YouTube

platform · in 579 videos (2007–2026)

The video platform where the channel lives, begun in 2007 when the brothers agreed to talk only through video blogs; by 2009 John joked they had more subscribers than Google, its owner. Hank often discusses its ads and copyright system, and in 2022 John reflected on 15 years there.

Makes: YouTube Red, YouTube comments, YouTube Community tab, YouTube Partner Program, Super Chat, Content ID, YouTube Shorts, YouTube Creator Awards, YouTube Video Volunteers, YouTube annotations, YouTube notifications, YouTube subscriptions feed, YouTube video responses, Cosmic Panda, Super Thanks, YouTube Insight, YouTube Leanback, YouTube Live, YouTube Quick Capture, YouTube Watch Later, YouTube automatic captions, YouTube paid subscriptions, YouTube rentals program · Includes: YouTube Creators for Change, YouTube NextUp Europe, YouTube Space LA, YouTube Space New York

Videos by year: 2007: 57 · 2008: 48 · 2009: 60 · 2010: 46 · 2011: 26 · 2012: 30 · 2013: 29 · 2014: 26 · 2015: 10 · 2016: 22 · 2017: 22 · 2018: 16 · 2019: 25 · 2020: 27 · 2021: 18 · 2022: 19 · 2023: 13 · 2024: 30 · 2025: 26 · 2026: 29

Also known as: the YouTubes

Website: YouTube.com

Threads

Often together

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

online advertising (36) · recommender system (32) · Project for Awesome (77) · Facebook (33) · Twitter (60) · Google (36) · Complexly (34) · VidCon (48) · TikTok (35) · Instagram (26)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2007

2007-01-01 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 1st — announcement: Hank tells John they will no longer communicate by any textual means: no instant messaging or email, only video blogs and possibly phone calls. — 00:00:13 · also in: Week 1 Condensed!
2007-01-11 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 11th — Hank proposes suggesting more punishments so the brothers can choose between them, and letting people suggest punishments too. (hedged) — 00:01:11
2007-01-25 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 25th — Hank: Expecting he may well be the first punished, Hank proposes that the unpunished brother choose the punishment, so the punished one can't take the one he'd most like; viewers see the other's pick. (hedged) — 00:01:05
2007-05-07 · May 7th: Birthday Extravaganza — Hank says John phoned before the film to tell them Neil Gaiman had posted a link to Brotherhood 2.0 on his blog. — 00:01:10
2007-07-09 · July 9: The Punishment Fiasco — John accepts that the brothers cannot veto their own punishments but proposes that their wives may veto punishments nerdfighters suggest, and hopes Hank agrees. (hedged) — 00:02:47
2007-07-25 · July 25: Brotherhood 2.0's Youtube Comments Are Answered! — John finds Hank's face on the YouTube front page: the brothers' video has been featured. — 00:00:10
2007-08-15 · August 15: Getting Featured on YouTube — Hank: In the song, John phones Hank in bed shouting 'front page'; Hank wants to nap, then realises, runs to his laptop and finds himself featured on YouTube. (playful) — 00:00:52
2007-10-11 · October 11th National Coming Out Day — Seth Godin (quoted): Seth Godin, as relayed by Hank, says YouTube video is not only going to be but already is a better medium than books, reaching far more eyeballs on many topics. — 00:00:58
2007-12-03 · December 3rd: 10,000 Subscribers! and secret project — announcement: Hank says taking part in the secret project will require a YouTube account, and apologises to non-YouTubers because the project is somewhat YouTube-centric. — 00:02:27
2007-12-17 · Project for Awesome: Explanation and Humane Societies — announcement: Hank: The project is to take over YouTube by making the P4A image the thumbnail of hundreds of videos, from channels with 50,000 subscribers to channels with 5. — 00:00:40
2007-12-21 · December 21: Hank Accepts His Punishment — announcement: Hank says Monday is the last day of Brotherhood 2.0 and that he is kind of sad about it. — 00:03:18
2007-12-31 · Dec 31: Goodbye Brotherhood 2.0 — both: The chorus says goodbye to Brotherhood 2.0, telling viewers the brothers know they will be sad to see it go. — 00:00:40
…and 102 statements more in 2007 — all statements of 2007

Also named in: April 23rd: Celebrity, September 21: Court and Apples, Oct 15th: Happy 16th Birthday B20

2008

2008-01-08 · The Return of Question Tuesdays — announcement: John says one of the brothers will post at least one video per week, and on other days there will be pictures and videos from Nerdfighteria on the Ning. — 00:01:06
2008-03-07 (said on 2008-03-08, implied) · Shawty Got Low, Tritube and Blurbing — announcement: Hank: For the 20,000th subscriber, Hank, and possibly John, will video-chat via Stickam on Nerdfighters.com's front page tomorrow night at 7 Mountain, 6 Pacific, 9 Eastern. (hedged) — 00:02:19
2008-04-08 · Nerdfighting in Bangladesh — announcement: John reports the vote: by 4,336 to 11, Nerdfighters decided the brothers should make more videos more often. — 00:00:00
2008-04-30 (said on 2008-05-01, implied) · BLOOD! I'm a KILLER! — Hank says YouTube and the internet provide ways to participate, and hopes the Vlogbrothers are something viewers and the brothers do together, not a waste of time. (hedged) — 00:03:18
2008-05-16 · Hank's Punishment (ugh...I don't believe uploading this...) — ask: Hank invites viewers to wish Katherine a happy birthday in their own way, ideally in YouTube videos, sent to her YouTube channel or by email. — 00:02:53
2008-05-30 · The Dread Pirate Fireball Roberts! (And Housekeeping) — announcement: John announces a second celebrity challenge: if and when the brothers pass Oprah on YouTube's most-subscribed list, Nerdfighters may challenge them any way they see fit. — 00:03:23
2008-07-18 · Book Eight...Another Harry Potter Song — announcement: Hank says that a year ago today (18 July 2007) he recorded a Harry Potter song that pretty much changed his life, and celebrates the anniversary with another Harry Potter song. — 00:00:30
2008-08-12 · Eight Days of Awesome — Hank says over 380 Nerdfighters came to the Chicago library event, including many prominent Nerdfighters he had never seen outside YouTube. — 00:02:42
2008-10-08 (said on 2008-10-07, implied) · Hanks actual Vlog — announcement: Hank says the Nerdfighters' punishment is for the brothers to vlog Brotherhood 2.0-style for an entire month. — 00:01:01
2008-12-11 · The 2008 Project for Awesome!!! — Hank defines the Project for Awesome as a day when the YouTube community takes over YouTube to promote people who do things because they are right, not for money: charity. — 00:00:00
2008-12-18 · Introducing...The Awesome — Hank describes the Project for Awesome as an annual holiday-season event in which tens of thousands of YouTubers draw attention to charities worldwide. — 00:00:00
2008-12-29 · Comment Haters and Christmas — Hank says front-page exposure brings many non-Nerdfighters and reminds him how hateful YouTube can be; the difference now is that Nerdfighters pounce on the haters. — 00:00:53
…and 91 statements more in 2008 — all statements of 2008

Also named in: Live from LAX, Travel Tips, Delivered Hoarsely

2009

2009-03-01 · Free Will Fetish — announcement: John reveals, whispering, that the vlogbrothers now have more subscribers than Google, the company that owns YouTube. (playful) — 00:02:12
2009-04-16 · The Day the YouTubes Died — Hank: The chorus says maybe YouTube can become like Hulu and avoid its demise, but if it costs the little guys, Hank might say his goodbyes. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:10
2009-06-10 · WIDE ANGLE LENS! And Not Eating Fat Sandwiches — Hank says John is currently unable to make a YouTube video: he is switching from iMovie to Final Cut Express, which Hank recently did too and calls a big pain, and it is taking John a long time. (playful) — 00:00:00
2009-06-29 (said on 2009-06-28, implied) · GAY is NOT an INSULT — John says insults work by painting people with bad traits, yet YouTube comments treat being a gay virgin nerd as the worst thing; people get insulted for who they are, not what they do. — 00:02:03
2009-07-26 · Volunteering (In Your Pants) — ask: John invites Nerdfighters to join him in making video volunteer videos at youtube.com/videovolunteers. — 00:00:00
2009-09-08 · My Puppy's SECRET SHAME (and Paper Towns) — announcement: John: To celebrate, John will give away one Paper Towns paperback a day for 14 days to his favourite 10-word comment on YouTube or the Ning. — 00:01:36
2009-09-29 (said on 2009-09-30, implied) · DFTBA TAKEOVER!!! — announcement: Hank says DFTBA Records is on the front page of YouTube as he makes the video: 'we own the front page of YouTube'. (playful) — 00:00:00
2009-11-25 · Things I'm Not Thankful For — Hank: Answering commenters who called his anthem position unsupportable, Hank admits he put it poorly and says his problem is that it is a song about defending ideals, not about the ideals. — 00:00:29
2009-12-06 · LOSERS!!!! — announcement: John calls the balloon challenge a way of limbering up for the Project for Awesome, coming as always on December 17th. — 00:02:54
2009-12-13 · Eyelash Malaria — announcement: John says that this year (2009) in the Project for Awesome he will make a video in support of malaria research, joking that it's because curing malaria will make him rich. — 00:02:05
2009-12-16 · Project for Awesome: The Nature Conservancy — announcement: Hank says this is his Project for Awesome video and this year (2009) his money goes to his all-time favourite environmental charity, the Nature Conservancy. — 00:00:00
2009-12-20 · Awesome Project Is Awesome — John says the 2009 Project for Awesome was the awesomest ever, putting three years worth of awesome into 48 hours. (playful) — 00:00:27
…and 98 statements more in 2009 — all statements of 2009

Also named in: Paper Towns Tastic Question Tuesday, How to Make Guys Like You, Become a Time Traveller TODAY!, Saturday Video?!?!?!, Mad Science with Dr. Horrible (Hank), NaNoWriMo!!!

2010

2010-01-15 · Introduction to Chemistry with Hank — ask: Hank says Nerdfighter Shawn Ahmed, doing amazing work in Bangladesh, is one of five finalists to possibly attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, and asks everyone to vote for him via the sidebar. — 00:02:55
2010-03-01 · The Marriage Ref SUCKS — John says NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker likes to say YouTube is for squirrels on trampolines and that advertisers don't want ads next to cats on skateboards. — 00:01:43
2010-04-16 · The Patron Saint of Youtube — John says it is vitally important to pick the right patron saint, and as yet there is no patron saint of YouTube. — 00:02:00
2010-05-03 · Net Neutrality in the Shower — Hank imagines that when bandwidth runs short again telecoms would cut the next biggest user, probably YouTube, while Comcast.com's videos come in faster than ever. (hypothetical, hedged) — 00:01:57
2010-06-04 · YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained — Hank's own view (description): YouTube should pay Viacom some reparations based on the views of Viacom-owned content. (hedged) — video description
2010-06-11 · Mmmm....PARTS — John: As far as John can tell, what Viacom did to him and hundreds of others is exactly what it is suing YouTube for purportedly doing to Viacom. (hedged) — 00:00:00
2010-07-08 · Los Angeles Earthquake at VidCon — James at War: Just as he discovered YouTube he posted both songs; both went viral, to his surprise, and he kept writing songs mostly for his wife. — 00:02:11
2010-08-02 · I Love Hank: Esther Day 2010 — announcement: John sets Hank's punishment: a makeup tutorial in the style of YouTube makeup tutorials, deadline September 1. — 00:02:55
2010-10-25 · Rocky Horror + Glee = ? — Hank says now, especially on YouTube, that experience seems normal, so it is hard to see Rocky Horror for what it is: the seed of a cultural revolution. — 00:02:28
2010-12-08 · My Zombie Apocalypse Novella — announcement: John says that on December 17 and 18 Project for Awesome videos will be featured all over YouTube. — 00:03:30
2010-12-17 · PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2010: Save the Children and Partners in Health — announcement: John opens the 2010 Project for Awesome: viewers can take part all day today and tomorrow at youtube.com/p4a or projectforawesome.com, where an army of commenters, Hank and John included, will comment, rate and favorite. — 00:00:00
2010-12-22 · I Was on Jeopardy!!!! — John reports that P4A 2010 generated more than 3,000 P4A videos and raised more than $135,000 that can be confirmed, probably much more. (hedged) — 00:00:31
…and 135 statements more in 2010 — all statements of 2010

Also named in: Side-Boob is Not my Ultimate Concern, You're Gonna Die, John and Hank: The Out-Takes

2011

2011-01-07 · CONCUSSED Question Friday — announcement: John hopes to finish his zombie apocalypse novella within a week or so; he calls it terrible and wants to get back to his real book. (hedged) — 00:02:49
2011-02-09 · NERDFIGHTERS UNITE! (in your pants) — John says Nerdfighteria needs better ways to interact: YouTube comments don't lend themselves to relationships or collaboration, and the Ning confuses new users, though Ningmasters are working on it. — 00:02:11
2011-02-23 · WE ARE 812 YEARS OLD — John still thinks YouTube and Nerdfighteria are awesome, but says we need to be aware of the price of that awesome. — 00:03:05
2011-03-07 · This Machine Pwns n00bs Video LP — announcement: Hank presents the Video LP for his album This Machine Pwns n00bs: viewers can click any of its songs and listen to it on YouTube. — 00:00:00
2011-04-06 · Live on YouTube — announcement: Hank announces that YouTube has let the vlogbrothers into live streaming and that they will start doing livestreams today. — 00:00:11
2011-07-13 · ELLEN HARDCASTLE IS HERE! A Reunion Video — announcement: Hank, outdoing John's signing offer, says every buyer of a physical Ellen Hardcastle can send him a ten-word script that he will film and put on YouTube. — 00:01:05 · also in: John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated
2011-07-20 (said on 2011-07-21, implied) · HARDCASTLED! — announcement: Hank: Because of the confusion, Hank extends the offer: anyone who buys within 14 days gets a video of their ten-word script on his new Hardcastle Videos channel, filmed after VidCon. — 00:03:07
2011-08-03 · I Love My Brother — announcement: Hank admits he missed a video, entirely his fault, so viewers get to punish him and can suggest punishments. — 00:02:55
2011-08-05 · Vidcon: Thoughts from Places — John says that through nerdfighting, DFTBA Records, helping YouTubers and planning conferences, Hank has built a career making places where people can fall and get caught: he builds communities for a living. — 00:02:20
2011-09-12 · Adorable Baby and Insufficient Cartography — John says the great thing is that the brothers are not the only Nerdfighters: thousands work together through YouTube comments, Twitter, Tumblr, the Ning and Your Pants to improve the maps, making better maps than anyone could alone. — 00:01:50
2011-10-24 · Signing Psychosis Takes Over — ask: John: At Holiday Park in Indianapolis, John asks Nerdfighters to explain the park's weird fake ruins, hoping their combined research powers can figure them out. — 00:02:07
2011-11-21 · Old Man Narrates Young Girl — John says the legislation before Congress would increase that inequality: YouTube, Google and Tumblr can afford lawyers against Viacom, he can't, and it won't stop already-illegal wholesale piracy. — 00:02:54
…and 35 statements more in 2011 — all statements of 2011

Also named in: Why are Barns Red and Kardashians Famous

2012

2012-01-06 · Kill your TV — announcement: Hank says he and John offer at least six YouTube videos a week across vlogbrothers, SciShow and Crash Course (launching January 25), more than doubled with HankGames and Truth or Fail. — 00:03:06
2012-03-20 · Sharpie Face Question Tuesday — John says he only gets annoyed when people use grammar to humiliate others in YouTube comments, rather than for its purpose: making language as clear and intelligible as possible. — 00:01:06
2012-05-25 · The Subway Where I Used To Go (Somebody That I Used To Know / Gotye Parody) — Hank argues the affluent eyeball (anyone with internet fast enough for YouTube counts as affluent) is one of Earth's most valuable commodities, so valuable that services are given free for it. — 00:02:02
2012-06-15 · Flinching in the Shower — ask: Hank asks people to leave the problems they see, from small ones like YouTube's subscription system to big ones like hunger, with (not actual) points for uniqueness and for rarely commenting. — 00:02:51
2012-11-04 · Policy and Politics: Brotherhood 2.0 Week Begins — John picks tax policy (joking it is a good way to get YouTube views) as the best example of how far political rhetoric has diverged from actual policy. — 00:00:00
2012-11-30 · VidCon 2013! — announcement: Hank explains VidCon as a yearly gathering he and John started for everyone who loves online video: professionals, hobbyists and fans, creators, communities and the industry that enables them. — 00:01:47
2012-12-04 · Time for AWESOME — announcement: John introduces the sixth annual Project for Awesome: every year on December 17th the Nerdfighter and YouTube communities come together to decrease world suck. — 00:01:27
2012-12-11 · Economics and Dentistry: YOUTUBE'S FAVORITE TOPICS — John says that after last year's (2011) Project for Awesome the Foundation to Decrease World Suck gave more than $80,000 to five charities chosen by the YouTube community, leaving it broke. — 00:00:29
2012-12-14 · I Got Nothin… — ask: Hank says everyone who can should make a video promoting the charities they care about most, so that on Monday (17 December 2012) they take over YouTube for good stuff. — 00:00:55
2012-12-17 · THE PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2012 IS HERE! Save the Children. — announcement: John announces the sixth annual Project for Awesome: today people all over YouTube are making videos about their favorite nonprofit organizations. — 00:00:00
2012-12-21 · Meet the Team: The Missoula Office (And P4A and TheBrainScoop) — announcement: Hank: After meeting Emily at the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum and seeing her enthusiasm, ease on camera and knowledge, and after many viewer comments asking for it, they decided to give her her own YouTube show. — 00:03:01
2012-12-28 · Nood Ood, Drums, Donuts, Fish, the USDA, P4A and SLEDDING! — announcement: Hank says the Project for Awesome raised more money than anybody expected. — 00:01:50
…and 52 statements more in 2012 — all statements of 2012

Also named in: An Open Letter to Students Returning to School, To Be Anything At All: Thoughts from Places, Chicago and LeakyCon 2012

2013

2013-01-01 · Why Does Congress Suck? — John says these successes happened 'because government' (also Nerdfighteria): Somalia, lacking a government, roads, public schools and telecom investment, produced no popular YouTube Pride and Prejudice adaptation. (playful) — 00:02:57
2013-01-11 · On the Ownership of Ideas — Hank says a One Direction lip-sync video now stays up: YouTube's algorithms identify the song, ads appear on it, and Sony Music gets the ad money. — 00:02:36
2013-01-29 · Across Three Continents: A Tale of Tumblr, Copyright, and Excellent Posters — John: Agreeing with Hank that money changes things, John would be annoyed if CBS adapted TFIOS without permission but is happy with YouTube scene adaptations even with ads; there is no good way to define the difference. — 00:02:48
2013-02-19 · Doing Things, On the Importance of — announcement: John: Mental Floss, now an educational and trivia empire, has never had a YouTube channel; John and Hank are working on bringing it to YouTube, with list videos, quizzes and a cool intro. — 00:00:49
2013-03-08 · ONE MILLION NERDFIGHTERS! — announcement: Hank says the Project for Awesome has been a huge success every year, and this year (2013) raised over $400,000. — 00:00:58
2013-03-20 · Ads Work...but for Whom? — John says the problem with advertising is that it incentivises the most views, not the best: it values YouTube communities for their size, not their passions or achievements. — 00:01:41
2013-04-19 · On Sexual Orientation, with Hannah, Ze, Tyler, and Meg — recommendation: a guest: A guest says it is getting better, many people will be there for you, and there are resources such as the Trevor Project and people on YouTube telling their stories; you are not alone. — 00:03:13
2013-06-04 · A New Nerdfighter Baby — announcement: John: During the leave there will be a Crash Course US History video every Thursday, a mental floss video every Wednesday, and Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers FIFA games every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. — 00:00:55
2013-07-26 · Introducing Subbable — announcement: Hank: Crash Course will stay free on YouTube; the hope is that enough people who can pay will, so that everyone can have access. (hedged) — 00:02:03
2013-09-06 · Undigested Lump (A Song) — announcement: Hank says he will work on a new album in October and November, helped by favorite YouTube musicians and probably some favorite wizard rock musicians. (hedged) — 00:02:47
2013-11-26 · The Bank of Nerdfighteria — John says last year's (2012) P4A raised more than $400,000 for organizations fighting illiteracy, domestic violence and global poverty, among other things. — 00:00:39
2013-12-16 · Project for Awesome Time!! What does it Mean?! — Hank says last year (2012) P4A raised $400,000, and this year (2013) an anonymous donor matches donations up to $125,000. — 00:01:41
…and 42 statements more in 2013 — all statements of 2013

