vlogbrothers
Season 2020
Two brothers who reconnected via YouTube and now connect with hundreds of thousands of awesome people every day.
Where to Watch Season 2020
108 Episodes
- Re-Thinking our YouTube Channel
E1Re-Thinking our YouTube ChannelOriginally when writing this video there was quite a lot more about nails and stress and also about how the mindless acquisition of something that previously held value beyond any objective utility creates more stress than it alleviates, but then it got to be a LOT about money and not a lot about community so I'm saving that for later. But if you noticed the ghost of that argument hiding in this video...well done. Also, I made this video yesterday, so I didn't have time to consider the geopolitics of January 3, 2020. However, I am also not an expert on Iran, so I basically have nothing useful to say except, "It's ok to not know what's going on right now. It's going to take a while before anyone knows." - The Thing I would Like to End
E3The Thing I would Like to EndThere are some pretty dramatic simplifications in here. For example, I did not talk about beta readers or perspective readers. For me, after the main revision is done, I send the book to a half-dozen or so people who have things in common with my characters that I don't. Race, gender, nationality, age, socio-economic status, education, sexual orientation, etc. That's one of my favorite parts of the process and gets spread out over a number of months. - How Many Stars are in the Sky?
E9How Many Stars are in the Sky?The Spitzer mission ended this week after more than a decade of operation. When it first launched, in order to eliminate all sources of infrared radiation, the telescope had a store of liquid helium on board that kept it just two degrees warmer than interstellar space. Eventually, that helium ran out, and it kept doing its mission, but eventually its ability to take these amazing photos degraded and now the mission has ended. Part of the reason it created this amazing image was to map out potential candidates for future examination by other telescopes, particularly the James Webb Space Telescope which will launch (fingers crossed) in March of 2021. It's also an IR telescope, so it will give us even better views of our galaxy (and others.) - Ending The Great Airplane Seat Debate
E13Ending The Great Airplane Seat DebateI just want to settle this and be done with it but, guess what, that's not going to happen. If you haven't seen the video, don't watch it, it's dumb. One person asked another person not to recline, and she didn't....which, to my eyes, is definitely impolite. But then he jiggled and punched and jiggled her chair to try and get her to move, which is shows a lack of coping skills that boggles my mind. - The Anxious Scroll
E21The Anxious ScrollThis video was recorded after our tour got cut short (for obvious and completely understandable reasons.) We're all searching for clear and simple information right now, but while there are lots of things that we know (we need more testing, there are ways to slow spread and that will protect the most vulnerable populations and help keep the healthcare system from being overwhelmed (and they include handwashing, social distancing, and ending large events.)) But there are also a lot of unknowns. And there are lots of people who have reasons for wanting us to think things are more certain than they are...but they just aren't. - The Sudden Obliteration of Expectation
E23The Sudden Obliteration of ExpectationThe way we make sense of the world is mostly invisible to us...but times like this can make it visible. There have been moments in my life my expectations have evaporated and I have felt lost without an anchor. We're starting to realize that we're in a moment like that right now. Maybe it won't be a huge shift...here's hoping, but it's already been unsettling and life-changing for many people, so we're going to have to find our new normal. - 11 Little Tips for Better Video Chat (For Teachers...and Everybody Else)
E2711 Little Tips for Better Video Chat (For Teachers...and Everybody Else)We have been making educational video for a long time now, but all we have ever wanted to do is make life easier for students and teachers. Hopefully this video does that, and hopefully Study Hall does too! You can find our new videos at http://www.youtube.com/asu - Things I'm Finding EncouragingE29
Things I'm Finding EncouragingThis is a hard time, and there are definitely people who are at fault for not taking this more seriously, or for outright taking advantage of this situation for political or economic gain. But those people are a tiny percentage, and in reality, right now, billions of people are listening to experts and that action is saving literally millions of lives. I'm grateful for that. - The Rarest Fish in the World is an Anglerfish!
E31The Rarest Fish in the World is an Anglerfish!To learn more about the amazing work being done to save these fishies, check out handfish.org.au. Another thing about handfish that I didn't get into the video is that surveys have shown they don't leave a 10 meter area during any given year of their life. I don't know how they manage to survive this way! - The Sharpest Tool in the ShedE33
The Sharpest Tool in the ShedThere are a lot of black permanent markers in the world, and I couldn't help buy buy way too many of them to try and figure out which one was the best signing experience as I signed tens of thousands of pieces of paper. There's a longer version of this video over on Hankschannel if that sounds like the kind of thing you'd be into. I mean...why not. - The years start coming and they don't stop coming!
