Here, some staff picks of smart, funny, bizarre and cool stuff on the interwebs from this (and last) week:

The true story of Kid President: Watch this behind-the-scenes video of everyone’s favorite new politician. [YouTube] And make sure to watch his pep talk, posted on TED last week.

Michael Specter: The danger of science denial An absolute must-read by Michael Specter, on the cult of Dr. Oz and the dangers of unverified “health benefits.” [The New Yorker] Don’t miss Specter’s talk on science denial.

Alice Dreger, who gave a talk at TEDxNorthwesternU about her work with people on the “edge of anatomy,” interviews Joe Schwartz, 17-year-old son of New York Times writer John Schwartz, about his father’s new book, Oddly Normal. The book is about Schwartz Sr.’s struggle to raise Joe, who is gay. [The Atlantic]

A gorgeous photo of a man feeding swans in Krakow. [This is colossal]

Clay Shirky: Institutions vs. collaboration Clay Shirky gives his rebuttal to Aaron Bady, in defense of MOOCs. [The Awl]. Watch Shirky’s talk on institutions vs. collaboration.

The Scared is scared: A short film that resulted when the director asked a six-year-old what her film should be about. [Vimeo]

Silence, wonderful silence. A blissfully curmudgeon-y piece on the last bastion of quietness in public life: The Amtrak Quiet Car. [The New York Times.] Also check out Julian Treasure’s 5 ways to listen better. (Start with … silence.)

Sheryl Sandberg deems a 3-year-old slideshow from Netflix on office culture and hiring practices “the most important document ever to come out of the valley.” [SF Gate] Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders Watch Sandberg’s talk, “Why we have too few women leaders.”

You can use a 3D printer to print a tiny version of yourself, or you can use it for something useful: like visualizing geometric proofs. Check out some equations turned into objects. [New Scientist] And check out our playlist of talks on the wonder of 3D printing.

Ridiculous but beautiful photos of pigeons, aka “rats of the sky,” accompanying Carl Zimmer’s article on sequencing the pigeon genome. [The New York Times] Also check out Carl Zimmer’s TED-Ed lesson, sure to gross out your child, and probably you.

Neil Harbisson: I listen to color GE Focus Forward announced the winners of its Filmmaker Competition, and the Grand Jury Prize Winner is about Neil Harbisson, a familiar face at TED. [Focus Forward Films]

For the first time, MIT chemists are able to map the location of proteins inside cells to get a sense of what’s going on. [Web.MIT.edu]

Watch Hello Kitty get launched into space by a 7th-grader. [Scientific American]

“In the 21st century, it may be that no home will be complete without a computerized communications console.” Walter Cronkite predicts the future in 1967. [Kottke]

Ascend and experience London from the top of the Shard with an interactive tool made by the Guardian UK. Look for legendary sculptor Antony Gormley’s flyover about the British Museum. [Guardian UK]