serial.
PBS Idea Channel poster
Ended · 2012–2016

PBS Idea Channel

Here's an idea: a PBS show that examines the connections between pop culture, technology and art. Mike Rugnetta posts new videos every Wednesday.

Track episodes, rate & review

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Seasons & episodes

Season 1 · 45 episodes
  1. S01 E01 · Super Mario Brothers is the World's Greatest Piece of Surrealist Art
  2. S01 E02 · Is Miku Hatsune a More Authentic Pop Star Than Lana Del Rey?
  3. S01 E03 · Are LOLCats and Internet Memes Art?
  4. S01 E04 · Is Instagram the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Photography?
  5. S01 E05 · Is Minimalism the Secret to Hello Kitty's Success?
  6. S01 E06 · Are Hologram Tupac and Hologram Freddie Mercury Nostalgia or New Aesthetic?
  7. S01 E07 · Are Bronies Changing the Definition of Masculinity?
  8. S01 E08 · Is Twitter the Newest Form of Literature?
  9. S01 E09 · Is the Web Browser Replacing the Art Gallery?
  10. S01 E10 · Are Mashups the End of Music Genres As We Know Them?
  11. S01 E11 · Does Nail Art Prove That Anything Can Be A Canvas for Artistic Expression?
  12. S01 E12 · Does the Kinect Make Microsoft an Arts Benefactor?
  13. S01 E13 · How Did Sherlock Holmes Pave the Way for 50 Shades of Grey?
  14. S01 E14 · Will Minecraft and Makerbot Usher in the Post-Scarcity Economy?
  15. S01 E15 · Is Dubstep Avant Garde Musical Genius?
  16. S01 E16 · Are the Olympics A Model for Creating Geniuses?
  17. S01 E17 · Is Nic Cage the Intersection of YOLO and Taoism?
  18. S01 E18 · Are Memes & Internet Culture Creating a Singularity?
  19. S01 E19 · Is William Gibson A Modern Day Oracle?
  20. S01 E20 · Is Homestuck the Ulysses of the Internet?
  21. S01 E21 · Is Facebook Changing Our Identity?
  22. S01 E22 · Is Diablo III Turning Virtual Economies Into Real Ones?
  23. S01 E23 · What do MP3s and Magic Spells Have in Common?
  24. S01 E24 · Is Doctor Who a Religion?
  25. S01 E25 · Can Dungeons & Dragons Make You A Confident & Successful Person?
  26. S01 E26 · How are Justin Bieber, Franz Liszt and Jerusalem Connected?
  27. S01 E27 · Is CSS and Website Design a Fashion Statement?
  28. S01 E28 · How Will The Animated GIF Affect The Presidential Election?
  29. S01 E29 · Is YouTube Making Us Smarter?
  30. S01 E30 · Is Nostalgia the Reason for Adventure Time's Amazing Awesomeness?
  31. S01 E31 · Should 'Happy Birthday' be Protected by Copyright?
  32. S01 E32 · Are Cell Phones Replacing Reality?
  33. S01 E33 · What Do Santa and Wrestling Have In Common?
  34. S01 E34 · Do We Want the World to End?
  35. S01 E35 · Are Your New Year's Resolutions Bound to Fail?
  36. S01 E36 · Will Space Travel Save Us All?
  37. S01 E37 · Are You A Hipster?
  38. S01 E38 · Top 5 Most Artful Video Games
  39. S01 E39 · Are MP3s & Vinyl Better Than Live Music?
  40. S01 E40 · Is Futurama the Best Argument Against Transhumanism?
  41. S01 E41 · Are Bitcoins and Unusual Hats the Future of Currency?
  42. S01 E42 · There's No Such Thing As Offline?!?
  43. S01 E43 · What Does the Russian Meteorite Tell Us About Surveillance Culture?
  44. S01 E44 · Is Minecraft the Ultimate Educational Tool?
  45. S01 E45 · Do Knock-Offs Prove the Value of a Brand?
Season 2 · 47 episodes
  1. S02 E01 · Is Piracy Helping Game of Thrones?
  2. S02 E02 · Will Kickstarter Replace Hollywood?
  3. S02 E03 · Is Community a Postermodern Masterpiece?
