This week on the channel +3.8M views this week

Beneath St. Patrick's Cathedral, CrashCourse finds a geothermal lesson

Sage Magee connects fossil fuels with Earth's underground heat in the week's most-watched new episode.

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CrashCourse Story of October 22, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

What is Geothermal Energy?: Crash Course Geology #21

Things we can learn from the video

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0:00St. Patrick's Cathedral introduces geothermal heating through its deep wells beneath New York City.
0:45Ancient plankton and plant remains become fossil fuels through geological processes over millions of years.
5:35Geothermal energy draws on heat beneath Earth's surface, including natural reservoirs near tectonic plate boundaries.
7:22Magee explains geothermal energy's continuous availability and potential for electricity generation without direct emissions.
8:18Drilling costs and geographic constraints complicate access; ground-source heat pumps offer another way to use underground temperatures.

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City has more beneath it than a foundation. Its deep geothermal wells give Sage Magee a starting point for explaining how Earth's heat can power a different kind of energy future.

In "What is Geothermal Energy?: Crash Course Geology #21", Magee first follows ancient organic remains through the geological processes that produce oil, gas and coal. A costumed Santa's hand even delivers a lump of coal to the desk. Then the lesson turns underground again, this time to geothermal reservoirs, continuous energy availability and the expense of reaching that heat. The cathedral makes an unusually tangible introduction to a subject that can otherwise feel buried in diagrams.

The episode has drawn about 87,000 views, the larger total of CrashCourse's two new uploads. Viewers bring practical connections of their own: one describes workplace geothermal water heating alongside making Icelandic volcano bread, while another wonders what technology could make drilling easier.

The other new lesson, "Is the Electoral College Broken?: Crash Course US Government #5", moves from choosing electors to controversies and possible reforms. It had the stronger first-day audience and now carries the most daily momentum among the channel's active videos. The previous voter-turnout lesson is also drawing more daily views than the geology episode.

Across the channel, weekly viewing reached roughly 3.8 million, with the subscriber count unchanged and daily views slightly above their usual level. Among nearby educational channels, TED-Ed and The Infographics Show had substantially larger weekly viewing totals. CrashCourse's own week offered a particularly broad double lesson: how Americans choose a president, and how buildings can draw heat from the ground.

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What viewers say

My company recently installed geothermal water-heating, and I just made Icelandic volcano bread.

This video is extremely well timed !
@EvocativeKitsuneSee it on YouTube
Geothermal as an energy source sounds really... rock solid :D
I don't care if that pun was low hanging fruit, I laughed anyway.
I do wonder what science and tech are doing to make geothermal easier though, it seems like the major challenges aren't the sort that will ever be "easy" - Dig Big Hole has surprisingly narrow specs
@BeryllahawkSee it on YouTube
I cannot express how much I love these series! I had no prior interest in geology and these videos turned out to be so fun, entertaining and informative. I hope to see new series by Sage in the future, she's such a charismatic presenter ❤
@lilya4295See it on YouTube

4 more comments

Sage and Dwayne are an iconic duo♡
@TinyGhostySee it on YouTube
AAAAAAAAAA he has a lil cup this week!!!
@TinyGhostySee it on YouTube
love this series so much. amazing writing and sage is a legendary presenter
@RelcozSee it on YouTube
Cool video, I will look more into geothermal energy to further understand scientist's research.
@SickestWorldWideSee it on YouTube