If you’ve ever wondered why some books get put on higher pedestals than others for seemingly no reason other than the fact that your teachers and professors told you they were important, crack an egg of knowledge on yourself with this video from PBS’s “It’s Lit!” series.

TL;DW: “So, who decided what’s important in the Western literary canon? Well, historically it’s been … old white men.

… But our day-to-day lives and our understanding of people outside of our own limited worldview has changed, and with that, so too have the types of voices that now get published and elevated.”

This is one of many great videos from the PBS “It’s Lit!” series on YouTube. They’re hosted by of one my favorite YouTubers, Lindsay Ellis, who also has a ton of killer content on her personal channel about film, television, books, and musicals.