  4. S02 E04 · Is Buying Call of Duty a Moral Choice?
  5. S02 E05 · Is a Tagged Instagram More Than Just a Photo?
  6. S02 E06 · Is a DOS Attack a Weapon?
  7. S02 E07 · Is Sad Music Actually Sad?
  8. S02 E08 · Is Developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethical?
  9. S02 E09 · Is Math a Feature of the Universe or a Feature of Human Creation?
  10. S02 E10 · Is the Universe a Computer?
  11. S02 E11 · Why Do We Love Zombies?
  12. S02 E12 · Can Video Games Become the Next Great Spectator Sport?
  13. S02 E13 · Is the Discovery of Global Warming Our Greatest Scientific Achievement?
  14. S02 E14 · Does Animal Crossing Promote Otaku Citizenship?
  15. S02 E15 · Is BMO From Adventure Time Expressive of Feminism?
  16. S02 E16 · How Does Glitchy Art Show Us Broken is Beautiful?
  17. S02 E17 · How is Jurassic Park a Commentary on Capitalism?
  18. S02 E18 · Does it Matter What Evangelion's Creator Says?
  19. S02 E19 · Is the Internet Cats?
  20. S02 E20 · Is Google Knowledge?
  21. S02 E21 · Are There TWO Nikola Teslas?
  22. S02 E22 · Are the Titans from Attack on Titan Evil?
  23. S02 E23 · How Does Night Vale Confront Us With the Unknown?
  24. S02 E24 · Is There An Introvert Craze Because of Technology?
  25. S02 E25 · Can You Actually Enjoy Breaking Bad?
  26. S02 E26 · Did Horse_ebooks Show Us that SPAM is the Webs Native Artform
  27. S02 E27 · Controlling vs 'Being' Your Video Game Avatar
  28. S02 E28 · How is Slender Man Internet Folklore?
  29. S02 E29 · How is Seeing Ender's Game a Political Action?
  30. S02 E30 · Is Pop Music Holding You Hostage?
  31. S02 E31 · What Does The Doctor Mean to You?
  32. S02 E32 · Sandwiches, Modernity, and Lyrics: A Thanksgiving Episode
  33. S02 E33 · Your Questions Answered! (1)
  34. S02 E34 · Your Questions Answered! (2)
  35. S02 E35 · Do 'Digital Natives' Exist?
  36. S02 E36 · Can Bullet Hell Games Be Meditative?
  37. S02 E37 · Holiday Media Binge
  38. S02 E38 · How Powerful Are Algorithms?
  39. S02 E39 · Does Reality TV Affect Our View On Surveillance?
  40. S02 E40 · The Experience of Being Trolled
  41. S02 E41 · Is Avatar: The Last Airbender Anime?
  42. S02 E42 · Why Do We Hate Selfies?
  43. S02 E43 · What's the Deal With Unboxing Videos?
  44. S02 E44 · What is Fiction? (ft. War of the Worlds)
  45. S02 E45 · Does Fiction Exist? (ft. Harry Potter)
  46. S02 E46 · Does Twitch Plays Pokemon Give You Hope for Humanity?
  47. S02 E47 · When Do Memes Stop Being Funny?
Season 3 · 48 episodes
  1. S03 E01 · Do We Need a Better Archive of the Internet?
  2. S03 E02 · How Is Technology Changing TV Narrative?
  3. S03 E03 · How is Ms. Marvel Changing Media for the Better?
  4. S03 E04 · How Much Can Data Improve Your Health?
  5. S03 E05 · Did HIMYM Earn Its Ending?
  6. S03 E06 · Can You Make a Movie So Bad It's Good On Purpose?
  7. S03 E07 · Do You 'Choose' To Have Your Privacy Invaded By Using Tech?
  8. S03 E08 · The Future of Fandoms
  9. S03 E09 · How Is Orphan Black An Illustration of the Simulacrum?
  10. S03 E10 · 100th-ish Episode Special
  11. S03 E11 · SRSLY What Does IKEA Say About The Human Condition?
  12. S03 E12 · Why Are There So Many Super Hero Movies?
  13. S03 E13 · Net Neutrality: Is the Internet a Public Utility?
  14. S03 E14 · When Will We Worry About the Well-Being of Robots?
  15. S03 E15 · Are There Rules For Spoilers?
  16. S03 E16 · Could Sports Ever Replace War?
  17. S03 E17 · Is Cosplay a Form of Theatre?