Also named in: The Ghost of Teenaged Future

2014

2014-03-28 · New Album, New Channels, New Fabric, New Internet Thing! — announcement: Hank says he just finished his album: fourteen songs with his new band Hank Green and the Perfect Strangers (Hank, Andrew Huang, Rob Scallon, Joe DeGeorge). — 00:02:33
2014-04-11 · What Boys Look For in Girls — Hank says everyone deals with insecurity, but many young women on YouTube have been told all their lives to base their self-worth on whether men admire them. (hedged) — 00:00:09
2014-04-25 (said on 2014-04-26, implied) · I Love Science (Clean Version) (Uncensored link in the Description) — announcement: Hank says the song is the first track of Incongruent, his album with Hank Green and the Perfect Strangers, officially out May 7 on iTunes and shipping from the DFTBA warehouse a little before. — 00:02:23
2014-05-06 · TFIOS Movie Madness, Incongruent, and Headless Hotel People — announcement: John says Hank's album Incongruent comes out tomorrow, so today is the last day to pre-order a signed copy (link in the doobly-doo); it will also be on iTunes tomorrow. — 00:01:05
2014-05-09 · Oh JK Rowling - Kinetic Typography — announcement: Hank announces Incongruent is officially released, on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and DFTBA Records, where physical copies also come with a download link. — 00:01:52
2014-06-24 · In Pursuit of Quiet — John says quiet is interesting to talk about on YouTube because attention has become so fractured online that YouTube videos have no room left for any silence. — 00:00:28
2014-07-08 · The Future of Nerdfighteria — John says pre-roll ads are about 99% of YouTube's revenue, and that with them vlogbrothers could earn five or six times what it does now (he can't give actual numbers). (hedged) — 00:02:08
2014-07-29 · Listen: Thoughts from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — John says humans are generous within their social networks, but lack of access to Tumblr and YouTube leaves people in absolute poverty voiceless online, so we imagine their problems as other. — 00:02:22
2014-08-15 · The Bizarre State of Copyright — Hank: Copyright on YouTube today is more a technological system than a legal one, because there is too much content for any lawyer to review every upload. — 00:02:05
2014-09-23 · Looking Away — John says the poor are voiceless in too much contemporary discourse: the boy's mother has no Twitter or YouTube channel, so we hear her challenges less directly than others'. — 00:01:04
2014-10-17 · MY FACE ON A BUS — announcement: Hank reveals he was in LA for YouTube's channel promotion: he, Michael Aranda and Caitlin Hofmeister were shot for SciShow print and TV ads now in Chicago, LA, New York and on TV. — 00:00:58
2014-12-06 · A Brief History of Homestar Runner — Hank says Homestar Runner pioneered the online video industry, doubts many of us would be here without it, and says it predates YouTube by five years yet still feels fresh. (hedged) — 00:03:33
…and 37 statements more in 2014 — all statements of 2014

2015

2015-02-06 · You Will Be Forgotten ...And That's OK — Hank says none of the milestones (first recognized in public, 100,000 or a million subscribers, paying bills with YouTube) was the day he became perpetually satisfied and always happy. — 00:01:29
2015-03-20 · A Sacrifice of Individuality and the Internets — Hank says the internet enabled crowdfunding (Patreon, Indiegogo, Kickstarter), crowdsourcing that built Wikipedia, and the wisdom of the crowd: upvotes on Reddit and choices on YouTube and Facebook that help curate content. — 00:01:01
2015-10-16 · Post-NerdCon Haze — Hank says YouTube created a new format shaped not by when ads show up or by dividing a day into 24 pieces, but by the best way to tell a quick story or make a quick thing. — 00:03:08
2015-10-27 · Understanding YouTube Red: Paid Subscriptions and the Future of Online Video — John explains YouTube Red: ten dollars a month for ad-free YouTube, offline watching and all the music you want, 'like Spotify plus ad-free YouTube', plus subscriber-only originals. — 00:01:14
- Answering the most-asked question, John says YouTube Red is good for creators: some of the fee goes to them and per viewer it earns them more than advertising. (hedged) — 00:01:33
- John says supporting creators directly, through Patreon or buying merch, is vastly ('a thousand times') more valuable than YouTube Red or ads; direct support remains best. (playful) — 00:01:43
- John's main worry: YouTube Red may create two classes of viewers; YouTube is special as a flat platform where anyone with a device and internet sees everything. — 00:02:02
- John says he doesn't know how to feel: it's nice to see YouTube move away from relying only on ads, and Red will be a good option without harming ad-supported viewers. (hedged) — 00:03:02
- John is not sure he wants YouTube to grow up into cable TV; he wants it driven by fan communities and the direct creator-audience relationship, something you're part of. (hedged) — 00:03:21
2015-11-06 · Announcing VidCon 2016! June 23 - 25 (and Pizzamas 2015!) — Hank feels VidCon has not been good at reflecting the explosion in gaming content or making it a priority, though streamers and YouTube gamers are huge; he feels bad about that. (hedged) — 00:02:10
2015-11-09 · Enjoy My Stupid Dancing! (Pizzamas Day 1) — ask: Hank lists ways to take part in P4A: make a charity video, donate through the week-long Indiegogo campaign with perks from YouTubers, watch and promote the livestream and videos, and vote for favourite videos. — 00:01:52
2015-12-04 · The Explain The 2008 Financial Crisis CHALLENGE! (and 7 other challenges) — Hank frames the video as attempting a supposedly hip new YouTube challenge: explaining the 2008 financial crisis in less than sixty seconds. (playful) — 00:00:01
…and 14 statements more in 2015 — all statements of 2015

