vlogbrothers
Season 2013
Two brothers who reconnected via YouTube and now connect with hundreds of thousands of awesome people every day.
Where to Watch Season 2013
106 Episodes
- Why Does Congress Suck?
E1Why Does Congress Suck?In which John Green seeks to explain why the United States congress has become so astonishingly inefficient that it can't even reach a compromise to avert disaster, and why--thanks to clever redistricting--most congresspeople are now incentivized not to work seriously on policy. Along the way there's a bit of historical context, a lot of frustration, some screaming, and a celebration of the beginning of the 7th year of the vlogbrothers channel. Thanks for sticking with us, nerdfighters. (And thanks for reading the entire dooblydoo!) - North Korean Chicken, Stagecoach Travel, and other Thoughts from before Carnegie Hall
E5North Korean Chicken, Stagecoach Travel, and other Thoughts from before Carnegie HallIn which John makes an old-school vlogbrothers video about the preparations for An Evening of Awesome from Carnegie Hall. Also his dreams of North Korean fried chicken and Hank's long-suffering guitar. - How to Be More Than Friends: Question Tuesday
E7How to Be More Than Friends: Question TuesdayIn which John answers real questions from real nerdfighters, discussing his son's fascination with imitation food, his own fascination with Wholock watercolors, the oddness of the phrase "more than friends," the Evening of Awesome, and much else. - How to Make Friends
E8How to Make FriendsIn which Hank talks about friends, why they're important, and how we make them. TL;DR, don't take advantage of good friends, they are extremely important and very rare. Acquiring new ones is hard, especially inorganically...but you can increase your chances by finding places where you can have repeated, unplanned interactions with the same people, being receptive to people, and open to conversation. And, of course, thinking carefully about people, being thoughtful, and asking them to help you out every once in a while. - Across Three Continents: A Tale of Tumblr, Copyright, and Excellent Posters
E9Across Three Continents: A Tale of Tumblr, Copyright, and Excellent PostersIn which John discusses intellectual property, the complexity of protecting it, and the total insufficiency of current copyright law. The failure of copyright law has led to a kind of Wild West mentality here on the Internet, particularly on tumblr, where strange and complex collaborations happen every day. John happened across one such collaboration, fell in love with it, and then spent weeks trying to untangle the business of who, exactly, should own what. - Football For Nerds
E10Football For NerdsIn which Hank talks about American Football (also known as Hand Egg) from the perspective of a nerd...particularly tackling the question of why this sport is so popular. I have just arrived in the UK and knew I wouldn't have time to make a video, so I filmed this before I left Missoula. - Headless Statues and Elton John's Piano: Seeing Sights in London (Thoughts from Places)
E11Headless Statues and Elton John's Piano: Seeing Sights in London (Thoughts from Places)In which John discusses his first 24 hours in London including: interviews with the BBC, playing Elton John's piano, jetlag, improbable weather, Steven Gerrard's signature, the British Museum, the Rosetta Stone, many headless statues of women, YA book covers, Egyptian relics, statues, nonexistent stone artwork, the Globe theater, the Tower Bridge, and many other sites of London. - The Space Time Continuum: Thoughts from Dublin
E12The Space Time Continuum: Thoughts from DublinIn which Hank and John and Katherine walk around Dublin and Hank thinks about how we are all but a part of a magnificent continuum that stretches back around four billion years...depending on how you think about it. - Talking to the President
E13Talking to the PresidentIn which John discusses his forthcoming google+ discussion with Barack Obama, who is the President of the United States of America. John also discusses how social interactions like this are inherently uncomfortable and also talk about his anxiety, which at the moment of the filming of this video was focused on a cold sore. - Baby, Harlem, Obama, Dance Crazes, Big Week