E37The years start coming and they don't stop coming!Thank you to everyone who helped me have a wonderful 40th birthday. One thing it really drove home for me is that all of the things I feel best about in my life are the times when I've given my time and skill and money to other people. - Lookin' Kinda Dumb!E39
Lookin' Kinda Dumb!The hammerheaded bat will occasionally pop up on your timeine and it's important to note that they are not as big as they look, but they are EXACTLY as weird as they look, at least the males are. It's almost upsetting...like, fruit bats are mostly really quite cute because there's no reason for evolution to torture their face into acoustically useful tools. And yet, even though it could have been cute, evolution was like, "No, I will sexually select you into making the worst possible noise with the worst possible face." Anyway, I love them. I hope you're doing well. Thank you for reading the description...what a delightful thing to have done! - Didn't Make Sense Not to Live for Fun
E40Didn't Make Sense Not to Live for FunIn which John discusses double negatives in English (and French), negative concord, the brilliant use of double negatives in Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," Smash Mouth's "All Star," and whether it doesn't make sense not to live for fun. - The Meteor Men Beg to Differ // Judging by the Hole in the Satellite PictureE41
The Meteor Men Beg to Differ // Judging by the Hole in the Satellite PictureWhen two lines rhyme, they are intended to both convey meaning, and lock tightly into the aesthetic structure of the song. At least, that's my opinion. But what if one of those things is sacrificed for the other. Or worse...what if both of them are just completely disregarded? - Get Paid
E43Get PaidEvery time someone has approached us with an opportunity to put our content someplace new, we have been very wary and worried about it. Obviously, YouTube is not some virtuous non-profit, but moving off YouTube wouldn't just be something we were doing to our content, it would be something we were doing to /you/ and that still seems like some kind of betrayal. Only once I've watched people start to do it was I able to articulate why. This isn't something I feel like I could sell because it is not something I feel like I own. - So Much to DoE45
So Much to DoOld-school Nerdfighter and writer and activist and policy strategist (and former campaign manager for Julian Castro), Maya Rupert, took the time to talk with me about police brutality toward Black people, how she's feeling, how privilege works, and what we should be doing right now and also forever. - What a Concept!!E55
What a Concept!!Ideas are absolutely a kind of magic. There is individual synthesis in how and whether things stick, but inspiration isn't 99% perspiration...that's a weird bad term. Innovation??? DEFINITELY 99% perspiration. But inspiration is, for me, 99% things I already know and 1% something I'm adding. That's fine! That's not something to be ashamed of or to feel like an imposter because you're not really adding anything. That 1% is MAGIC...it's HUGE...it's EVERYTING. - Your Brain Gets Smart, but Your Head Gets DumbE60
Your Brain Gets Smart, but Your Head Gets DumbThere's lots in here that I don't explain fully, but one thing I wanted to talk about more is why I think that online school is definitionally less valuable than in-person school. First, this is tendencies, there maybe some portion of the population for whom it is better, but in-person is easier to capture and keep attention, easier to receive non-verbal feedback from a class, easier for classmates to build relationships and thus help each other (with classwork and with life stuff...and also sometimes for the rest of their lives.) But I think it's also been made fairly clear (at least in the way schools spend money) that a great deal of the value delivered by college is outside of the classroom. The college experience is valuable, and that's a LOT of what people are paying for. I think it's safe to say that, if you're mostly paying for streaming video, $50,000 is too much. - Her Finger and Her Thumb in the Shape of an "L" on Her ForeheadE62
Her Finger and Her Thumb in the Shape of an "L" on Her ForeheadLittle known fact, I minored in art in undergrad. The most valuable part of that process was learning how to give and receive critique, and internalizing the reality that critique is vital...but so is knowing when you think it's wrong. And that's frikkin hard, so I wanted to talk about it! - The Water's Getting WarmE66
The Water's Getting WarmIf there is one true thing about humans, it's that we're hyper-adaptable, problem-solving machines. I think, long term, we've got this. But there's going to be a lot of bad along the way, and it hurts a lot to see the bad getting worse in real time. Sometimes sacrifices are forced, and sometimes they are given. Let's try to make a world where the former alleviates the latter. - Break the Mold
E68Break the MoldSome advice for being a person in the year 2020, couched in a conversation about TikTok. Of course, there are reasons clear paths exist, they are good paths. And we should absolutely do our best to utilize them. Otherwise, it is very easy to get lost. But we lose something when we never look to the side to see if there might be another way, especially when the other paths get real clogged up...or blocked by a big shitty tree that just fell across it. - the world is gonna roll me
E75the world is gonna roll meIn which John feels overwhelmed with dread so decides to go on a walk, where he thinks about Mary Oliver, Herman Melville, and the chill in the air on this first day of Autumn. ALSO: This video contains a clue. The clue eventually leads to a secret livestream. It is possible to solve the clue alone, but it is easier to solve it with the help of friends - I ain't she was with well and I so and it's and but so and I'll and
E78I ain't she was with well and I so and it's and but so and I'll andHAHAHAHA WE DID IT!!!! See you next week for Pizzamas! Yes, the title of this video are the left-over interestitial bits of Smash Mouth's All Star that have not been part of Vlogbrothers titles over the last five months...and I guess that means WE'RE DONE?!?!? With whatever the heck we were doing!?!? - Thank God It's Over and PIZZAMAS IS HERE!!!!!!!
