Harvard University

Harvard University

@harvard · 2.9M subscribers · 3,789 videos · English

Welcome to Harvard University! We share videos about life and learning that takes place here on campus and around the world. At Harvard we are devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally. Our three main campuses—in Cambridge, Allston, and Boston, Massachusetts—are a home to students and faculty, a hub of research and innovation, and a destination for visitors from all over the world. Established in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States and today consists of the undergraduate Harva

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34:40

Harvard Thinking: When lonely hearts turn to AI

6K views · 7d ago · 34:40

Relationships are hard and people are lonely. Enter: chatbots. They can be your best friend, your therapist, your romantic partner, even your spiritual guide. But what is lost when we turn to machines for human connection? In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with humanist chaplain Greg Epstein, psychologist Anat Perry, and ethical intelligence researcher Julian De Freitas about how the frictionless nature of chatbots is affecting our human relationships.

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1:24

Where did Halloween come from?

4K views · 14d ago · 1:24

Ciara Ní Riain, lecturer at Harvard University's Department of Celtic Languages & Literatures, tells the story of how the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain morphed into the modern holiday of Halloween.

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2:20

Where did Halloween come from? | Harvard Explains

11K views · 18d ago · 2:20

Have you ever wondered where trick-or-treating came from? Or why we carve spooky faces into pumpkins? The origins of both practices, and Halloween itself, come from the Celtic festival of Samhain. Ciara Ní Riain, lecturer at Harvard University's Department of Celtic Languages & Literatures, tells the story of how the ancient Irish festival morphed into what we now know as Halloween.

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27:41

Harvard Thinking: Who should take GLP-1s?

7K views · 21d ago · 27:41

GLP-1 usage has surged as a weight loss management drug. But given how new they are to the market, medical professionals are only now starting to figure out who should – and should not – be using them. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with obesity specialist Caroline Apovian, evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman, and obesity medicine physician scientist Fatima Cody Stanford about why we should be excited – and cautious – about the potential of GLP-1s.

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34:40

Harvard Thinking: Is your parenting style working?

11K views · 1mo ago · 34:40

Children have minds of their own and those minds might lead to behaviors parents either want to mitigate or reinforce. Parents have difficult choices to make when it comes to guiding their kids, all with the goal of raising successful human beings. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with economist Emily Oster, clinical psychologist Meredith Elkins, and educator Kiran Bhai about how to tell if your parenting tactics are helping or hurting your kid’s development.

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1:53

What Sea Urchins Can Teach Us About Healthy Aging

11K views · 1mo ago · 1:53

Andrea Bodnar studies what sea urchins can teach us about healthy aging. As science director at the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI), she compares species that live only a few years with others that can live for more than 200. Sea urchins and humans share many of the same cellular processes, and understanding how these animals maintain their health could help researchers identify new targets for drugs to treat age-related diseases and cancer.

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32:06

Harvard Thinking: The healing power of gene therapy

12K views · 1mo ago · 32:06

Gene therapy has been used to treat many previously incurable conditions, like correcting deadly genetic disorders or giving children born with hearing loss the ability to hear. The field has massive potential, but there are still many economic, regulatory, and scientific hurdles to overcome to adequately address a variety of both rare and more common conditions.

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2:00

Welcome to Harvard, Class of 2030!

96K views · 2mo ago · 2:00

As Harvard’s Class of 2030 arrived in Harvard Yard for move-in day, students shared what they’re looking forward to, from meeting new people to starting classes to exploring campus, while their parents talked about their own mixed emotions. They shared feeling both pride and sadness that comes with the day, and the start of a new chapter—for everyone.

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3:32

Interning at the Arnold Arboretum | The Hunnewell Internship Program

5K views · 2mo ago · 3:32

Every year, a small group of plant sciences students and recent graduates come to the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in Boston to learn more about public gardens as part of the Isabella Welles Hunnewell Internship Program. The paid interns spend the summer working in the landscape with the arboretum's experts, who serve as mentors. Each intern picks a specialty, ranging from being a climbing arborist to collections management.

