Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal - Alex Gendler episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 25, 2026 · 8 MIN

Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal - Alex Gendler

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Discover what it took to build the Panama Canal, and how this colossal construction project changed the region. --In the 19th century, the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America's west coast. But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east. The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey was to travel the narrowest portion of the continent — the 48-kilometer Isthmus of Panama. Alex Gendler details the creation of the Panama Canal. Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Cabong Studios.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/demolition-disease-and-death-building-the-panama-canal-alex-gendlerDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/demolition-disease-and-death-building-the-panama-canal-alex-gendler#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.cabongstudios.com.br/ ----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Fernando A. Endo, Courtney Marcott, Anna-Alicia Brooks, Mustafa, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Justice Boehmer, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, John van den Berg, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay, Izhari Ishak Aksa, Declan Manning, Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung, Jaime Camacho, Irene Au, Роман Валесюк, LunarQueen, Iza, Brian Elieson, Paul, Grayson Garbarino, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Stefano Esposito, Nevin Spoljaric, Yvonne Feijoo, Sid Chanpuriya, Arjay Arcinue Dineros, Anoom Yasmin and Laura Johnson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 25, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal - Alex Gendler

0:00 8:20

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 8 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on July 25, 2026.

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!