  18. S03 E18 · Why Were People & Critics So Infatuated With Frozen?
  19. S03 E19 · Are There Internet Dialects?
  20. S03 E20 · A Love Letter To The Simpsons
  21. S03 E21 · Is Kill La Kill a Warning about Wearable Technology?
  22. S03 E22 · What is a tweet worth? #ALSIceBucketChallenge
  23. S03 E23 · 2 Short Ideas: Art, Distance and The Daily Show
  24. S03 E24 · Does Pop Culture Need To Be 'Popular'?
  25. S03 E25 · Furthermore: The Return of Bronies, Homestuck, Avatars, Hipsters & Old Memes
  26. S03 E26 · Related Videos: The GIF's Visual Language In Music Videos
  27. S03 E27 · What Do Hot Sauce Labels Say About America?
  28. S03 E28 · How To Create Responsible Social Criticism
  29. S03 E29 · Are Videogames About Their Mechanics?
  30. S03 E30 · Five Fallacies
  31. S03 E31 · What Do Horror Movies and Cable News Networks Have in Common?
  32. S03 E32 · LITERALLY OUR MOST AMAZING EPISODE EVER!!!
  33. S03 E33 · Hell is Quoting Other People
  34. S03 E34 · What Does Too Many Cooks Say About the Meaning of Life?
  35. S03 E35 · Your Questions Answered! Part II
  36. S03 E36 · How Mighty is Taylor Swift's Pen?
  37. S03 E37 · Is Over The Garden Wall About Having Faith?
  38. S03 E38 · Coffee, Mesmerism, and Morning Routines
  39. S03 E39 · Even More Fallacies!
  40. S03 E40 · The Uncertain Connection Between North Korea and Hackers
  41. S03 E41 · How Objective Is The Law? Serial: Part 1
  42. S03 E42 · Should Journalism Be Objective? Serial: Part 2
  43. S03 E43 · Do You Have the Right to Be Forgotten?
  44. S03 E44 · Love Bending and Fan Fiction with Korra
  45. S03 E45 · Why Makeup Isn't Superficial
  46. S03 E46 · Bored Americans Using Teleporters! (3 Shorts)
  47. S03 E47 · How Do We and The Sims Perform Gender?
  48. S03 E48 · Is Reality TV The Future of Space Travel?
Season 4 · 79 episodes
  1. S04 E01 · Are Comic Book Characters Like D&D Players?
  2. S04 E02 · Do Upvotes Show Democracy's Flaws?
  3. S04 E03 · How Does Steven Universe Expand Our Ideas of Family?
  4. S04 E04 · Why Are You Ignoring My iMessages??
  5. S04 E05 · Is The LEGO Movie Anti-Copyright?
  6. S04 E06 · What's the Deal With Amiibos?
  7. S04 E07 · What Does The SAT Really Test?
  8. S04 E08 · Is A Thor By Any Other Name Still Thor?
  9. S04 E09 · Why Do Americans Love Road Trips?
  10. S04 E10 · Country Music: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
  11. S04 E11 · Do We Live In The Future?
  12. S04 E12 · DON'T CLICK THIS VIDEO!
  13. S04 E13 · Why Are There So Many Remakes?? (besides $$$)
  14. S04 E14 · Comment Responses: "Do We Live in The Future?" & "r/TheButton"
  15. S04 E15 · How Accurate Should Movies Be?
  16. S04 E16 · Comment Responses: "How Accurate Should Movies Be?"
  17. S04 E17 · When Does Play Become Work?
  18. S04 E18 · Comment Responses: "When Does Play Become Work?"
  19. S04 E19 · Three Laws of The Internet Explained!
  20. S04 E20 · Comment Responses: "Three Laws of The Internet Explained!"
  21. S04 E21 · What If We're All Minions??
  22. S04 E22 · Comments Responses: "What If We're All Minions?"
  23. S04 E23 · 100% Organic Idea Channel Episode
  24. S04 E24 · Comment Responses: "100% Organic Idea Channel Episode"
  25. S04 E25 · Should You Watch Leaks?
  26. S04 E26 · Comment Responses: "Should You Watch Leaks"
  27. S04 E27 · Are All Hotel Rooms The Same Place?
  28. S04 E28 · Comment Responses: "Are All Hotel Rooms The Same Place?"
