Information, politics, fresh ideas and pervasive arguments: Here are 9 online videos that both educating AND entertaining.

Take 90 minutes over the weekend and watch them. It’s worth it!

1) „A squirrel dying in your front yard may be more relevant to your interest right now than people in Africa.“ (Mark Zuckerberg): Eli Pariser in a TED talk about the hidden filters and unknown customization that narrow down your Google searches and hide „lesser“ friends on your Facebook stream:

2) Games educate, manipulate and control their players through rewards and rules. And game designer Jesse Schell argues, that these game mechanics invade real life… and are used to modify people’s behavior:

3) A good ‚RSA Animate‘ talk: „Drive – the surprising truth about what motivates us“

4) Rachel Maddow, journalist and star of a daily MSNBC news show, talks about the right-wing and conservative US news media (Fox news etc.)… and how half-truths and propaganda get more and more self-perpetuating in ‚closed, self-contained and biased media circles‘:

5) Good animation, smart commentary… but a somehow amateurish, shrill tone: I don’t love the ‚The Story of Stuff‘ series. Still: Worth a look!

6) Simple idea… but excellent execution: If you like movies… or study Cultural Studies… you should see Kirby Ferguson’s „Everything is a remix“ series:

7) Anita Sarkeesian of „Feminist Frequency“ explains tired tropes and misogynist clichès in mainstream movies. In this must-see video, she explains ‚The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies‘. Go watch her other videos, too!

8) Bryan Safi of the web comedy news show ‚InfoMania‘ talks about horrible writing for gay characters in TV shows like ‚Desperate Housewifes‘ and ‚Ugly Betty‘:

9) „If you have three black people in it… [people will think that] it is a black product.“ Dwayne McDuffie (1962 – 2011), one of the few successful black comic creators, talks about racist fans and the huge backlash against minority super-heroes: