Courses

Season 1

Speedway: The Greatest Spectacle in Learning

An audio-first documentary course on the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, history, engineering, physics, and the innovations that moved from the racetrack to your driveway. Each episode pairs a narrated story with a knowledge check, all cited.

Intro to Robotics & STEAM

What is a robot, really? Start from the big idea (sense, think, act) and build up: simple circuits and electricity, input-process-output, the coding logic that makes machines decide and repeat, and the engineering design process that real engineers use to build, test, and improve. Meet the friendly beginner platforms (like the micro:bit and Arduino) and the real robots working in factories, hospitals, and on Mars. Hands-on, encouraging, and fully cited: no jargon without a plain-English explanation, and no purchase required to learn.

Train Your Own Model

Machines don't learn by magic: they learn from EXAMPLES. In this hands-on course you'll go from "how does that even work?" to training your very own AI model in your web browser, no coding and no account needed. You'll learn the real words that makers use (features, labels, training data, accuracy, bias, and overfitting) and you'll see the single most important rule in machine learning: garbage in, garbage out. Your examples decide how good (and how fair) your model turns out. Using Google's free Teachable Machine, you'll teach a computer to tell two things apart, test how well it learned, and figure out how to make it better. Along the way we'll talk about where this shows up in real life, how models pick up our mistakes, and how to be honest and responsible with what you build. Every big idea is explained in plain words and tied to a real source you can check.

Y2: Robotics + AI

You already know a robot can sense, think, and act, and that AI learns patterns from examples. This course puts those two ideas together. What actually changes when a robot's "think" step is powered by AI that *learned* instead of rules someone typed in? We'll see how a robot "sees" with computer vision, hears with sound recognition, and drives itself (delivery bots, self-driving features, NASA's Mars rovers). You'll learn the difference between programmed rules and learned behavior, train a real model by example, and combine sensors with AI. Because a robot acts in the real world, we take safety seriously: when should a robot stop and ask a human? We'll also think honestly about automation, jobs, and fairness. Then you'll plan a build using a free, no-purchase tool. Everything is tied to a real source you can open and check.

Y3: Creative AI (Art, Music & Stories, Responsibly)

Generative AI can help you draw, compose, and write, but the interesting questions aren't technical, they're about credit, honesty, and respect. This course is for teens who want to actually *make* things with AI tools and do it right. You'll learn, in plain words, how AI generates images, music, and text by learning patterns from huge piles of human-made work; how to prompt and direct it like a creative collaborator instead of a vending machine; and how to keep your own voice instead of handing it over. Then we go straight at the hard stuff: whose art trained the model and why that matters, copyright and what AI-made work can (and can't) own, how to give credit and be honest you used AI, deepfakes and consent, and bias in what AI generates. You'll finish by making something genuinely original *with* AI, and labeling it honestly. Every key idea is tied to a real source you can open and check.

Y4: AI Science-Fair Project (Capstone)

Your young-maker capstone: design and run a REAL science-fair project that uses AI honestly, from your first question to your final presentation. You'll follow the scientific method like real scientists do: pick a question AI can help answer, research and cite your background, write a hypothesis you can actually test, plan an experiment with strong data ethics (consent, privacy, never any personal data), then build the AI part (a Google Teachable Machine model you train yourself, or careful AI-assisted analysis). You'll measure your results honestly (including the times the model gets it wrong), check your project for bias and limits, and build a poster and a talk that cite every source. Every step ties back to what you learned in F3 and Y1 to Y3, and every claim here is tied to a real, trustworthy source you can open and check.

Young Makers: AI for Kids

A friendly first look at artificial intelligence, for curious kids. What is AI, really? (Hint: it's a pattern-learner, not magic, and not alive.) How do computers "learn" from examples? How do you ask an AI helper a good question, and why must you always check its answers, because AI can be wrong? We'll talk about fairness, keeping your secrets private, and being kind and honest with AI (use it to learn, never to cheat). Then we'll make something fun together with a grown-up. Every big idea is explained in plain words and tied to a real, trustworthy source you can check.

AI Customer Research & Validation

The #1 way startups die is building something nobody wants. This course teaches you to validate a real need with REAL people and reality, not by asking an agreeable AI that mirrors your hopes back to you. Learn the difference between a real problem and a guess; why AI can prep your questions and summarize answers but can never BE a customer; how to design unbiased interviews and surveys; how to synthesize research without inventing findings; how to spot confirmation bias and a sycophantic chatbot agreeing with you; how to size a market honestly; how to build and test an MVP and a landing page; how to read the real signal (sign-ups and payments, not likes); and when to pivot or persevere. Ends with a validation plan you can run this week. F4 (AI for Entrepreneurs) is the recommended prerequisite.