  29. S04 E29 · If There Are No Pics, Did It Happen?
  30. S04 E30 · Comment Responses: "If There Are No Pics, Did It Happen?"
  31. S04 E31 · Is Rick from Rick & Morty The Ideal Scientist?
  32. S04 E32 · Comment Responses: "Is Rick from Rick & Morty The Ideal Scientist?"
  33. S04 E33 · Do Makers Propose a More Open Source Future?
  34. S04 E34 · Comment Responses: "Do Makers Propose A More Open Source Future?"
  35. S04 E35 · What's The Deal With Classroom Trigger Warnings?
  36. S04 E36 · Comment Responses: What's The Deal With Classroom Trigger Warnings?
  37. S04 E37 · Are 400+ TV Shows Happening in the Same Universe?
  38. S04 E38 · Comment Responses: Are 400+ TV Shows Happening in the Same Universe?
  39. S04 E39 · Are You Literally What You Post?
  40. S04 E40 · Comment Responses: Are You Literally What You Post?
  41. S04 E41 · Does Pokemon Start After a Massive War?
  42. S04 E42 · Comment Responses: Does Pokemon Start After a Massive War?
  43. S04 E43 · Have #Brands™ Become Mythological?
  44. S04 E44 · Comment Responses: Have #Brands™ Become Mythological?
  45. S04 E45 · Do All Horror Monsters Fit Into 5 Categories?
  46. S04 E46 · Comment Responses: Do All Horror Monsters Fit Into 5 Categories?
  47. S04 E47 · Why Do Stormtroopers Have Bad Aim?
  48. S04 E48 · Comment Responses: Why Do Stormtroopers Have Bad Aim?
  49. S04 E49 · Were They Dead the Whole Time??
  50. S04 E50 · Comment Responses: Were They Dead the Whole Time??
  51. S04 E51 · To AdBlock, Or Not to Adblock...
  52. S04 E52 · Comment Responses: To AdBlock, Or Not to Adblock...
  53. S04 E53 · Is Ron Dumbledore??
  54. S04 E54 · Holidays Be Creepin'
  55. S04 E55 · Comment Responses: Christmas Creep & Is Ron Dumbledore??
  56. S04 E56 · Is Language a Virus? Starring Punished
  57. S04 E57 · Comment Responses: Is Language a Virus?
  58. S04 E58 · Eleventy Reasons Listicles Are Great
  59. S04 E59 · The Ruins of Las Vegas
  60. S04 E60 · Comment Responses: Eleventy Reasons Listicles Are Great
  61. S04 E61 · Do You Want to Believe?
  62. S04 E62 · Comment Responses: The Ruins of Las Vegas
  63. S04 E63 · Comment Responses: Do You Want to Believe?
  64. S04 E64 · Is Undertale The Most Violent Game This Year?
  65. S04 E65 · Comment Responses: Is Undertale The Most Violent Game This Year?
  66. S04 E66 · Related Videos: Devour, Digest, YouTube Poop
  67. S04 E67 · Comment Responses: Related Videos: Devour, Digest, YouTube Poop
  68. S04 E68 · Which Reaction GIF Are You??
  69. S04 E69 · Comment Responses: Which Reaction GIF Are You??
  70. S04 E70 · Fallout 4: Is the Transistor a Symbol of Peace?
  71. S04 E71 · Comment Responses: Fallout 4: Is the Transistor a Symbol of Peace?
  72. S04 E72 · How Does Deadpool Know He's a Comic Book Character?
  73. S04 E73 · What is ~A E S T H E T I C~ Experience?
  74. S04 E74 · Comment Responses: How Does Deadpool Know He's a Comic Book Character?
  75. S04 E75 · Comment Responses: What is ~A E S T H E T I C~ Experience?
  76. S04 E76 · Is Jar Jar Binks a Sith Lord?
  77. S04 E77 · Comment Responses: Is Jar Jar Binks a Sith Lord?
  78. S04 E78 · Why Aren't All Cocktails Served in the Same Glass?
  79. S04 E79 · Comment Responses: Why Aren't All Cocktails Served in the Same Glass?
Season 5 · 2 episodes
  1. S05 E01 · Is It Okay To Mourn Celebrity Death Online?
  2. S05 E02 · Comment Responses: Is It Okay To Mourn Celebrity Death Online?

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