"When you sing that this country was founded on freedom, don’t forget the duet of shackles dragging against the ground my entire life." This how poet Clint Smith begins his letter to past presidents who owned slaves. In honor of Black History Month, Smith offers his Brief But Spectacular take on the history of racial inequality in the U.S.

At California's San Quentin prison, men who committed crimes when they were teenagers and are currently serving long or life sentences give their Brief But Spectacular takes on their crimes, the early traumas that affected their actions and how they're changing their lives now.

Your phone probably knows more about the intimate details of your life than your lover, says futurist Amy Webb. And you better get used to it -- we'll be spending the rest of our lifetimes in a world shaped by artificial intelligence. Webb gives her Brief But Spectacular take on the future.

“Music entered my life before I knew it,” says classical pianist Jeanne Stark. Stark grew up in Belgium during what she calls a “golden time” for classical music and was granted a scholarship by the queen herself, who recognized Stark’s enormous potential. This is her Brief But Spectacular take on playing, listening and what she learned from Ray Charles.