What happened to all of the educational channels?

[sanantone]

Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, History, and National Geographic have a bunch of semi-scripted reality shows. I'm probably missing some channels, but I don't watch much tv. Has the Travel channel turned into the same thing? Maybe I should check out PBS. Otherwise, I get my educational fix by listening to NPR.

[Maniac Craniac]

What happened to all the educational channels?

Maybe I should check out...

Nova and National Geographic documentaries, many of which are online for free. Also check out TED Talks ( please! Do yourself a favor by checking out TED Talks) and vsauce.

YouTube and ITunes U are great clearinghouse for independently produced documentaries and even college lectures for entire courses ( from schools like Yale and Oxford!!!).

On short- STAY AWAY FROM TELEVISION!! It'll rot your brain.

[sanantone]

LOL. Thanks for the suggestions. I do watch documentaries on Netflix, but most seem to be about criminals. I just miss watching the shows about anthropology and zoology.

[Daithi]

Yeah, it's been a while since the education channels have been about education programs. I remember several years ago the Travel channel's most watched programs were episodes of the World Poker Tour --- which at the time was pretty much all they showed. It's just like MTV isn't a music video station anymore and has't been for some time. I happen to like the SyFy channel, but it seems like they are showing wrestling every time I turn it on.

[scorched]

I know what happened..
It's not really a mystery why the US is last in just about every aspect of education.
They would rather watch Honey Boo Boo and other train wrecks than educational programs, so they feel better about themselves.
And strangely the TLC (The LEARNING channel), is the one broadcasting the aforementioned show because it provides revenues through ratings.

But PBS still runs NOVA, and the new series of Making Stuff with David Pogue has been pretty good so far.
My long time favorites are Mythbusters and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.

[Bibby]

Unfortunately, Honey Boo Boo gets better ratings than National Geographic specials, and money tends to trump brains in the TV world. That's hardly the most optimistic indicator of the intellect of American TV viewers.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Maybe I should check out PBS. Otherwise, I get my educational fix by listening to NPR.

Absolutely you should check out PBS. To Maniac's shout-out for Nova add NewsHour, American Experience, Frontline, Nature, and specials all the time.

I like the CBS Evening News which is going for a traditional hard news position with Scott Pelley, who's a tough customer. Oh hey, he's from San Antonio, that must explain it. CBS News Sunday Morning is different and special.

Back to radio, let me get in an recommendation for White Coat, Black Art with Dr. Brian Goldman. This is from CBC Radio in Canada and it should stream online internationally. This is a long-running "medical show" that's possibly never done a story about the latest study about this {food, supplement, exercise, surgery} and that {condition}. Instead WCBA emphasizes higher-level views of… health care systems, professional roles and relationships, medical ethics and humanities. Recent stories or full episodes: Doctors and med students with disabilities. Expanding roles for pharmacists in primary care. Captain Sully on lessons from aviation safety that could be applied to medicine. A full episode for "unsung heroes of health care… doctors and nurses need not apply."

[Chebasaz]

I'll second, third, and fourth the TED talk and NOVA suggestions. No matter your interests, that will keep you busy for weeks.

[scorched]

True that money trumps, but you made my point for me, they only show what people watch. So, I do think it's a pretty decent indicator of intellect.
Just research the average IQ ranked by country, not a lot else need to be said.
Countries with the Highest / Lowest Average IQ | Statistic Brain

Unfortunately, Honey Boo Boo gets better ratings than National Geographic specials, and money tends to trump brains in the TV world. That's hardly the most optimistic indicator of the intellect of American TV viewers.

[sanantone]

I heard that Duck Dynasty was the #1 show on television or at least the #1 show on cable television. I haven't watched it. The trend in reality shows seems to be exploiting southern stereotypes. I put on Animal Planet for my dog, and it feels like they're playing Call of the Wildman half the day.