2016

2016-02-05 · Honest YouTube Talk Time — Hank says that solo way is the spirit of YouTube, and it seems a little unfair that he can use money and attention to launch projects and gather talent when most people lack those resources and can't compete. (hedged) — 00:02:17
- Hank says the pure meritocracy that is perhaps part of YouTube's mythology is long gone. (hedged) — 00:02:37
2016-03-15 · The Extraordinary Story of Hussam: Teenager, Writer, and Syrian Refugee — Hussam says he learned English in the camp in three months of hard study, downloading YouTube videos to learn speaking and listening. — 00:00:21
2016-08-23 · The Ocho! Sports I Want on TV — John says the internet has built homes for cult communities, from primitive technology YouTube channels to Harry Potter bands, but for reasons he doesn't understand not yet for sports. — 00:02:38
2016-08-26 · I'm Just Going to Talk for Four Minutes — Hank says the brothers are nearing their 10th anniversary on YouTube, which is exciting and perplexing: he doesn't remember a lot of what they have done. — 00:00:46
2016-09-13 · YouTube's New Thing (and a New Thing of Our Own) — announcement: John: For a couple of years John has wanted to make 100 Days, a YouTube health show in which two ordinary people spend 100 days eating well, exercising and doing what trials show improves health. — 00:00:28
- John argues YouTube has seen itself as about video, but for many it is mostly about community: the best channels are communities you are part of, long seen as YouTube's weakness. — 00:01:37
- From January 1 viewers can watch John and his best friend Chris attempt the healthiest midlife crisis, with videos, routines, recipes, live shows and text posts, all on YouTube. — 00:03:04
2016-09-23 · How do YouTubers Make Money? — Hank says that, unlike his VidCon 2010 answer, it is not simple: making your way on YouTube has become much more difficult and complicated. — 00:02:57
- Hank says online video creates much value and capturing it gets more complicated; as barriers rise we need systems keeping its benefits accessible to as many people as possible. — 00:03:35
2016-09-30 · Here are Some YouTube Tricks I Use — Hank says most Nerdfighters who answered the Census get their YouTube videos from the subscriptions feed, good for the brothers since it is the only page showing all of a creator's videos. — 00:00:55
2016-12-30 · The Most Interesting Thing I've Ever Done — announcement: Hank says two days from now (1 January 2017) will be the tenth anniversary of the first vlogbrothers video being uploaded to YouTube. — 00:00:00
…and 49 statements more in 2016 — all statements of 2016

2017

2017-01-03 · 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) — announcement: John marks the anniversary: ten years and one day ago he uploaded his first ever video to YouTube. — 00:00:51
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John argues a painted-over layer is not irrelevant: it permanently, if slightly, changed the sphere, so even a little-seen YouTube video or little-read story shapes the ball we all live with. — 00:02:25
2017-04-18 · Framing — John says it is almost impossible to remember moment to moment that YouTube videos and social media feeds show curated versions of people. — 00:00:55
- John says the YouTube age talks a lot about authenticity and he has tried to be authentic for a decade, but telling the truth means choosing which of many true stories to tell. — 00:01:04
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says YouTube uniquely provides a massive audience it may push toward quality content, and a system to turn views into money. — 00:00:12
2017-04-28 · Can You Trust Mainstream Media? — Hank: Answering the title, Hank says actual news (not op-eds) in mainstream media can be trusted far more than almost anything else, and he stands up for an institution we would be screwed without, despite its recent swipes at YouTube. — video description
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — announcement: Hank says YouTube Red came to the brothers having acquired an award-winning documentary it wanted to make available to YouTube Red subscribers. — 00:01:02
2017-07-14 · YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages — Hank: In December 2007, having done the project for its planned year and with 11,000 subscribers, the brothers thought about stopping but decided to keep going, which turned out okay. — 00:03:06
2017-07-18 · Accio Decade Hallows — John: In July 2007 John was doing Brotherhood 2.0, a year-long project of weekday videos with Hank, watched by a few hundred people a day. — 00:02:12
- Ten years ago today (18 July 2007) Hank uploaded Accio Deathly Hallows, a song about his excitement for the publication of the last Harry Potter book. — 00:02:31
2017-08-22 · The Causes of Cholera — John admits he pays more attention to crises in distant Europe or Australia than elsewhere because people there feel close to him: he watches them on YouTube and reads their Reddit posts. — 00:03:24
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — John: While much has been lost, John is grateful to live in a world with telescopes, vaccines, YouTube and books. — 00:03:35
…and 43 statements more in 2017 — all statements of 2017

Also named in: FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again

2018

2018-01-05 · Making a Better YouTube — Hank says there is no way, at least right now, to create a YouTube alternative that would work for creators: many people have tried and some are trying now, but he doesn't think it's possible. (hedged) — video description
- Reason five: YouTube's problems are those any sufficiently big social video platform would have: getting advertisers in, monetizing for creators, and too much open uploading to review it all. — 00:02:01
2018-01-09 · Your Attention — John says Twitter is structured not to make us better informed or happier but to keep us on Twitter, and the same is true of Facebook, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and cable news. — 00:02:30
2018-05-11 · Looking for Alaska Movie (BUT BETTER) and YouTuber Things — announcement: Hank says John's first book, published two years before John proposed making video blogs on YouTube, kept doing better and, now 13 years old, is becoming an eight-episode Hulu miniseries. — 00:00:01
- Hank knows next to nothing about getting popular on YouTube except that it's hard and rare, and happens not from a great idea, hard work, luck or resources alone but when all coincide. — 00:01:29
2018-05-25 · Please Unsubscribe — Hank says that over the last 10 years of YouTube, subscriptions have become less important. — 00:00:11
- Even on Vlogbrothers, a repeat-viewer channel with YouTube-savvy viewers, only about 30% of first-day views come from subscriptions, falling to about 15% over the video's life. — 00:00:29
2018-07-03 · How Does This End? — John asks whether that is how things end online, still present but relevant only as nostalgia, and whether it will happen to Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. (speculative) — 00:00:52
- John thinks YouTube faces big problems: it relies too much on flawed algorithms, and its monetization system often values advertisers over audience. (hedged) — 00:01:29
2018-11-06 · Taking a Year Off — announcement: John: The year off starts next month (December 2018) when the Project for Awesome ends; on YouTube things stay much the same, with a Vlogbrothers video every week. — 00:02:55
2018-11-09 · I Don't Know What Work Is — Hank says he turned reading novels into work, just as VidCon made watching YouTube work, SciShow his science obsession, Vlogbrothers his interest in online communities, and Dear Hank and John being dumb with his brother. (hedged) — 00:00:29
- John Green (quoted): In that 2011 chat John wrote that he wanted to do things that change the world and that YouTube will buy into, focusing on ideas YouTube would pay for that would also change the world. — 00:02:10
…and 53 statements more in 2018 — all statements of 2018

2019

2019-02-01 · We Have Destroyed Copyright Law — Hank argues that neither YouTube nor the rights holders actually want to stop copyright violation. — 00:01:12
- Hank calls the claiming system pretty genius: big companies that would otherwise lobby Congress to shut YouTube down get a whole new income stream instead. — 00:03:44
- Hank names the first big flaw: only large rights holders have access to Content ID; independents can hardly get in, and YouTube never will let everyone in, partly because it is easy to abuse. — 00:04:15
2019-02-05 · Deepfake: A Brief History of Unreliable Images — John grants that today's fakes can still be spotted, but says 2019 deepfakes look better than 2007 YouTube reality and it won't take them long to catch up. — 00:00:29
2019-03-08 · Does "The Press" Hate YouTube? — Hank says legacy publications, whose readers mostly don't care about YouTube, start with some antagonism toward it, from losing market share to people without their rigor, accountability or training, and with an audience that understands the platform too simply to want nuance. — video description
- Hank ranks why articles about YouTube are negative: maybe antagonism, the smallest part; making content their audience wants, as everyone does; and negative news being genuinely more interesting, uncommon and important, a long-researched pattern. — video description
- Hank says he too is "the press", with no accountability outside himself before publishing, like most big YouTube channels, so giving all our media consumption to single-perspective, unaccountable, untrained YouTubers is bad, however much he loves many of them. — video description
- Hank says such stories make advertisers cut spending, YouTube then overreacts by strengthening demonetization algorithms, and even slightly controversial videos may earn nothing. — 00:00:42
2019-05-14 · An Open Letter to Professional YouTubers — John: Last lesson, quoting Hank: diversify your identity; when friends, family, walks and Instagram all become your job, you can stop thinking of yourself as John Green the person, husband, father, AFC Wimbledon sponsor, avowed Hufflepuff, and see only John Green YouTuber. — 00:02:55
2019-07-23 · What to Love and How — John: As a religious person, John has seen his own tradition create and demonize outsiders to bind insiders, and the same in football, YouTube fandoms and political ideologies. — 00:01:56
2019-09-24 · I, Too, Dislike It — announcement: John: With Paige Lewis, they have started Ours Poetica, a YouTube channel with the Poetry Foundation featuring a poem read every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. — 00:01:47
2019-11-01 · On Looking Up to Your Little Brother — John says he is used to looking up to Hank as a philanthropist, a YouTuber and his boss at Complexly, and now gets to look up to him as a novelist too. — 00:03:09
…and 57 statements more in 2019 — all statements of 2019

2020

2020-02-21 · The Muck of Millennia — Hank goes to meet a mudlark whose YouTube channel he watches and loves, saying he is in the enviable position of easily meeting YouTube creators he loves. — 00:01:03
2020-02-25 · A weird YouTube thing? — John says that for several years the brothers have made a point of not asking viewers to like and subscribe, first because YouTube users hear that enough every day. — 00:01:56
2020-03-03 · Consciously Experiencing Human Dignity — 33ranjit (quoted): YouTube commenter 33Ranjit wrote that Art Assignment videos look at what humans do without shirking problems but never ridicule others: exercises in consciously experiencing human dignity. — 00:00:29
- John realized only from the comment that exercises in consciously experiencing human dignity are what he looks for in novels, poetry, YouTube videos, philanthropy, video games and much else. — 00:00:29
2020-03-24 · Mental Health Tips from People Who've Been There — recommendation: John: Fourth tip: learning and intellectual engagement with books, reading and limited internet; for John, books, essays and marble racing on YouTube. — 00:01:56
2020-08-18 · what's wrong with taking the back streets? — John has focused his life on being productive with a very narrow definition: YouTube videos count but woods walks with his kids don't, email but not Twitter, good artists' art but not his. — 00:01:27
2020-08-28 · Break the Mold — Hank says almost all TikTokers would like to be YouTubers or Instagrammers, which does not surprise him; there are good reasons to want that. — 00:01:35
2020-09-01 · get the show on — John shows his circles: 17,000 drawn so far in his attempt to understand the number 170,000, perhaps enough to freak out YouTube's compression, yet only 10% of the total. — 00:02:26
2020-09-08 · That's the way. — John says third things are essential not only to marriages but to many other relationships: BTS could be one in a friendship, a YouTube channel in a sibling relationship. — 00:01:20
2020-10-02 (said on 2020-10-01, implied) · I ain't she was with well and I so and it's and but so and I'll and — Hank says that although they gave up titling their videos, the channel's audience has not fallen at all over the last five months. — 00:02:44
2020-10-07 (said on 2020-10-06, implied) · The Golden Age of Vlogbrothers — John: To cheer John up, Hank asked viewers of their new YouTube videos to send pictures of themselves with something silly on their heads, before smartphones made that easy. — 00:00:00
2020-12-08 · A Love Letter to My Brother, Basically — John says Hank has always been the realizer in their family: he created their YouTube channel, designed their website and animated their 2007 intro. — 00:00:00
…and 36 statements more in 2020 — all statements of 2020

2021

2021-02-05 · The Project for Awesome will be Different This Year! — announcement: Hank: P4A video submissions no longer open the day it begins, a relic of gaming the YouTube algorithm; early submission gives volunteers time to choose videos to feature. — 00:01:57
2021-07-13 · The Vlogbrothers Videos I Didn't Make — John: That was when John belatedly understood that maximizing views was not the point of this YouTube channel. — 00:03:33
2021-08-17 · Who Owns Nerdfighteria? — John: The easy answer is that creators own it, so Vlogbrothers money is the brothers'; but that quickly gets complicated, since YouTube owns the channel and is part of the value equation. — 00:00:58
- Google receives just over 45% of all revenue generated by Nerdfighteria on the YouTube platform. — 00:01:56
- John says the brothers' share also seems high, because the money belongs to Nerdfighteria, not to them; that is why half goes to grants for educational creators and half to charity. — 00:02:26
- The other 55-ish percent of that revenue goes to Hank and John. — 00:02:26
2021-09-14 · I do this every. single. tuesday. — John: In late 2006, after An Abundance of Katherines came out, John quit his day job to write full time, found himself still inconsistent and the empty days terrifying, and three months later invented an unpaid job, this channel. — 00:01:34
2021-10-05 · Why the Heck am I on TikTok??? — Hank says TikTok doesn't scratch the itches YouTube does, especially Vlogbrothers, which is unlike any other place on the internet, and that is not just nostalgia for 2007. — 00:03:01
2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Hank says platforms, viewers and he himself are all bad at this: it is a revolution in human-to-human communication and a baby, with no systems yet for many-to-many decentralized communication. — 00:04:55
- The real danger and power of platforms is not hosting but deciding what gets new eyeballs; promoting is an active editorial decision by the company, even when made by an algorithm. — 00:16:18
2021-10-15 · What is Pizzamas? ...and a New Friend — Hank says Pizzamas, Vlogbrothers and Nerdfighteria fit no well-defined box and are unlike a normal YouTube community: hard to talk about, but it keeps them under the radar, which he likes. — 00:01:27
2021-12-10 · What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) — Hank says this is the last reunion video, a Question Tuesday YouTube edition answering real questions from real Nerdfighters. — 00:00:00
…and 20 statements more in 2021 — all statements of 2021

Also named in: Arbitrary but Useful, What the Most-Viewed Vlogbrothers Videos Say about YouTube (and about us)

2022

2022-01-04 · After 15 Years on YouTube, THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING THING — John: If John has learned one thing from 15 years on YouTube, it is never to underestimate Nerdfighteria. — 00:09:21
2022-02-08 · How Much Money Vlogbrothers Makes from YouTube (...and where it goes) — John says Vlogbrothers earned just over $145,000 in 2021, mostly from YouTube ad revenue, some from YouTube Premium subscribers and Super Chats. — 00:00:29
2022-05-06 · Why I Didn't Quit YouTube (yet) — recommendation: Hank says Dan Howell's video 'Why I Quit YouTube' opens with one of the most eloquent, thoughtful and accurate takes on YouTube's history and the bad parts of being a YouTuber. — 00:00:00
- Hearing the worst parts of the last 15 years of his life summed up made Hank wonder why the brothers didn't quit or burn out on YouTube. — 00:00:00
2022-06-10 · My Embarrassing Dermatology Story — Hank says starting Crash Course as YouTubers mattered: on YouTube you compete by grabbing and holding attention, and by doing it inexpensively. — 00:00:58
- Hank says Crash Course is on YouTube because students and teachers already are; instead of selling to school districts and forcing it on teachers, it lets them choose, so it is used only when found useful. — 00:01:56
2022-09-02 · How A YouTube Company Actually Makes Money — Hank: YouTubers get 55% of the ad money on their content, and YouTube shares 55% of YouTube Premium money after record labels' cut, which comes to significantly more than an ad-supported view. — 00:00:00
- Because most people aren't on Premium, it is around 3% of Complexly's revenue, while YouTube ads are around 28%. — 00:00:00
2022-09-20 · Against Nihilism — John says humans are also really interesting: we know DNA's structure, make art, sports, cappuccino and YouTube, know what keeps the stars apart, protect our young and make good music. — 00:01:27
2022-09-23 · The Real Difference Between YouTube and TikTok — Hank says the real difference between a YouTube video and a Short, TikTok or Reel is not being vertical or short, but whether you choose to watch it or choose to keep watching it. — 00:00:58
2022-12-02 · I Know How to Fix YouTube Rewind — Hank says even Rewind 2014 shows the problem: a YouTube video was already shifting from a genre of content to a kind of content, a shift that happened between 2016 and 2018. — 00:00:29
- Hank says by 2018 YouTube was very big, complex and full of scandal: a YouTube video was a kind of content, not a genre, and YouTube was many communities, many disliking each other. — 00:00:57
…and 33 statements more in 2022 — all statements of 2022

2023

2023-01-10 · Introducing: The Format — John: When stressed, John reminds himself he is not a computer but a monkey wearing a jacket trying to make a YouTube video, so no wonder he is anxious. (playful) — 00:00:00
2023-01-27 · An Announcement 3 Years in the Making — Hank says the goal is not to replace college with YouTube videos but to look closely at the barriers and lower the ones they can. — 00:03:24
2023-02-03 · My Mid-Afternoon Existential Crisis — Hank says P4A videos used to be uploaded all on the same day; YouTube no longer cares, so they can be uploaded early and reviewed to pick some to feature on the livestream. — 00:01:12
2023-03-03 · The Law That Made the Internet — Hank explains with himself as the content provider and YouTube as the service: if he slanders someone or does something illegal, he can be sued, fined or jailed, but YouTube cannot be held liable. — 00:01:03
- Hank reports the Supreme Court is hearing a case arguing YouTube is not liable for the content of videos on its platform but is liable for recommending that content to people. — 00:01:30
- Hank says the argument that YouTube is not just hosting content but creating a new kind, the recommendation, seems a little bit right to him. (hedged) — 00:01:50
2023-05-02 · GOOD NEWS — John: As John Chew explained, almost all the construction workers were trained in new skills, partly through classes and partly through educational YouTube videos. — 00:02:55
2023-05-23 · Rough Week — John: Less intentionally funny: the brothers' YouTube account effectively said sorry about the cancer but congratulations on the views, with confetti. (playful) — 00:00:58
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
2023-08-15 · Henry — announcement: The description's update says Henry's fundraiser has closed after reaching all its goals and more, thanks donors and asks viewers to follow Henry's YouTube channel. — video description
- John says Henry is alive thanks to extraordinary efforts by himself, his family, charities, caregivers and government; he gets to have a YouTube channel, take tests and help his mom. — 00:05:47
2023-10-27 · I Keep Thinking About Taylor Swift — Hank reports a recent BBC piece on fake YouTube content, largely made with AI, watched and believed by many young people including preteens, often about aliens or climate change not being real. — 00:00:55
…and 13 statements more in 2023 — all statements of 2023

