Verge Science

Verge Science was the science video series from the technology news site The Verge, made by a team of producers, reporters and a science editor. It stopped uploading new videos in late 2022, but its archive is still well worth exploring.

The videos cover energy, space, materials, nature, the human body and AI. Most are short documentaries of around six to ten minutes, with reporters visiting labs and talking to the researchers involved. They are carefully filmed and edited, and they tend to explain both the science and the practical hurdles that stop a breakthrough reaching the real world.

Some highlights include:

An explanation of graphene, why it was hailed as a wonder material and why it has been slow to reach everyday products.

A look at shape memory alloys, metals that return to their original shape, and how they could be used on Mars.

A report on the large stockpile of spent nuclear fuel in the United States and the engineering challenge of storing it safely.

The channel has over 1.1 million subscribers.

Many of these stories are really about engineering problems: making a new material at scale, storing hazardous waste or building hardware for space. They connect to materials engineering, nuclear engineering and aerospace. Watching how researchers talk about their work is also a good taste of what a career in research and development looks like.