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1:20

John and Abigail Adams' letters

8K views · 4mo ago · 1:20

In the Adams House library, Harvard alumni Amy Brenneman AB '87, MRPL '26, and Courtney B. Vance AB '82 read letters written between John and Abigail Adams. The Adams lived apart much of their married life, and often corresponded via letters. These two letters were written around the time of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, while John was in Philadelphia and Abigail was in Massachusetts.

▶️ Mentioned videos: Hear more of letters on the Office for the Arts Harvard YouTube channel

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1:39

A New Nation: The Bloody Massacre

14K views · 4mo ago · 1:39

John Overholt, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts at Harvard’s Houghton Library, explores Paul Revere’s The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, one of the most influential and provocative images of the years leading up to the American Revolution. Produced just three weeks after British soldiers shot and killed five Bostonians on March 5, 1770, the engraving helped shape how the event was understood throughout the colonies.

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1:36

A New Nation: The Bloody Massacre

13K views · 4mo ago · 1:36

John Overholt, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts at Harvard’s Houghton Library, explores Paul Revere’s The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, one of the most influential and provocative images of the years leading up to the American Revolution. Produced just three weeks after British soldiers shot and killed five Bostonians on March 5, 1770, the engraving helped shape how the event was understood throughout the colonies.

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1:56

A New Nation: A Plan of Boston

8K views · 4mo ago · 1:56

Molly Taylor-Polesky, Map Librarian of the Harvard Map Collection, explores A Plan of Boston and its Environs, a Revolutionary-era map drawn in October 1775 by British lieutenant Richard Williams while he was stationed in Boston. The map captures a pivotal moment in the early American Revolution, showing a city almost completely surrounded by water, connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, and transformed by military occupation.

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2:32

A New Nation: The Washington Elm

7K views · 4mo ago · 2:32

Molly Schwartzburg, Philip Hofer Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts at Houghton Library, explores an unusual object in Harvard's collection: a "blook," a book-shaped object made from wood of the Washington Elm. The elm stood on Cambridge Common, just steps from Harvard Yard, and is believed to be the tree under which George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775.

📖 Mentioned book: blook

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2:05

A New Nation: A Plan of Boston

6K views · 5mo ago · 2:05

Molly Taylor-Polesky, Map Librarian of the Harvard Map Collection, explores A Plan of Boston and its Environs, a Revolutionary-era map drawn in October 1775 by British lieutenant Richard Williams while he was stationed in Boston. The map captures a pivotal moment in the early American Revolution, showing a city almost completely surrounded by water, connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, and transformed by military occupation.

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2:17:05

Harvard Alumni Day 2026

10K views · 5mo ago · 2:17:05

Tune in to the live stream of Harvard Alumni Day on June 5, 2026, to celebrate Harvard's vibrant, global alumni community. Visit alumni.harvard.edu/alumni-day for more information.

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2:03

Softball player and robot builder Lael Ayala ’26

6K views · 5mo ago · 2:03

Lael Ayala ’26 has spent her time at Harvard balancing a busy schedule. A mechanical engineering concentrator, she is also an outfielder on the varsity softball team and a member of the Army ROTC. For her thesis project, she combined her love of softball and robotics to build a softball-collecting autonomous robot named "Softbot."

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3:47:51

Harvard Commencement 2026

62K views · 5mo ago · 3:47:51

Tune in to Harvard Commencement for the Class of 2026 on Thursday, May 28, 2026, featuring an address by Conan O'Brien. Rolling on the livestream (such as recording the livestream from our feed), streaming, or using the full livestream is not permitted. You are permitted to pull clips/portions from the livestream after the fact. Please credit Harvard University for all uses.

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2:01:20

Harvard College Class Day Exercises 2026

8K views · 5mo ago · 2:01:20

Class Day celebrates the graduating Harvard College Class of 2026. Rolling on the livestream (such as recording the livestream from our feed), streaming, or using the full livestream is not permitted. You are permitted to pull clips/portions from the livestream after the fact. Please credit Harvard University for all uses.

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