and thumbnails and meat and garlic cloves, of course, but a video about mitosis is always going to be a video about mitosis. 

And what are we going to do? Like, not teach you about mitosis? The people got to know. 

At Crash Course, we're not choosing what stories to tell based on what's going to make the algorithm happy. We're choosing to teach what needs to be taught. 

In the last year, we wrapped up our series on religions and political theory, and we released new ones on sex ed, Native American history, Latin American literature, kids literature, futures in Artificial Intelligence, and scientific thinking. 

Science high five! [Hank and Sage high five]

We're also continuing to experiment with longer form videos, the latest one featuring best-selling author Amanda Montell talking about linguistics and persuasion. 

Many of the topics we cover are under-taught and underfunded subjects where teachers and students have limited access to high-quality resources, and they're subjects that many of us wish we were taught. 

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from people decades out of school who are watching a series like Native American history trying to fill in the gaps in their education. 

And here's the amazing thing. We're not really playing the algorithm game, and yet Crash Course was viewed 143 million times last year because people all over the world made the conscious choice to give us their attention. 

That is incredible, and we are so grateful. And we've got lots more in store for you: geology, English language, and series that will answer big questions on US government and politics, more long-form lectures.

And now that studio Complexly is a non-profit, we belong to the public, and Crash Course is better poised than ever to keep making trustworthy content that is freely accessible. 

[Attention check!]

Another, okay. Can I continue my streak?

I cannot. 

I chose a small one. That's spicy. That's why we cook those. 

But listen, not playing the algorithm game comes at a cost. It is expensive to make high-quality educational material, especially when you don't cater to the whimsical of the internet. 

Though I admit I am kind of doing that right now. 

But every Crash Course video is worked on by 20+ human people who are absolutely devoted to quality and integrity, from subject matter experts to writers, editors, producers, animators, hosts, and the list goes on.

And that's why we need you. Each year, we produce a new Crash Course coin, and each coin that people like you purchase helps us reach thousands of learners. 

This year, the coin is inspired by our goal and commitment to being a signal in the noise. It shows a sound wave, that for us represents our commitment to offering clarity, context, and meaning. 

And actually, this is the sound wave for the words "knowledge weighs nothing," which is part of a phrase that we've printed on every Crash Course coin to date: "Knowledge weighs nothing, carry all you can." 

These coins are beautiful objects minted in Arkansas from hand-engraved dies at Shore Post Mint, and they are only available for a limited time. 

Each coin represents your ability to help us reach thousands of learners. For example, every $100 coin helps us reach 2000 learners, and every $500 coin helps us reach 10,000 learners. 

This year, we are also offering coins that help us reach 20,000 and 100,000 learners. 

And this is our 6th year of the Crash Course coin and our first year as non-profit. It feels a little weird to say this, but some of you have asked for an even higher value coin, so we created a big hefty bronze coin that represents your ability to help us reach 200,000 learners. 

[Attention check!]

Oh God, is this the last one? And it's a tails. 

Oh wait, this is a clunker. Yes, okay. 

Oh my God. God, it's so hot. 

I'm fine. 

I know that the concept of this video is somewhat silly, but we are truly honoured to do this work. I think of Crash Course as one of the most meaningful projects I have ever been a part of. 

Your purchase of the coin at any level allows us to create some of the best possible educational resources and make them accessible anytime, anywhere. 

We take that responsibility extremely seriously, so thank you for your attention and for your support. 

The 2026 Crash Course coins are only available until May 29th. Go to crashcoursecoin.com now, or check the link in the description, and help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever.