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Journey to the Microcosmos

project · in 20 videos (2019–2025)

A YouTube channel about the microscopic world by Hank and James Weiss, with design and editing by Complexly staff, launched in June 2019. Hank called it the most relaxing part of his job, and it ran a Kickstarter for its own microscope. In 2024 production wound down because it was mostly made at a loss.

Part of: Complexly

Videos by year: 2019: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2024: 2 · 2025: 1

Threads

Also named in the threads: Dear Hank and John: the brothers' advice podcast (2015) · Awesome Socks Club: monthly sock subscription (2016) · Complexly: the brothers' production company, renamed from EcoGeek (2016) · The Anthropocene Reviewed: John's podcast reviewing facets of the human-centered planet (2017) · Awesome Coffee Club: the brothers' coffee subscription for charity (2022) · Hank asks viewers to buy Complexly calendars at complexlycalendars.com (2022)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

Bizarre Beasts (6) · Eons (6) · Complexly (8) · SciShow (7) · chemotherapy (3) · Awesome Coffee Club (3) · Kickstarter (2) · Sun Basin Soap (2) · Crash Course coin (2) · Awesome Socks Club (3)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2019

  • 2019-06-28 · My New Obsession — announcement: The description says the first five episodes are already in production and Hank hopes many people will be as into the channel as he is. — video description
    • After months of work, Hank and James's channel Journey to the Microcosmos has launched: the first episode is out and a new one will come every week. — 00:02:16
    • The channel features original music by Andrew Huang and design and editing by Complexly staff. — 00:02:29
    • The channel plans to follow a family of tardigrades as they hatch, grow and develop. — 00:02:36
    • Unlike much of Hank's earlier rapid-fire educational work, the channel is chill and laid back, matching how he feels sometimes these days, though that is not to say there won't be drama. — 00:03:12
  • 2019-08-27 · Are Viruses Necessary? — recommendation: John tells Hank that Journey to the Microcosmos helped him grasp the diversity and ubiquity of life on Earth and is maybe his favorite YouTube channel of all time. (hedged) — 00:02:26
    • John says not since watching Carl Sagan host Cosmos as a kid has he felt such awe toward the strange universe around us. — 00:02:26
    • John notes there are no viruses in Journey to the Microcosmos because viruses are very small even by microscopic standards. — 00:02:55
    • John tells viewers to go watch Journey to the Microcosmos: it's so good. — 00:03:24
    • John says Hank's show has helped him see the microscopic world as more than a mere threat, which he appreciates. — 00:03:24
  • 2019-09-24 · I, Too, Dislike It — In a comment John says poetry, the Microcosmos and The Anthropocene Reviewed are the kind of projects they are trying to focus on. — creator comment
  • …and 1 statement more in 2019 — all statements of 2019

2020

2021

  • 2021-01-08 · In Which Hank Worries for a Little Bit and then Looks at Microbes — announcement: Hank: Journey to the Microcosmos is running a Kickstarter for this microscope with a phone attachment for making content, plus a guide to starting your own microcosmos journey. — 00:03:00
    • Hank calls the Journey to the Microcosmos channel a nice break and the most relaxing part of his job by a fair margin. — 00:03:42
  • 2021-09-03 · What the Heck am I doing? — Hank: Every Monday Hank records Journey to the Microcosmos, every Tuesday he shoots SciShow and sometimes Bizarre Beasts; he no longer writes them and mostly reads aloud. — 00:00:00
    • The Microcosmos microscope from their Kickstarter is finally shipping, but a piece is missing, probably lost in transit; backers' microscopes ship now and the piece follows. — 00:00:00

2022

  • 2022-09-02 · How A YouTube Company Actually Makes Money — announcement: Hank: Complexly is selling five calendars for five shows: Eons and Bizarre Beasts art, James Weiss's Microcosmos microphotography, and SciShow and SciShow Space images, printed in the US with facts, shipping everywhere. — 00:02:16

Also named in: I Don't Have a Good Title for This Video.

2023

  • 2023-01-17 · John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions — John says Hank runs Complexly, an educational media company making Crash Course, SciShow, Eons, Journey to the Microcosmos and more. — 00:00:00
  • 2023-04-14 · The Organism that Broke Biology — announcement: Hank says Journey to the Microcosmos just released an episode on lichen that inspired this video, for those who want to go deeper into lichens' history and beauty. — 00:03:21
    • Hank says they worked with their microscope expert on a starter microscope, from $350, available at microcosmos.store with other merchandise. — 00:03:33
  • 2023-05-30 · How Does He Do It? — John lists Hank's roles: CEO of Complexly and DFTBA.com, founder of the Awesome Socks and Coffee Clubs and Sun Basin Soap, host of Crash Course, SciShow, Journey to the Microcosmos, Vlogbrothers and an advice podcast. — 00:00:08
  • 2023-06-20 · Reflections from a Terrible CEO — John loves the people they work with and what they make (Eons, Journey to the Microcosmos, Crash Course, SciShow), which he watches daily and now understands a little. — 00:02:29
  • 2023-10-27 · I Keep Thinking About Taylor Swift — ask: Hank asks viewers to get a calendar for the new year at complexlycalendars.com (Eons, Bizarre Beasts, Microcosmos, SciShow), supporting Complexly with beautiful art and fact-checked information. — 00:02:45
  • 2023-11-24 · It Wasn't Supposed to be Thanksgiving Yesterday — ask: Hank recommends Complexly's four calendars (James Webb Space Telescope, Microcosmos microphotography, Bizarre Beasts illustrations, Eons ancestors), 10% off with the code SAVETHEDATE. — 00:04:02
  • …and 2 statements more in 2023 — all statements of 2023

2024

  • 2024-04-12 · Feeling Like a Failure (During an Eclipse) — In a channel comment, Hank credits Journey to the Microcosmos entirely to Matt, Deboki, Chayton, many others and especially James. — creator comment
    • Hank announces that Journey to the Microcosmos, their channel about the microscopic world around us, is closing down: more videos will come out, but production is wrapping up, and he is sad. — 00:01:59
    • Hank says they tried many ways to make Microcosmos work financially; at times it briefly turned a profit, but most of the time it was produced at a loss. — 00:01:59
    • Like the eclipse, Microcosmos was something beautiful he had never seen before, then it ended and he got mad; unlike the eclipse, he is somewhat responsible both for its ending and for its existing at all. (hedged) — 00:03:44
  • 2024-04-16 · I Already Got Paid — John calls it the nerdfighter-iest film made from his books, with shout-outs to Nerdfighteria; all its microscope footage comes from Journey to the Microcosmos' James Weiss. — 00:03:14
  • …and 1 statement more in 2024 — all statements of 2024

2025

  • 2025-12-09 · Hank Green, from A to Z — John says Journey to the Microcosmos was a YouTube show Hank hosted about the vast life of microscopic organisms. — 00:01:56