2024

2024-01-02 · Being Old on YouTube — John says they have been very successful for an astonishingly long time with wonderful people, but never that successful or near the center of YouTube or culture, and that is where he is happiest. — 00:01:12
2024-01-05 · I'm Scared of 2024...So Here's 3 Optimistic Thoughts — Hank blames the culture-war talk and nationalism on the disintegration of the media landscape, caused by platforms like TikTok, Facebook and YouTube maximizing time on platform, where moral outrage sticks best. — 00:01:32
2024-01-26 · On YouTuber Retirement — Hank says other formats end: a finished book is finished, a song locks in place, a recorded special lets you move on; YouTube isn't like that. — 00:01:35
2024-01-30 · How Vlogbrothers Will End — John thinks this year's (2024) attention to YouTuber retirements is basically good news: in a very new medium, people need to work out how to say goodbye, or goodbye for a while. — 00:00:45
2024-05-31 · The People I Hate Most in the World — ask: Hank invites viewers who think Crash Course's work by dozens of people is worth more than YouTube ads deliver, and who can help, to buy one of three coins. — 00:02:55
2024-06-14 · Some Reasons why People Suck — announcement: Hank announces John's two-hour livestream on the channel on Saturday, June 15, at noon Eastern: a look at how Partners In Health works and honoring and matching a longtime nerdfighter's bequest. — 00:08:45
2024-08-07 · Dear Hank and John Livestream! — Hank, citing his video last week (week of 29 July 2024), says he is convinced YouTube is not past its prime. — 00:15:05
2024-08-23 · Is Google Training AI on YouTube Videos? — Hank poses the question many fear to ask: does Google, a company creators have a relationship with, train its generative AI models on YouTubers' videos? — 00:04:52
2024-08-27 · How The Internet Is Rigged — John says early YouTube had two kinds of investors: those who put in financial capital and those who put in intellectual property as videos. — 00:01:38
2024-09-20 · Do I Regret TikTok? — Hank thinks TikTok's greatest advantage over Instagram and YouTube, besides being first, was simply that it was cooler. — 00:02:26
2024-09-25 · You have no chance to survive make your time. — John: His friend Carlos came to his desk to show him YouTube, and John's first YouTube video was All Your Base Are Belong to Us, a collection of memes set to music. — 00:00:30
2024-11-05 · Why Do I Still Make YouTube Videos? — John: Hank's video made John wonder why he still makes YouTube videos after almost 20 years, when most colleagues have moved on, and whether that is longevity or creative stasis. — 00:00:00
…and 101 statements more in 2024 — all statements of 2024

2025

2025-03-18 · ITS ALL HAPPENING — ask: John says readers will want to follow Henry and his mother Isatu in Sierra Leone, and asks viewers to subscribe to Henry's YouTube channel, linked in the description. — 00:02:58
2025-03-28 · Is This a Million Dollar Idea? — ask: Hank asks viewers to search YouTube for white noise videos, listen, and select his Torc Waterfall video so YouTube recommends it to far more people than Nerdfighteria. — 00:01:10
2025-04-22 · The Unimportant Things — announcement: John announces that a documentary about AFC Wimbledon, made over the last couple of years by him and Rosianna with longtime nerdfighter Jonathan Vogler, who helped make The Last Dance, premiered on YouTube last week (April 2025). — 00:01:56
2025-05-13 · I Have the BEST News — John thinks this can in many ways be cited as the greatest accomplishment in the 18-year history of this strange and lovely little YouTube channel. — 00:05:01
2025-06-06 · The Secret Inside my MIT Commencement Speech — Hank sent the students a survey before writing, so the speech was partly their creation and partly his, all inspired by them, just like this YouTube channel. — 00:01:56
2025-06-20 · 'Influencer' Must Die. — Hank says he was inducted into the VidCon Hall of Fame along with the people who said good morning at the start, and enjoyed hanging out with old-school YouTube friends. — 00:00:00
2025-10-03 · Is It Time to Retire? — John doesn't see YouTube as a career for his older self: he would like to retire someday, at least to being just a writer again, but doesn't know when. — 00:02:22
2025-10-17 · We Never Know What Anything Means — Hank says the recommendation algorithms of YouTube, TikTok, Threads and Twitter already erode trust without wanting to: told to keep people on websites, they made us hate each other more, fraying society. — 00:03:50
2025-10-31 · We Did It… — Hank says the terrible thing about algorithmic platforms is that they amplify tiny signals, as YouTube does in serving ever more enticing content. — 00:04:19
2025-11-11 · John's Annual Psychophysical Decline — John calls it his proudest moment in 19 years of YouTube videos that their corner of the internet made the MCOE possible: helped by many others, but he doesn't think it would have happened without them. — 00:02:06
2025-12-12 · The Economics of a YouTube White Noise Video — announcement: Hank introduces Zonderia, a YouTube channel he created this week (week of 8 December 2025), with the tagline 'Make the world better while you sleep'. — 00:03:24
2025-12-19 · My Big 2026 Prediction is...Not Fun — Hank credits the brothers' long YouTube careers largely to doing things with people rather than only making things for them, and values the Census as a way to keep a handle on that. — 00:00:59
…and 54 statements more in 2025 — all statements of 2025

Also named in: The Format but it hurts to stand up, This one's for your mom

2026

2026-01-16 · 2026 P4A Changes! (Plus...GAMES!) — ask: Hank says nominating a charity requires making a video and uploading it to YouTube; submissions are accepted from noon Eastern on Saturday, January 24th until Sunday (18 January 2026), February 8th. — 00:00:58
2026-02-06 · One week until P4A! — ask: John invites viewers to join the Project for Awesome from February 13 to 15 on the vlogbrothers YouTube channel. — 00:00:31
2026-02-24 · Risk Is a Privilege — John says the brothers could start YouTube videos in 2007, an expensive hobby with no prospect of paying off, because they had professional flexibility. — 00:00:29
2026-05-29 · Chemo Cow Body Odor YouTube Helen Hunt Commute — Hank says the brothers justified taking the ad money by putting half into a pool granted to small educational creators, first YouTubers and now on multiple platforms: over 10 years, dozens of grants. — 00:05:20
2026-06-05 · The Things We Don't Discuss — Hank says YouTube wants people to spend time on YouTube, and creators taken together want the same, so the actions creators take for views serve YouTube's goal: a collaboration. — 00:01:27
2026-07-10 · How Status Destroys Us — Hank says being a YouTuber in 2007 meant goofing off in a small scene of weirdos with no cultural relevance, status or money; nearly 20 years later it is a high-status identity that can make you very rich. — 00:04:15
2026-09-11 · Our Last YouTube View… — Hank says most YouTubers don't know how to do anything on a stage, because they talk to cameras by themselves and then edit for hours. — 00:01:58
2026-09-15 · YouTube Says This Video Has 683,183 Views, It Actually Has 312,584 — John says that in the last month YouTube, borrowing from Instagram and TikTok, began counting a view when anyone watches any frame, instead of after an unknown number of seconds. — 00:01:27
2026-09-18 · John was Wrong about YouTube Views — Hank says they still imagine a different era of YouTube, but it is a useful fiction, and not a fiction if real and wonderful things get made. — 00:09:04
2026-10-01 · Are We Still YouTubers? — Hank: Answering John's video yesterday saying they weren't the best YouTubers, Hank thinks they are good YouTubers but doubts they still are YouTubers, though they used to be. — 00:00:00
2026-10-23 · The Best Email I Ever Got — Hank: When the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a show Hank produced on YouTube, won an Emmy, he did not pay to get a statuette for himself, which he now feels very dumb about. — 00:00:36
2026-10-30 · The Last Normal Year — Hank says AI controls what we see: not LLMs, though they are increasingly part of it, but AI decides which YouTube thumbnails we see, what is in our Threads, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds, and what comes next when swiping. — 00:07:09
…and 88 statements more in 2026 — all statements of 2026