AI Finance & Analytics for Founders (Capstone)

The capstone of the entrepreneurship track: turn everything you've learned into one honest, AI-assisted business and finance plan. In plain language, learn the money basics every founder needs (revenue, costs, profit, and cash flow), then use AI to DRAFT bookkeeping and forecasts while you verify every number yourself. Read the numbers that actually matter (unit economics, CAC, and LTV) at a level that makes sense, build a simple budget and projection (and understand why an AI's projection can be confidently wrong), set a price and find your break-even, and tell honest analytics from vanity metrics. Face the real money risks head-on: never trust AI with money blindly, taxes and compliance need a human, and watch for fraud and scams. You finish by assembling a complete AI-assisted business + finance plan that ties the whole track together. F4 (AI for Entrepreneurs) and E1 to E4 are the recommended prerequisites. This is general education, not financial, tax, or legal advice.

AI Marketing & Content (Authentic, Cited)

Market an honest business with AI, without the slop. Learn to use AI to research your real audience and find a message that's true (never to fake demand), to draft social, email, blog, and SEO content while keeping YOUR voice, to stay brand-consistent, and to obey the law: FTC rules on AI claims, paid-endorsement disclosure, and fake reviews, plus what you can (and can't) copyright when AI helped. You'll learn why generic, unedited "AI slop" quietly erodes trust, how to measure what actually works instead of vanity metrics, and you'll end by building a small, repeatable content system you'd be proud to put your name on. F1 (AI Literacy) and F4 (AI for Entrepreneurs) pair well with this.

AI Operations & Automation for Small Business

Run the boring, repetitive parts of a small business with AI and automation, the honest way. Learn how to spot which tasks are actually worth automating (and which to leave to a human), how to map a simple workflow before you touch a tool, and how to use no-code/low-code automation and AI assistants for scheduling, invoices, FAQs, and your inbox. You'll set up AI-assisted customer support that knows when to hand off to a person, get help with inventory, data, and admin, weigh what tools really cost (subscriptions and tokens) against the time they save, build in reliability and a fallback for when AI is wrong, handle customer data responsibly, and keep a human accountable. Ends with an automation plan you can actually run. F1 (AI Literacy), F2 (Building with AI), and F4 (AI for Entrepreneurs) are recommended first.

AI for Entrepreneurs

Use AI to build a real, honest business, without the hype. Learn where AI genuinely helps a small business (and where it doesn't), how to find a problem worth solving, how to run customer research and make content and handle ops without losing your voice, how to prototype an MVP, what AI tools actually cost, the legal and ethical basics (disclosure, copyright, privacy, never deceiving customers), how to protect your brand from AI slop, and how to measure whether it's even worth it. Ends with an AI-assisted business plan you can actually use. F1 (AI Literacy) and F2 (Building with AI) are the recommended prerequisites.

Building an AI-Powered Product or Service

You found a real problem. Now turn it into an AI-powered product or service people will pay for, without becoming an engineer or shipping slop. Learn how to go from a validated need to an idea, how to choose build vs. buy vs. no-code, how to design the experience and the human-in-the-loop, what it actually costs to run (tokens and subscriptions), how to price it, how to handle wrong answers and earn trust, the legal and ethical basics (privacy, copyright, honest claims), how to launch small and learn from feedback, and how to protect your brand from AI slop. Ends with a one-page AI product plan you can actually use. This is the founder's view of building, lighter-tech than the Builder track. F4 (AI for Entrepreneurs) is the recommended prerequisite.

Season 1

Chocolate — Food of the Gods

A cited, audio-first history of Chocolate — Food of the Gods.

Season 1

Coffee — The Daily Global Connection

A cited, audio-first history of Coffee — The Daily Global Connection.

Season 1

Guayusa & Kola Nut — Forest Wisdom

A cited, audio-first history of Guayusa & Kola Nut — Forest Wisdom.

Season 1

Kava — The Root of Peace

A cited, audio-first history of Kava — The Root of Peace.

Season 1

My Daily Altar — Season Synthesis

A cited, audio-first history of My Daily Altar — Season Synthesis.

Season 1

Sugar — The Sweet Revolution

A cited, audio-first history of Sugar — The Sweet Revolution.

Season 1

Tea — The Way of Tea

A cited, audio-first history of Tea — The Way of Tea.