The myth of Anansi, the trickster spider - Emily Zobel Marshall episode artwork

EPISODE · May 26, 2026 · 6 MIN

The myth of Anansi, the trickster spider - Emily Zobel Marshall

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Follow the spider Anansi on his quest to complete a challenge from the Sky God in order to take ownership of the world’s stories.--Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God. But one creature, Anansi, was determined to bring the stories down to Earth. Anansi went to Nyame and requested to take ownership of the world’s stories. The Sky God told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished — but only if he could complete an impossible task. Emily Zobel Marshall shares the cunning spider's journey.Lesson by Emily Zobel Marshall, directed by Keegan Thornhill.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/the-myth-of-anansi-the-trickster-spider-emily-zobel-marshallDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-myth-of-anansi-the-trickster-spider-emily-zobel-marshall#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.behance.net/cosmiconionring----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Mikhail Shkirev, Brian Richards, Cindy O., Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carolyn Corwin, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Côme Vincent, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Samantha Chow, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Lyn-z Schulte, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Jayant Sahewal, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri and Kris Siverhus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Follow the spider Anansi on his quest to complete a challenge from the Sky God in order to take ownership of the world’s stories.--Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God. But one creature, Anansi, was determined to bring the stories down to Earth. Anansi went to Nyame and requested to take ownership of the world’s stories. The Sky God told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished — but only if he could complete an impossible task. Emily Zobel Marshall shares the cunning spider's journey.Lesson by Emily Zobel Marshall, directed by Keegan Thornhill.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/the-myth-of-anansi-the-trickster-spider-emily-zobel-marshallDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-myth-of-anansi-the-trickster-spider-emily-zobel-marshall#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.behance.net/cosmiconionring----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Mikhail Shkirev, Brian Richards, Cindy O., Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carolyn Corwin, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Côme Vincent, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Samantha Chow, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Lyn-z Schulte, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Jayant Sahewal, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri and Kris Siverhus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOW PLAYING

The myth of Anansi, the trickster spider - Emily Zobel Marshall

0:00 6:18

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.

La Finanza in Soldoni Massimo Famularo - Hypercast Podcast e newsletter indipendente di informazione ed educazione finanziaria.Nessuno mi paga per vendervi niente e voi non mi pagate per dirvi in cosa investire. Newsletter http://lafinanzainsoldoni.substack.com/Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/MassimoFamularoBloghttps://massimofamularo.com/X(ex-Twitter)https://x.com/MassimoFamularo---Questo podcast fa parte di Hypercast Network — 📧 Per proposte commerciali scrivi a: [email protected] TED Talks Society and Culture Thought-provoking videos about life and being human, with ideas from business leaders, psychologists and researchers speaking onstage at the TED conference, TEDx events and partner events around the world. You can also download these and many other videos free on TED.com, with an interactive English transcript and subtitles in up to 80 languages. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. TSOB w/ Dr. G--The Sex Ed of Blackfolk Dr. Tracie Q. Gilbert: Sexuality Educator and Podcaster T.S.O.B. with Dr. G is a weekly podcast that offers intellectual table talk about race and sexuality. Join educator and researcher Dr. Tracie Q. Gilbert as she chats with amazing sex educators, counselors, and therapists, applying a professional lens to sexiness, health and healing in the new millennium. Scar(r)ed For Life pjwrench A nostalgic, banter-full and analytical delve into all the TV shows, movies, games, books, and other media that scared (and scarred!) us s***less when we were children in the 90s. Ranging from the infamous to the obscure, from The Wizard of Oz to The Demon Headmaster, from Tomb Raider to fairytales, we’ve offer up 2 classic pieces of entertainment to reminisce and wax lyrical. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 6 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on May 26, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Follow the spider Anansi on his quest to complete a challenge from the Sky God in order to take ownership of the world’s stories.--Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God. But one creature, Anansi, was determined to bring the...

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!