Stories told more than once

The 259 stories from the brothers' lives that come up in two or more videos (2007–2026), grouped by whose life they belong to and ordered by when they were first told. Each telling is listed with what it was used for: a point or opinion the same speaker states in the same part of the video, otherwise the video's overall point. tell = first telling, retell = a recollection of something already told, update = news on a story still going on.

Stories told only once are on the brothers' pages; their full thread tables are under each title link.

Dates are upload dates, which set the order. Where the speaker gives a different recording date in the video, it is added as "said on YYYY-MM-DD, implied" (derived from the date said in the video).

John's life (144)

John misses the voter registration deadline after moving to Chicago (2000)

3 videos, told 2007–2016 · thread page

• 2007-01-04 · told · John: John says he did not vote in 2000 even though he could have voted in Florida, and comically blames himself for George Bush. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: Eating Toilet Paper 00:00:40
  • point made: Continuing Hank's list of differences, John says Hank is excellent at living in line with his values while John is not. (00:00:00)
• 2012-05-08 · retold · John: John doesn't want to vote while sick, but after failing to vote in Florida in the 2000 presidential election he promised himself and his country he would always vote. — Tiny Chickens Invade, But Still I Vote 00:01:10
  • video's point: Sick with 'tiny chicken disease', John is reminded by Sarah to vote and goes, keeping a promise made after missing the 2000 election, though he doubts his vote matters much because microbes, not voters, drive history.
• 2016-08-09 · told · John: John tells how, in August 2000, newly moved to Chicago with a Florida driver's license and no idea how to register, he missed the registration deadline; he calls it one of the great shames of his life. — Why I Didn't Vote (And Six Reasons You Might Not) 00:02:41
  • point made: John says his single vote wouldn't have changed any outcome, but the combined votes of even 10% of the thousands of people like him would have. (00:03:15)

John's An Abundance of Katherines receives a Printz Honor (2007)

4 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-01-22 · told · John: John tells how the Printz Committee called to say An Abundance of Katherines had won a 2007 Printz Honor, and shows the reaction footage and his phone call. — Brotherhood 2.0, January 22, 2007 00:00:12
  • video's point: John announces that An Abundance of Katherines has received a 2007 Printz Honor, showing Sarah's footage of his reaction and his phone call sharing the news, after thanking Hank for a shirt and before thanking him for the 'hilariously mean' romance-shelf song.
• 2007-01-23 · update · Hank: Hank congratulates John on the Printz Honor and reports that a bookstore owner, a big fan, had heard John won. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: January 23rd 00:00:57
  • video's point: Hank toasts John's Printz Honor with tea, reports being recognised as John's brother in a bookstore, asks whether John's happy dance is real, and introduces the 'in your pants' book-title game from Maureen Johnson's blog.
• 2007-06-22 · update · John: John is going to the ALA Annual Conference to accept the Printz Honor for An Abundance of Katherines. — Brotherhood 2.0: June 22: The Senator 00:00:31
  • video's point: Flying to Washington, D.C. for the ALA Annual Conference, where he will accept a Printz Honor and share a panel with Judy Blume, John gets a haircut at a barbershop that cut Bill Clinton's and Willie Nelson's hair, and jokes that hair shows political position.
• 2007-06-27 (said on 2007-06-26, implied) · update · John: John shows the Printz Award reception on Monday night (25 June 2007), where a speaker recalls his Brotherhood 2.0 video of the phone call and Hank's toast, and a snippet of John's own speech. — June 26: The American Library Association Parties 00:01:17
  • video's point: Back from the ALA Annual Conference, where he lost most footage by taping over it, John shows a crowd greeting, Cynthia Lord's Newbery Honor and the Printz Award reception, reports that librarians knew him as Hank Green's brother, and shares the funniest bit of his Printz speech.

John catalogues his home library (2007)

5 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-02-27 · told · John: John says he stayed up late cataloguing his books on librarything.com. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 27, 2007: Horseradish Challenge 00:00:35
  • video's point: Tired after a late night cataloguing his books on LibraryThing, John sets Hank a challenge to do something awesome with Nerdfighters, then performs Hank's challenge without the hat: he sings the Blossom theme lines and eats a teaspoon of horseradish.
• 2007-07-27 · update · John: John tells Hank he has finished cataloguing his home library, something he wanted since packing his books to leave New York, and later tours its sections. — July 27: How Nerdfighters Drop Insults 00:00:24
  • video's point: John announces he has finished cataloguing his home library, asks why being called a nerd is an insult, argues contemporary insults are lame and stages a dialogue of real Shakespearean insults instead, then tours his library.
• 2007-08-08 · update · John: John greets his catalogued bookshelf background and finds everything still catalogued. (playful) — August 8th: The Lawn and the Fury 00:00:37
  • opinion drawn: Responding to Hank's suggestion to get rid of all their grass, John says it bothers him to spend water and energy on a lawn he walks on only when mowing. (00:00:37)
• 2007-10-16 · update · John: John admits his July tour of his catalogued home library was abridged and gives Hank the full tour. (playful) — October 16th: John's Library Pwns 00:00:42
  • video's point: For Teen Read Week, John urges adults to read, confesses that his July library tour was an abridged 'movie magic' job, and gives Hank a comically 'exhaustive' tour of his catalogued home library.
• 2007-12-10 · mentioned · John: John recalls that his last very exciting news was finishing cataloguing his home library, and says this news is even more exciting. (playful) — Dec. 10: MY BOOK IS GONNA BE A MOVIE!!! (someday) 00:00:33
  • opinion drawn: John keeps saying the film will happen 'hopefully one day eventually' because these things take a long time; he hopes its smaller budget than Beowulf's will make it faster. (00:01:12)

John's March 2007 'eye doctor' visit, later told as a dentist visit (2007)

3 videos, told 2007–2016 · thread page

• 2007-03-07 · told · John: John spends three hours at the eye doctor, has his eyes dilated and is told he probably has nothing to worry about. — Brotherhood 2.0: March 7, 2007: Stress 00:00:36
  • video's point: John explains his late video by a day of anxiety: three hours at the eye doctor, being told he 'probably' has nothing to worry about, a phone lost and returned, a stress he blames on Dad's cancer, and Sarah's hard master's thesis.
• 2007-03-09 · update · John: John says his eyes are still kind of funny after the eye doctor visit. — Brotherhood 2.0: March 9, 2007: Peeptastic! 00:00:03
  • video's point: John shows his own attempt to out-eat Hank at Peeps in three minutes, which ends at 12 1/2 Peeps and vomiting, compares it with Hank's and Kurt's results, and plugs the new link for contributing to the Brotherhood 2.0 fund for decreasing suck levels worldwide.
• 2016-05-10 · retold · John: John reveals that the doctor's visit he complained about in March 2007 was actually a dentist visit, where his oral surgeon told him he probably had nothing to worry about; past John read that as meaning he definitely did, and was right. — On Pain 00:00:48
  • video's point: From the dentist, John recounts the 13 years of chronic mouth pain that followed a bike messenger hitting his face in Chicago, and argues that physical pain is unshareable and isolating, yet knowing pain can make people more empathetic, and listening to and believing people in pain can be good medicine.

John and M. T. Anderson go urban exploring in Detroit's ruins (2007)

3 videos, told 2007–2012 · thread page

• 2007-03-19 (said on 2007-03-17, implied) · told · John: Stranded by cancelled flights, John and M. T. Anderson take an urban exploring tour of Detroit's abandoned buildings with a guide, fleeing one building and exploring the United Artists Theatre. — Brotherhood 2.0: March 19th: Urban Exploration 00:00:05
  • video's point: Stranded after cancelled flights, John goes urban exploring through Detroit's abandoned buildings with M. T. Anderson and a guide; past his anxiety he finds eerie beauty in the ice-covered decay of the United Artists Theatre, which the guide reads as a failure to use the past and Anderson as a reminder that every building will be ruins.
• 2007-03-21 · update · John: John shows the guide's photographs of the inside of the abandoned Detroit theatre, better than his own video of the excursion. — Brotherhood 2.0: March 21st: Put Stuff on Your Head 00:00:03
  • video's point: With pink eye, John shows the guide's photographs of the abandoned Detroit theatre and then sings a comic song arguing that when you're sad and suck levels are high, the answer is to put stuff on your head.
• 2012-06-12 · retold · John: John recalls that he once broke into abandoned buildings in Detroit with M. T. Anderson. — Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo 00:01:27
  • video's point: In a Thoughts from Places diary of BookExpo America, John reveals the fan-designed Abundance of Katherines cover and meets celebrities and writers, and concludes that he was nervous only around the writers he admires: worship is inevitable, but we choose our gods.

John's orbital cellulitis and hospital stay (2007)

16 videos, told 2007–2026 · thread page

• 2007-03-26 · update · Hank: Hank hopes John is feeling better, as he last heard, and the video ends with wishes that John's eyeball gets better. — March 26th: Stuff on Everyone's Heads! 00:00:10
  • video's point: After wishing John, who is ill, a quick recovery, Hank presents a montage of dozens of people putting stuff on their heads, set to The Mr. T Experience's song thanking someone 'for not being one of them', ending with get-well wishes for John's eyeball.
• 2007-03-27 · update · John: John reports from NYU Medical Center, on an IV and expecting to stay at least one more day, doing better; he expects discharge Wednesday or Thursday and shows his improving eye. — March 26th: Thanks 00:00:00
  • video's point: From his bed at NYU Medical Center, John says a patient thanks people constantly out of helplessness, but thanking someone for going above and beyond is different, and thanks Hank and the Nerdfighters for their stuff-on-heads pictures; he expects to be discharged soon.
• 2007-03-28 · update · Hank: Hank hears John is feeling better; he had been really worried after looking up the disease, orbital cellulitis, which penicillin now makes rarely fatal. — March 28th: Taxes 00:01:13
  • video's point: On his personal tax day Hank jokes about his twelve 1099 forms and their odd categories, is relieved that John is recovering from orbital cellulitis, tours the dorm-room posters in his office, and answers a commenter that Brotherhood 2.0 wants guys to watch too.
• 2007-03-29 · update · John: John reports he is back home; his eye still looks jacked up and probably will for a week or two, and he still can't see well out of it. — Brotherhood 2.0: March 29th: JUDGMENT FOR HANK 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back home with his eye still looking jacked up, John gleefully tells Hank he will be punished for accidentally including John on an email about Mom, proposes that the brothers get fishing boat proceeds onto their tax return by April 2008, and asks Nerdfighters to suggest Hank's punishment.
• 2007-04-10 · update · John: John films himself at the eye doctor again, saying he is always there and is now more an ophthalmological patient than a writer. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: April 10th: Role Models 00:00:10
  • video's point: Answering Hank's worry, John says he is a role model in some ways but that role modelling is more complicated than imitation, and that important but uninteresting subjects like drunk driving make bad vlogs, as they make bad books.
• 2007-08-29 · retold · Hank: The song recalls that John's eye got infected this year (2007). (playful) — August 29th: Goodbye 29 Year Old John 00:01:17
  • video's point: Hank sings John a comic birthday song bidding goodbye to 29-year-old John, recapping John's year, then shows a copy of Scott Westerfeld's Peeps signed to Maureen Johnson.
• 2009-04-21 · retold · John: John jokingly recalls his March 2007 hospital visit for an eye infection, claiming they installed robot eyes. (playful) — Question Tuesday 00:03:31
  • video's point: In a rapid-fire Question Tuesday John confirms a May 31 Melbourne gathering, says anyone who wants to be a Nerdfighter is one, calls fixation not love, updates the Paper Towns screenplay option, and answers the rest with jokes.
• 2012-09-14 · retold · Hank: Hank says John has missed only one scheduled vlog day, because he was in the hospital; a clip of John says 'I'm sick, that's my IV port.' — 1000 VIDEOS!!! 00:02:39
  • point made: Trying to quantify the unquantifiable, Hank offers one more number: two, the number of brothers who are the luckiest brothers ever. (00:02:45)
• 2013-04-09 · retold · John: John recalls his March 2007 hospitalisation with an infection behind his eye: not life-threatening, but at 2:30 one morning he thought he was ready for death. — Inside North Korea 00:02:10
  • point made: John says he never believed the human spirit can't be broken; what makes Shin's story amazing is the fragility of the human will, not its strength. (00:02:37)
• 2013-10-08 · retold · John: Listing hospital stays on the insurance form, John names his orbital cellulitis. — Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now 00:04:06
  • video's point: John applies for health insurance twice, through the glitchy new Affordable Care Act exchange and through a pre-ACA private application; he concludes the exchange was more than twice as fast and far less intrusive, so buying insurance has gotten dramatically better.
• 2014-08-08 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that John missed a video for his orbital cellulitis, when the back of his eyeball got infected. — Who Owns a Monkey's Selfie? And a Song About Meningitis! 00:02:19
  • video's point: With John home from hospital with viral meningitis, Hank explains why the Wikimedia Foundation treats a macaque's selfie on David Slater's camera as public domain (monkeys can't own property), finds that argument sensible, and sings John a Calvin Harris-based get-well song.
• 2020-10-07 (said on 2020-10-06, implied) · retold · John: John recalls that 13 and a half years ago he was hospitalized for about a week with orbital cellulitis, a staph infection behind his eye. — The Golden Age of Vlogbrothers 00:00:00
  • point made: John says he then realized they weren't making videos for an audience but with an audience. (00:00:29)
• 2022-06-21 · retold · John: John says he got orbital cellulitis because bacteria invaded the soft tissue between his eye and brain, but the name means his own white blood cells caused swelling behind his eye. — On Disease 00:02:26
  • point made: John argues we describe illness as failures of the body rather than inevitable side effects of having one, and so imagine disease as a failure of one's self, biology, circumstances or moral choices. (00:02:55)
• 2023-09-14 · retold · John: John recalls an infection behind his eye that needed a $12,000-a-pill antibiotic; his doctor said he was paying twice, since the public also funded its development, which John agrees with. — Talking Tuberculosis, GeneXpert, J&J, and more with MY HEROES 00:41:20
  • video's point: In a livestream panel John talks with TB survivors Nandita Venkatesan and Phumeza Tisile, MSF's Dr. Animesh Sinha and Dr. Carole Mitnick about drug-resistant TB, hearing loss from injectables, GeneXpert diagnostics, bedaquiline and stigma, and asks viewers to keep pressing Danaher and Cepheid.
• 2023-09-19 · retold · John: John recalls that early in 2007, at the start of Brotherhood 2.0, he was hospitalized for an infection between his eye and his brain. — So, um.... GOOD NEWS?!?!?! 00:04:54
  • point made: Watching that video in hospital, John first thought the community had a lot of energy and wanted to do interesting things together; it felt like it could be special, and it proved so. (00:05:23)
• 2026-02-14 · mentioned · John: John recalls that when he was ill in March 2007, about 270 viewers sent pictures with stuff on their heads to cheer him up, the first moment he and Hank thought of doing more with the community. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! 00:08:24
  • opinion drawn: John finds it metaphorically resonant that the first birth came during the Project for Awesome, since the hospital would not exist without the P4A and the community pushing the brothers toward charity. (00:07:36)

John and Sarah move to Indianapolis (2007)

21 videos, told 2007–2021 · thread page

• 2007-04-24 · told · John: John announces he is moving to Indianapolis because Sarah got a job at the Indianapolis Museum of Art; they're psyched, though he has no friends there and will miss New York. — Brotherhood 2.0: April 24: Moving 00:01:29
  • opinion drawn: John is a little worried: he has no friends in Indianapolis and thinks he will miss New York. (00:01:29)
• 2007-05-08 · update · John: John tells of flying from New York to house-hunt in Indianapolis, seeing about 12 houses that all need work, and the stress of it. — Brotherhood 2.0: May 8th: House Hunters 00:00:10
  • video's point: John, flying from New York to house-hunt in Indianapolis, reports that the letters about The Bermudez Triangle seem to have worked, describes the stress of seeing a dozen houses, and asks Hank to help pick one.
• 2007-05-10 · update · John: On day three of the house hunt John and Sarah have seen 26 houses and put an offer on one they love; they await the owners' answer. — Brotherhood 2.0: May 10: House Hunted? 00:01:04
  • video's point: On the third day of his Indianapolis house hunt John reports that he and Sarah have seen 26 houses and put an offer on one they love, shows Hank a tour of it, and says it has a guest room for him.
• 2007-05-15 · update · Hank: Hank reports that the owners accepted John's offer on a house, though the purchase is not final. — May 15th: A Bit More EBO and Wikipedia 00:00:27
  • video's point: Hank congratulates John on his accepted house offer, argues the brothers must develop the Evil Baby Orphanage and formally asks Brooke and the Nerdfighters for permission, then celebrates being on Wikipedia, which he believes in despite vandalism he once fixed himself.
• 2007-05-29 · update · John: John and Sarah are packing to move out of New York: they hunt the streets for free boxes and have almost finished packing all their books. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: May 29: The Goth Scene and Evil Ladies 00:00:37
  • video's point: Packing up his books in New York, John finds a goth-scene guide (an 'in your pants' riff) and a book of history's most evil women, which he offers as the answer to Hank's shortage of evil female babies for the Evil Baby Orphanage; a rhymed reply from the Yeti answers Hank's soccer-team song.
• 2007-05-31 · update · John: Before leaving New York, John and Sarah have agreed to eat everything in the refrigerator. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: May 31: Yogurt eating 00:00:00
  • video's point: John defends Barack Obama against Hank's dismissal (he's smart, and John values intelligence), thanks Hank for the Queen Ranavalona song, challenges him to build a Brotherhood 2.0 forum, and speed-eats six ounces of yogurt as a self-set challenge.
• 2007-06-06 · update · John: John and Sarah are hopefully closing on their Indianapolis house today; John is off to the bank to put his savings into it. (hedged) — June 6th: Lindsay Lohan's Bikini and My Pants 00:00:10
  • video's point: On the day he hopes to close on his house, John films from a La Quinta Inn bathroom in his boxers, jokes about thumbnails, celebrates the busy new forum 'My Pants', and teases Hank about becoming a Weather Channel star.
• 2007-06-08 · update · John: John is officially a homeowner and shows the house, including a bedroom set aside for Hank. — Brotherhood 2.0: June 8: Studying the Clues 00:01:16
  • video's point: John pieces together a fuzzy night, his New York going-away party, finding evil-baby drawings by his friend Cam Robertson that he wants for the Evil Baby Orphanage book, then announces he is officially a homeowner and tours the new house.
• 2007-06-18 · update · John: John records his last video from New York before the move and lists what he will miss about the city. — June 18th: Leaving New York City 00:00:03
  • video's point: On the day of his last video from New York, John lists what he will miss about the city, then walks through it to The Mountain Goats' song 'Love Love Love'.
• 2007-06-19 · update · Hank: Hank reports Sarah and John are in the moving truck leaving New York, wishes them luck getting to Indianapolis and moving into the new house, and thanks John for his farewell video. — June 19: GOOD LUCK JOHN 00:02:56
  • opinion drawn: Hank wishes John luck moving into his new house and making tomorrow's video, thanks him for his video, and says it always sucks leaving a good place. (00:03:11)
• 2007-06-20 · update · John: John drives a 24-foot moving truck from New York and arrives in Indianapolis after about 18 hours. — Brotherhood 2.0: June 20: Moving 00:00:03
  • video's point: John reports driving a moving truck from New York to Indianapolis, asks Hank what to do about his brown lawn, and tells how a half-featured Brotherhood 2.0 video drew baffled YouTuber comments, asking why Nerdfighters are proud to be nerds.
• 2007-06-22 · update · John: John says he moved to Indianapolis two days ago and is already off to Washington, D.C. for five days; he thanks Hank for his good wishes during the week's travel. — Brotherhood 2.0: June 22: The Senator 00:00:10
  • video's point: Flying to Washington, D.C. for the ALA Annual Conference, where he will accept a Printz Honor and share a panel with Judy Blume, John gets a haircut at a barbershop that cut Bill Clinton's and Willie Nelson's hair, and jokes that hair shows political position.
• 2007-06-28 · update · John: John films in his new backyard and must go back inside to paint his office. — June 28: How to Be a Microfinancier 00:00:00
  • point made: John explains a cycle of poverty: without collateral the very poor get no bank loans, so cannot start businesses, so there are no jobs and the economy stays weak. (00:00:45)
• 2007-07-23 · update · John: John and Sarah buy a dining room table and a 1960s TV for the new house at an antiques fair. — July 23rd: The Tickling of the Innards 00:00:33
  • video's point: John, feverish in bed, tells Hank that he and Sarah bought furniture for the new house at the Sandwich Antiques Fair in Sandwich, Illinois, and came home with an upper respiratory infection but no sandwich.
• 2007-08-29 · retold · Hank: The song recalls that John got himself a house, with a yard that needed mowing. (playful) — August 29th: Goodbye 29 Year Old John 00:01:17
  • video's point: Hank sings John a comic birthday song bidding goodbye to 29-year-old John, recapping John's year, then shows a copy of Scott Westerfeld's Peeps signed to Maureen Johnson.
• 2010-09-29 · retold · John: John says that three years ago he and Sarah (the Yeti) moved from New York City to Indianapolis, where more space meant buying a lot of furniture. — MY FRIEND CHESTER 00:00:43
  • video's point: John adds his own language mix-ups (chest of drawers, hors d'oeuvres, who vs that) to Hank's list and argues that grammar exists for clear communication, so correcting others snottily defeats its purpose.
• 2013-03-26 · told · John: John tells how the U-Haul man who welcomed him and the Yeti to Indianapolis, asked what he thought of the city after 30 years, said 'You gotta live somewhere.' — A Poem for Spring 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John says he has come to love Indianapolis, even in spring snow: an unpretentious city of hidden beauty, his favourite kind, lovely even in winter. (00:00:29)
• 2016-07-05 · retold · John: In 2007, living in New York, John called Dad to say Sarah had a job in Indianapolis; Dad said, 'You can't be serious.' — The Horizon Line 00:01:33
  • point made: Now the horizon makes John think not of the world's edge but its edgelessness; he cites Terry Pratchett: the farther you sail, the closer to home you are. (00:00:58)
• 2016-07-05 · retold · John: In 2007, living in New York, John called Dad to say Sarah had a job in Indianapolis; Dad said, 'You can't be serious.' — The Horizon Line 00:01:33
  • point made: Now the horizon makes John think not of the world's edge but its edgelessness; he cites Terry Pratchett: the farther you sail, the closer to home you are. (00:00:58)
• 2017-07-18 · retold · John: Fifth: in July 2007 John and Sarah had just moved from New York to Indianapolis for her job and bought a first house, exciting but scary, and John had no friends there. — Accio Decade Hallows 00:01:54
  • video's point: On the tenth anniversary of Hank's song 'Accio Deathly Hallows', John recalls five memories of sudden happy news (his children's births, Sarah's breakup, the Printz Award call, and the song itself) and says its YouTube front-page feature turned Brotherhood 2.0 into a lasting project, thanking Hank and viewers.
• 2018-08-07 · retold · John: John says he and Sarah moved to Indianapolis in 2007 for Sarah's job, making him a 'trailing spouse'; he knew almost no one and, working alone in his basement, struggled to make friends at work. — How I Made Friends 00:01:09
  • opinion drawn: John says the friendship didn't happen all at once, it wasn't love at first sight, but as they spent more time with Chris and Marina he began to hate Indianapolis less. (00:02:47)
• 2018-08-07 · retold · John: John says he and Sarah moved to Indianapolis in 2007 for Sarah's job, making him a 'trailing spouse'; he knew almost no one and, working alone in his basement, struggled to make friends at work. — How I Made Friends 00:01:09
  • opinion drawn: John says the friendship didn't happen all at once, it wasn't love at first sight, but as they spent more time with Chris and Marina he began to hate Indianapolis less. (00:02:47)
• 2021-05-25 · retold · John: John left Booklist and Chicago in 2005 when Sarah got into graduate school in New York; afterwards they moved to Indianapolis, where Sarah was contemporary art curator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. — The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated 00:07:31
  • opinion drawn: Nothing is more human than aggrandizing humans, but in the 21st century we really are a hugely powerful force on Earth. (00:08:14)

John attends the LA Times Book Prize ceremony (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-04-27 · told · Hank: Hank says that by Monday (30 April 2007) they will know what happened at the LA Times Book Award, which John is attending; they have no expectations, just curiosity. — April 27th: Bad Day,,, 00:03:19
  • video's point: Hank has a bad day: strangers are touring his house, a website deal disappointed him, and a web-design client hasn't paid him for months; the good news is a weekend trip to Helena to see Neil Gaiman and new jobs for Katherine and the Yeti.
• 2007-04-30 · update · John: John shows surreptitious footage of the LA Times Book Prize young adult award: five finalists including An Abundance of Katherines; he congratulates Coe Booth. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles 00:01:02
  • video's point: From the LA Times Book Prize weekend, John has young adult authors and his editor say hello to Hank, shows bootleg footage of the young adult award won by Coe Booth, and challenges Hank to write a song to replace the Helen Hunt song stuck in his head.
• 2007-05-01 · update · Hank: Hank congratulates Coe Booth on the L.A. Times Book Award and John on being nominated. — May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena 00:00:40
  • video's point: Hank answers John's author greetings with his own: Neil Gaiman, met in Helena, says hi to John; Hank shares a clip of Gaiman on being an author and answers John's song challenge with a comic song about Helena, Montana.

John and Sarah's trip to the Netherlands for An Abundance of Katherines (2007)

4 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-05-18 · told · John: John and Sarah leave for the Netherlands to support his new novel, a trip postponed from March by his orbital cellulitis. — Brotherhood 2.0: May 18: How to Write a Book Proposal 00:00:00
  • video's point: Leaving for the Netherlands to support the Dutch edition of his new novel, John insists he is still right about pronouncing Wikipedia, mocks the grammar of vandals on Hank's Wikipedia entry, and, with puppets, explains that a fiction book proposal needs a plot summary, a character list and sample chapters.
• 2007-05-22 · update · John: John reports from Amsterdam: museum visit, happy dances, and a city cleaner and more beautiful than he expected. — May 22: Brotherhood 2.0 in Amsterdam 00:00:09
  • video's point: From Amsterdam, John does his happy dance, shows a contemporary art museum, and says the city he expected to be a den of iniquity is one of the cleanest, most beautiful and sustainable he has visited, like great cities 50 years from now.
• 2007-05-23 · update · Hank: Hank hopes John and Sarah are having a marvelous time in the Netherlands. (hedged) — May 23rd: Miniature Soccer Team 00:02:45
  • video's point: For John and Sarah's first wedding anniversary, Hank sings Sarah (the Yeti) a comic warning that John dreams of fathering two entire miniature soccer teams; he closes by plugging a Nerdfighter-made WorldSuck widget.
• 2007-05-24 · update · John: John's Netherlands trip continues: attentive kids, bitterballen, and happy dances requested by his Dutch publisher in Rotterdam. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: May 24: How to Happy Dance 00:01:47
  • video's point: From the Netherlands, John shows a visit with attentive kids, bitterballen with mustard and his happy dance, which he says is huge there: his Dutch publisher in Rotterdam asked him to perform it outside a restaurant.

John and Sarah's first wedding anniversary (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-05-23 · told · Hank: Hank marks John and Sarah's first wedding anniversary: a year ago today they married. — May 23rd: Miniature Soccer Team 00:00:11
  • video's point: For John and Sarah's first wedding anniversary, Hank sings Sarah (the Yeti) a comic warning that John dreams of fathering two entire miniature soccer teams; he closes by plugging a Nerdfighter-made WorldSuck widget.
• 2007-05-29 · retold · Sarah Urist Green (quoted): Sarah's poem recalls that John convinced her to say 'I do' a year ago last week (week of 21 May 2007), with Hank as his brother. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: May 29: The Goth Scene and Evil Ladies 00:02:44
  • video's point: Packing up his books in New York, John finds a goth-scene guide (an 'in your pants' riff) and a book of history's most evil women, which he offers as the answer to Hank's shortage of evil female babies for the Evil Baby Orphanage; a rhymed reply from the Yeti answers Hank's soccer-team song.
• 2007-08-29 · retold · Hank: The song recalls John and the Yeti's first anniversary. (playful) — August 29th: Goodbye 29 Year Old John 00:01:17
  • video's point: Hank sings John a comic birthday song bidding goodbye to 29-year-old John, recapping John's year, then shows a copy of Scott Westerfeld's Peeps signed to Maureen Johnson.

John's long-awaited miniature donkey polo in the Dominican Republic is cancelled (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-06-14 · told · John: John tells how a cousin's call six weeks earlier promised miniature donkey polo in the Dominican Republic, and how it was cancelled due to heat on the day. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: June 14: Good News/Bad News 00:00:31
  • video's point: John reports good news (the camera cable arrived from the big city) and bad news (the long-awaited miniature donkey polo was cancelled due to heat), then closes the Dominican Republic reunion week saying they learned about microfinance and poverty and will make videos about it at home.
• 2007-06-15 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls John's supreme disappointment at the cancelled miniature donkey polo and thinks heat was a fine reason to cancel it. (playful) (hedged) — June 15: AIRRRRPORRRTS!!! 00:02:00
  • video's point: Vlogging from an airport on his long trip home from the Dominican Republic, Hank says the week together showed how textual, video-blog and face-to-face communication differ, since neither brother is quite himself except face to face, and tells John he is happy to be his brother.

John gets sick after the Sandwich Antiques Fair (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-07-23 · told · John: John tells Hank he is feverish with an upper respiratory infection, which he jokingly says he got at the Sandwich Antiques Fair along with the antiques. (playful) — July 23rd: The Tickling of the Innards 00:00:33
  • video's point: John, feverish in bed, tells Hank that he and Sarah bought furniture for the new house at the Sandwich Antiques Fair in Sandwich, Illinois, and came home with an upper respiratory infection but no sandwich.
• 2007-07-26 · update · Hank: Hank says he is glad John is feeling better. — July 26: The Price of Fame 00:02:51
  • video's point: Hank celebrates his song's YouTube front-page feature (over 200,000 views), then describes the price of YouTube fame: a flood of comments whose extremes are way too mean or way too nice, which is stressful, though he sees most commenters are nice and supportive.

John travels to a writers' society conference in Los Angeles (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-08-02 · told · John: John vlogs from airports on his way to a conference of a society of writers in Los Angeles, later filming in Denver. — August 2nd: Airports and Box Fans 00:00:09
  • opinion drawn: John congratulates Hank on another brilliant song, possibly his best yet, and says it inspired a song of his own ('It's quite jokes in here'). (00:00:09)
• 2007-08-06 · update · John: John thanks the SCBWI for hosting the conference and for putting him on a gigantic video screen. — August 6th: JK Rowling and I Will ... Be Punished 00:03:46
  • video's point: With the Yeti vetoing his ex-girlfriend punishment, John proposes a ten-tier punishment scaled to the number of people who donate to Daniel Biss's Illinois state-representative campaign via ActBlue, pitching Biss as a Nerdfighter who shares their causes.

John's 30th birthday (2007)

6 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-08-16 · told · John: John counts down to his birthday: as of Thursday, August 16th, he has only eight days left to be young. (playful) — August 16th: Finding — and Licking — a Cat 00:00:09
  • video's point: John runs a two-item 'retro edition' (the Brotherhood 2.0 book club is back with Deep Economy; the Evil Baby Orphanage lives on), then finishes his punishment by licking Toby, a cat owned by Indianapolis strangers a Nerdfighter found for him.
• 2007-08-17 · update · Hank: Hank notes that John's birthday is coming up. — August 17: Hmmm...A Secret Project? 00:02:12
  • video's point: Hank reacts to Nerdfighters licking cats and to Katherine's paw habit with Cameo, explains his full hard drive and the website problems, and asks Nerdfighters to email him about a secret project for John's upcoming birthday.
• 2007-08-24 (said on 2007-08-23, implied) · update · a guest: John's birthday is marked with a sung Happy Birthday and greetings. — August 23rd: John's Secret Project Part 1 00:00:03
  • video's point: Hank's birthday video for John: a sung Happy Birthday, a WRAS Atlanta radio dedication from secret siblings and Nerdfighters, a Time Warp performance and a montage of greetings; Hank then gives John tomorrow off for a special Nerdfighter day.
• 2007-08-24 · update · a guest: John turns 30; contributors toast him with blenderized cake. (playful) — August 24th: John's Secret Project Part 2 00:02:32
  • video's point: Part 2 of Hank's secret birthday project for John: Nerdfighters wish John a happy 30th birthday, tease him about getting old, and blenderize and drink birthday cakes in sympathy with his blenderized Happy Meal.
• 2007-08-27 · update · John: John says his birthday this year (2007) was better than Oprah Winfrey's best birthday ever. (playful) — August 27th: Thanks Yous and Cameos 00:00:00
  • video's point: John thanks Hank and the Nerdfighters for his two-day birthday present; Hank reveals he has been at John's house since Sunday, chats about his hair and the family gathering, and thanks Nerdfighters for the secret project, hinting at another.
• 2007-08-29 · update · Hank: Hank's song marks John turning 30, recalling that John said his birthday beat Oprah's best birthday. (playful) — August 29th: Goodbye 29 Year Old John 00:00:03
  • video's point: Hank sings John a comic birthday song bidding goodbye to 29-year-old John, recapping John's year, then shows a copy of Scott Westerfeld's Peeps signed to Maureen Johnson.

John's high-school band name 'Moe and the Lawns' (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-08-31 · told · Hank: Hank recalls that in high school John wanted a band called 'Mow and the Lawns' (as heard) and seems to remember John writing songs for it. (playful) — August 31: Copyright and Airports 00:00:10
  • video's point: Hank, leaving John's house for Montana, asks to see songs John wrote for a high-school band idea, reports that the brothers' YouTube partnership call was a copyright lecture (choreographed dances are copyrighted; their happy dances are Creative Commons), and jokes about Pittsburgh's airport and Labor Day.
• 2007-09-04 · retold · John: Answering Hank's Friday video, John insists 'Moe and the Lawns' is the greatest band name he ever came up with. (playful) — September 4th: Negative Suck Cubed Equals Awesome 00:00:00
  • video's point: Answering Hank's suggestion that he isn't proud of 'Moe and the Lawns', John lists the names of the hypothetical bands he would be in if he could play music, then praises Hank for the new Brotherhood2.com and thanks him and Katherine for their visit.

John accidentally takes Sarah's car key on a trip (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-09-24 · told · John: John tells how he accidentally took Sarah's car key to the airport at 4 a.m., leaving her in Indianapolis without a car. — September 24: Airports and M. T. Anderson 00:00:43
  • video's point: John records a miserable 5 a.m. start at the Indianapolis airport, after accidentally taking Sarah's car key, then a happier day in Boston working with M. T. Anderson, who gives a comic tour of his art, and a nerdy MIT hotel.
• 2007-09-28 · retold · John: John shows a finger-puppet rendition, seen in Richmond, of his telling the Yeti about the Boston car keys, and adds that the real talk was at 5:15 a.m. (playful) — September 28th: Nerdfighting!!! 00:00:41
  • video's point: John reports meeting Nerdfighters in Richmond, Virginia, who staged a finger-puppet version of his car-key confession, jokes about his flying superstitions, and finds Daniel Biss on the Wall Street Journal's front page, crediting Brotherhood 2.0's fundraising help as proof that nerdfighting is working.

John visits M. T. Anderson in Boston to work on a joint project (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-09-24 · told · John: John flies to Boston to spend the day with M. T. Anderson working on a small joint project. — September 24: Airports and M. T. Anderson 00:00:43
  • video's point: John records a miserable 5 a.m. start at the Indianapolis airport, after accidentally taking Sarah's car key, then a happier day in Boston working with M. T. Anderson, who gives a comic tour of his art, and a nerdy MIT hotel.
• 2007-09-26 · update · John: Continuing the Boston trip, John finds the MIT hotel's reading room named after Norbert Wiener on his way to meet M. T. Anderson. — September 26th: Norbert Wiener 00:00:39
  • opinion drawn: John says he is a huge Norbert Wiener fan; Wiener is his favourite child prodigy of all time. (00:00:39)

John's 1984 tee-ball 'all-star in our hearts' trophy (2007)

4 videos, told 2007–2018 · thread page

• 2007-10-30 · told · John: John tells how, as a 1984 tee-ball all-star alternate, he got his only childhood trophy: one his parents had made, reading 'all-star in our hearts'. (playful) — Oct. 30th: My Name Is John Green. And I'm a Nerd. 00:02:26
  • video's point: Thanking Hank for sharing 'It Just Isn't Fair', John says the book proves he is a real nerd, then shows highlights from his own childhood box, ending with the 'all-star in our hearts' trophy his parents had made for him, as his nerd credentials.
• 2007-11-15 · mentioned · John: John reminds Hank of his 'tortured history with trophies' and hopes the Inky trophy will read 'winner of the 2007 Silver Inky ... in our hearts'. (playful) — Nov 15: Jay-Z, the Inkys, Nerdfighteria, and Venn Diagrams! 00:01:08
  • video's point: In four parts, John jokes that Jay-Z flashing euros proves the dollar's decline, announces that Looking for Alaska won the first International (Silver) Inky Award, shares Nerdfighteria news including a baby that may be named Hank, and draws Venn diagrams.
• 2018-09-18 · retold · John: John's parents' solution: the family still visited his grandparents and he missed the game, but they had a trophy made reading 'John Green 1984 All-Star In Our Hearts'. — On the Participation Trophy 00:01:56
  • opinion drawn: John does not know how the experience affected him, though he thinks he turned out mostly okay. (00:02:26)
• 2018-10-29 · mentioned · John: The Pizza John satin jacket lets you look like John's 1985 Little League coach, who made him an alternate on the All-Star team. (playful) — PIZZAMAS IS HERE! 00:02:07
  • video's point: Sick with a fever, John opens Pizzamas 2018, says all profits and royalties go to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck as Project for Awesome matching funds, and unboxes the limited-time merch while wearing his Pizza John mustache.

John's ear infection (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-11-08 · told · Hank: Hank reports, after a phone call, that John has an ear infection that required a morphine shot. — November 8th: SUGAR HIGH! 00:01:02
  • video's point: Back home in his basement, Hank sympathises with John's ear infection and unveils a homemade John Green Peep made by a nerdfighter, then eats her EcoGeek-logo Peeps into a sugar high.
• 2007-11-09 · update · John: John shows the radical ear asymmetry from his massive ear infection, says he can hear out of only one ear and has been told he should feel better soon. (playful) — Nov. 9th: Sick Day 00:00:00
  • video's point: Sick with a massive ear infection that has left his ears asymmetrical, John notes that the Brotherhood 2.0 rules do not require long videos and warns that videos will be short and unfunny until he recovers.
• 2007-11-13 · update · John: John says he still has a bit of an ear infection, joking that viewers pointed out he never really had facial symmetry. (playful) — November 13: You Can't Scare Me. I'm Stickin' to the Union. 00:00:00
  • point made: John wants to discuss the writers' strike because it affects his TV habits and because he worries about its larger implications for creative work in the US. (00:00:00)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson: John and David Levithan sell their co-written book (2007)

6 videos, told 2007–2010 · thread page

• 2007-11-19 · told · John: John waits for the call on whether and by whom his co-written book with David Levithan will be published; the call comes and he celebrates. — November 19th: HOORAY HOORAY HAPPY HOORAY! 00:00:03
  • video's point: John vlogs a nervous day of raking and a doctor visit while waiting to hear whether the book he co-wrote with David Levithan will be published, then celebrates when the call comes.
• 2007-11-20 · update · Hank: Hank congratulates John: John and David sold their book. — November 20th: A White Thanksgiving 00:03:29
  • video's point: On a snowy day in Missoula Hank walks with Catherine to do Thanksgiving shopping and reflects that, despite a Florida childhood, he has come to love cold weather; he sets the Thanksgiving video schedule and congratulates John on selling his book.
• 2009-02-21 (said on 2009-02-14, implied) · update · John: John says his next book, co-written with David Levithan, comes out in spring 2010. — Paper Towns and PUPPY 00:02:15
  • video's point: In a bonus video, with Willy and pre-recorded 'past John', John answers remaining Paper Towns questions: appearances in Indianapolis and Amsterdam, writing time, road trips as metaphor, Omnictionary, and his next book with David Levithan.
• 2009-05-19 · update · John: John has a ton of work on the edits of the book he is writing with David Levithan. — Question Tuesday! 00:00:00
  • video's point: John, short on time before LeakyCon, his Australia trip and edits on his book with David Levithan, rushes through Nerdfighter questions: a hand-sign workaround, why books have blank pages, his first job, This Is Not Tom and foreign covers.
• 2010-03-10 · update · John: John's new book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-written with his friend David Levithan, comes out in 28 days. — New Tour! New Book! (Remember Books?) Your Q's A'ed! 00:00:29
  • video's point: On a spring walk in suburban Indianapolis John answers viewer questions: Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan) is out in 28 days, with tour dates and five advance copies to give away; he says he is losing weight out of love for Henry, not shaming, and apologizes for the muddled 'John Green Is Fat' video; VidCon proceeds go to charity.
• 2010-03-29 · update · John: John says that in a few days a book he co-wrote with David Levithan comes out and they are going on tour; some tour events are ticketed (link in the description). — Quotations (And Holden Hats) 00:00:27
  • video's point: John says a line from An Abundance of Katherines has gone viral on Twitter stripped of its context, argues that online people are miscontextualized rather than misquoted, and suggests favorite quotations say more about the people quoting them.

John's first kiss at summer camp sets his hair on fire

2 videos, told 2007–2011 · thread page

• 2007-11-26 · told · John: At Eagles Nest Camp in 1987, aged 10, John dated and was dumped by Tiffany, his first girlfriend who kissed him. — Nov. 26th: Writing Advice (And Notes on Surnameless Tiffany) 00:00:00
  • video's point: Answering a question from 'secret brother Alex', John reads books he wrote as a child and draws two pieces of advice for young writers: read a lot (reading is the only apprenticeship) and write for other people; he also asks Nerdfighters to find his surnameless first girlfriend Tiffany.
• 2011-09-30 · retold · John: John retells his first kiss at summer camp: a candlelight ceremony on the last night, face licking, and his hair catching fire from the candle. (playful) — YouTube Survey: Balls and First Kisses 00:00:50
  • opinion drawn: John says summer camp was like the internet before the internet: there you were cooler and better looking than in real life. (00:00:44)

John teaches two-year-old Hank not to take out 'the equipment' before the bathroom (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-12-06 · told · John: John tells, as a 'purely hypothetical' example, how at five he taught a two-year-old, probably Hank, not to take out 'the equipment' before reaching the bathroom. (playful) — Dec. 6th: Peer Pressure and the Green Green Manifesto 00:00:39
  • opinion drawn: John says the social order is usually the way it is for a reason but sometimes thinks mad things, such as covering lawns with thirsty inedible plants or judging people by their glasses. (00:01:08)
• 2007-12-07 · retold · Hank: Hank replays John's clip about teaching two-year-old Hank bathroom manners and says he suspects John never said it that way, or kindly. (playful) (hedged) — December 7th: Fight Night with the Green Bros. 00:00:10
  • video's point: Replaying John's toddler-bathroom anecdote, Hank doubts John was ever kind about correcting him, recalls that he answered John's verbal attacks physically (a punch that scarred his knuckle on John's braces), and asks Nerdfighters about their own fights, saying physical communication can sometimes be effective and appropriate.

Sarah's Green Green Manifesto: John and Sarah's household green changes (2007)

2 videos, told 2007–2008 · thread page

• 2007-12-06 · told · John: John tells how Sarah wrote the Green Green Manifesto about three months ago and how the household changed: compost, efficient bulbs, cloth bags, no soda, less paper, recycling, local food, native grasses. — Dec. 6th: Peer Pressure and the Green Green Manifesto 00:01:38
  • video's point: John argues peer pressure is usually healthy but that the social order sometimes demands mad things like thirsty lawns; he then walks through the Yeti's Green Green Manifesto of household changes (compost, efficient bulbs, cloth bags, no soda, less paper, recycling, local food, native grass).
• 2008-08-06 · update · John: Asked for a copy of the Green Green Manifesto, John says he has just posted it on the Ning. — Question Tuesday Returns (on a Wednesday) 00:02:38
  • opinion drawn: John names "Helen Hunt" as his favourite Hank song, with "I Sold Your Dog on eBay" as his dark-horse pick because you can rock out to it. (00:02:38)

John's Christmas presents for Hank and Katherine (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-12-19 · told · Hank: Asked by Katherine where their Christmas present is, Hank says John phoned five minutes earlier to ask what kind of manga they like. (playful) — December 19: The Day that the Nerds Took Over YouTube 00:03:42
  • video's point: For the last Song Wednesday of Brotherhood 2.0, Hank and Katherine sing a comic song about the Project for Awesome, the day the nerds took over YouTube; Hank says the project made him hopeful, thanks participants and dreads John's punishment proposals.
• 2007-12-20 · update · John: John tells Hank his and Katherine's Christmas presents might not arrive by Christmas, though he bought them in time, and blames the Postal Service. (playful) (hedged) — December 20th: HANK SHALL BE PUNISHED! 00:00:39
  • video's point: In four parts, John praises Hank's last song and his completed song challenge, admits his own unfinished goals (a novel, a weight promise, Christmas presents that may arrive late), dismisses gruesome Nerdfighter punishment ideas and sets two options for Hank's punishment for a viewer vote, and gives a new scavenger hunt clue.
• 2007-12-26 (said on 2007-12-25, implied) · update · John: John reports the brothers' used-books-only exchange: Hank gave him used books including a history of Christmas, and John gave Hank manga about a diabetic samurai, since Hank likes 'the weird stuff'. — Dec. 26th: Christmas, Manga, and Goat Poop 00:02:16
  • video's point: John, filming on Christmas Day at his parents' house in Asheville, reports on the visit (a haircut, his parents' constantly pooping goats), calls this one of his favourite Christmases thanks to the Happy Dance Project and gifts, describes the brothers' used-book and manga exchange, and wishes Hank luck at his concert.

John and the Yeti get a puppy, Willy (2008)

4 videos, told 2008–2026 · thread page

• 2008-05-18 · told · John: John introduces the puppy he and the Yeti got, Willy (full name Fireball Wilson Roberts), who takes constant attention and kept John from making videos. — A CUTETACULAR INTRODUCTION! 00:00:46
  • video's point: John explains his week-and-a-half absence: he and the Yeti got a puppy, Willy (Fireball Wilson Roberts), who is adorable but hard work; as punishment he will post a video every day this week, with Paper Towns giveaways.
• 2008-10-06 · mentioned · John: The bar had a dog that used to drink there, reminding John of Fireball Roberts, the alcoholic bulldog in James Crumley's The Last Good Kiss. — Berlin and Let it Snow (in Your Pants) 00:01:50
  • video's point: In a ten-part video opening the brothers' month-long Brotherhood 2.0-style vlogging punishment, John recaps Minneapolis and Berlin (insult gum, a de-steepled church, German insults, a chess-boxing actor), mourns James Crumley, moves tour events to Facebook and gives away Let It Snow copies.
• 2018-02-27 · retold · John: Fireball Wilson Roberts Green came home in 2008, named for the alcoholic bulldog in James Crumley's novel The Last Good Kiss; they call him Willy because, as the vet put it, he's 'Willy Willy cute'. — Ode to a Dog 00:00:07
  • video's point: With his dog Willy near the end of his life from cancer, John eulogizes him: a stubborn, uncuddly dog who was gentle with John's children, a constant in the family, and a companion who, unlike people, takes John's irrational obsessive fears seriously.
• 2026-02-15 · retold · John: John's first dog, Willy, Fireball Wilson Roberts Green, came from Kokomo: a couple in the armed forces who were both deployed needed a good home for him; John misses him, though Willy was not actually a great dog. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 02:43:13
  • opinion drawn: John says Willy was not cuddly but oversaw the family; Potato is not that cuddly either but wants to be near you, and John loves both dogs equally and immensely. (02:44:47)

John secretly signs a book in a bookstore (2008)

2 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-06-26 · told · John: John goes into a bookstore to secretly sign one of his books, a favorite secret hobby. (playful) — Don't Suck on That Bone 00:02:45
  • video's point: John works through ten things Nerdfighters asked him to do: more Willy and Sarah, Tobian phrases, walking, Ning time, reviving the Blurbing Book Club with The Catcher in the Rye, a charity book auction, a Question Tuesday and secretly signing his own book in a store.
• 2008-06-27 · update · Hank: A young nerdfighter in Indianapolis goes to get the book John secretly signed and films her excitement. — Marion the Nerdfightarion 00:00:11
  • video's point: Hank shows, with permission and remixed for comic effect, a young Indianapolis nerdfighter's video of racing to get the book John secretly signed, and tells John how much he is loved.

John's Steak 'n Shake graveyard shift versus his lower-paid Booklist job after college (2008)

5 videos, told 2008–2026 · thread page

• 2008-07-08 (said on 2008-07-07, implied) · told · John: Before becoming an author, John worked for most of his post-college life at Booklist magazine, and also as a children's hospital chaplain and on a Steak 'n Shake graveyard shift. — Hank Tried to Kill Me With a Hammer 00:00:43
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday of a few long answers, John says Brotherhood 2.0 was his idea, lists his pre-author jobs, and phones their mom, who confirms Hank once tried to kill John with a hammer; he closes with Paper Towns giveaways and the Katherines paperback.
• 2009-08-30 · mentioned · John: John says his first job was at Steak 'n Shake. — 100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!!!! 00:01:09
  • opinion drawn: In quick literary picks John chooses Joyce over Yeats and Whitman over Faulkner, names Hamlet his favorite play, and says he liked The Hunger Games. (00:01:20)
• 2012-08-21 · told · John: John recalls his Steak 'n Shake graveyard shift at about $14 an hour, where staff played rock-paper-scissors over cleaning vomit from the urinal about once a week, versus his lower-paid but better Booklist job after college; college, he says, is about fulfilment, not income. — Is College Worth It? 00:02:14
  • point made: John's objection: the calculation assumes human life is a purely economic phenomenon, which it isn't. (00:02:07)
• 2012-09-04 · retold · John: John recalls telling in a recent video how at Steak 'n Shake he sometimes had to clean vomit out of urinals. (playful) — The Five Worst Places to Vomit 00:00:16
  • video's point: Answering a Nerdfighter who called a urinal the worst place to puke, John lists five worse places (your lungs, a secret floor vent, space, a bathroom mirror and another person) mixing his own mishaps with history, and ends that children all vomit on parents who keep them anyway.
• 2026-02-15 · retold · John: John's first technical job was working for Congresswoman Corrine Brown, later ousted for corruption; his first real job was the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. graveyard shift at Steak 'n Shake, and his second was at Outtakes, a 50s Hollywood-themed restaurant in Alabama. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 02:50:53
  • video's point: In the fifth and last part of the 2026 Project for Awesome livestream, on the morning of February 15, John takes over from Rosianna Halse Rojas, lets Alice do his makeup at $3.3 million and says seven years on his novel taught him writing is also for himself; Hank arrives 45 minutes early, uploads a Vlogbrothers video mid-stream to draw viewers, and the 2026 P4A becomes the biggest ever, passing $3.7 million.

John proposes to Sarah with a book inscribed by Hendrik Hertzberg (2008)

3 videos, told 2008–2010 · thread page

• 2008-08-06 · told · John: John tells how he proposed to Sarah: Hendrik Hertzberg, whom he met at a conference, signed a book to her asking "Will you marry John Green?". — Question Tuesday Returns (on a Wednesday) 00:02:09
  • opinion drawn: John names "Helen Hunt" as his favourite Hank song, with "I Sold Your Dog on eBay" as his dark-horse pick because you can rock out to it. (00:02:38)
• 2009-06-30 · retold · John: John recalls that he did not propose to the Yeti himself: he had Hendrik Hertzberg do it when signing John's copy of his book Politics. — Nerdfighter MARRIAGE PROPOSAL 00:00:39
  • video's point: On a Question Tuesday opened by Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters, John answers viewer questions and, at a Nerdfighter's request, phones the viewer's girlfriend and asks her to marry him; she says yes.
• 2010-01-20 · retold · Hank: Hank retells the proposal: in 2005 a red rose on every step to Sarah's fourth-floor apartment and John at the top with more roses and a ring. (playful) — OMG MY BROTHER HAD A BABY 00:01:34
  • video's point: Hank announces the birth of John's son on January 20 with a mock-epic history of John and Sarah (high school, reconnecting through Sarah's boxing sparring partner, a year of emails, the rose-staircase proposal, an Alabama wedding), quotes the sleep-deprived new father, asks viewers to give the baby a world without malaria, and hands over to Maureen Johnson for John's paternity leave.

John loses his camcorder in Boston on the Paper Towns tour (2008)

3 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-10-21 (said on 2008-10-20, implied) · told · John: John left the camcorder he has used for every video since January 2007 at the Boston event space and is filming on the iSight until he gets a new one. — Travel Tips, Delivered Hoarsely 00:00:00
  • video's point: On the Paper Towns tour in Columbus, John tells Hank he lost his camcorder in Boston, lists upcoming tour stops, shares comic travel tips, and announces BlogTV streams of every event and a nerdfighter gift exchange between stops.
• 2008-10-22 · update · John: John still has not acquired a new camcorder; after the iSight freezes he says he is buying one tomorrow. (playful) — Punish Hank? Save Hank? YOU DECIDE. 00:00:19
  • video's point: From Miami on the Paper Towns tour, John shows the items from the novel's first BP stop that Vero Beach High School nerdfighters gave him, then phones Hank about his 4:16 video and asks Nerdfighters to vote on whether Hank should be punished.
• 2008-10-28 · update · John: John shows off his awesome new camcorder, which he is very excited about. (playful) — The Unzipped Zipper (Of Your Pants) 00:00:12
  • video's point: John answers Nerdfighters' requests for what he can do for them: he can't do NaNoWriMo, argues a movie can't ruin a book, tells of giving a Seattle school talk with his zipper unzipped, rejects skydiving and Walmart requests, and agrees to happy-dance in 18 states.

John gives a talk at a Seattle high school with his zipper unzipped (2008)

3 videos, told 2008–2024 · thread page

• 2008-10-28 · told · John: John tells how he gave a whole talk at a Seattle high school with his zipper unzipped until a student asked about it; at the end he finds it unzipped again. (playful) — The Unzipped Zipper (Of Your Pants) 00:01:47
  • video's point: John answers Nerdfighters' requests for what he can do for them: he can't do NaNoWriMo, argues a movie can't ruin a book, tells of giving a Seattle school talk with his zipper unzipped, rejects skydiving and Walmart requests, and agrees to happy-dance in 18 states.
• 2014-09-02 · retold · John: John retells giving a talk to several hundred high-school students with his fly open until they asked about it. (playful) — MORTIFICATION 00:01:10
  • video's point: John, mortified at saying 'hectacre' throughout his agriculture video, argues that self-inflicted mortification can usefully test our self-image, but being mortified by others is harmful because everyone needs a private self.
• 2024-10-11 · retold · John: Recognizing 'The Unzipped Zipper', John retells giving a talk he thought he crushed; of some 300 raised hands, the first person asked whether his fly was down, and after zipping up no one had questions. — October 11, 2024 - Goofing off with John (a Vlogbrothers Video) 00:00:29
  • video's point: Together on camera, Hank quizzes John on whether ten titles are real Vlogbrothers videos or made up (quotes by William Cowper, Steven Wright and Alexander Pope, and a Cinnamon Challenge swapped for the 2007 Horseradish Challenge); John recalls old videos such as his unzipped-zipper talk and Eyelash Malaria, and the brothers say they don't want to become a nostalgia act but value their 18 years of history.

John writes the Paper Towns screenplay (2008)

12 videos, told 2008–2015 · thread page

• 2008-10-30 (said on 2008-10-29, implied) · told · Hank: Hank says John may be writing the Paper Towns screenplay for the people who made Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. (hedged) — Hank is Late (dr horrible) 00:01:52
  • video's point: Posting late in one take while dressed as Carrie Bradshaw, Hank promises a Dr. Horrible song with Katherine for Song Wednesday, reports the Seattle event, Paper Towns' second week on the bestseller list, and that the company that optioned Paper Towns made Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
• 2009-01-27 · update · John: John says he has to go back to writing the Paper Towns screenplay. — Before Looking for Alaska… 00:02:56
  • video's point: In a two-part video John reads 'The Best New Years Resolution Ever: Happy New Year Streamers', a book he wrote as a child and found while reorganizing his office, then announces volunteer Ningmasters to revive the neglected Nerdfighter Ning and invites applications.
• 2009-02-10 · update · John: John says he is currently writing the Paper Towns screenplay, so whether it becomes a movie is up to him. — Paper Towns Tastic Question Tuesday 00:00:46
  • point made: Margo is the book's mirror maker: people looking at her see a funhouse-mirror reflection of themselves, not what is true of her, hence the two different, equally inaccurate covers. (00:00:46)
• 2009-03-10 · update · John: John has to turn in the first draft of his Paper Towns screenplay in three days. — How to Get Girls to Like You 00:00:02
  • video's point: Short on time before his Paper Towns screenplay draft is due, John answers a few viewer questions, chiefly advising a viewer on getting nerd girls to like him: don't be needy or creepy, and treat girls as people.
• 2009-03-18 · update · Hank: Hank has heard John's screenplay is finished and going over well with his Hollywood overlord. (hedged) — Lighting Candles for Rwanda 00:02:14
  • video's point: Hank lights his own candle of hope for Rwanda, relays a Rwandan survivor's account that the world's indifference and abandonment were worse than the fear, and asks viewers to send candle videos; he adds asks for an Irish fiddle player and votes for Nerdfighter Travis Ritchie.
• 2009-03-24 · update · John: John says this week (week of 23 March 2009) he has to turn around a revision on 'this movie' (alongside one on the book he is writing). — Peeps! Prom! Puppy! 00:00:24
  • video's point: In a four-part video John reports that Nerdfighters ate over 200 of the ~315 Peeps he owed, so he will eat the rest on Sunday; phones a viewer's crush to ask him to prom for her; shares Nerdfighter photos from the Ning; and shows Willy.
• 2009-04-21 · update · John: John says the people who made Juno optioned Paper Towns with him writing the screenplay, and he is working on it now. — Question Tuesday 00:02:04
  • opinion drawn: On why guys become obsessive to the point of stalking: they fixate on the idea that someone's affection stands between them and happiness, but no single person does, and fixation is not love. (00:01:40)
• 2009-09-08 · update · John: John says he wrote the first draft of the Paper Towns screenplay and is starting the first big revision, alongside his new book. — My Puppy's SECRET SHAME (and Paper Towns) 00:02:08
  • opinion drawn: John thanks everyone who has read or listened to Paper Towns in any language: books never feel finished until people read them, which lets him start a new one. (00:02:35)
• 2009-09-22 · update · John: John says he is writing a screenplay for the people who made Juno, and at the end goes to work on the Paper Towns screenplay. — Paper Towns in Paperback: A How-to Guide 00:00:47
  • video's point: On the day Paper Towns comes out in paperback, John thanks Hank and Nerdfighters for the book's year (bestseller list, tour, foreign editions, screenplay, Edgar Award) and jokingly demonstrates how to buy the $9.99 paperback, with a Nerdfighter note, at a bookstore.
• 2009-11-17 · update · John: John says he has had to work on the Paper Towns screenplay revision, which has put him 10,000 words behind on NaNoWriMo. (playful) — Question Tuesday: The Free Money Edition 00:00:00
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday, John answers rapid-fire viewer questions (Paper Towns, NaNoWriMo, his Movember beard, unicorns, coming out) and offers to pay $2 of the price of Hank's album for 48 hours; he confirms Nerdfighteria found Gus Is a Bug and may now punish him.
• 2013-10-22 · retold · John: John recalls that in adapting Paper Towns into a screenplay he had the main character pursue an entirely different girl than in the book. (playful) — Question Tuesday: The Fault in Our Stars Movie Edition 00:01:56
  • opinion drawn: Even so, John thinks the script was a very faithful adaptation, one of the most faithful he has read. (00:01:56)
• 2015-04-28 · retold · John: John recalls the Paper Towns screenplay he wrote many years ago: vastly different from the book, theme-first, and horrible. — Is the Paper Towns Movie Like the Book? Thoughts on Adaptations 00:01:54
  • point made: John says the idea he wanted to tell visually is that putting people on a pedestal, failing to imagine them complexly, is tremendously destructive. (00:02:07)

John finds and reads a picture book he wrote as a child, 'Happy New Year Streamers' (2009)

2 videos, told 2009–2012 · thread page

• 2009-01-27 · told · John: John reads a book he wrote as a child, found during his office reorganization. — Before Looking for Alaska… 00:00:13
  • video's point: In a two-part video John reads 'The Best New Years Resolution Ever: Happy New Year Streamers', a book he wrote as a child and found while reorganizing his office, then announces volunteer Ningmasters to revive the neglected Nerdfighter Ning and invites applications.
• 2012-11-13 · mentioned · John: Among the finds: his early work 'The Best New Years Resolution Ever: Happy New Year Streamers' and misprinted EcoGeek business cards from January 2007. — I Was a Child Poet. And a Bad One. 00:00:34
  • video's point: John celebrates Amazon naming The Fault in Our Stars one of 2012's ten best books, shares embarrassing finds from an organizational binge (report cards, a childhood world-peace poem), and explains he is donating his manuscripts to the de Grummond Collection.

John's week touring the Netherlands with Jordan Sonnenblick and Steve Kluger (2009)

2 videos, told 2009–2015 · thread page

• 2009-03-22 · told · John: John recounts his week touring Holland with Jordan Sonnenblick and Steve Kluger, the Amsterdam Nerdfighter gathering and a Dutch journalist's view of Paper Towns. — John Loves Amsterdam 00:00:39
  • video's point: Back from a week touring Holland with authors Jordan Sonnenblick and Steve Kluger, John tells Hank how much he loves the Netherlands (bitterballen, chocolate-sprinkle bread), recaps the Amsterdam Nerdfighter gathering, and jokingly urges Dutch readers to buy Paper Towns in Dutch.
• 2015-04-21 · retold · John: John recalls the Amsterdam Nerdfighter gathering, the first in Europe he attended (dated 2008 by him), where a Dutch Nerdfighter asked to be introduced to the Belgian boys. — A Stunning Turn of Events 00:02:04
  • video's point: From an airport, John praises Hank's tour, plugs the Batman shirts, jokes about attending the Time 100 gala after dropping off the list, and congratulates two Nerdfighters who met at a 2008 gathering on their engagement.

John is ill and put on antibiotics and steroids (2009)

2 videos, told 2009 · thread page

• 2009-03-29 · told · John: John tells Hank he saw a doctor yesterday for a sinus illness and was put on an antibiotic and steroids. — Tiny Chickens Cause Epic Fail 00:00:00
  • video's point: John says a sinus illness he calls 'tiny chicken disease' and steroid treatment mean his Peeps eating must wait until his doctor allows it, then demands Hank finally do his Carrie Bradshaw punishment, joining a Ning boycott.
• 2009-04-01 (said on 2009-03-31, implied) · update · Hank: Hank reports John is still ill and does not seem to be feeling better. (playful) — A Few Of My Favorite Things 00:03:15
  • video's point: Hank argues people dwell on what they dislike and should dwell as intensely on what they like, then lists his favourite things, ending with Nerdfighters' DFTBA acronym illustrations.

John's Paper Towns wins the Edgar Award (2009)

3 videos, told 2009–2026 · thread page

• 2009-05-04 (said on 2009-05-03, implied) · told · John: John tells Hank that on Thursday night (30 April 2009) Paper Towns won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, so he now owns a bust of Poe. — Oinkbarf Pandemic! An Intellectual Response to Swine Flu 00:00:27
  • video's point: John, a self-described hypochondriac, says swine flu turned out less deadly than first reported and argues pandemics scare us because they make us face oblivion and the futility of effort, which we should balance with the necessity to struggle.
• 2022-09-30 · mentioned · John: John tells the bust of Edgar Allan Poe he won for Paper Towns 14 years ago that it is now his second favorite mustachioed bust, after a new one. (playful) — COMMIT TO THE BIT 00:00:00
  • point made: Echoing Hank's video, John says simple solutions to complex problems are almost always inadequate: we want to be one flipped switch from a better life, but life doesn't work that way. (00:00:24)
• 2026-02-13 · mentioned · John: John notes that Paper Towns won an Edgar Award. — Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! 03:07:36
  • opinion drawn: John says he desperately wants to be a proper mystery and romance novelist but can't write a proper mystery: Turtles All the Way Down mostly became about OCD, and Paper Towns about imagining other people complexly. (03:07:36)

The Nerdfighter couple John proposed for on air in 2009: marriage and first child (2009)

3 videos, told 2009–2015 · thread page

• 2009-06-30 · told · John: John phones the requesting viewer's girlfriend, apologises for misspelling her name when he signed her book, then asks whether she will marry her boyfriend; she says yes. — Nerdfighter MARRIAGE PROPOSAL 00:01:25
  • video's point: On a Question Tuesday opened by Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters, John answers viewer questions and, at a Nerdfighter's request, phones the viewer's girlfriend and asks her to marry him; she says yes.
• 2011-04-06 · update · John: John shows a flashback of his 2009 on-air marriage proposal for a Nerdfighter and reports the couple are now married and expecting their first child. — Tales of Nerd Love! 00:00:26
  • video's point: John tells four stories of Nerdfighters falling in 'Nerdfighterlike', from the couple he proposed for in 2009 (now married and expecting) to a crush lost in a bookstore, while sitting in spilled champagne. He closes by plugging the Will Grayson, Will Grayson paperback and giving $300 to Water.org in thanks for Hank's Haiti videos.
• 2015-01-13 · retold · John: John recalls the marriage proposal of Nerdfighter Temerity Jane he took part in years ago (clip shown) and says she and Phil are now married with a child. — On Writing, Looking for Alaska Turning 10, and Winning the Project for Awesome 00:00:46
  • opinion drawn: John says he feels incredibly lucky and grateful that the book has hung around so long, and thanks readers ten years on. (00:01:08)

John's house renovation and flooded basement (2009)

7 videos, told 2009 · thread page

• 2009-09-06 · told · John: John and the Yeti begin a large home renovation, replacing moldy basement walls; John fails to demolish a wall himself. — How To (Not) Demolish a Wall 00:00:01
  • video's point: At the start of a big home renovation, John comically teaches 'how not to demolish a wall' in six steps (the Octopus, calling Gorbachev, calling Dad, a crowbar, rage, checking for live wiring) and declares himself an epic fail.
• 2009-09-08 · update · John: John says he still has not got the wall down and has tried to spruce it up instead. — My Puppy's SECRET SHAME (and Paper Towns) 00:00:00
  • video's point: John reveals Willy's 'secret shame' (a downward-bent tail) after Willy chews a Chewbacca figurine, then announces the Paper Towns paperback (September 22), a daily 10-word-comment book giveaway, and progress on the Paper Towns screenplay.
• 2009-09-12 (said on 2009-09-11, implied) · update · John: John reports the wall is still there ('the Great Wall Fail of 2009'), though he has made some progress. — Special Friday Video! (On Saturday) 00:00:00
  • video's point: Responding to Hank's crime-show song, John argues that shows like CSI sell the comforting lie that evil lives only in certain people, and that we like stories that make sense; he also updates the wall, plugs Nerdfighter causes and names contest winners.
• 2009-09-13 · update · John: John announces 'no more wall' as the (not real) news of the day, implying the wall has come down. (playful) — Sex, Sports, and Caster Semenya 00:00:00
  • video's point: On Newsday John discusses the gender test of 18-year-old runner Caster Semenya and argues, following Lauren McLaughlin, that the failure lies with sports, which exists to remove the ambiguity that life (and sex) always has.
• 2009-10-11 · update · John: John's house is a construction zone during an expensive renovation, and his basement flooded on Friday, so the carpet must come out. — Puppy Elephant Defends Capitalism 00:00:00
  • video's point: With Willy in an elephant costume, John defends the free market: capitalism runs on debt, freely flowing loan capital creates wealth, and microfinance through Kiva shows it working, with loans repaid 99% of the time.
• 2009-10-13 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls John's flooded basement from John's last video and compares it with Georgia's statewide floods. (playful) — Nine Die in Georgia Floods - Kanye is a Jackass 00:00:00
  • video's point: Filming a flooded river in Georgia after years of drought, Hank relays what river experts told him: climate change is making weather go haywire, and paving keeps rain out of the groundwater, worsening both floods and droughts.
• 2009-10-18 · update · John: John films from a room in his renovated house that will hopefully someday be his bathroom but is still uninhabitable. (hedged) — The Balloon Boy Hoax 00:00:00
  • point made: John says Hank's last couple videos discussed why we think and behave as we do and how corporations sometimes incentivize us to act like jerks, and he continues that conversation. (00:00:00)

John grows a Movember beard for prostate cancer research (2009)

4 videos, told 2009–2014 · thread page

• 2009-11-17 · told · John: Asked about his beard, John says he is growing it for Movember after someone offered money to prostate cancer research if he kept it all month. — Question Tuesday: The Free Money Edition 00:00:35
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday, John answers rapid-fire viewer questions (Paper Towns, NaNoWriMo, his Movember beard, unicorns, coming out) and offers to pay $2 of the price of Hank's album for 48 hours; he confirms Nerdfighteria found Gus Is a Bug and may now punish him.
• 2009-11-22 · update · John: In a coda John says his beard has become very beardy but still cannot grow over one area. (playful) — Hank in FAMY 00:02:27
  • video's point: John declares Hank's four-minute-two-second video a rule breach worth punishing, using Thierry Henry's handball in France's World Cup qualifier to argue that rules must be enforced even when people think breaking them only counts if caught; he asks Nerdfighters for punishment ideas.
• 2009-12-01 · update · John: John says Movember is over, so he can finally shave his beard, which he does during the video. — Shaving for Pakistan 00:00:00
  • video's point: While shaving off his Movember beard, John surveys Pakistan's troubles (poor education, low incomes, an over-strong military, weak government, no leadership) and asks where the world should start helping; he then sets Hank's punishment: 15 hours in Missoula's Target plus publicly blending and eating a meal there.
• 2014-11-12 · retold · Hank: Hank retells John's video about Pakistan in which he slowly shaved his Movember beard, ending in a few seconds of mustache: the image that became Pizza John. — The History of Pizza John! 00:01:32
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the Pizza John face is weird, recognizable and bold, fits the nerd aesthetic and takes a little bravery to wear in public, so it became a kind of nerdfighter badge. (00:02:07)

John's camcorder stops working (2009)

4 videos, told 2009–2024 · thread page

• 2009-12-13 · told · John: John's camcorder doesn't work despite everything he tried, so he films on the iSight camera. — Eyelash Malaria 00:00:01
  • video's point: John argues that market-driven drug companies pour money into eyelash-growth drugs like Latisse while neglecting malaria, whose cure would grow the world economy; he pledges a P4A malaria video and asks Nerdfighters to vote for a Nerdfighter's eyelash-contest entry to fund a Heifer ark.
• 2009-12-15 · update · John: John welcomes Hank to his new camcorder. — In Which A Secret Is Revealed 00:00:00
  • video's point: On Question Tuesday John explains how to take part in the 2009 Project for Awesome (videos, upload time, the live show of commenting and rating, the thumbnail, his glasses auction) and gives relationship advice, then 'discovers' a crib and reveals that the Yeti is pregnant.
• 2010-03-15 · update · John: John's description says this video was made with his new camcorder. — Cute OVERLOAD: The Ultimate Concern Edition video description
  • video's point: John, with seven-week-old Henry, says parenthood made him weirdly insular, then sets the week's theme: do you have an 'ultimate concern' (what you would die or kill for), what is it, and should you?
• 2024-10-11 · retold · John: John recalls Eyelash Malaria, about a malaria drug that also lengthens eyelashes, which he made on his computer because his camera was broken. (hedged) — October 11, 2024 - Goofing off with John (a Vlogbrothers Video) 00:03:14
  • video's point: Together on camera, Hank quizzes John on whether ten titles are real Vlogbrothers videos or made up (quotes by William Cowper, Steven Wright and Alexander Pope, and a Cinnamon Challenge swapped for the 2007 Horseradish Challenge); John recalls old videos such as his unzipped-zipper talk and Eyelash Malaria, and the brothers say they don't want to become a nostalgia act but value their 18 years of history.

John and Sarah (the Yeti) are expecting a baby (2009)

15 videos, told 2009–2011 · thread page

• 2009-12-15 · told · John: John 'discovers' a crib and reveals that the Yeti is going to have a baby. (playful) — In Which A Secret Is Revealed 00:03:36
  • video's point: On Question Tuesday John explains how to take part in the 2009 Project for Awesome (videos, upload time, the live show of commenting and rating, the thumbnail, his glasses auction) and gives relationship advice, then 'discovers' a crib and reveals that the Yeti is pregnant.
• 2009-12-16 · update · Hank: Hank announces he is going to be an uncle, after John's announcement yesterday. — Project for Awesome: The Nature Conservancy 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank celebrates becoming an uncle, then makes his P4A 2009 case for the Nature Conservancy, which buys land to save it because the Earth keeps us alive better than we can, pledging $1,000 and auctioning his So Jokes cover art; he closes with a song arguing that hating the world's problems motivates us to fix them.
• 2009-12-17 · mentioned · John: John tells P4A viewers that he and his wife are about to have their first baby. — THE 2009 PROJECT FOR AWESOME!!! 00:00:48
  • video's point: John opens the 2009 Project for Awesome, sending viewers to the livestream chat to rate, favorite and comment on charity videos, then makes his own P4A video: his unborn baby 'hates malaria', so he auctions his nerd glasses and asks for donations to Malaria No More.
• 2009-12-20 · update · John: John says the baby is due in exactly one month (Sarah will have it; he'll be there annoying her). — Awesome Project Is Awesome 00:00:00
  • video's point: John reports the 2009 Project for Awesome as the best yet (over 2,000 videos, over a million comments, #P4A trending above Avatar), thanks hosts, video makers and Hank, explains 'French the llama', and asks viewers what the channel should do more and less of as it reinvents itself for the new year.
• 2009-12-23 · mentioned · John: John mentions that he and his wife are expecting their first kid, one reason he is into Christmas this year (2009). — Amazing Christmas Facts With John and Hank 00:00:34
  • video's point: John and Hank, together for Christmas, trade Christmas trivia (Alabama's 1838 holiday, hot cockles, Rudolph's Montgomery Ward origin, Santa's H0H0H0 postal code, Jingle Bells as a Thanksgiving song) with banter, Willy and a closing puff fight.
• 2010-01-04 · update · John: John says the kid should be born quite soon, starting about three weeks of paternity leave. (hedged) — It Hurts In My Toof: The 2010 Rules 00:02:09
  • video's point: John says his toothache (root canal tomorrow) comes from ignoring rules he thought arbitrary, like brushing and math; rules are useful, so the vlog gets 2010 rules: alternating Monday/Wednesday/Friday videos, the four-minute limit, Monday theme weeks and punishments for breaches.
• 2010-01-08 · update · John: John thanks the Yeti for not going into labour during the game the night before (7 January 2010) and half hopes the baby comes before next Wednesday (13 January 2010). (playful) — GUS HAS NO FUZZ! 00:00:00
  • video's point: John reveals that Nerdfighters' search for his childhood book Gus Is a Bug was a baby-warming present, and presents a video book of Nerdfighter illustrations for his baby, after celebrating Alabama's football title and Hank's 15 hours in Target.
• 2010-01-18 · update · John: John says the baby is due any day now and fatherhood is all he can think about. — Fatherhood 00:00:00
  • video's point: With his first child due any day, John admits he sometimes feels unqualified for fatherhood next to their own very good father, but concludes that parents become qualified while doing it; he asks Hank for a video answering kids' questions.
• 2010-01-20 · update · Hank: Hank reports that John and Sarah's son was born early in the morning of January 20; John has been awake for 46 of the last 48 hours. — OMG MY BROTHER HAD A BABY 00:02:04
  • video's point: Hank announces the birth of John's son on January 20 with a mock-epic history of John and Sarah (high school, reconnecting through Sarah's boxing sparring partner, a year of emails, the rose-staircase proposal, an Alabama wedding), quotes the sleep-deprived new father, asks viewers to give the baby a world without malaria, and hands over to Maureen Johnson for John's paternity leave.
• 2010-01-25 · update · Hank: Hank relays news from John after the birth: John is doing well and changing diapers, the baby has hiccups, and John and Sarah are very tired. — Name My Dog! 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: Hank says hearing that John was changing a diaper hit home that John is really a dad now. (00:00:29)
• 2010-01-27 · mentioned · Maureen Johnson: Maureen says 80% of the comments noticed that 'John Green' had boobs, an interest she says YouTube shares with baby Henry; 'the man just had a baby'. (playful) — Boobs and the iPad 00:00:54
  • video's point: Filling in for John, Maureen Johnson jokes about viewers' fascination with her boobs, explains how her case for free e-books and the coming e-book revolution (on the day of Apple's tablet announcement) ended up in the New York Times as a Rob Pattinson joke, and concludes Hank should name his dog Boobs.
• 2010-02-15 · update · John: John introduces his three-week-old son Henry on camera on his first vlog back. — Hello Baby!! video description
  • video's point: Back from paternity leave, John introduces his three-week-old son Henry and gives three reasons Henry will appear only a little in the vlogs: public lives get misquoted (Amanda Bynes misquoting Einstein), embarrassing stories, and not every viewer is a nerdfighter.
• 2010-03-15 · update · John: John reports he has now spent seven weeks with newborn Henry. (playful) — Cute OVERLOAD: The Ultimate Concern Edition 00:00:32
  • point made: John says he doesn't mind Henry's self-centeredness: something weird, base and nurturing happened to him at Henry's birth that makes him want to change diapers. (00:01:09)
• 2010-05-24 · mentioned · John: John jokingly recalls the pregnancy: his partner gave up coffee, vomited a lot and was crankier. (playful) — How To Make a Baby 00:01:34
  • opinion drawn: John argues that whether you find babies cute is not necessarily relevant to whether you'll enjoy having a baby. (00:00:42)
• 2011-04-29 · retold · John: John and the Yeti agreed in advance that a boy would be named Henry and a girl 'Bubbles the Nerdfighting Lady Baby'. (playful) — Peanut Butter Face Question Tuesday 00:01:47
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday on a Friday, John answers viewers' questions, many about channel lore new viewers find confusing (who Hank is, Peanut Butter Face, "in your pants"), mostly with jokes, while wearing peanut butter on his face.

John's toothache and root canals (2010)

3 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-01-04 · told · John: John tells of a severe toothache, blamed on years of ignoring dental hygiene and dentists; he is going to the dentist and needs one or two root canals tomorrow. — It Hurts In My Toof: The 2010 Rules 00:00:00
  • video's point: John says his toothache (root canal tomorrow) comes from ignoring rules he thought arbitrary, like brushing and math; rules are useful, so the vlog gets 2010 rules: alternating Monday/Wednesday/Friday videos, the four-minute limit, Monday theme weeks and punishments for breaches.
• 2010-01-06 (said on 2010-01-05, implied) · update · Hank: Hank notes that John has to get a root canal today, having broken the basic rules of dental hygiene. — 15 Hours in Target! 00:01:30
  • video's point: Hank documents serving his punishment of 15 hours inside a Target: boredom, visiting Nerdfighters, shelving oddities, and a candy-calorie investigation with Katherine; he then assigns John's punishment: a full Frog Hopper ride while telling Hank he loves him.
• 2010-02-15 · update · John: John drives to the dentist; once home, his mouth hurts. — Hello Baby!! 00:00:14
  • video's point: Back from paternity leave, John introduces his three-week-old son Henry and gives three reasons Henry will appear only a little in the vlogs: public lives get misquoted (Amanda Bynes misquoting Einstein), embarrassing stories, and not every viewer is a nerdfighter.

How John and Sarah met: high school, a boxing sparring partner who was John's ex-girlfriend, and a year of emails

3 videos, told 2010–2022 · thread page

• 2010-01-20 · told · Hank: Hank tells, mock-epic, how John and Sarah met: school in 1995, reconnection through Sarah's boxing sparring partner (John's ex-girlfriend), a year of emails and dates in 2004. (playful) — OMG MY BROTHER HAD A BABY 00:00:12
  • video's point: Hank announces the birth of John's son on January 20 with a mock-epic history of John and Sarah (high school, reconnecting through Sarah's boxing sparring partner, a year of emails, the rose-staircase proposal, an Alabama wedding), quotes the sleep-deprived new father, asks viewers to give the baby a world without malaria, and hands over to Maureen Johnson for John's paternity leave.
• 2020-04-07 · retold · John: For a year before they dated, John and Sarah wrote hundreds of pages of emails about art, books, movies and their days; the book Sarah made of those emails is the most important in their library. — I am an artist. 00:00:33
  • point made: John says art-making is neither optional for humans nor reserved for certain people: we made art in every crisis and deprivation, painted walls before building them, and made art before farming. (00:01:20)
• 2022-02-15 · retold · John: John's most valuable book (retail about $7) is The Spring and the Fall, co-written with Sarah: given to him at their engagement, it holds every email from the year and a half before they dated. — My Most Valuable Books 00:02:55
  • video's point: John shows the most valuable of the roughly 3,000 books in his and Sarah's library, scoring value as money times tears: rare first editions (Slaughterhouse-Five, Parable of the Sower, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Twain's Christian Science) matter less than irreplaceable copies, above all The Spring and the Fall, the book of his and Sarah's pre-dating emails.

John's diet and weight loss after Henry's birth (2010)

4 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-02-19 · told · John: John found a new first digit in his weight at the doctor a month ago and has lost 12 pounds in two weeks on a cleanse. — Henry's Pee and My Gut 00:01:43
  • video's point: John argues, half-jokingly, against 'going with your gut': his gut told him to catch Henry's pee in his hands and otherwise only says 'eat', while his brain has him on a cleanse that has cost him 12 pounds.
• 2010-02-24 · update · John: John reports he has lost almost 15 pounds since Henry's birth, eating plenty but no french fries, and has started running. — JOHN GREEN IS FAT. 00:01:27
  • video's point: Worried about a friend and skipping a planned childhood story, John recounts his weight gain since 1995, credits the Facebook group 'John Green Is Fat' with having told him all along, and reports losing almost 15 pounds since Henry's birth.
• 2010-03-10 · update · John: John says the diet is going well, he is losing weight because of Henry and not shaming, and apologizes for the muddled 'John Green Is Fat' video. — New Tour! New Book! (Remember Books?) Your Q's A'ed! 00:01:07
  • point made: John says the 'John Green Is Fat' video was meant to discuss why making fun at other people's expense is so enjoyable, but it got muddled and confusing, and he apologizes. (00:01:07)
• 2010-05-28 · update · John: John says he has lost 30 pounds in the last year on a colour-coded diet of less brown and more green food. (playful) — How To Do Everything 00:01:27
  • video's point: On the Friday of How-To Week, John rushes through comic answers to the ten most-searched 'how to' queries on Google, from tying a tie to writing a resume.

John takes the line 'Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia' from Sarah on their first date for Looking for Alaska (told 2016)

6 videos, told 2010–2019 · thread page

• 2010-03-19 · told · John: The Looking for Alaska line on the Italian edition's back, 'imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia', was said to John by Sarah on their first date. — Foreign John Green Books and the Ultimate Concern 00:02:04
  • point made: John thinks we all privilege those close to us over those who aren't, and threats close to us over distant ones, which is why Hank's farsighted concern impresses him. (00:02:33)
• 2011-05-05 · retold · John: Borrowing a line he took from his wife for his first novel, that imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia, John says he can't wait to see what Hank does with 31. — IT'S HANKO DE MAYO!! 00:02:27
  • opinion drawn: Borrowing a line he took from his wife for his first novel, that imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia, John says he can't wait to see what Hank does with 31. (00:02:27)
• 2011-08-26 · retold · John: John says Sarah has contributed tons to his writing, from imagining the future as a kind of nostalgia in Looking for Alaska to the pranks in Paper Towns. — Will He Kiss You? Am I a Muggle? It's Question Friday. 00:03:09
  • video's point: In a rapid-fire Question Friday John answers viewers: kissing happens with you, not to you; a TFIOS signing update (all pre-orders will be signed); Sarah's input into his books, Looking for Alaska's earlier titles, and many comic one-liners.
• 2016-11-17 · told · John: John says Sarah said 'Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia' on their first date; he wrote it on a napkin and put it in Looking for Alaska, with her permission. — Decathlons, Pretension, and the Weirdest Animal I've Met: It's Question Thursday 00:00:49
  • opinion drawn: Asked which of his characters he would vote for as president, John picks Hazel's mom from The Fault in Our Stars: cool under pressure, thoughtful, cautious, played by Laura Dern. (00:01:16)
• 2018-10-02 · retold · John: John says he stole that line from his wife. — How Much Do You Love Each Other? It's Question Tuesday 00:01:00
  • opinion drawn: John's favorite quote from Hank's book is 'I had a very happy childhood, but I was not a very happy child'. (00:01:00)
• 2019-09-10 · retold · John: John recalls that on their first date Sarah said 'imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia', which he promptly put into Looking for Alaska and still thinks is the book's best line. — Another Contender in the Room 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John says Sarah's thinking about art, love and how to make things has shaped his whole professional life so deeply that their work is impossible to disentangle. (00:00:29)

Viacom's Spike.com posts and monetizes John's 'Viacom PWNED on Piracy' video (2010)

3 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-06-07 · told · John: John's description update: Spike.com pirated this very video, so Viacom owes him sixty cents. (playful) — Viacom PWNED on Piracy video description
  • video's point: Following Hank's Viacom video, John shows that Viacom's Spike.com runs ads on Jonathan Coulton's non-commercial Creative Commons video, so by Viacom's own math it owes Coulton money: 'Where is Jonathan Coulton's $37?'
• 2010-06-09 · update · Hank: Hank reports Spike.com posted and monetized John's Viacom video; John called to say Viacom took it down after 300 views, having made 60 cents. — Should We Sue Viacom? 00:01:27
  • opinion drawn: Hank says this is illegal and should stop, not just for their video but for all the copyrighted videos Viacom puts on Spike.com; he'd happily sue for 60 cents. (00:01:56)
• 2010-06-11 · update · John: John says he still wants his money for Viacom stealing his video and expects the $2 lawyers think Viacom made from it. — Mmmm....PARTS 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: 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. (00:00:00)

John's UK trip for the Paper Towns UK release: London and Edinburgh (2010)

2 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-06-11 · update · John: John's new website, JohnGreenBooks.com, lists forthcoming Nerdfighter gatherings and other events, in places like Washington, D.C., Munich, Edinburgh and London. — Mmmm....PARTS 00:02:17
  • video's point: In a twelve-part vlog filmed in a Milwaukee hotel while watching the World Cup opener, John says Viacom still owes him for stealing his video, gives VidCon 2010 logistics, reports Ningmaster Tom's recovery and announces his new website and the UK publication of Paper Towns.
• 2010-08-16 · told · John: John recounts his weekend in London (Alex Day and Charlie, Piccadilly Circus, a bookstore meet-up and an overflowing club reading) and Edinburgh (nerdfighters on a hill, the Folly), a trip the description ties to Paper Towns' UK release. — Lust and Folly in London and Edinburgh 00:00:02
  • video's point: John recounts his weekend in London and Edinburgh supporting the UK Paper Towns release, from a lust-inducing handbag ad and YouTuber friends to an overflowing club reading and nerdfighters on an Edinburgh hill, and concludes that we choose what we care about and spend our resources on, unconscious choices included, and that community helps us choose better.

John writes a novel about a desert island with a girl narrator (2010)

2 videos, told 2010–2025 · thread page

• 2010-06-25 (said on 2010-06-26, implied) · told · Julie Strauss-Gabel: John's editor Julie Strauss-Gabel says she loves his new book (unfinished reading) and that it will be his next book: a desert island, a dangerously attractive boy and a girl narrator. — Book Nerd PARADISE 00:00:34
  • video's point: John reports from the American Library Association's annual conference in Washington, D.C., where he meets authors and librarians, sits on a panel, gets his editor to confirm his next novel, and collects free advance copies.
• 2025-06-03 · retold · John: John says that before The Fault in Our Stars he confidently said on the channel his next book would be about kids on a desert island; he wrote most of it, but it had no reason for being, so he wrote the book that became The Fault in Our Stars. — My Lies 00:01:21
  • opinion drawn: John says the nonfiction books are still about imagining other people complexly, his overarching theme, and both have kids who like poetry, his other jam. (00:01:51)

John visits Esther Earl and her Nerdfighter friends in Boston (July 2010)

3 videos, told 2010–2020 · thread page

• 2010-07-05 · told · John: John tells of his day in Boston with Esther and her Nerdfighter friends: volleyball questions, Harry Potter characters, a puff fight and a hunt for espresso and gelato. — With Esther 00:00:14
  • opinion drawn: Seeing relationships that began online in Nerdfighteria be so sustaining and meaningful in real life made John proud to be a Nerdfighter. (00:00:24)
• 2017-02-28 · retold · John: John and Esther met in Boston, where her Make-A-Wish brought him and some of her Nerdfighter friends; now they were there again, dancing and singing to songs Esther loved. — You Are Here 00:00:25
  • opinion drawn: Esther met her Nerdfighter friends in the comments of the brothers' old BlogTV live shows, staying in the chat after the shows: their friendship happened in a space the brothers created and then vacated. (00:00:44)
• 2020-09-29 · retold · John: John remembers a walk ten years ago with his friend Esther: for her Make-A-Wish she gathered Nerdfighter friends and invited him, and on the way to gelato they had to cross a bridge. — How 'bout Yours? 00:00:29
  • point made: John recalls a Wallace Stevens poem: twenty men crossing a bridge into a village are twenty men crossing twenty bridges into twenty villages; the bridge is different for each of us. (00:00:29)

John's trip to Munich for the White Ravens Book Festival (2010)

2 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-07-20 (said on 2010-07-19, implied) · told · John: John records from an airport on his way to Munich and arrives a day later without sleep. — I Like Balls 00:00:00
  • video's point: On his way to Munich, John praises Hank for not titling his video 'Shane Dawson signed my balls' to chase views, and says the brothers are in the nerdfighting business, not the balls business: his proudest day was Nerdfighters helping the Harry Potter Alliance win $250,000.
• 2010-07-28 · told · John: John tells Hank about his Saturday (24 July 2010) in Munich, where he is for the White Ravens Book Festival, filmed for YouTube's Life in a Day. — Umbrellas Amuse Me: Observations from One Day in Munich 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John loves Munich and crowded cities because they remind him that billions of people like him are each stuck inside their minds, trying to connect with others. (00:00:29)

Death of Nerdfighter Esther Earl, John's friend (2010)

18 videos, told 2010–2026 · thread page

• 2010-08-27 · told · John: John reports that Esther Earl died earlier this week (week of 23 August 2010), aged 16. — Rest In Awesome, Esther 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John describes Esther as an amazing kid, astonishingly empathetic, thoughtful and very funny, but not an angel or a model of perfection: a person, a teenager. (00:00:33)
• 2010-10-27 · retold · John: John says the bracelets honor Esther Earl, the brothers' friend and fellow Nerdfighter who died a couple of months ago from cancer. — You Are Awesome 00:00:42
  • video's point: John rounds up Nerdfighteria's world-suck reduction: Sean's Nerdfighteria-funded work in Bangladesh, This Star Won't Go Out bracelets whose full price goes to Esther Earl's family's foundation, and a $540 leftover from a BlogTV cat-surgery fundraiser that he asks Nerdfighters to direct.
• 2011-06-10 · retold · John: John says that in the almost ten months since Esther died, more than $10,000 has been raised for This Star Won't Go Out, and thanks Nerdfighteria. — Then I Took Off My Bra 00:02:02
  • video's point: Near the end of his stay in Amsterdam, John lists what he will and won't miss, plugs This Star Won't Go Out bracelets, announces a US tour with Hank for his new book and asks Nerdfighters what should happen on it and whether he should read the audiobook.
• 2011-08-03 · retold · Hank: Hank says Esther was an awesome Nerdfighter who did amazing things with her friends; she would have turned 17 today had she not died of cancer. — I Love My Brother 00:00:00
  • video's point: For Esther Day 2011, Hank recalls the promise to Esther and the brothers' 'no L-word' agreement, and argues that love is the most important thing we do and words have power, so people should tell those they love that they love them; he then accepts punishment for a missed video and mentions VidCon.
• 2013-04-02 · retold · John: John tells new Nerdfighters that Esther Earl was a Nerdfighter and friend of his who died of cancer in 2010 at 16. — TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Answering readers who ask whether Hazel is Esther, John says the novel is not Esther's story; her story belongs to her and her family. (00:00:00)
• 2013-08-03 · retold · John: John recalls that Esther, a dear friend and important Nerdfighter, died in 2010 aged sixteen. — Esther Day 2013 00:00:59
  • video's point: On Esther Day 2013 John, joined by Hank, recalls Nerdfighter Esther Earl and the holiday she chose: saying 'I love you' to family and friends, 'a Valentine's Day for the rest of love'.
• 2014-01-07 · retold · John: John recalls that Esther Earl, the brothers' friend and a Nerdfighter, died of cancer at sixteen. — Warm Things for Cold Times 00:00:40
  • video's point: From a freezing Indianapolis, John lists warm things: the Fault in Our Stars movie poster, Esther Earl's book with its Boston launch, Millard Fillmore's birthday, and Nerdfighteria officially sponsoring AFC Wimbledon.
• 2016-08-03 · retold · Hank: The description says Esther Earl, a Nerdfighter who died in 2010 at 16, asked that her birthday be a day for saying "I love you" to people you love but don't tell enough. — Lives Made of Love - Esther Day 2016 video description
  • opinion drawn: Hank says selling those CDs showed him in a new way how much support the community gave, and selling his music felt good; he wants a memento of that day. (00:00:46)
• 2017-02-28 · retold · John: John recalls Esther Earl, a Nerdfighter who with her friends helped run the Project for Awesome behind the scenes and who died of cancer in 2010 at 16. — You Are Here 00:00:18
  • opinion drawn: Esther met her Nerdfighter friends in the comments of the brothers' old BlogTV live shows, staying in the chat after the shows: their friendship happened in a space the brothers created and then vacated. (00:00:44)
• 2017-08-03 · retold · John: John says Esther died a few weeks later aged just 16, and every year on August 3, her birthday, they pause to celebrate Esther Day, a celebration of love. — HAPPY ESTHER DAY!!! 00:00:23
  • point made: John says Esther wanted special attention paid to the non-romantic love among family and friends that often goes unacknowledged in our culture. (00:00:33)
• 2019-08-03 · retold · Hank: The description says Esther Earl was a Nerdfighter, activist and cool person who died of thyroid cancer in 2010. — I Love John: Esther Day 2019 video description
  • video's point: On the tenth Esther Day Hank tells John he loves him and argues that, though some traditions clash with our values, the existence of tradition is good: Esther's day for familial love was genius, because things are more true when said and heard.
• 2020-08-03 · retold · John: John says Esther died just a few weeks later at 16; she would be in her mid-20s now, and he thinks about her and misses her a lot. — you're bundled up now? wait till you get older. 00:00:41
  • point made: Esther meant the non-romantic kinds of love our culture rarely celebrates: a day to say 'I love you' to friends, family and others whose love goes unacknowledged. (00:00:29)
• 2020-09-29 · retold · John: John says Esther has been gone over ten years, but her thoughtfulness and kindness still help him and hold him together. — How 'bout Yours? 00:03:04
  • point made: John says tomorrow a different John will take a different walk in different woods, even if the GPS says the route was identical. (00:03:04)
• 2021-08-03 · retold · John: Esther died a few weeks after the first Esther Day in 2010, aged 16; her parents then founded This Star Won't Go Out, which gives direct financial support to families of kids with cancer. — I L*** Hank 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: John is amazed by what Wayne and Lori have accomplished in the last ten years. (00:01:27)
• 2022-08-03 · retold · Hank: Hank explains that Esther Earl, an early community member, died of cancer in 2010, and asked how to celebrate her birthday, chose non-romantic love: a Valentine's Day for all other kinds of love. — Why is it So Hard to Say 'I Love You'? 00:01:56
  • point made: Hank's second reason: he is more aware that all this is temporary, and something deeper and truer than earning respect through accomplishment will matter more and more. (00:01:56)
• 2023-08-03 · retold · John: John explains Esther Day: a holiday founded by Esther Earl, a friend and longtime nerdfighter who died of cancer in 2010 at 16, for the love between family and friends. — I love you, Hank. Happy Esther Day. 00:00:00
  • video's point: On Esther Day John tells Hank he loves and admires him, confesses how hard saying it once was, and argues that Hank's cancer this summer showed him how much love, accompaniment and attention matter; he asks viewers to say 'I love you' and to support This Star Won't Go Out.
• 2024-08-03 · retold · John: John desperately wishes Esther were here; she would be 30 years old, a grown-up. — I Love Hank. (Also I'm back.) 00:02:03
  • point made: John finds it cool that those people are discovering adulthood is not a destination where everything ends but an opportunity for more growing. (00:02:20)
• 2026-08-03 · retold · John: John finds this year (2026) especially strange: Esther has been gone almost 16 years, as long as she lived, and much of his life has passed without her. — Esther Day 2026: Some Thoughts on Loss 00:00:00
  • video's point: On Esther Day 2026, John reflects that Esther Earl has now been gone as long as she lived, that grief over early death can intensify as one learns what the dead have missed, and that he has not reconciled himself to death's injustice; yet he holds that love is stronger than death and survives in others.

John drives from Chicago to the Waupaca Book Festival, Wisconsin (2010)

2 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-09-29 · told · John: John says he is on his way to Waupaca, Wisconsin, where he will speak on Friday and Saturday (1 and 2 October 2010). — MY FRIEND CHESTER 00:03:05
  • video's point: John adds his own language mix-ups (chest of drawers, hors d'oeuvres, who vs that) to Hank's list and argues that grammar exists for clear communication, so correcting others snottily defeats its purpose.
• 2010-10-04 · told · John: John tells of driving from a friend's couch in Chicago north to the Waupaca Book Festival in Wisconsin: a park walk, speaking at Waupaca High School, signing books and the library's teen room. — The Terrible Burden of Destiny: Chicago and Waupaca 00:00:03
  • point made: John quotes Carl Sandburg describing Chicago as laughing 'under the terrible burden of destiny', the phrase that titles the video. (00:00:20)

John's week in Europe for events in Amsterdam and Vienna (November 2010)

3 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-11-15 · told · John: John says he leaves tomorrow for a week in Europe, doing events in Amsterdam and Vienna. — Hey! You! Fix the Budget! 00:02:56
  • video's point: John uses the New York Times's 'you fix the budget' tool to argue that the US deficit has no easy solution: even all Democratic tax increases plus all Republican spending cuts would leave a huge deficit, so balancing it means unwelcome cuts and taxes.
• 2010-11-19 · update · John: John tells his trip from home via Atlanta and Munich to Amsterdam, awake for 30 hours. — I'm Not Going Down: Thoughts from Amsterdam 00:00:00
  • video's point: Recounting his sleepless trip from home to Amsterdam, John lists what he loves about the city and says Amsterdam, like all great cities, brims with contradictions that are in all of us, or at least in him.
• 2010-11-24 · update · John: John tells his day travelling from Munich to Vienna and exploring the city, the Albertina and St. Stephen's catacombs. — Babies and Catacombs: VIENNA (Thoughts from Places) 00:00:00
  • video's point: John's comic tour of Vienna (babies everywhere, a pigeon, a confiscated camcorder) ends in St. Stephen's Cathedral's catacombs, where the city buried its dead for 400 years, leading him to ask how we best honor the dead and what we owe them.

John works in Miami to finish an overdue draft of his book (2010)

2 videos, told 2010–2023 · thread page

• 2010-12-03 · told · John: John is in Miami but cannot enjoy it because, on December 3, he still hasn't finished a draft of his book; he signs off to go back to his story. — Giant Squids OF LOVE 00:00:03
  • video's point: From a Miami hotel where he is behind on his book draft, John explains what researchers think about giant squid mating (a penis that fire-hoses spermatophores into the female's arm) and suggests that the week's examples of inefficient mating show sex is not the most important thing animals do.
• 2023-11-07 · update · John: John completed a draft of The Fault in Our Stars in mid-December 2010 after attempting NaFaDoYBIMSCoM. — NaFaDoYBIMSCoM 00:02:14
  • point made: John says even the initial act of writing is a kind of rewriting for him, because he turns ideas that exist in nebulous forms in his head into language. (00:01:45)

John: how Looking for Alaska was written, revised and won the Printz Award (2006)

16 videos, told 2011–2026 · thread page

• 2011-01-21 · told · John: John tells how Looking for Alaska came to exist and win the Printz Award: three years of night writing with Ilene Cooper's help, Keir Graff's title, Penguin's demand for extensive revisions, and the award call five years ago. — Looking for Alaska Five Years After the Printz Award 00:00:58
  • point made: The 'good narrative' is a young data-entry temp writing alone at night, rejected until a publisher takes a chance, then winning the award whose speeches he typed; the real story is different and more complicated. (00:00:39)
• 2011-06-06 · retold · John: John says that without Julie and, before her, his mentor and first editor Ilene Cooper, nothing anyone likes about Looking for Alaska would be in it. — Men Running on Tanks and the Truth about Book Editors 00:03:19
  • point made: John says that without Julie and, before her, his mentor and first editor Ilene Cooper, nothing anyone likes about Looking for Alaska would be in it. (00:03:19)
• 2011-08-31 · retold · John: John retells how, after Booklist colleague Ilene Cooper heard his vague pitch over lunch, she spent two years from early 2002 helping him turn 40 single-spaced pages into Looking for Alaska. — How to Become An Adult 00:01:37
  • video's point: John tells people leaving school that the 'real world' mixes crushing monotony and paralyzing terror, that adulthood gets much better with time, and that they need a mentor (an 'Ilene'), as Ilene Cooper was for him and Looking for Alaska.
• 2013-10-29 · retold · John: John recalls handing his mentor Ilene Cooper 40 single-spaced pages that eventually became Looking for Alaska, within six months of returning to Booklist. — Perspective 00:02:38
  • point made: With a million — or rather 365 million — seconds of perspective, John sees a life he is now grateful for beginning to happen; then he only knew he was a little less hopeless. (00:02:54)
• 2017-07-18 · retold · John: Fourth: in January 2006, engaged and walking in New York with his parents to register for wedding presents, John got a call that Looking for Alaska had won the Printz Award; his dad photographed the moment. — Accio Decade Hallows 00:01:24
  • video's point: On the tenth anniversary of Hank's song 'Accio Deathly Hallows', John recalls five memories of sudden happy news (his children's births, Sarah's breakup, the Printz Award call, and the song itself) and says its YouTube front-page feature turned Brotherhood 2.0 into a lasting project, thanking Hank and viewers.
• 2019-01-15 · retold · John: From just after his 24th birthday John spent most nights and weekends on the novel that became Looking for Alaska: Booklist by day, review reading after work, then writing until 11 or midnight. — On Burning Resentment 00:00:00
  • point made: John says this was possible because he was burning an extremely efficient but dirty fuel: resentment. (00:00:00)
• 2019-03-12 · retold · John: John says he wrote the book because he wanted to go home to the fall of 1993, smoking under the bridge with people he loved, loving peers ferociously and without fear. — Going Home with Alaska and Miles 00:01:27
  • point made: John says he wrote the book because he wanted to go home to the fall of 1993, smoking under the bridge with people he loved, loving peers ferociously and without fear. (00:01:27)
• 2019-04-23 · retold · John: John's friend Keir came up with the title Looking for Alaska because John's ideas, 'White Flowers and Warm Malt Liquor' and 'Famous Last Words', were so bad. — untitled 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John quite likes the title An Abundance of Katherines, which he wrote before the story, though the Italian title, 'The Catherine Theorem', is much better. (00:00:58)
• 2019-11-01 · retold · John: John says he wrote every night trying to work out how to live with guilt that can't be excused and how catastrophic it is to romanticize or essentialize people you claim to love. — On Looking Up to Your Little Brother 00:02:10
  • opinion drawn: For John these were matters of life and death: he needed radical hope, the theologians' idea that hope is available to all people at all times, even the dead, and he still depends on it. (00:02:10)
• 2020-04-07 · retold · John: While revising the novel that became Looking for Alaska, John told Sarah he was trying to be a writer; she replied that he was writing, so he was a writer. — I am an artist. 00:01:05
  • point made: John says art-making is neither optional for humans nor reserved for certain people: we made art in every crisis and deprivation, painted walls before building them, and made art before farming. (00:01:20)
• 2020-11-03 · retold · John: Writing Alaska, John was obsessed with symmetry: the first part of the book had to have exactly as many days as the second. — Alaska for Looking 00:01:56
  • point made: Reading a book alphabetically shows its preoccupations but not its narrative: John can't tell who anyone is, but sees it is about school, before and after, and labyrinths. (00:02:26)
• 2021-09-14 · retold · John: John wrote parts of Looking for Alaska on lunch breaks, weekends and in book margins, writing six weeks every night and then not at all for two weeks to play FIFA 2002. — I do this every. single. tuesday. 00:01:15
  • video's point: John reflects on making a Vlogbrothers video almost every Tuesday for nearly 15 years despite being wildly inconsistent as a writer, crediting the sense that people were counting on him, and argues that the schedule keeps generating ideas and gives him orientation and community, most of all when he is sad, scared or overwhelmed.
• 2023-03-07 · retold · John: Looking for Alaska sold about 6,000 copies in its first year, made it to paperback, and 18 years later is still in print. — What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing? 00:01:56
  • point made: John says people want to read how they want to read, and he wants people to read in their preferred format. (00:01:56)
• 2023-04-18 · retold · John: John got better, returned to work, reviewed hundreds more books, and wrote Looking for Alaska under the guidance of Bill's wife Ilene Cooper; it won the Printz Award. — goodbye to my friend 00:01:36
  • opinion drawn: John says Bill wanted him to see Harvey for a reason: it is about someone living with serious mental illness who is nonetheless valuable, important and worthy. (00:01:27)
• 2023-10-17 · mentioned · John: This takes John back to 2001 and 2002, when at 23 he wrote exactly what he wanted, which became Looking for Alaska. — My Next Book 00:03:16
  • point made: For John, writing about tuberculosis is a way to understand historical and contemporary inequities: the toll of a disease the rich world ignores resulted from historical forces and TB's own quirks. (00:02:47)
• 2026-02-24 · mentioned · John: On luck, John says a different Printz committee in 2005 might have chosen another book over Looking for Alaska, and his career would look very different. (hedged) — Risk Is a Privilege 00:01:27
  • point made: John says risk-taking is a privilege, luck only sometimes its byproduct, and the brothers have been exceptionally lucky. (00:01:27)

John buys Warner Chilcott stock after the Asacol HD price rise and sells it for a $26 profit (2011)

3 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-01-26 · told · John: John buys 100 shares of Warner Chilcott stock as the market opens, making him, he says, one two-millionth owner of the company. (playful) — I OWN WARNER CHILCOTT! 00:00:21
  • point made: The CEO does not work for Hank or other people with ulcerative colitis but for shareholders like John; his business is a return on John's investment, not supplying Hank with Asacol. (00:00:30)
• 2011-02-04 · update · John: John reports he is down $32 on his Warner Chilcott shares. (playful) — QUESTION FRIDAY: Spelling is Hard Edition 00:03:17
  • video's point: John answers rapid-fire viewer questions: words he can't spell, how a telescope sees the past, his half of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, index funds, why now is the best time to live, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his free zombie novella, babies' crying and his Warner Chilcott stock.
• 2011-04-01 · update · John: John recalls ('you may remember') buying Warner Chilcott stock after the Asacol HD price rise and reports selling it today for a $26 profit. (playful) — Many Truths, 1 Lie! 00:01:39
  • video's point: For April Fool's Day John presents eight short parts (trivia about Ivan the Terrible's library, celebrities, Marie Curie and falls, plus news about Henry and his Warner Chilcott stock) and says one of them is a lie for viewers to guess.

John's two-month move to the Netherlands (April 2011)

8 videos, told 2011–2012 · thread page

• 2011-04-11 · told · John: John tells Hank he is moving to the Netherlands for two months on Friday, after a reading and signing in Plainfield, Indiana on Thursday. — Is My Boyfriend Gay? Is He Cheating? 00:00:03
  • video's point: Before moving to the Netherlands for two months, John plays 'Google auto-fill once again proves that people are weird' with 'Is my b...' questions, joking through them while arguing that questions about a partner are not for Google: talk to your boyfriend.
• 2011-04-15 · update · John: John signs off saying he has to go to Amsterdam. — Humpy Hank 00:02:03
  • video's point: John recounts how Hank's brief humping of Google in a recent video, and Nerdfighter Mattie Boosh's Tumblr animation of Hank humping the TARDIS, launched 'Humpy Hank', then presents Karen Kavett's music video of the animations.
• 2011-04-20 · update · John: John reports he is now in Amsterdam for two months finishing his new book; the Yeti is in Europe for her Venice Biennale work. — Tulipomania 00:00:03
  • video's point: In Amsterdam, John retells the 1630s Dutch tulip mania and its 1637 crash, but says what fascinates him is that the prized flowers were sick with a virus and are gone: we will never know what it felt like to see the Viceroy.
• 2011-05-09 · update · John: During his stay in Amsterdam, John spends Queen's Day in the city with Sarah and Henry. — Trading Underwear for Rice Crispy Treats: Queens Day in Amsterdam (Thoughts from Places) 00:00:01
  • video's point: In a Thoughts from Places travelogue John follows Queen's Day in Amsterdam from the empty early-morning Vondelpark freemarket with Henry to the orange-clad crowds with Nerdfighter Tobias, and ends glad to live in a world that finds cause to celebrate.
• 2011-06-10 · update · John: John's two months in the Netherlands are almost over; he lists what he will miss about Amsterdam. — Then I Took Off My Bra 00:00:00
  • video's point: Near the end of his stay in Amsterdam, John lists what he will and won't miss, plugs This Star Won't Go Out bracelets, announces a US tour with Hank for his new book and asks Nerdfighters what should happen on it and whether he should read the audiobook.
• 2011-06-15 (said on 2011-06-14, implied) · update · John: John will spend tomorrow flying across the world with a baby, ending his stay in the Netherlands. — Question Tuesday! Paula Deen Riding Me (and critical reading) 00:00:17
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday from Amsterdam John corrects Hank on Data, reports the Let It Snow film-rights sale, restarts the Blurbing Book Club with The Great Gatsby, sets Hank's punishment (Humpy Hank All Over Town), and argues that what authors mean matters less than reading critically as a way into our own lives.
• 2011-06-20 · update · John: John's next-door neighbour is unhappy that John left the country for two months during lawn-growing season; the lawn is full of dandelions. (playful) — On Religion 00:02:46
  • video's point: John argues that people of all faiths and none live in functional nihilism yet all feel called to meaning; debating whether God exists avoids the deeper question of how to bring meaning to human life, which religion and secular humanism both answer.
• 2012-03-27 · retold · John: John recalls the months he lived in Amsterdam while finishing The Fault in Our Stars, writing much of it in the Central Library, often sick and crippled with anxiety. — Wrong but Right: Thoughts from Places Amsterdam 00:02:01
  • point made: John says Hazel is wrong about infinite cardinality, but right that some infinities are larger than others. (00:02:01)

John in Venice for the Indianapolis Museum of Art's US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2011)

2 videos, told 2011–2017 · thread page

• 2011-06-06 · told · John: John reports on his Venice trip for the IMA's US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale: a party with Michael Stipe and a pavilion he calls a total success. — Men Running on Tanks and the Truth about Book Editors 00:00:06
  • opinion drawn: John calls Allora & Calzadilla's pavilion (overturned tanks, Olympic athletes, an ATM that is also a pipe organ) a total success and is proud of everyone at the IMA. (00:00:31)
• 2017-08-08 · retold · John: Watching gondolas from a bridge, John recalls his last visit to Venice just over six years ago: his video began 'I'm in Venice and I'm really sick', and he was very sick. — What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy 00:02:01
  • video's point: In Venice with Sarah to film the Venice Biennale for The Art Assignment, John tours the crowded city (shrinking population, gondolas, a bookstore, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection) and recalls being very sick and miserable there in 2011; now happy in the Piazza San Marco, he reflects that how you feel at your worst is not how you will always feel, and that the world is also what you bring to it and who you share it with.

John's time as a student chaplain at a children's hospital (c. 2000)

12 videos, told 2011–2026 · thread page

• 2011-06-20 · retold · John: A decade ago John worked as a chaplain at a children's hospital, and he was briefly enrolled in, though never attended, the University of Chicago's divinity school. — On Religion 00:00:10
  • opinion drawn: Nerdfighters often ask whether the brothers are religious; they have been reluctant to discuss it because the quality of internet discourse about religion is atrocious. (00:00:01)
• 2012-01-10 (said on 2012-01-09, implied) · told · John: John says that almost twelve years ago (c. 2000) he worked as a student chaplain at a children's hospital, the experience behind TFIOS. — The Fault in Our Stars 00:00:28
  • point made: John says TFIOS grew from his work almost twelve years ago as a student chaplain at a children's hospital; he has been trying ever since to write a funny, honest story about it. (00:00:28)
• 2013-01-15 · retold · John: John retells his six months as a student chaplain at a children's hospital at 22, where suffering children left him angry and hopeless. — An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall 00:50:10
  • opinion drawn: John says he concluded the universe isn't interested in us as individuals, or acts as if it isn't, so his question became whether meaning in human life is inherent or constructed. (00:51:38)
• 2020-01-28 · mentioned · John: John says he has worked in a children's hospital and held the hands of children as they died. — Looking Away (Again) 00:01:51
  • point made: John says most children who die in Sierra Leone die of conditions we know how to treat or prevent. (00:01:51)
• 2020-12-31 · retold · John: When people we love suffer we want to make it better, but often we can't; John recalls his supervisor's words when he was a student chaplain at a children's hospital. — Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed 00:14:56
  • point made: When people we love suffer we want to make it better, but often we can't; John recalls his supervisor's words when he was a student chaplain at a children's hospital. (00:14:56)
• 2021-05-25 · retold · John: In 2000 John worked for a few months as a student chaplain at a children's hospital while at divinity school planning to become an Episcopal minister; the devastation he saw ended those plans, and he still can't handle it. — The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated 00:03:26
  • point made: The five-star scale exists for data aggregation systems, not humans, which is why it became standard only in the internet era: star ratings are ideal for artificial intelligences, 175-word reviews hard for them. (00:05:17)
• 2022-03-29 · mentioned · John: John recalls choosing not to go to divinity school after working as a hospital chaplain, the word hermeneutics being one reason. (playful) — An H of G 00:00:00
  • point made: The description adds that seeing others generously does not mean accepting injustice or oppression but believing they are addressable, not caused by inherent evil or corrupt systems. (video description)
• 2022-05-03 · retold · John: Half his life ago John worked as a student chaplain at a children's hospital and saw what he considers obscene: children dying, parents terrified for their kids and about paying medical bills. — My Religion and My Banned Books 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says John feels very unsettled about the video, as his relationship with religious institutions, even progressive ones, is increasingly complicated. (video description)
• 2023-05-23 · mentioned · John: John has seen illness and humor coexist many times: as a chaplain, as a child, and during his own serious health problems. — Rough Week 00:01:08
  • point made: John says serious illness is awful and terrifying and not usually funny, but it sometimes is when the laughs come from love and understanding. (00:01:17)
• 2025-11-04 · mentioned · John: John recalls being a hospital chaplain over half his life ago, the start of his obsession with why suffering is unjustly distributed. — The Real Question 00:00:00
  • point made: Replying to Hank, John says his tuberculosis obsession is a path into a larger obsession he has had since being a hospital chaplain: why suffering is so unjustly distributed and what human-built systems can do about it. (00:00:00)
• 2026-02-14 · mentioned · John: John says that when he was a chaplain he was consumed by superstition, which was ironic because his Christianity was supposed to be against superstition. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 3! 01:56:59
  • video's point: In the third part of the 2026 Project for Awesome livestream, John hosts the morning of February 14 with Stan Muller, playing Fortnite as pacifists while AFC Wimbledon draw 3-3 at Barnsley from 2-0 down, as the total passes $2 million; Phil Plait joins as his meteorite perks sell out; Hank hosts the afternoon with Alexis Nikole, Tom Lum and Drawfee, and at $2.5 million eats burrata like a soup dumpling and shows fan-made flags of Earth.
• 2026-08-03 · mentioned · John: Nor can John reconcile himself to the deaths of Esther, Amy, or the kids he met in the hospital over half his life ago. — Esther Day 2026: Some Thoughts on Loss 00:02:13
  • point made: John says he still has not reconciled himself to the fundamental injustice of death; he understands that life isn't fair in the abstract but not in day-to-day life. (00:02:13)

John's ongoing illness and his doctors' advice to scale back work (2011)

2 videos, told 2011–2012 · thread page

• 2011-06-27 · told · Hank: John isn't feeling well and has stomach problems, which is why he hasn't eaten his sandwiches yet; Hank asks everyone to send him warm wishes. — My Hairy Ball of Anxious Anxiety 00:03:46
  • video's point: Hank lists what is making him anxious (his album, a NASA video, officiating a wedding, a Harry and the Potters show, VidCon) and argues that caring what others think makes doing big things stressful, which he thinks is why psychopaths rise to power; his audience's care makes it different for him.
• 2012-01-02 · update · John: John says he is still sick and his doctors want him to scale back on work a little. — Changes to Vlogbrothers 00:01:08
  • video's point: On the fifth anniversary of his first video, John announces changes for 2012: saying 'twenty twelve', Your Pants returning, more 'huzzah', and a cut to two Vlogbrothers videos a week because of his illness and to make time for community projects, alongside Crash Course and the SciShow launch.