E14Baby, Harlem, Obama, Dance Crazes, Big WeekCongratulations to John on the "little development"! And also congratulations to him on an excellent fireside hangout with Obama. And congratulations to the Lizzie Bennet Team, and The Brain Scoop, and Wheezy Waiter, and Nerdfighteria and THE ENTIRE WORLD! This was such an awesome week! - Doing Things, On the Importance of
E15Doing Things, On the Importance ofIn which John discusses the making of many things, which involve him to varying degrees, in an attempt to pull himself out of a post-Presidential morass and get to work. Projects discussed include a forthcoming collaboration with his old friends at mental_floss magazine, the Project for Awesome, DFTBA Records, the movie adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars (!?!?!?!), his next book, the Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers, Crash Course, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the nerdfighters of kiva, parenting, and 2-d freaking glasses. - Cooking with a 3-Year-Old: The Mac & Cheese and Communist Celery Edition
E17Cooking with a 3-Year-Old: The Mac & Cheese and Communist Celery EditionIn which my 3-year-old son Henry and I cook macaroni and cheese, boiled asparagus, communist celery, blueberries, and sweet potato fries for dinner while Sarah is out of town. Hilarity ensues. - The Gray Speckled Walls Encroach: The Perks and Liabilities of Frequent Flying
E19The Gray Speckled Walls Encroach: The Perks and Liabilities of Frequent FlyingIn which John makes an old school vlogbrothers video from an airport. OBVIOUSLY I MADE THIS BEFORE WE HIT 1,000,000 SUBSCRIBERS.Thanks to all of you for creating this amazing community with us. I feel so lucky to be a nerdfighter. Your commitment to increasing awesome and decreasing suck inspires me every day. DFTBA. - Understand the Sequester (Spoiler: It's Bananas.)
E21Understand the Sequester (Spoiler: It's Bananas.)In which John explains how the United States arrived at Sequestration, while also describing what exactly the Sequester is. Along the way, he explores deficits and debts and other matters of governmental budgets. It's bananas. - Ads Work...but for Whom?
E23Ads Work...but for Whom?In which John takes an unexpected visit to the gray speckled walls of America's airports to mull the role that advertising plays in shaping (and funding) online video content, at times incentivizing the popular over the significant. Also I just had dental surgery, so I'm in a great mood. - How Much is a Human Life Worth?
E24How Much is a Human Life Worth?Once when I like 10 years old, I was sitting in a school auditorium...I looked at all the people, and the (required) fire exits in the room. And I thought to myself that there weren't enough doors to save everyone in every situation. In order to do that, you'd have to make the whole building doors...but it wasn't worth it...so there must be some calculus to determine how much trouble / money a human life was worth. I was right...and it's not an inhuman thing, it's important to know. And in this video, we talk about the monetary value of a human life. It's variable...depending on whether you're talking about selling the individual moments, or ending the life forever. But I don't think it should be...if we're willing to sell all the individual moments of our lives for $2M, why would we then value the act of not dying at far more than that? Maybe it's because we treasure our histories more than we treasure the moments yet to come, but that seems wrong to me. - TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video
E27TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers VideoIn which John discusses the great news that Esther Earl's journals and other writings will be published, as well as discussing casting developments of the film version of The Fault in Our Stars, the brewing war between a goose and a groundhog outside his office, his forthcoming paternity leave, and Nerd Factor 2013. - North Korea: Explained
E28North Korea: ExplainedIs North Korea going to bomb us? Is North Korea a Threat? Is North Korea Communist? Why does North Korea Hate us? These (according to my extremely imprecise research) are the most common questions people in the world have about North Korea...I have done my best to answer these questions using mostly knowledge that I stole from a variety of sources around the internet over the course of a couple days of research. - On Sexual Orientation, with Hannah, Ze, Tyler, and Meg