E79Thank God It's Over and PIZZAMAS IS HERE!!!!!!!In which John's mustache makes its annual return to celebrate the beginning of Pizzamas 2020 (and the end of the All Star Marathon). All our royalties from Pizzamas go to charity. Proceeds from the mask and the circle t-shirt will go support Covid relief efforts around the world; the rest will go to support efforts to reduce child and maternal mortality in impoverished communities. - The Commercial that Killed a Fast Food Chain
E82The Commercial that Killed a Fast Food ChainI have been working on this video for like two years, I think about Mr. Delicious at least once a week. He sells aluminum siding, but also goes to Bora Bora with...sex workers? Maybe? He's on his second marriage. He spends too much time at a bar called The Rusty Anchor. He is both effete and signals that he is wealthy while also being working-class? He also likes to read ROMANCE NOVELS WHILE EATING RAX?! So I guess that's what in the suitcase??? - What Matters
E84What MattersI started thinking about this video in the context of Donald Trump, just trying to understand how you get to a place where you a very particular perception of strength...the hollowness of bullying people and gathering power around yourself without even any clear vision for what should or could be done with that power could be so integral to someone's self worth. - Still Riding a Big Wave that I Do not and Cannot Know
E88Still Riding a Big Wave that I Do not and Cannot KnowThank you so much for another amazing Pizzamas! I always think it is going to be way too much, but then it goes by in a flash! I'm so grateful to have this community and this opportunity to make stuff. Let's keep doing it. - On Immunity, Inoculation, and Individuals
E95On Immunity, Inoculation, and IndividualsIn which John, inspired by Eula Biss's book On Immunity, considers how immunity and inoculation happen. Other topics discussed include vaccination, the relationship between individual efforts and collaboration, and what must be shared to be experienced. - Our Biggest Project Yet: A One Year Update
E97Our Biggest Project Yet: A One Year UpdateIn which John discusses nerdfighteria's most ambitious project yet--to support Partners in Health and the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health in their efforts to radically reduce maternal mortality in Sierra Leone's Kono District. This project, which needs to raise $20,000,000 in order to break ground, will strengthen the healthcare system in every way--from hiring more community health workers to building and supplying a Maternal Center of Excellence and neonatal intensive care unit at Koidu Government Hospital. - Would I Take a COVID Vaccine?
E98Would I Take a COVID Vaccine?A thing I really wish I'd had time to say in this video...now that we have vaccines that will be being distributed within 30 days, it is even more valuable to stay home, wear masks, and prevent the spread of this disease. Before now, we were buying time for some eventual moment that we didn't even know would come. Now we are buying time for a goal we can actually see...and a goal that isn't far off. - Finally Launching this Project!!!
E100Finally Launching this Project!!!I'm so excited to finally be doing this. We've been working on it for well over a year now and it's coming together so nicely! Thank you to everyone who has worked on this to make it real, from all of the great folks at DFTBA, to our sock expert consultants, to (of course) our designers! I'll be answering questions in the comments! - The Utah Monolith, What It Means, Why It Matters, and Whether It's AliensE101
The Utah Monolith, What It Means, Why It Matters, and Whether It's AliensIn which John discusses a metal obelisk that stood for years unnoticed in the Utah desert before being discovered by some wildlife biologists, whereupon the monolith quickly disappeared. Also discussed: contemporary art in deserts, Gertrude Stein's essay What Are Masterpieces and Why Are There So Few of Them, and John's ongoing obsession with that one line from The Great Gatsby. - How to Change What you WantE106
How to Change What you WantSometimes I think understanding how this process works will make my desires feel less real, but it never does. I can understand exactly how my internal calculus is changing and why AND that it's something that I HAVE DONE TO MYSELF, but it still feels entirely real to me. Anyway...very curious to here people's thoughts on all of this... - Auld Lang Syne: A History and RemembranceE108
Auld Lang Syne: A History and RemembranceThis video features an episode of the podcast "The Anthropocene Reviewed" in which John Green discusses his friendship with the writer Amy Krouse Rosenthal and the long, winding history of "Auld Lang Syne," which has become the world's New Year's Eve song.