John's diseased gallbladder and its removal (2011)

8 videos, told 2011–2023 · thread page

• 2011-07-20 (said on 2011-07-21, implied) · told · Hank: Hank tells John the Nerdfighter gathering just shown was one John missed because of his gallbladder. — HARDCASTLED! 00:00:03
  • video's point: Hank recaps a Nerdfighter gathering John missed, models the Ellen Hardcastle shirt, acts out the whole album with toy giraffes, extends the ten-word-script video offer to buyers in the next 14 days, and tearfully reports that Billboard called because the album is charting.
• 2011-08-03 · update · Hank: Hank says John missed a video because he was having his gallbladder removed, earning a medical exception from punishment. — I Love My Brother 00:02:55
  • video's point: For Esther Day 2011, Hank recalls the promise to Esther and the brothers' 'no L-word' agreement, and argues that love is the most important thing we do and words have power, so people should tell those they love that they love them; he then accepts punishment for a missed video and mentions VidCon.
• 2011-08-15 · update · John: John says his gallbladder was recently removed (he declines to show the scars) and recites a haiku for the occasion. — HANKLERFISH! 00:01:45
  • video's point: Visiting Hank in Missoula, John plugs their 'Hank and John play FIFA 11' series on HankGames, says gallbladder surgery rules out his sandwich punishment and asks for alternatives, and announces Hank's punishment: drawing anglerfish ('Hanklerfish') on 5% of the signed TFIOS sheets; all pre-orders will be signed.
• 2011-08-19 · update · John: John relays being told that after gallbladder surgery he'd feel like he did a thousand crunches; the brothers joke about getting an eight pack. (playful) — Outtake Insanity and NERD FACTOR 00:01:11
  • video's point: John posts outtakes of the brothers' Missoula reunion filming (Hank's punishment, botched Hanklerfish maths, gallbladder jokes), then, from the airport, launches Nerd Factor, borrowed from Michael Buckley: viewers submit recent videos as video responses.
• 2011-10-19 · mentioned · John: Answering a viewer, John says he once stopped liking pizza because he had a diseased gallbladder and needed abdominal surgery. (playful) — Question Wed — THE COVER OF THE FAULT IN OUR STARS! 00:01:32
  • opinion drawn: On the Oxford comma, John values clarity in writing, but debating it reminds him life is a finite set of moments; brainpower spent on it would be better spent curing malaria. (00:01:32)
• 2014-08-08 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls that John missed a video when his gallbladder was removed. — Who Owns a Monkey's Selfie? And a Song About Meningitis! 00:02:23
  • video's point: With John home from hospital with viral meningitis, Hank explains why the Wikimedia Foundation treats a macaque's selfie on David Slater's camera as public domain (monkeys can't own property), finds that argument sensible, and sings John a Calvin Harris-based get-well song.
• 2017-08-08 · retold · John: John recalls cutting that visit short the next day to fly back to Amsterdam; his gallbladder turned out to need removing. — What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy 00:02:12
  • video's point: In Venice with Sarah to film the Venice Biennale for The Art Assignment, John tours the crowded city (shrinking population, gondolas, a bookstore, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection) and recalls being very sick and miserable there in 2011; now happy in the Piazza San Marco, he reflects that how you feel at your worst is not how you will always feel, and that the world is also what you bring to it and who you share it with.
• 2023-12-24 · mentioned · John: After having his gallbladder removed, John says he can't do the sandwich punishment and asks viewers to suggest another for Hank to pick. — John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 02:08:36
  • video's point: A Christmas Eve supercut of the brothers' reunion videos played backwards from a 2023 Jamaica vacation to their 2007 Dominican Republic reunion: Question Tuesdays, tours, Pizzamas, premieres, P4A and Esther Day; in the description Hank says rewatching made him want to be both sillier and smaller and bigger.

John and his family visit Hank in Missoula (August 2011)

3 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-08-15 · told · John: John has brought himself and his family to Montana to visit Hank. — HANKLERFISH! 00:02:18
  • video's point: Visiting Hank in Missoula, John plugs their 'Hank and John play FIFA 11' series on HankGames, says gallbladder surgery rules out his sandwich punishment and asks for alternatives, and announces Hank's punishment: drawing anglerfish ('Hanklerfish') on 5% of the signed TFIOS sheets; all pre-orders will be signed.
• 2011-08-19 · update · John: John says the last reason they came to Montana is that Hank is his brother; later, in an airport on the way home, he thanks Hank for hosting them in Missoula. — Outtake Insanity and NERD FACTOR 00:02:02
  • video's point: John posts outtakes of the brothers' Missoula reunion filming (Hank's punishment, botched Hanklerfish maths, gallbladder jokes), then, from the airport, launches Nerd Factor, borrowed from Michael Buckley: viewers submit recent videos as video responses.
• 2011-08-22 (said on 2011-08-23, implied) · update · Hank: Hank says John left him in Missoula and he forgives him, though John may not forgive himself for missing the butterfly hatch. (playful) — Thoughts from a Butterfly Hatch 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says Lepidoptera is probably the most beloved insect order: people think of insects as creepy and gross, yet beg to be covered in butterflies. (00:00:00)

John's signing hand stops working right; doctor and occupational therapy (2011)

6 videos, told 2011–2024 · thread page

• 2011-08-31 · told · John: John says his hand isn't working right, so before continuing to sign he must see a doctor and get occupational therapy. — How to Become An Adult 00:03:20
  • video's point: John tells people leaving school that the 'real world' mixes crushing monotony and paralyzing terror, that adulthood gets much better with time, and that they need a mentor (an 'Ilene'), as Ilene Cooper was for him and Looking for Alaska.
• 2011-10-05 · update · John: John tours the signing setup: boxes still to sign, a pile of Singamajigs, and signing with a Sharpie using an aid his occupational therapist gave him. (playful) — SIGNING MADNESS 00:00:55
  • video's point: John reports he has signed over 80,000 copies of The Fault in Our Stars but must reach 150,000 by November 3, tours his signing setup, warns his videos may suck for a month while promising to sign every copy, and plugs Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Beckoning of Lovely film.
• 2011-10-17 · update · Hank: Hank wishes John luck as he keeps signing 'like a madman' and refers to John's inflamed right hand. (playful) — VidCon 2012!!! 00:03:49
  • video's point: Over a montage of VidCon 2011 footage, Hank announces VidCon 2012 in Anaheim (June 28-30, 2012), opens registration with an early-bird offer for the first 1,000, and answers FAQs about its three passes, livestreaming, other VidCons and ball pits.
• 2017-07-11 · retold · John: His hand doesn't hurt: very effective physical therapy for his ulnar nerve entrapment during the Fault in Our Stars signing means he can now sign all day. — Signing 200,000 Autographs 00:01:40
  • opinion drawn: Not totally sure why he does it, John says one reason is that it is unfair that people far from big cities or unable to attend author events get signed books only by paying a surcharge. (00:01:04)
• 2022-06-21 · update · John: John saw his hand doctor because his hand isn't working perfectly; the doctor recalled advising him to sign less, after which John signed 250,000 copies of The Anthropocene Reviewed. (playful) — On Disease 00:00:00
  • video's point: Starting from a new arthritis diagnosis, John argues that disease, a major historical force largely shaped by poverty and human systems, deserves more attention, and that naming illnesses as the body's failures leads us to imagine disease as a personal failing, when our collective choices are what is responsible.
• 2024-12-31 · stopped · John: After the pain worsened John saw a doctor and it got worse still; without giving medical details, he says he can no longer sign and is not allowed to. — I Just Can't Do It Anymore 00:01:12
  • video's point: John says a wrist and shoulder injury from signing tip-in sheets for Everything Is Tuberculosis means he can no longer sign; he reflects that signing was his individualized way of thanking readers and a sign of his relentless drive to work, and says he must find other ways to express that gratitude.

John's walk in the woods near his parents' North Carolina home: their goats mate and he gets lost (December 2011)

3 videos, told 2011–2015 · thread page

• 2011-12-28 · told · John: John tells of his walk from Mom and Dad's house yesterday (27 December 2011): slipping on leaves, watching the goats mate, getting lost and finding his way home by his skid marks. — Goats Mating 00:00:00
  • video's point: On a walk near his parents' North Carolina home, John watches their goats mate, gets lost and finds his way back, reflecting that life makes life from life and from what was once alive.
• 2011-12-30 · mentioned · Hank: Hank jokes that he spends many afternoons watching videos about goat sex. (playful) — How to Tip Properly 00:00:25
  • video's point: Hank shares his personal tipping rules, admits he tips mainly because it's 'the thing to do', and argues tipping doesn't actually reward good service, unlike countries where waitstaff don't depend on tips.
• 2015-08-25 · mentioned · John: John recalls that he made the internet's number one goat-mating video and has seen goats mate. (playful) — Question Tuesday: The Goat Edition 00:01:48
  • video's point: John and Hank, together in person, run a Question Tuesday made almost entirely of goat questions that Hank solicited on Twitter, answered mostly for laughs.

John's friendship with Ransom Riggs, from their Kenyon College Ulysses class to Miss Peregrine (told 2012)

2 videos, told 2012–2016 · thread page

• 2012-02-21 · told · John: John tells of his friendship with Randy (Ransom Riggs), from their Kenyon Ulysses class through Mental Floss and road trips to Los Angeles twelve years later. — Life is Weird. Also beautiful. 00:01:39
  • video's point: John tells how a college Ulysses class with Mary Fran, Bruce and Randy (Ransom Riggs) led through unexpected careers to Miss Peregrine and TFIOS being #1 and #2 on the bestseller list, and argues that life is really about relationships and communities, not careers.
• 2016-09-27 · retold · John: John has known Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's author, half his life: in college they road-tripped to the Grand Canyon, read James Joyce and wrote comedy sketches. — Books, Movies, and Wonder: Thoughts from a Red Carpet 00:01:05
  • opinion drawn: John says his favourite feeling is not joy or excitement but wonder, as on an autumn walk with his kid or in the company of a great book or movie. (00:01:24)

John moves from his small shared office to a new office with a river view (2012)

3 videos, told 2012–2013 · thread page

• 2012-05-01 · told · John: John visits his small old office, shared with Stan and others, then his new office with a river view; the description says he signs the lease for the new office. — Moon Farts: Being Charlie While Running Errands 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John loves Missoula, the only Montana town he ever visits; it reminds him of Richard Hugo's poem 'Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg', some lines of which he recites. (00:00:00)
• 2012-07-24 · update · John: John films from his new office. — The Treadmill Desk! Fitness for Nerds 00:00:00
  • video's point: John explains why he got a treadmill desk: nerd cred, jealousy of Hank's new fitness after their Memorial Day noodle war, and evidence that sitting too much raises the risk of death.
• 2013-05-07 · update · John: John shows his office and its view of the river. — The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour 00:01:39
  • video's point: On 'Take Your Brother to Work Day' John gives Hank a Cribs-style tour of the Indianapolis office where Crash Course, Mental Floss videos and the Swoodilypoopers are made, so Hank can meet the team that will keep working during John's coming paternity leave.

John at BookExpo America in New York City (2012)

2 videos, told 2012 · thread page

• 2012-06-05 · told · John: John is travelling to BookExpo America (BEA) in New York to give a bunch of speeches and is super nervous. — The Dangling Rope of Terror: It's Question Tuesday 00:00:05
  • video's point: John answers a rapid-fire Question Tuesday from an airport and a New York hotel on his way to BookExpo America: the Katherines cover reveal, the Tennessee ban of Looking for Alaska, favorites, and why he will have no say in casting a Fault in Our Stars movie.
• 2012-06-12 · update · John: John tells his week at BookExpo America (the week of 4 June 2012): the celebrity fest, speeches, a lunch with Jeffrey Eugenides and dinner with Shannon Hale and M. T. Anderson and a skyscraper-top party. — Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John says at BEA the world treats books the way it usually treats iPads: a mad dash for advance copies, a staircase devoted to Cassandra Clare, banners for Libba Bray's new book. (00:00:00)

John is denied entry to Canada for insufficient funds (1995) and has been flagged at every entry since 2001

3 videos, told 2012–2018 · thread page

• 2012-06-26 · told · John: John tells how he was denied entry to Canada for insufficient funds in 1995 and, since 2001, is taken aside on every entry. — Insufficient Funds: A Story of Canada 00:00:41
  • video's point: From a conference on educational video in Canada, John tells why he is always taken aside at Canadian immigration: in 1995 he was turned away for insufficient funds, and since 2001 he has been on a list. He then predicts Hank will miss his VidCon-week video and asks for punishment ideas.
• 2012-06-29 (said on 2012-06-30, implied) · retold · Hank: Hank calls one suggestion, driving to Canada with only Mountain Dew, bread, peanut butter and $14, very good; it might be funny enough to do anyway, but he doesn't want to be blacklisted. (playful) (hedged) — Online Video about Online Video 00:00:22
  • video's point: Hank, at VidCon in Anaheim, deflects the punishment ideas from John's last video and argues that online video is less a revolution than a return to something natural: audiences connect with creators' character, and the wall between creators and consumers is gone.
• 2018-04-17 · retold · John: John is not banned from Canada, but gets extra screening on entry because he is on a list of potential undesirables after being denied entrance in 1995 for insufficient funds. — John Green Answers Your John Green Questions 00:01:36
  • video's point: To displace Hank's 2011 'John Green is an Idiot' as the top Google video for his name, John answers questions people ask Google about him: his homes and the novels set there, family, Hufflepuff, DFTBA, Canada, his cut film cameo, a namesake composer, AFC Wimbledon, the Mountain Goats, nerdfighters, awards and VidCon.

John gets a treadmill desk and writes while walking (2012)

3 videos, told 2012–2013 · thread page

• 2012-07-24 · told · John: John shows his new treadmill desk, explains why he got it, and says he will be a stander and walker who writes his new novel while walking. — The Treadmill Desk! Fitness for Nerds 00:00:00
  • video's point: John explains why he got a treadmill desk: nerd cred, jealousy of Hank's new fitness after their Memorial Day noodle war, and evidence that sitting too much raises the risk of death.
• 2012-07-31 · update · John: John notes that walking on his treadmill desk does not qualify him as an Olympian, later jumps up and down on it, and would give his handball players treadmill desks. (playful) — Nerd Olympics 00:00:00
  • video's point: John jokingly lays out his dream of becoming an Olympian by building a US men's team handball team, celebrates Nerdfighter gymnast Jennifer Pinches doing the Nerdfighter sign, and announces Esther Day with an event in Quincy and a This Star Won't Go Out t-shirt contest.
• 2013-05-07 · update · John: John shows his treadmill desk, where he has taken 360 steps today. (playful) — The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour 00:00:47
  • video's point: On 'Take Your Brother to Work Day' John gives Hank a Cribs-style tour of the Indianapolis office where Crash Course, Mental Floss videos and the Swoodilypoopers are made, so Hank can meet the team that will keep working during John's coming paternity leave.

John's poor grades and skipped classes in high school, from his 1994 report cards

4 videos, told 2012–2026 · thread page

• 2012-11-13 · told · John: John's report cards, back to elementary school, all say much the same: great potential as an English student, underachievement, and a slide in effort. (playful) — I Was a Child Poet. And a Bad One. 00:01:10
  • video's point: John celebrates Amazon naming The Fault in Our Stars one of 2012's ten best books, shares embarrassing finds from an organizational binge (report cards, a childhood world-peace poem), and explains he is donating his manuscripts to the de Grummond Collection.
• 2015-02-24 · told · John: John reads his 1994 junior-year report cards (C- Latin, B- French, B American history, C- pre-calc, C chemistry, C- English) and says he was a terrible student who skipped classes, smoked in the woods and was always behind. — Who I Was in High School 00:00:41
  • video's point: Finding his poor 1994 report cards, John says he was lucky to get hundreds of chances and teachers who believed in him, and argues that high school is not destiny: a life's course is never decided at once, and people aren't just one thing.
• 2019-08-13 · retold · John: John nearly failed 11th grade English: he and his teacher disagreed about class attendance, and he wasn't a great reader, struggling with critical and abstract thinking. — How I (barely) Passed 11th Grade English 00:00:00
  • point made: Metaphor exists not to torture high school English students but to make the dull bright, the old new and the distant close. (00:00:29)
• 2026-03-03 · retold · John: John reads his 11th-grade report cards (a tailspin, underachievement, eight absences in a no-absence trimester); his junior year was not great, and he later wrote a book about it. — The Best Fan Mail I Ever Received 00:02:03
  • opinion drawn: John's envelope concluded it was not enough money to matter without daily videos; that was wrong, as it has mattered for many, the brothers included. (00:01:49)

John's Google+ Hangout interview with President Obama (2013)

4 videos, told 2013–2025 · thread page

• 2013-02-12 · told · John: John announces he will be in a Google+ Hangout with President Obama on Thursday (14 February 2013), after someone at Google invited him to ask the President a few questions. — Talking to the President 00:00:37
  • video's point: Anxious about a cold sore before his Google+ Hangout with President Obama, John argues that meeting people you admire can never feel normal, and holds up Sarah's teenage insight that everyone is too busy thinking about themselves to think about you.
• 2013-02-15 · update · Hank: Hank reports that John got to interview the President a bit, and plays a highlight (the penny question). — Baby, Harlem, Obama, Dance Crazes, Big Week 00:01:47
  • video's point: Hank, admittedly late to the Harlem Shake, wonders why internet dance-craze songs are so often bilingual, then rounds up a big week: John's interview with President Obama (pennies, a baby name declined, 'don't forget to be awesome') and news from the brothers' projects.
• 2013-02-19 · update · John: John recalls that the President told his unborn child not to forget to be awesome. — Doing Things, On the Importance of 00:00:08
  • video's point: After a big week John feels the familiar anxious pull to crawl into bed, so he updates Hank on twelve projects instead, thanking him for the ideas that pull him out of the quicksand of himself.
• 2025-11-14 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that when John interviewed Obama on a Google+ Hangout about the penny, Obama said many small things that should be done are blocked by entrenched structures or the interests of a few. — The End of The Penny (and of Congress??) 00:00:56
  • opinion drawn: Hank notes that Obama said he would need Congress to abolish the penny, and reminds viewers that presidents don't make laws. (00:01:25)

Birth of John and Sarah's second child, Alice (2013)

11 videos, told 2013–2019 · thread page

• 2013-02-15 · update · Hank: Hank reports that in the interview the President declined to name John and Sarah's unborn child. — Baby, Harlem, Obama, Dance Crazes, Big Week 00:02:37
  • video's point: Hank, admittedly late to the Harlem Shake, wonders why internet dance-craze songs are so often bilingual, then rounds up a big week: John's interview with President Obama (pennies, a baby name declined, 'don't forget to be awesome') and news from the brothers' projects.
• 2013-02-19 · update · John: John says he and his wife are expecting their second child. — Doing Things, On the Importance of 00:00:05
  • video's point: After a big week John feels the familiar anxious pull to crawl into bed, so he updates Hank on twelve projects instead, thanking him for the ideas that pull him out of the quicksand of himself.
• 2013-04-02 · told · John: John says he is about to become the father of a child, due around May or June. — TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video 00:02:26
  • video's point: In a five-part 'old school' vlog, John announces a book of Esther Earl's writings, reports Shailene Woodley's casting in the likely Fault in Our Stars film, tells of the office groundhog's feud with a goose, announces his coming paternity leave and relaunches Nerd Factor.
• 2013-05-07 · update · John: John says the Yeti is due to have the baby on June 1, though it might come earlier. — The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour 00:03:04
  • video's point: On 'Take Your Brother to Work Day' John gives Hank a Cribs-style tour of the Indianapolis office where Crash Course, Mental Floss videos and the Swoodilypoopers are made, so Hank can meet the team that will keep working during John's coming paternity leave.
• 2013-06-04 · told · John: John announces (pre-recorded) that his baby has been born, joking about his minor role in the birth. (playful) — A New Nerdfighter Baby 00:00:01
  • video's point: John announces, in a video recorded before the birth with a short insert from after it, that his second child has been born and that he is taking a longer paternity leave, during which pre-made shows and guest hosts will fill in.
• 2013-06-04 · update · John: In an insert recorded after the birth, John reports baby and mother are healthy and the parents exhausted. — A New Nerdfighter Baby 00:01:45
  • video's point: John announces, in a video recorded before the birth with a short insert from after it, that his second child has been born and that he is taking a longer paternity leave, during which pre-made shows and guest hosts will fill in.
• 2013-06-07 · update · Hank: Hank welcomes his newborn niece Alice to Earth; his description says John is excited, exhausted and less freaked out than after Henry's birth. — How To Be a Baby Properly 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank welcomes Alice to Earth, 'a wonderful, terrible place', and says she is being born into what may be the most interesting time in human history. (00:00:00)
• 2013-06-11 · update · Craig Benzine: Craig reports that John and Sarah brought Alice Green into the world. (playful) — How To Be John Green 00:00:48
  • video's point: Guest host Craig (WheezyWaiter), filling John's Tuesday slot during his paternity leave, performs a comic impersonation of John and parodies his rituals: Question Tuesday, Sharpie face, Thoughts from Places, literary readings and airports.
• 2013-07-12 · update · John: John says Alice is great and beautiful, thanks Nerdfighteria for its good wishes, and says the family enjoys being a family of four. — Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song 00:02:59
  • video's point: Hank's yearly Harry Potter song playfully begs JK Rowling to write something more, in any form except an MMORPG; then he visits John on paternity leave, where John reports on baby Alice and Henry's first laugh at a joke.
• 2013-07-19 · update · John: John says Alice is one month old with no intentional gestures yet, and Henry waits for her to bop him on the nose as in a Berenstain Bears book. — TFiOS Movie, Bees, Babies, and More! 00:01:28
  • video's point: John and Hank do a Question Tuesday on a Friday while Hank visits John's family: foods, flies and bees, the TFIOS film, John's tooth, baby Alice, life advice, silk history, and John's return from paternity leave on July 30.
• 2017-07-18 · retold · John: Of John's five memories of shocked joy, the first two are his children's births: expected, yet both times the feeling, an overwhelmedness of joy and awe, was a complete surprise. (hedged) — Accio Decade Hallows 00:00:59
  • video's point: On the tenth anniversary of Hank's song 'Accio Deathly Hallows', John recalls five memories of sudden happy news (his children's births, Sarah's breakup, the Printz Award call, and the song itself) and says its YouTube front-page feature turned Brotherhood 2.0 into a lasting project, thanking Hank and viewers.
• 2019-12-17 · retold · John: John says the two best days of his decade and his life were the days his kids were born. — The Best Days of My Decade 00:00:09
  • opinion drawn: John won't talk about his kids' births because you have to draw the privacy line somewhere, and that is where he draws it. (00:00:13)

John cuts back frequent flying to stay home with his family until VidCon (2013)

2 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-03-05 · told · John: After 400,000 miles and 500 airport days in six years, John says this is his last trip until VidCon in August and he will stay home with his family. — The Gray Speckled Walls Encroach: The Perks and Liabilities of Frequent Flying 00:02:27
  • point made: John thinks a big part of being a parent is being around, so he is going to try that for a while. (00:03:17)
• 2013-03-20 · update · John: Despite his video saying he would stay out of airports for months, John is unexpectedly flying to Los Angeles. (playful) — Ads Work...but for Whom? 00:00:00
  • video's point: Answering Hank's call to discuss funding, John argues that advertising rewards the most views rather than the best, weighs five funding models from the comments and favours a public-radio-style model in which people support what they value because they want it to thrive.

John has a tooth surgically removed (2013)

4 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-03-20 · told · John: John says he had a tooth forcefully removed yesterday (19 March 2013) and is in considerable pain. — Ads Work...but for Whom? 00:00:00
  • video's point: Answering Hank's call to discuss funding, John argues that advertising rewards the most views rather than the best, weighs five funding models from the comments and favours a public-radio-style model in which people support what they value because they want it to thrive.
• 2013-04-02 · update · John: John apologises for the large hole in his mouth and hopes to have it fixed by next Tuesday (9 April 2013). (hedged) — TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: Answering readers who ask whether Hazel is Esther, John says the novel is not Esther's story; her story belongs to her and her family. (00:00:00)
• 2013-04-23 · update · John: John, on his way to the dentist, says he is in quite a bit of chronic dental pain. — DOCTOR GREEN 00:02:18
  • video's point: John announces that Butler University will make him an honorary doctor of letters on May 11, jokes about the title, learns from Wikipedia that he cannot call himself doctor, and celebrates The Fault in Our Stars returning to No. 1 on the New York Times list.
• 2013-07-19 · update · John: John confirms he is missing a tooth: after chronic pain since before Brotherhood 2.0 it was removed in complicated, painful surgery, and it no longer hurts. — TFiOS Movie, Bees, Babies, and More! 00:01:16
  • video's point: John and Hank do a Question Tuesday on a Friday while Hank visits John's family: foods, flies and bees, the TFIOS film, John's tooth, baby Alice, life advice, silk history, and John's return from paternity leave on July 30.