E32On Sexual Orientation, with Hannah, Ze, Tyler, and MegWhen I was growing up, the stigma surrounding homosexuality was so severe (not in my household, but in the broader culture) that I feared I was gay because of tiny little signs that actually had very little (or nothing) to do with sexuality (like enjoying the music of the Village People). That confusion was terrifying to me because this stuff just wasn't talked about culturally (even though my parents were super-supportive.) Because that was hard for me, I assume that it's hard for lots of other people, so I wanted to make a video about sexual orientation in a frank and adult way, talking about identity, love, sex, and attraction. But since my own experience is pretty limited (being pretty much totally straight) I asked some friends if they'd like to share their experiences and thoughts. - Cat GIF Critique
E34Cat GIF CritiqueIn which Hank tries his hand at being a critic of the CAT GIF genre, a job that would require looking at cute things and being slightly witty. And while that might, at first, seem like a dream job, in fact, the best job for me is one where I get to do something new every day. Thanks to all of the cats in this video, and to the people who filmed them...I would totally give you credit if there was any way to track down the original creators of these images. - Animals Interrupt Sporting Events: A Critical Analysis
E35Animals Interrupt Sporting Events: A Critical AnalysisIn which John discusses adorable animals interrupting sporting events, including such hits as Dog Pooping on Baseball Field, Goalkeeper Dog Catcher Fail, Pine Marten Invades Swiss Soccer Match, Drug Dog Wants to Play, Anfield Cat, and Squirrel at the US Open. It's kind of a weird video. - Some Mind-Bending Earth GIFs
E38Some Mind-Bending Earth GIFsGoogle's new Earth Engine, powered by NASA's landsat satellites, gives a time lapse view of (pretty much) every land surface on earth over the last 25 years. The view is amazing, and inspiring, and at times terrifying. It can be hard to understand the scale here, but our impacts on this planet are huge, and at this point it's clear that we're putting ourselves in a bit of a tight spot. - Puppies, Pegasi, and TFiOS Casting: It's Question Tuesday
E39Puppies, Pegasi, and TFiOS Casting: It's Question TuesdayIn which John answers real questions from real nerdfighters about puppies, ferrets, dancing, the casting of the movie adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars, the ducks in the pond, and many other things. - GIFs, JIFs, Whip Pans, Trivia, and BATMAN!
E40GIFs, JIFs, Whip Pans, Trivia, and BATMAN!In which Hank answers real questions from real nerdfighters....with the help of some friends, most of whom are him. But also, Henry from Minute Physics makes an extremely brief cameo: http://www.youtube.com/minutephysics - Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on Ai Weiwei from the Indianapolis Museum of Art
E41Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on Ai Weiwei from the Indianapolis Museum of ArtIn which John visits the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where his wife is a curator, and thinks about the work of the artist and dissident Ai Weiwei while walking through "According to What," his first major retrospective in the United States. If you live in or near Indianapolis, you should really see the show. It's very special, and will be here until July 21st. - How To Be a Baby Properly
E46How To Be a Baby ProperlyIn which Hank welcomes Alice Green to the world by giving her some tips on how to be a successful baby. And also basically lets her know that the survival of our species is on her shoulders. WELCOME, ALICE!!! I'm so excited for John. I have talked to him, of course, a bunch since last week. He's really excited and way less freaked out than he was when Henry was born. Of course, he's exhausted, but he's also adorable. He's enjoying the time with his family a lot. It's really weird not to just lose him of YouTube but also largely off Tumblr and Twitter, but let's try not to forget about him while he's gone! - Plane Butts, Fish Farts, LeakyCon, and Marriage Equality
E52Plane Butts, Fish Farts, LeakyCon, and Marriage EqualityIn which Hank gets a little silly due to lack of sleep, but then has a really great time at LeakyCon. And, yes, I did talk to Devon Murray from the freaking Harry Potter movies. He was freaking great, and I was only a tiny bit terrified. - Egypt....Explained!