John's paternity leave from vlogbrothers, with guest hosts filling in (2013)

22 videos, told 2013–2016 · thread page

• 2013-04-02 · told · John: John announces a four- or possibly five-week paternity leave from Vlogbrothers, with guest Johns including Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig and a Nerdfighter. (hedged) — TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video 00:02:26
  • video's point: In a five-part 'old school' vlog, John announces a book of Esther Earl's writings, reports Shailene Woodley's casting in the likely Fault in Our Stars film, tells of the office groundhog's feud with a goose, announces his coming paternity leave and relaunches Nerd Factor.
• 2013-05-07 · update · John: John says he will soon be on paternity leave while the office keeps making its shows. — The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour 00:02:51
  • video's point: On 'Take Your Brother to Work Day' John gives Hank a Cribs-style tour of the Indianapolis office where Crash Course, Mental Floss videos and the Swoodilypoopers are made, so Hank can meet the team that will keep working during John's coming paternity leave.
• 2013-05-28 · update · John: John says the Nerd Factor winners will play him on Tuesdays during his forthcoming paternity leave. — NERD FACTOR! (...And Why I Fear for Tumblr) 00:02:02
  • opinion drawn: John calls Nerdy and Quirky one of the best YouTubers he has come across in years and shows a clip from her video about fangirls. (00:02:24)
• 2013-05-31 · update · Hank: Hank jokes that John will be relaxing on his paternity leave (sleeping, reading pretentious novels, eating fancy waffles) while his baby is due any day. (playful) — Optimism is Not Insane 00:00:05
  • point made: Hank clarifies that he does not think humanity is safe: we are in a significant mass-extinction event and are badly damaging the planet; but there is a very good chance humanity will still be creating and solving problems thousands of years from now, the two things we are best at. (video description)
• 2013-06-04 · update · John: John begins a longer paternity leave than after Henry's birth; pre-made Crash Course, mental floss and FIFA videos continue and guest hosts will play him on vlogbrothers Tuesdays. — A New Nerdfighter Baby 00:00:38
  • video's point: John announces, in a video recorded before the birth with a short insert from after it, that his second child has been born and that he is taking a longer paternity leave, during which pre-made shows and guest hosts will fill in.
• 2013-06-07 · update · Hank: Hank says he won't see John for a while and signs off to Craig, the next Tuesday (11 June 2013) guest host. — How To Be a Baby Properly 00:03:21
  • video's point: Hank welcomes his newborn niece Alice with a comic six-step guide to being a baby built on newborn biology, ending on the sincere point that a baby's cuteness lets people see beyond their own lifespans and care about the future.
• 2013-06-11 · update · Craig Benzine: Craig, guest-hosting John's Tuesday, says John will be away a bunch of weeks with a different host each week. (hedged) — How To Be John Green 00:02:20
  • video's point: Guest host Craig (WheezyWaiter), filling John's Tuesday slot during his paternity leave, performs a comic impersonation of John and parodies his rituals: Question Tuesday, Sharpie face, Thoughts from Places, literary readings and airports.
• 2013-06-14 · update · Hank: Hank says he supposes he should still make these videos for John, even though John is not making them for him. (hedged) — What is the Strongest Force on Earth? 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank found on Tumblr a science quiz asking 'What is the strongest force on Earth?'; the student wrote 'love' and the teacher crossed it out. He sets out to find the real answer and what the teacher meant. (00:00:04)
• 2013-06-18 · update · Grace Helbig: Grace Helbig fills John's Tuesday slot while he is away with his new baby. (playful) — 50 Ways to Pretend to Be Smarter 00:00:36
  • opinion drawn: Grace says the Vlogbrothers inspire her (very smart, articulate, nurturing, progressive, community-driven) and that filling in for one of them is stressful. (00:00:36)
• 2013-06-21 · update · Hank: Hank reports John is a couple of weeks into paternity leave and the guest-host collabs are going excellently; he misses John. — New Channels, New Songs, and Just Plain News 00:00:00
  • video's point: During John's paternity leave Hank gives a news roundup: Grace's over-four-minute punishment, Evil Baby Orphanage card game and Nerdcrafteria numbers, the new Sexplanations channel, The Brain Scoop's Field Museum partnership, DFTBA and HankGames news, census results and a new Hank and John email newsletter.
• 2013-06-25 · update · Hannah Hart: Hannah Hart, a guest host, opens John's Tuesday vlogbrothers slot with 'Good morning Hank'. — Thoughts from Places: Dog Days of Summer 00:00:00
  • video's point: Guest host Hannah Hart, home in Los Angeles after two and a half months of touring, records a comic Thoughts from Places about coming home; watching dogs and a sunset, she muses that maybe she needs to be more appreciative and less contemplative, and that home shouldn't be taken for granted.
• 2013-06-28 · update · Hank: Hank says he won't see John on Tuesday; he will see Rosie. — Plane Butts, Fish Farts, LeakyCon, and Marriage Equality 00:03:09
  • video's point: Sleep-deprived on his way to and at LeakyCon in Portland, Hank shares odd facts (a plane's auxiliary power unit, fish not farting), cheers the Supreme Court, meets Harry Potter actor Devon Murray and goes on stage with Lauren Fairweather.
• 2013-07-02 · update · Rosianna Halse Rojas: Rosianna, John's assistant, opens John's Tuesday vlogbrothers slot as guest host ('Good morning Hank, it's Tuesday'). — The Perks of Being John's Assistant 00:00:01
  • video's point: Guest host Rosianna Halse Rojas, John's London-based assistant, tours her office and lists comically absurd duties, then sincerely calls it the best job she has had, made possible by online tools that did not exist when she started watching in 2006-07: 'we're living in the future'.
• 2013-07-05 · update · Hank: Hank's sign-off addresses Sabrina (Nerd Factor winner and guest host) for Tuesday, John's slot during his paternity leave. — Egypt....Explained! 00:07:33
  • point made: Hank's analysis: revolutions tend to be incremental steps forward for a country's people; change is slow because cultures are many people who cannot all change their minds at once. (00:07:03)
• 2013-07-09 · update · MagicTurtle643: MagicTurtle643, a Nerd Factor winner, guest-hosts John's Tuesday vlogbrothers slot during his paternity leave ('Good morning, Hank. It's Tuesday'). — The World Needs More Magic 00:00:00
  • video's point: Guest host MagicTurtle643, a Nerd Factor winner standing in for John, argues the world needs more make-believe: magical realism, Harry Potter and imagination show what humans do best, making amazing things happen where magic isn't possible.
• 2013-07-12 · update · Hank: Hank flies to visit John during his paternity leave (John greets him: 'Glorious paternity leave!'). — Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song 00:02:31
  • video's point: Hank's yearly Harry Potter song playfully begs JK Rowling to write something more, in any form except an MMORPG; then he visits John on paternity leave, where John reports on baby Alice and Henry's first laugh at a joke.
• 2013-07-16 · update · Sabrina Cruz: Sabrina (NerdyandQuirky) guest-hosts John's Tuesday vlogbrothers slot, saying that following the pattern of previous videos she is not John. — The Ghost of Teenaged Future 00:00:07
  • video's point: Guest host Sabrina (NerdyandQuirky), the other Nerd Factor winner, comically warns Hank what his niece and nephew will do as teenagers, then calls the list medicine warnings: aging matures us with side effects.
• 2013-07-19 · update · John: In a Question Tuesday filmed while Hank visits the family in Michigan, John says next Tuesday's (23 July 2013) video will be by his secret sister Maureen and he returns the following Tuesday, he thinks July 30th. — TFiOS Movie, Bees, Babies, and More! 00:03:30
  • video's point: John and Hank do a Question Tuesday on a Friday while Hank visits John's family: foods, flies and bees, the TFIOS film, John's tooth, baby Alice, life advice, silk history, and John's return from paternity leave on July 30.
• 2013-07-23 · update · Maureen Johnson: Maureen Johnson guest-hosts John's Tuesday slot during his paternity leave, 'because once again he has contributed to the birth of a human child'. — Watermelon Internet Trolls 00:00:01
  • video's point: Guest host Maureen Johnson argues the internet is teaching us the language of mass discussion; when tempted by trolls, ask what you want to accomplish, since punching a troll rarely helps your cause, before comically reversing herself.
• 2013-07-26 · update · Hank: Hank says it has been wonderful to share the channel with many people during John's paternity leave and that John returns on Tuesday. — Introducing Subbable 00:02:53
  • video's point: Hank, answering John's request to fix online video's dependence on advertising, introduces Subbable, a pay-what-you-want subscription system launching with Crash Course, and argues that advertisers value views rather than viewers, so Nerdfighteria could drive a cultural shift to voluntary payment.
• 2013-07-30 · update · John: John returns from paternity leave, spent largely with his family on Lake Michigan, and thanks Nerdfighteria and the guest hosts who filled in. — Paternity Leave Ends! And I Find Myself… 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back from paternity leave and unexpectedly in an airport on his way to VidCon, John recounts a month on Lake Michigan and how Henry, three and a half, announced that Germans like digging holes, a stereotype absorbed in the Netherlands at age one.
• 2016-11-14 · retold · Craig Benzine: Craig recalls that a few years ago he filled in for John on vlogbrothers, doing an impression of him. (playful) — Who the Eff Is Hank? 00:00:13
  • video's point: Guest host Craig Benzine (WheezyWaiter), standing in for Hank on the second Monday of Pizzamas, does comic Hank impressions and a mock 'science of pizza' that drifts into pizza and moustache history.

John receives an honorary doctorate from Butler University (2013)

2 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-04-23 · told · John: John announces Butler University will make him an honorary doctor on May 11; Wikipedia tells him he still cannot call himself doctor. — DOCTOR GREEN 00:00:36
  • video's point: John announces that Butler University will make him an honorary doctor of letters on May 11, jokes about the title, learns from Wikipedia that he cannot call himself doctor, and celebrates The Fault in Our Stars returning to No. 1 on the New York Times list.
• 2013-05-14 · update · John: Asked how it feels to be a doctor, John says about the same as before, and that he has hardly taken off the 'cape thing' he was allowed to keep. (playful) — Puppies, Pegasi, and TFiOS Casting: It's Question Tuesday 00:01:45
  • video's point: In a rapid-fire Question Tuesday John confirms the casting of Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley in The Fault in Our Stars film, reassures upset fans, recommends two novels and answers comic questions.

John's face is hit by a bike messenger in Chicago, starting years of chronic mouth pain (about 2003)

3 videos, told 2013–2016 · thread page

• 2013-07-19 · update · John: John explains his missing tooth: terrible chronic pain since before Brotherhood 2.0 ended in a complicated, painful surgery, and it no longer hurts. — TFiOS Movie, Bees, Babies, and More! 00:01:16
  • video's point: John and Hank do a Question Tuesday on a Friday while Hank visits John's family: foods, flies and bees, the TFIOS film, John's tooth, baby Alice, life advice, silk history, and John's return from paternity leave on July 30.
• 2015-05-19 · update · John: John says he first referred to this still-continuing pain in his second vlogbrothers video, in 2007. — Pain Destroys Language: John after the Dentist 00:00:14
  • opinion drawn: John says chronic pain is just the worst. (00:00:39)
• 2016-05-10 · told · John: John says he has been to the dentist more than 150 times in the 13 years since a bike messenger's shoulder ran into his face as he stood on a Chicago curb reading a novel. — On Pain 00:00:11
  • video's point: From the dentist, John recounts the 13 years of chronic mouth pain that followed a bike messenger hitting his face in Chicago, and argues that physical pain is unshareable and isolating, yet knowing pain can make people more empathetic, and listening to and believing people in pain can be good medicine.

John applies for health insurance through the ACA exchange and a pre-ACA private insurer (2013)

2 videos, told 2013–2015 · thread page

• 2013-10-08 · told · John: John applies for health insurance through the ACA exchange (account errors, ID upload, 49 minutes) and through a pre-ACA private application (2 hours 16 minutes of medical history); neither yields insurance yet. — Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: In the description John says it is too soon to tell which option will be cheaper or offer the best coverage; he wanted to compare the still very glitchy exchanges with the pre-ACA experience. (video description)
• 2015-03-24 · retold · John: John recalls that trying to sign up for exchange insurance in its early months was truly awful. — Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later 00:03:53
  • point made: John's verdict: the ACA has worked insofar as things are better than before, and not insofar as the US is nowhere near sustainable health care spending. (00:03:20)
• 2015-03-24 · update · John: John says signing up is now really easy and he is among the more than 12 million Americans insured through the exchanges. — Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later 00:04:01
  • point made: John's verdict: the ACA has worked insofar as things are better than before, and not insofar as the US is nowhere near sustainable health care spending. (00:03:20)

John's depression at 24 in Chicago: leave from Booklist, home to Orlando, and watching Harvey

5 videos, told 2013–2023 · thread page

• 2013-10-29 · told · John: John tells how at 24, depressed after a breakup in Chicago, he took two weeks' leave from Booklist at Bill Ott's urging, went home to Orlando for therapy and medication, watched Harvey, and felt less hopeless. — Perspective 00:00:28
  • opinion drawn: John thought his depression came from being dumped, but in retrospect being dumped was probably partly a result of the depression, with its obsessive thinking, self-focus and inability to act. (00:00:38)
• 2017-05-30 · retold · John: John has one photo of himself at 23, from his year in Chicago: an intense, loving but doomed relationship, starting and restarting the book that became Looking for Alaska, and the year when, in a borrowed Emily Dickinson line, a plank in Reason broke and he dropped down and down. — What Should We Keep? 00:00:05
  • video's point: Prompted by his one photo of himself at 23 and an academic library's offer to preserve Brotherhood 2.0 and Nerdfighteria material, John argues that internet users create far more than they preserve, that not everything should be archived, and asks viewers what from Nerdfighteria should be kept.
• 2019-11-01 · retold · John: Watching it took John back to writing the first draft of Looking for Alaska alone in a small furnished Chicago apartment, recovering from what would now be called a mental health crisis. (hedged) — On Looking Up to Your Little Brother 00:01:41
  • opinion drawn: John says the TV adaptation of Looking for Alaska has just come out and is really wonderful; per Rotten Tomatoes it is the freshest adaptation of his work. (00:01:41)
• 2019-12-10 · retold · John: In his mid-20s John went through intense loneliness and isolation that was correlated with serious depression. — On Loneliness 00:00:22
  • point made: The more isolated he felt, the less able to escape; overwhelmed by sadness, he couldn't listen or engage when he did talk to people: one of loneliness's many vicious cycles. (00:00:54)
• 2023-04-18 · retold · John: John retells that in late 2001 a mental health crisis and depression got so bad that, with his parents, he decided to quit his job and move home to Florida for full-time care. — goodbye to my friend 00:00:21
  • opinion drawn: John calls Bill a brilliant writer and editor and a wonderful friend who, as readers of The Anthropocene Reviewed may know, kind of saved his life once. (00:00:13)

John is named to the Time 100 and goes to its party in New York (2014)

3 videos, told 2014–2024 · thread page

• 2014-04-29 · told · John: John tells Hank that Time named him one of the 100 most influential people and that he is flying to New York for its party. — Influence, Airports, and the Nerdfighter Book Club 00:00:04
  • opinion drawn: John calls it an unearned honor: he can name several thousand more influential people who did not make the Time 100, such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Laverne Cox and Ai Weiwei. (00:00:13)
• 2015-04-21 · update · John: John and Sarah are flying to the Time 100 gala; John is not on the list this year (2015) but snagged an invite to the party. (playful) — A Stunning Turn of Events 00:01:09
  • video's point: From an airport, John praises Hank's tour, plugs the Batman shirts, jokes about attending the Time 100 gala after dropping off the list, and congratulates two Nerdfighters who met at a 2008 gathering on their engagement.
• 2015-04-21 · retold · John: John recalls being on the Time 100 list last year (2014) and often having to explain why at last year's (2014) gala. (playful) — A Stunning Turn of Events 00:01:25
  • video's point: From an airport, John praises Hank's tour, plugs the Batman shirts, jokes about attending the Time 100 gala after dropping off the list, and congratulates two Nerdfighters who met at a 2008 gathering on their engagement.
• 2024-10-01 · retold · John: John improbably reached the top: Saturday Night Live mocked his book in a sketch, Time named him one of the world's most influential people, and a studio executive said he was blowing up. — On Fame and Chappell Roan 00:00:58
  • point made: John says proper fame is far from the worst thing he has experienced, but it is the worst purportedly good thing he has experienced. (00:01:19)

John's visit to rural health care in Ethiopia with the Gates Foundation (2014)

8 videos, told 2014 · thread page

• 2014-07-15 · told · John: John announces he is going to East Africa with Bill Gates to meet people doing important work in health and agriculture. — Exciting Announcements and Mosquito-Borne Illnesses 00:00:45
  • video's point: John reports that Nerdfighters voted to turn on vlogbrothers pre-rolls with income split between the Foundation to Decrease World Suck and an educational video fund, announces a trip to East Africa with Bill Gates, and jokes about his mosquito-disease anxiety while noting how good US health infrastructure is.
• 2014-07-22 · update · John: John says that as the video airs he is in East Africa learning about work done there with the Gates Foundation's help. — Ambiguous Victories and Real Progress: Behind the Beautiful Forevers 00:02:03
  • point made: John says he keeps rereading Behind the Beautiful Forevers because it contains no unambiguous victories, not for its characters nor for foreign aid, government spending, microfinance or charity. (00:02:58)
• 2014-07-29 · update · John: John reports landing in Addis Ababa after a 30-hour journey, meeting a Gates Foundation staffer and visiting Yekatit 12 Hospital. — Listen: Thoughts from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 00:00:01
  • video's point: Visiting neonatologist Dr. Mulualem Gessesse's NICU in Addis Ababa, John argues that Ethiopia's falling child mortality comes from supporting Ethiopia's own health strategy, that aid must listen, and that the world's poorest children are our kids too.
• 2014-08-12 · update · John: Ten days before falling ill with what turned out to be viral meningitis, John was in Ethiopia, on the same continent as Guinea and Sierra Leone, where Ebola is spreading. — EBOLA! (...meningitis) 00:00:31
  • video's point: John, recovering from viral meningitis after the internet 'diagnosed' him with Ebola, argues that the West African outbreak spreads because of poor health infrastructure and that Americans make it about a vague 'us', which helps no one.
• 2014-08-19 · told · John: John tells of his visit to Ethiopia's rural health tiers with Bill Gates and Sue Desmond-Hellmann of the Gates Foundation. — Baby Names: Thoughts from Rural Ethiopia 00:00:01
  • video's point: Touring Ethiopia's tiered rural health system with the Gates Foundation, John argues that the real heroes are Ethiopian health workers, volunteers and mothers, and that the true reason babies are now named at birth — birth certificates — shows heartwarming narratives and boring bureaucracy can coincide.
• 2014-09-09 · update · John: John says that while in Ethiopia he filmed several conversations with Bill Gates. — Bill Gates and John Green Discuss Global Health 00:00:02
  • video's point: In a bonus conversation filmed at an Ethiopian health center, Bill Gates tells John that primary health care and vaccines have sharply cut child deaths, and argues that health is the central lever for a poor country to escape the poverty trap.
• 2014-09-09 · retold · John: In Ethiopia John met a group of the university's students with Bill Gates, including Meheret, who started an anti-domestic-violence initiative. — Going to College (in Ethiopia) 00:00:48
  • video's point: Drawing on his meeting with Addis Ababa University students during his Ethiopia trip with Bill Gates, John argues that Africa and Ethiopia defy the one-place stereotype: Ethiopia is both poor and rising, and children saved by global health can grow up to study.
• 2014-09-30 · retold · John: John recalls his amazing trip to Ethiopia in the last couple of months and says he is grateful to have gone. — Keeping it EVEN REALER 00:00:27
  • point made: John says we are on Earth for a very brief time and have to use that time wisely. (00:00:55)

John's helicopter trip with Bill Gates to World Food Programme maize farmers in Ethiopia (2014)

3 videos, told 2014 · thread page

• 2014-07-29 · told · John: John mentions overcoming his tremendous fear of heights to fly in a helicopter with Bill Gates. — Listen: Thoughts from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 00:02:57
  • opinion drawn: John asks viewers to pause in gratitude to Dr. Gessesse, who has quietly saved thousands of babies; she told him she has many children, only two biological. (00:03:05)
• 2014-08-26 · told · John: John tells of flying with Bill Gates to visit WFP maize farmers in Ethiopia, meeting a woman farmer and corn sorters. — Food Is Weird: Understanding Agriculture in the Developing World 00:00:26
  • video's point: John explains why food is a weird commodity that traps poor farmers in vicious cycles of low capital and price collapse, and argues that breaking them, as a World Food Programme project in Ethiopia tries to, matters a great deal though there is no magic bullet.
• 2014-09-02 · update · John: Sarah reassured John that nerdfighters are forgiving and few outside Nerdfighteria would see an agriculture video; within a day Bill Gates, the WFP head and Ethiopia's foreign minister had seen it. (playful) — MORTIFICATION 00:01:49
  • video's point: John, mortified at saying 'hectacre' throughout his agriculture video, argues that self-inflicted mortification can usefully test our self-image, but being mortified by others is harmful because everyone needs a private self.

John's viral meningitis and hospitalisation (2014)

12 videos, told 2014–2025 · thread page

• 2014-08-08 · told · Hank: Hank tells that John got viral meningitis last week (week of 28 July 2014) and missed a video; he is home from hospital, fine, but still in significant pain. — Who Owns a Monkey's Selfie? And a Song About Meningitis! 00:01:51
  • video's point: With John home from hospital with viral meningitis, Hank explains why the Wikimedia Foundation treats a macaque's selfie on David Slater's camera as public domain (monkeys can't own property), finds that argument sensible, and sings John a Calvin Harris-based get-well song.
• 2014-08-12 · told · John: John tells of his viral meningitis: inflamed brain linings, a hospital stay and missed video, the worst pain of his life, the internet's Ebola rumour, and that he almost certainly caught it in Florida. — EBOLA! (...meningitis) 00:00:02
  • video's point: John, recovering from viral meningitis after the internet 'diagnosed' him with Ebola, argues that the West African outbreak spreads because of poor health infrastructure and that Americans make it about a vague 'us', which helps no one.
• 2014-08-19 · retold · John: John then rode in a helicopter with Bill Gates, which was terrifying and hilarious, and will tell Hank about it next week (week of 25 August 2014) unless he gets meningitis again. (playful) — Baby Names: Thoughts from Rural Ethiopia 00:03:49
  • video's point: Touring Ethiopia's tiered rural health system with the Gates Foundation, John argues that the real heroes are Ethiopian health workers, volunteers and mothers, and that the true reason babies are now named at birth — birth certificates — shows heartwarming narratives and boring bureaucracy can coincide.
• 2014-09-16 · retold · John: John argues most humans love metaphors because so much human thinking is symbolic, e.g. imagining a meningitis headache as a vice gripping the head. (hedged) — It's Question Tuesday! Cheesy Jokes, Paper Towns Movie, and Dinosaur Butt Brains 00:01:46
  • point made: John argues most humans love metaphors because so much human thinking is symbolic, e.g. imagining a meningitis headache as a vice gripping the head. (00:01:46)
• 2014-09-30 · retold · John: John recalls that after the Ethiopia trip he got meningitis. — Keeping it EVEN REALER 00:00:32
  • point made: John says we are on Earth for a very brief time and have to use that time wisely. (00:00:55)
• 2015-11-10 · retold · John: John recalls getting meningitis last year (2014), after which Bill Gates sent him a get-well orchid. — It's a Pizzamas Miracle! (Pizzamas Day 2) 00:01:30
  • video's point: On Pizzamas Day 2 John shaves his beard down to the Pizza John moustache, corrects the P4A start time to noon Eastern on December 11, plugs Pizzamas gear, tells the story of his not-Bill-Gates orchid, and calls for questions for a Question Tuesday on Thursday.
• 2018-04-03 · retold · John: John recalls missing a Tuesday video when he had meningitis. — On Punctuality 00:00:01
  • video's point: John, who has made 323 consecutive Tuesday videos bar two illnesses, calls punctuality the cardinal virtue he suspects himself of, a way to value others' time; reading E.B. White on punctuality disturbing the peace, he concludes that extreme punctuality can become a vice.
• 2021-04-27 · retold · John: The Anthropocene Reviewed is essays in the form of in-depth Yelp reviews, reviewing things like viral meningitis, a photograph and the first five minutes of Penguins of Madagascar. — What is my new book about? 00:01:27
  • point made: We want to distill life into single data points or elevator pitches, but human experience is nuanced and multitudinous, one of the things TAR is about. (00:00:58)
• 2022-06-21 · retold · John: John lists the itises he has or has had: orbital cellulitis, eosinophilic esophagitis and viral meningitis, besides ordinary ones like sinusitis and gastritis. — On Disease 00:00:29
  • point made: John says historical narratives focus on kings, wars and political philosophies, but disease is a terribly important historical force, maybe the most important. (00:00:58)
• 2023-02-28 · retold · John: John recalls that when he had meningitis he was rarely alone, except in his fear and pain, where he was always alone. — Empathy and its Limits 00:02:47
  • point made: John says he can't know what it's like to be a bird or to have someone else's pain, but he can listen to people when they tell him of their pain and believe them. (00:02:47)
• 2023-05-23 · retold · John: When John was hospitalized with meningitis, his best friend Chris greeted him by saying he thought John had already had all the itises; hilarious from Chris, less so from a doctor. — Rough Week 00:01:50
  • point made: John does not understand how grief, fear and uncertainty live alongside humor, but knows they must, because life in all its complexity and paradox is still life. (00:02:00)
• 2025-08-12 · retold · John: John says he cannot remember what having meningitis felt like, not in the acute way he remembers scents or sights. — On Balance 00:03:53
  • point made: John says that when he has his balance, or any sense, he needs to become aware of it by practising gratitude for it. (00:04:00)