E54Egypt....Explained!***EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS ARE EXEMPT FROM TIME LIMITS :-p*** The situation in Egypt is extremely complicated and changing constantly. The arguments between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood go back over half a century and they are much more complicated than the press tends to give them credit for. I just wanted to share a tiny bit of context to help the world understand the different stakeholders, what they want, why they're angry, and why the first democratically elected leader of Egypt lasted so little time. Thank you very much to Mohktar Awad for spending so much time on the phone with me yesterday setting me straight! - Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song
E56Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter SongEvery year around the time when Accio Deathly Hallows came out, I release another Harry Potter song. This song is that song! If you want to know more about the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) go here: http://thehpalliance.org/ they are frikkin great. - Introducing Subbable
E60Introducing SubbableAdvertising doesn't care how you feel about content, and we are afraid that, if the current system stands, content that people love and connect to (which is necessarily difficult to make, and doesn't appeal as broadly) will become rare while content that is distracting (which is universally appealing) will be the norm. Subbable is our attempt to slow that trend...even to stop it. But it's not a problem that can be solved by technology...it must be solved by people. - Esther Day 2013
E63Esther Day 2013Happy Esther Day, nerdfighteria. Tell someone you love them today. Even if it's hard. Especially if it's hard, really. You can support This Star Won't Go Out, the charity created by Esther's family in her memory, at http://www.tswgo.org or by buying TSWGO stuff. (All proceeds to go to the foundation.) - Million Dollar Ideas
E64Million Dollar IdeasIn which John shares his first-ever million dollar idea, and talks about how Hank has a new one each day. Also discussed is John's crippling fatigue, parenthood, and having a baby, although to be fair the Yeti is doing the lion's share of the work. Plus, kinkajou! - Shailene's Hair, Unfair Monopoly, and the Just World Fallacy
E66Shailene's Hair, Unfair Monopoly, and the Just World FallacyIn which John discusses the just world fallacy, Lupe Fiasco, Shailene Woodley's impending hair cut on her road to becoming Hazel Grace Lancaster for The Fault in Our Stars movie, the way that power gets wielded, and how difficult it can be for all of us to see the world as it is and not just as we wish it to be. - Why Are American Health Care Costs So High?
E68Why Are American Health Care Costs So High?In which John discusses the complicated reasons why the United States spends so much more on health care than any other country in the world, and along the way reveals some surprising information, including that Americans spend more of their tax dollars on public health care than people in Canada, the UK, or Australia. Who's at fault? Insurance companies? Drug companies? Malpractice lawyers? Hospitals? Or is it more complicated than a simple blame game? (Hint: It's that one.) - Raw Onion, Twerking, and Speech Jam
E71Raw Onion, Twerking, and Speech JamIn which Hank does what you told him to do. INCLUDING! Dancing to Brazilian Music, discussing stress, Parkour (not actually), eating raw onion, interviewing the sidewalk, singing about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a book recommendation, a couple rants, flopping around on the deck, and talking a bit about life and Subbable. - Bigger Pizzas: A Capitalist Case for Health Care Reform
E72Bigger Pizzas: A Capitalist Case for Health Care ReformIn which John discusses some of the many ways that our current massively inefficient health care system leads to the irrational allocation of capital. He discusses the fascinating cases of Henry Reich (creator of http://www.youtube.com/minutephysics) and Hank Green (creator of, you know, all this) and how in a world without health care reform, their careers might look very different. John argues that employer-dependent health insurance privileges employees over entrepreneurs, thus limiting innovation, growth, and job creation. - Secrets of the Movies: Thoughts from The Fault in Our Stars Set
E74Secrets of the Movies: Thoughts from The Fault in Our Stars SetIn which John returns to the set of The Fault in Our Stars movie, hanging out with Shailene Woodley (Hazel), Ansel Elgort (Gus), Nat Wolff (Isaac), Deb Who Does The Slate Thing, and many other members of the cast and crew. Also, MY BROTHER GOT ME AERO FIGHTERS, THE ARCADE GAME THAT CREATED THE WORD NERDFIGHTER, FOR ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY. Thanks to everyone involved with the movie (and Fox!) for letting me run around with a camera everywhere, and for their dedication to the story. - Syria in Five Minutes
E75Syria in Five MinutesIn which Hank discusses the situation in Syria as deeply and completely as he can in five minutes. Negotiations are ongoing as to whether and how chemical weapons will be removed from Syria. This is an opportunity for the global community, but for the people of Syria, no matter how this discussion goes, there will be years of bloody conflict. We cannot prevent that, but we can help individual people. - Question Tuesday with Nat Wolff (aka Isaac in The Fault in Our Stars movie)
E76Question Tuesday with Nat Wolff (aka Isaac in The Fault in Our Stars movie)In which John Green and Nat Wolff sneak off The Fault in Our Stars film set to answer some of your questions in the woods. Nothing creepy about it. - 42 Amazing Maps
E7742 Amazing MapsThe map, as an innovation, is extremely important. Simply constructing a useful representation of our world onto a piece of paper (or clay or vellum or whatever) vastly increased the capabilities of humankind. But we continue to add and alter this medium, in ways that allow for greater understanding of our world and even of ourselves. So in this video I talk about 42 maps that are really amazing. - Started from the Bottom: Benjamin Franklin and Drake Compared
E78Started from the Bottom: Benjamin Franklin and Drake ComparedIn which John compares the Drake song "Started from the Bottom (Now We Here)" with Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, two American dream narratives that turn out to be significantly more complex and problematic than they initially seem. - Invalid Arguments: Climate Change
E79Invalid Arguments: Climate ChangeThere are only a few topics that seem less obvious but more hotly debated than climate change. It's here, it's happening, it's caused by humanity, and it is one of the largest problems humanity will ever face. But I believe we will face it, and we'll face it with the desperate ingenuity and bravado with which we have faced our entire history on this planet. And we will survive it, as long as we can finally freaking agree that "it" isn't a conspiracy theory made up to annoy the rich and powerful. - Q&A with Ansel Elgort and Mike Birbiglia from The Fault in Our Stars Movie Set
E81Q&A with Ansel Elgort and Mike Birbiglia from The Fault in Our Stars Movie SetIn which John asks Ansel Elgort (who plays Augustus Waters) and Mike Birbiglia (who plays Patrick) some real questions from real nerdfighters while on the set of The Fault in Our Stars movie. Also: Enjoy the cutest how-I-found-out-I-got-the-part story ever from Ansel. - Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now
E82Applying for Health Insurance: Then and NowIn which John Green attempts to apply for new health insurance coverage using the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges and then through a private insurer that existed before the ACA (aka Obamacare) went into effect. It's of course too soon to tell which of these options will be cheaper, which will offer the best coverage, and so on, but I wanted to explore how the (still very glitchy) exchanges compare to the pre-ACA experience of trying to get approved for coverage. - Curiosity is the Greatest Human Quality
E85Curiosity is the Greatest Human QualityIn which Hank talks about his trip to San Francisco to talk about education with YouTube, video makers, and teachers. It was a really fantastic trip, and if you can, I suggest you get your butt to the local science center in your town to enjoy the crap out of it ASAP. - Question Tuesday: The Fault in Our Stars Movie Edition
E86Question Tuesday: The Fault in Our Stars Movie EditionIn which John answers real questions from real nerdfighters about the movie adaptation of his book The Fault in Our Stars while also disagreeing with Hank about what the greatest human quality is. - Scarier than Gravity: Real Life Close Calls in Space
E89Scarier than Gravity: Real Life Close Calls in SpaceIn which Hank talks about a smattering of the most terrifying real-life close-calls in space travel. The Russians seem to have a particular knack for getting into terrible situations but, somehow, not dying. - Our Strangest Project Yet?
E90Our Strangest Project Yet?In which John announces his retirement from semi-professional FIFA playing, discusses the astonishing story of AFC Wimbledon, and reveals that through Hankgames, nerdfighteria will be one of the leading sponsors of an actual, real-life professional soccer team. - VidCon, Punishments, Comments, and Pumpkins
E91VidCon, Punishments, Comments, and PumpkinsEvery year, one of my favorite things to do is take the music of a YouTuber and edit it together with clips from VidCon. It's always epic and fun and surprising and awesome and there's just so much amazing footage from the event. This year I edited to Mike Diva's BFD - But Is Worm Pizza Poisonous?
E92But Is Worm Pizza Poisonous?In which John discusses Dr. Aaron Carroll's new project, Health Care Triage, as well as some astonishing facts about human health that he learned from Dr. Carroll's books, Don't Swallow Your Gum and Don't Cross Your Eyes. Also, Henry appears to give me a punishment, which sadly does not include worm pizza because you can get intestinal hookworms from eating earthworms, and I'll do a lot for you guys, but not that. - How to Apologize like a Fartbag
E95How to Apologize like a FartbagIn which Hank talks about apologies. I've been thinking about it a lot because some of my good friends did dumb things, realized how dumb they were, and made very good apologies, not because they're good at apologizing but because the legitimately feel bad for the harm that they've caused. On the other hand, some other people on the internet seem perpetually convinced that the world is out to get them and that they are in a battle to confirm that they are always right. But, y'know, you're never always right, and the fact that you didn't intend to hurt someone has no bearing on whether or not you hurt someone. ChescaLeigh's video was really helpful for me and is more specific to when you get called out on being inappropriate or hurting an entire group of people with your language or actions...she is REALLY AMAZING... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8xJXKYL8pU - The Bank of Nerdfighteria
E96The Bank of NerdfighteriaIn which John discusses the forthcoming 2013 Project for Awesome, the health of the Bank of Nerdfighteria, the strength of Toby Turner's arms, the nerdfighter kiva group, and the Foundation to Decrease Worldsuck. Oh, and there is a surprise. The Foundation is now a real, actual charity, which means your donations are now tax-deductible. (At least in the U.S.) You can donate directly at http://fightworldsuck.org/. Thanks to very generous anonymous contributors to the Foundation, every dollar you donate up to $125,000 will be matched. And because the Foundation to Decrease Worldsuck has 0 overhead, every penny you donate will go to p4a charities chosen by the nerdfighter community. - REUNION! Arm Wrestling, Drawing, and Questions with Hank and John!
E97REUNION! Arm Wrestling, Drawing, and Questions with Hank and John!In which Hank and John are in the same place and everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. We're in North Carolina visiting our parents for Thanksgiving and decided to spend some time answering your questions. - Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to Trademarks
E98Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to TrademarksIn which John discusses the increasingly widespread use by large corporations of the phrases "DFTBA" and "Don't forget to be awesome," and discusses why even though we COULD stop those uses by trademarking nerdfighter slogans, we aren't going to. - I Am President Snow
E99I Am President SnowIn which Hank discusses The Hunger Games, the extreme inequality of our society, and what it means to be a citizen of The Capitol. Inequality is so difficult to fight in our world because there is no President Snow. I'm not saying that there are no bad people, but inequality is natural, and so we can't hate ourselves for being a part of it. But because it is so inevitable, we have to create structures to reduce it, because inequality is terrible both morally and economically. - Cooking with a 3-Year-Old: Slobber Carrots and Gross Barbecue
E100Cooking with a 3-Year-Old: Slobber Carrots and Gross BarbecueIn which John eats slobber carrots with drool, gross barbecue with drool, and hat. I'm glad to have this punishment behind me. Thanks to Henry and nerdfighteria for the horror. - THE PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2013 IS UPON US!
E103THE PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2013 IS UPON US!In which John Green launched the SEVENTH ANNUAL Project for Awesome. John's chosen charity, Save the Children, works around the world wherever crises strike to help children and families in need. They're pretty awesome. - Best Moments of the Project for Awesome
E104Best Moments of the Project for AwesomeThe P4A was AMAAAZIIIING but there's no way you can catch everything unless you are an android and do not sleep or require food or bathrooms...in which case...I welcome our robot overlords. Thank you so much to everyone who participated. If you watched the livestream, voted for videos, made a video, watched videos, commented on videos, or made a donation...the awesome of this day is because of you. - The Kidney That Was In 3 People - And Other Amazing Science Things
E105The Kidney That Was In 3 People - And Other Amazing Science ThingsIn which Hank discusses some of the coolest things he's learned while answering people's questions about the world. Often times, I have to say, these questions start out with "This is probably a stupid question, but..." when really, any curiosity is good curiosity...and people who expect all people to know all things are the real idiots. - GOOD NEWS: 14 Reasons 2014 May Be the Best Year Ever
E106GOOD NEWS: 14 Reasons 2014 May Be the Best Year EverIn which John Green shares some encouraging trends and statistics about the current state of humans in the world. Poverty and infant mortality are decreasing. Fewer people are dying of malaria. The world's poorest areas are growing faster than the rest of the world. More people (especially girls) have educational opportunities. The Internet is getting faster. Cancer mortality is decreasing. And the Colts are in the NFL playoffs. In short, there are many reasons to be hopeful that 2014 might be the best year on record for humans, even if much of this growth is not (currently) sustainable.