John says 'hectacre' for hectare throughout his Ethiopia agriculture video, seen by Bill Gates (2014)

2 videos, told 2014 · thread page

• 2014-09-02 · told · John: John tells of saying 'hectacre' throughout his agriculture video, Sarah's reassurance, and Bill Gates, the WFP head and Ethiopia's foreign minister seeing it within a day. (playful) — MORTIFICATION 00:00:07
  • video's point: John, mortified at saying 'hectacre' throughout his agriculture video, argues that self-inflicted mortification can usefully test our self-image, but being mortified by others is harmful because everyone needs a private self.
• 2014-11-18 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that John recently mispronounced hectare as 'hectacre'. — How to Never Feel Embarrassed Again 00:02:40
  • point made: Hank: embarrassment is not about being wrong but about feeling wrong, and it is hard for him to feel wrong here because viewers are nice. (00:02:26)

John's first Looking for Alaska book signing, attended by two people (2005)

3 videos, told 2014–2026 · thread page

• 2014-09-02 · told · John: John tells how his first signing after Looking for Alaska drew two people, whom he insulted by reading a line about two uninteresting party guests. (playful) — MORTIFICATION 00:00:47
  • video's point: John, mortified at saying 'hectacre' throughout his agriculture video, argues that self-inflicted mortification can usefully test our self-image, but being mortified by others is harmful because everyone needs a private self.
• 2019-11-01 · retold · John: Three people came, one of them John's boss at Booklist, who generously pretended to be a stranger; the store had set up about 40 chairs and a podium. — On Looking Up to Your Little Brother 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John says he learned that books exist not to make authors famous or successful but for the people who read them; his only job after writing is gratitude to readers who find them meaningful. (00:00:58)
• 2026-07-14 · retold · John: At his first signing, in Chicago in 2005 for Looking for Alaska, two people came, one his boss pretending to be a stranger; John then read a passage that managed to offend them both. (playful) — On the Road Again 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John says being in rooms of people singing, laughing and reading in 2008 was magic and still is; he can't get used to Nerdfighteria briefly existing in real life. (00:00:58)

John's cameo as 'Girl's Father' is cut from the TFIOS film (2014)

6 videos, told 2014–2026 · thread page

• 2014-09-16 · told · John: John says he had a cameo in the TFiOS film but it was cut, joking that his screen presence was too powerful. (playful) — It's Question Tuesday! Cheesy Jokes, Paper Towns Movie, and Dinosaur Butt Brains 00:00:41
  • opinion drawn: John calls the Paper Towns screenplay by the writers of the TFiOS film amazing. (00:01:02)
• 2016-01-19 · retold · John: Asked to six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon himself, John says he acted in The Fault in Our Stars movie (scene cut, but in the extended version) with Laura Dern, who was in Novocaine with Kevin Bacon. (playful) — The Looking for Alaska Movie, Davos, and Hufflepuff Shade: It's Question Tuesday 00:01:23
  • opinion drawn: Asked how the world will end, John says he has a top-ten list of eschatological anxieties but sides with T.S. Eliot: not with a bang but with a whimper. (00:01:49)
• 2019-12-03 · retold · John: John says he can't act: he is such a bad actor that his cameo in the film adaptation of his book was cut, though he kept the wardrobe and wears it now as 'Girl's Father'. (playful) — We Are Cats Now, I Guess? 00:00:27
  • opinion drawn: John notes the US keeps minting one-cent coins though they cost more than a cent to make and don't facilitate the exchange of goods and services, the point of currency. (00:01:31)
• 2022-05-31 · retold · John: John says he has never managed a cameo in an adaptation of his books: in The Fault in Our Stars movie he had two lines, but his acting was so bad the scene was cut. (playful) — A Casting Announcement 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John says the work of real actors amazes him: Isabela inhabits Aza so completely that during difficult scenes he wants to intervene, and the cameras and lights disappear. (00:00:58)
• 2024-04-16 · mentioned · John: John is in the film with a line, joking that he has progressed significantly as an actor since being cut out of The Fault in Our Stars film. (playful) — I Already Got Paid 00:03:14
  • video's point: John explains that he was paid up front for the Turtles All the Way Down film, a kind of deal he prefers because a share of the profit would push him to praise even a bad adaptation, so his praise of the film (its portrayal of OCD, its help in feeling less alone) is unbought; it comes out May 2 on Max.
• 2026-06-16 · mentioned · John: John says, self-deprecatingly, that his cameo was cut from The Fault in Our Stars because he is such a bad actor. (playful) — My First Novel in Nine Years Has a Cover 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John doesn't know what being a young movie star is like, but knows something about the fame and content-creation machine that turns human experience into content and then movie tickets. (00:00:29)

John keeps looking away while filming sick children and worried mothers in Ethiopia (2014)

2 videos, told 2014–2020 · thread page

• 2014-09-23 · told · John: John tells how, filming in Ethiopia, he kept looking away from a girl holding her sick brother, families at a hospital, preterm babies and a very sick boy his son's age. — Looking Away 00:00:19
  • video's point: John admits that in Ethiopia he kept looking away from suffering children and worried mothers, argues that changing the world means not looking away but listening, and, since the people he met named water as a basic need, asks viewers to donate to a Water.org fundraiser matched by Bill Gates.
• 2020-01-28 · retold · John: John recalls making a video from Ethiopia six years ago called Looking Away, about listening to and supporting people living in absolute poverty. — Looking Away (Again) 00:02:20
  • point made: John says most mothers who die in childbirth there die for want of an ambulance ride, a blood transfusion or an emergency C-section: these deaths are preventable and have been for decades. (00:02:20)

John's trip to London for the AFC Wimbledon v Liverpool FA Cup tie (2015)

3 videos, told 2015–2020 · thread page

• 2015-01-04 · told · John: John tells how AFC Wimbledon drew Liverpool in the FA Cup (he shouted and ruined a Paper Towns take) and that he is flying with the Yeti to London for the game. — The Best Worst Thing 00:01:25
  • video's point: In a Sunday bonus video John explains Nerdfighteria's AFC Wimbledon sponsorship, the FA Cup draw against his beloved Liverpool, and his choice to root for Wimbledon, arguing that sports matter because we make them meaningful by caring.
• 2015-01-06 (said on 2015-01-05, implied) · update · John: John reports from London: the trip, the match (Liverpool won with two Steven Gerrard goals; Wimbledon did themselves proud) and that it was the absolute time of his life. — AFC Wimbledon v. Liverpool: Thoughts from the Greatest Game on Earth 00:02:28
  • video's point: John's diary of the FA Cup tie between Nerdfighteria-sponsored AFC Wimbledon and his beloved Liverpool: arrival in London, the club shop and pub, the match (Liverpool won with two Steven Gerrard goals) and the time of his life.
• 2020-09-08 · mentioned · John: In a comment, asked what he would do if AFC Wimbledon faced Liverpool, John says they have, and it was strange and difficult. — That's the way.
  • opinion drawn: John says he gets why people dislike sports: it is weird that humans pour so many resources and so much attention into moving round objects into holes, through hoops or past lines. (00:00:00)

John's long day at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles (April 2015)

2 videos, told 2015–2022 · thread page

• 2015-04-14 · told · John: John tells his long Sunday (12 April 2015): an early flight from Indianapolis to Los Angeles, getting ready, the red carpet with the cast, and the MTV Movie Awards show where The Fault in Our Stars won Best Movie. — A Long Good Day 00:00:01
  • video's point: John diarises his long day at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, where The Fault in Our Stars won Best Movie; he says the celebrity machine, like LA's palm trees, is beautiful but unnatural, while the real people behind the films care for each other when the cameras are off.
• 2022-04-05 · retold · John: Dwayne Johnson handed John an MTV Movie Award in about 2015; John doesn't remember their backstage chat, so distracted was he by The Rock's biceps. (playful) (hedged) — Celebrities I've Met and Whether I'd Vote for Them??? 00:01:56
  • opinion drawn: The Rock has never held elected office, and John probably wouldn't vote for him. (00:01:56)

John decorates the blank blue wall behind him with objects from vlogbrothers history (2015)

2 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-04-28 · told · John: John says he knows his blank wall bothers Hank but can't think what to do with it; after trying camera angles he goes to the airport instead. (playful) — Is the Paper Towns Movie Like the Book? Thoughts on Adaptations 00:00:01
  • video's point: John argues that a good adaptation recreates the feelings of the book rather than every plot point, and says the Paper Towns film, though different in many details, is both good and faithful.
• 2015-09-29 · told · John: After complaints about his blank blue wall, John puts up objects from vlogbrothers history behind him. — Writing, Walling, Racing, and Wizard Schooling 00:01:33
  • video's point: John tells Hank he is on a social media hiatus to write a novel, will race Maggie Stiefvater in race cars for charity near NerdCon: Stories, has finally decorated his wall with vlogbrothers relics, and cheers Hank's DFTBA Games Wizard School Kickstarter.

John travels to Brazil for the Paper Towns premiere, away from home for 28 days (2015)

3 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-05-26 · told · John: The Paper Towns film comes out in about 56 days in the US, at different times elsewhere; John will travel to support the release, at least to Brazil and the UK and probably other places. (hedged) — Sixteen Parts 00:02:58
  • video's point: John imitates Hank's rant video with a 16-part news roundup: the Save the Children fundraiser total, the coming Dear Hank and John podcast, DFTBA Records' new CEO, Rosianna's arrival, AFC Wimbledon, Foundation to Decrease World Suck income, Crash Course curriculum materials, and the Paper Towns film release and VidCon.
• 2015-06-30 · told · John: John is in an airport on his way to the Paper Towns premiere in Brazil and will be away from home for 28 days except for a brief stop. — Some News 00:00:03
  • video's point: John, in an airport en route to the Paper Towns premiere in Brazil, gives a roundup of news: his daughter's illness, the Tumblr-chosen US tour stops, a July 23 night-before screening, and Becca Thomas's hiring to direct a Looking for Alaska movie he is now excited about.
• 2015-07-07 · update · John: John is back from his crazy, beautiful and exhausting trip to Brazil in support of the Paper Towns film (Cidades de Papel). — Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece 00:00:01
  • video's point: John explains how Greece's debt crisis developed, from joining the euro and fudged deficits through bailouts, austerity and the 2015 referendum, and argues the Eurozone's root problem is its inability to decide how unified it is.

John's Paper Towns film promotional tour: New York, Indianapolis, Columbus, Dallas (July 2015)

5 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-06-08 · told · John: John, Nat and Cara will tour the US in July, visiting the states with the most votes at papertownsmovie.com/tour, where one Tumblr like or reblog counts as one vote, until June 15. — Monday Bonus Video! 00:01:10
  • video's point: In a four-part bonus video John announces Paper Towns movie tour stops in Europe and a US tour chosen by Tumblr vote, the debut of the Dear Hank and John podcast, and answers Hank on the decoupling of wages and productivity: wealth inequality is one of the biggest US issues, but history is too short for confident economics and the outcome is still ours to decide.
• 2015-06-30 · update · John: The tour stops are Indianapolis on July 14th, Columbus, Ohio on July 15th and Dallas, Texas on July 16th; all events are free. — Some News 00:01:06
  • video's point: John, in an airport en route to the Paper Towns premiere in Brazil, gives a roundup of news: his daughter's illness, the Tumblr-chosen US tour stops, a July 23 night-before screening, and Becca Thomas's hiring to direct a Looking for Alaska movie he is now excited about.
• 2015-07-14 · told · John: John is leaving Birmingham for New York City, probably for press, then starts the Paper Towns tour in Indianapolis the next day before Columbus and Dallas. — On Exhaustion 00:00:38
  • video's point: From the Birmingham airport, John admits he is exhausted by Paper Towns press but says he won't take a break, because stopping everything used to send him into a spiral, and vlogging and Nerdfighteria fill him up.
• 2015-07-21 · update · John: John met many thousands of Nerdfighters around the country, and many wanted to say hello to Hank, as crowds then do. — PAPER TOWNS IS HERE AND JOHN IS A BALL OF ANXIETY 00:00:16
  • video's point: On the day of the Paper Towns New York premiere, John recounts an overwhelming week of interviews and touring, points viewers to the Night on the Towns screening, copes with anxiety by reading glowing reviews (including Google-translated Brazilian ones), and offers Hank Pluto images for his VidCon stress.
• 2015-07-28 · update · John: John tells how his week-long Paper Towns film tour went: New York, Indianapolis (where July 14, 2015 was declared John Green Day), Columbus and Dallas, then LA; an adventure after two hard months away from family. — Paper Towns, Agloe, and Touring: Thoughts from (Many) Places 00:00:00
  • video's point: John recounts his week-long Paper Towns film tour (New York, Indianapolis, Columbus, Dallas), reflects that the book is about seeing others as complex while publicity commodifies people, and thanks viewers, the filmmakers and Hank.

John writes a novel about what it means to be human and how we define personhood (2015)

5 videos, told 2015–2017 · thread page

• 2015-06-09 · told · John: John says he has spent three years trying to write a novel about what it means to be human and how we define personhood. — What Does It Mean to Be Human? 00:00:07
  • video's point: Prompted by Bill Gates's Big History video contest and his own novel-in-progress, John argues that definitions of humanness by biology, stories or literacy exclude and dehumanize people, and that we confer personhood on each other through empathy, compassion and trust.
• 2016-01-19 · update · John: Asked how the writing is going, John says he thinks it is going well and apologizes that it is taking so long. (hedged) — The Looking for Alaska Movie, Davos, and Hufflepuff Shade: It's Question Tuesday 00:00:45
  • opinion drawn: Asked how the world will end, John says he has a top-ten list of eschatological anxieties but sides with T.S. Eliot: not with a bang but with a whimper. (00:01:49)
• 2016-08-30 · update · John: John has decided to clear his schedule for several months to finish a draft of his new story, so over about ten months he will make only three public appearances. (hedged) — My Body Is a Broken Temple 00:02:34
  • video's point: Having broken a rib celebrating his 39th birthday, John reflects that treating his body as the mind's adversary was a flawed idea because there is no line between body and mind, and announces he is clearing his schedule to finish a new book, with only three public appearances in ten months.
• 2016-09-20 · update · John: John missed writing like someone you used to love; about a year ago he went back, writing just for fun and because he thought Sarah would like it, which are good reasons to write. — Failing to Follow Up The Fault in Our Stars 00:02:27
  • opinion drawn: John stresses these are high-class problems he is very grateful to have, but wants to be honest that they are problems. (00:02:02)
• 2017-02-21 · update · John: John says he doesn't know everything about his new book because it is not finished yet. — Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? 00:02:03
  • opinion drawn: John is not tired of people asking about his new book: it's nice that people care, he just wishes he had more to tell them. (00:02:08)

John's European Paper Towns press trip with Nat Wolff, starting in Madrid (June 2015)

3 videos, told 2015–2022 · thread page

• 2015-06-16 (said on 2015-06-13, implied) · told · John: John leaves his kids with his parents in Asheville and flies via New York to Madrid with Nat Wolff, where they fight jet lag at the Reina Sofia museum. — Paper Towns Madrid with Nat Wolff! THE TOUR BEGINS 00:00:16
  • video's point: John's travel diary of the start of the European Paper Towns press tour: leaving the kids with his parents in Asheville, flying sleeplessly to Madrid with Nat Wolff, and touring the Reina Sofia museum, where he credits Nat with teaching him to value movies.
• 2015-06-23 · update · John: John records Question Tuesday in a Berlin movie theater with Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne during the Paper Towns press trip. — Question Tuesday with Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff 00:00:06
  • video's point: John, in a Berlin movie theater on the Paper Towns press tour, puts rapid-fire Nerdfighter questions to Paper Towns film stars Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne, from angry 'bubbles' and eyebrow dances to llamas, a horned hippo and an arm-wrestling match Nat wins.
• 2022-01-25 · retold · John: In 2015 John, Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne travelled to eight countries in two weeks to promote the Paper Towns movie. — My Least Relatable Story: The Parisian Dentist 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John finds press junkets a little excruciating: hours under hot lights with a new reporter every eight minutes, where one stupid remark can cause trouble for everyone on the movie, a mix of monotony and terror. (00:00:29)

Sarah and John's friends see the Paper Towns film; nobody notices John's cameo (2015)

2 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-06-30 · told · John: Sarah and a group of friends see the Paper Towns film for the first time and like it, but none notice John's cameo; Sarah asks where he was. (playful) — Some News 00:01:21
  • video's point: John, in an airport en route to the Paper Towns premiere in Brazil, gives a roundup of news: his daughter's illness, the Tumblr-chosen US tour stops, a July 23 night-before screening, and Becca Thomas's hiring to direct a Looking for Alaska movie he is now excited about.
• 2015-08-04 · update · John: John says his cameo in the Paper Towns movie is not something you see so much as someone you hear. — Question Tuesday: Wookiee Gunships, Sneezing Cessation, and Pizza 00:02:06
  • video's point: In a quick-fire Question Tuesday, John answers brief viewer questions: parenting has swapped writing time for Lego Wookiee gunships, there is no "apart from pizza", he does not cast movies, and his inkless tattoo punishment is coming soon-ish.

John sells the Looking for Alaska film rights for three times his salary, paying for his and Sarah's move to New York (2005)

2 videos, told 2015–2018 · thread page

• 2015-06-30 · told · John: The money from selling the rights let John and Sarah move to New York so Sarah could go to graduate school toward becoming a curator, so John cannot really regret the sale. — Some News 00:02:39
  • opinion drawn: A big part of John never wanted a Looking for Alaska movie made, because the story is very personal to him and matters to many readers. (00:02:32)
• 2018-10-31 · told · John: John says Hollywood suddenly took interest: in one day he was paid three times his annual salary for the movie rights, which let them move to New York and bought him time to write. — The Looking for Alaska Thing 00:01:10
  • opinion drawn: John says it is easy to paint Hollywood producers and executives as cartoon villains, and some are, but it is really hard to get any movie made, let alone a good one. (00:01:50)

John's exhaustion during the Paper Towns film promotion (July 2015)

3 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-07-14 · told · John: John is exhausted from a month of Paper Towns promotion, with two weeks to go: he is not good at interviews and misses his family, and Nerdfighters have noticed in comments. — On Exhaustion 00:01:29
  • opinion drawn: John won't take a break from promoting the movie, which he has no contractual obligation to do, because he likes it and is grateful, nor from vlogging, which fills him up rather than drains him. (00:02:04)
• 2015-07-21 · update · John: John says the past week was intense and overwhelming, with lots of interviews, which he is not good at, but he was usually with Nat Wolff, who makes everything better. — PAPER TOWNS IS HERE AND JOHN IS A BALL OF ANXIETY 00:00:04
  • video's point: On the day of the Paper Towns New York premiere, John recounts an overwhelming week of interviews and touring, points viewers to the Night on the Towns screening, copes with anxiety by reading glowing reviews (including Google-translated Brazilian ones), and offers Hank Pluto images for his VidCon stress.
• 2015-07-28 · update · John: John says the past two months were long and difficult; he missed his family and is glad to be home, but the tour week was an adventure that brought him closer to people he loves. — Paper Towns, Agloe, and Touring: Thoughts from (Many) Places 00:03:37
  • opinion drawn: John thanks everyone who made the movie, and thanks Hank for a great VidCon. (00:03:49)

John's tattoo (2015)

3 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-09-15 · told · John: Laura made John's DFTBA tattoo with water instead of ink, so it will go away in about a month. — John Gets a Tattoo 00:01:26
  • opinion drawn: Though he spent the last several weeks fearing it, John says this turned out to be the least punishing Vlogbrothers punishment ever. (00:01:29)
• 2015-09-29 · update · John: At Sarah's suggestion John shows Hank how his tattoo is doing: 'still there a little bit'. — Writing, Walling, Racing, and Wizard Schooling 00:01:23
  • video's point: John tells Hank he is on a social media hiatus to write a novel, will race Maggie Stiefvater in race cars for charity near NerdCon: Stories, has finally decorated his wall with vlogbrothers relics, and cheers Hank's DFTBA Games Wizard School Kickstarter.
• 2015-11-12 · update · John: John says his tattoo is not fake but made with water instead of ink, invisible but real, and he would consider more invisible tattoos. (playful) — Cheez Doodles Guy, Ringo Silver, and Dad Jokes (Pizzamas Day 4) 00:02:07
  • video's point: After saluting Hank's Cheez Doodles Guy and noting he is not that excited by WHO news of falling maternal deaths, John answers viewer questions in a quick Pizzamas Question Thursday, including a reflection on being truly alone.

John's social media hiatus to write a novel (2015)

3 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-09-29 · told · John: John says he is on a social media hiatus, very hard for him, in order to write a book. — Writing, Walling, Racing, and Wizard Schooling 00:00:02
  • video's point: John tells Hank he is on a social media hiatus to write a novel, will race Maggie Stiefvater in race cars for charity near NerdCon: Stories, has finally decorated his wall with vlogbrothers relics, and cheers Hank's DFTBA Games Wizard School Kickstarter.
• 2015-10-06 · update · John: Asked about his social media hiatus, John says he hasn't missed it much: a small persistent stream of hateful attacks hurt his mental health, and writing is easier without it. — Question Tuesday: My Social Media Hiatus, My Excellent German, and Books! 00:00:56
  • opinion drawn: Asked whether everyone should take a social media hiatus, John doesn't know, but he hasn't missed social media as much as he expected; it had become a really unhealthy place for him. (00:00:56)
• 2015-11-18 · update · John: John says Rosianna took away his Tumblr password, so he no longer knows what is happening on Tumblr. — SUIT UP! A Very Fancy Reunion Video (Pizzamas Day 8) 00:01:43
  • video's point: Reunited in suits after the Save the Children gala in New York, John and Hank answer quick viewer questions with gags (lamps, chocolate, dinosaur sounds, thankfulness, how Hank met his wife) and briefly note how fast humans are driving species extinct.

John's weeks of severe illness while changing his medication regimen (2015)

2 videos, told 2015–2022 · thread page

• 2015-11-20 · told · John: John tells of being very sick for several weeks while trying a new medication regimen for his OCD, what years of illness have taught him, and that he is starting to feel better through medication and exercise. — On Mental Illness (and the end of Pizzamas) 00:02:07
  • opinion drawn: From years with his illness John has learned to celebrate small successes, encourage himself without cruelty, and that when he feels there is no hope his brain is lying to him. (00:02:11)
• 2022-01-25 · retold · John: In retrospect, John says, the Parisian dentist was the first sign of a psychological storm that would eventually derail his life for a while; the fancy dentist did not save him from it. — My Least Relatable Story: The Parisian Dentist 00:02:55
  • point made: John says the story's moral is having a need capably met by a compassionate expert, which should not be an unrelatable story at all. (00:02:55)

John attends the World Economic Forum in Davos (January 2016)

3 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-01-19 · told · John: John is on his way, via an airport, to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and already feels a little out of place. — The Looking for Alaska Movie, Davos, and Hufflepuff Shade: It's Question Tuesday 00:00:03
  • opinion drawn: John says Davos is the setting of one of his all-time favourite novels, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, so he gets to do some literary tourism there. (00:00:13)
• 2016-01-26 · update · John: John reports he spent last week (the week of 18 January 2016) in Davos for the World Economic Forum and describes the town, the forum and the people he met. — Billionaires and Radical Hope: Thoughts from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland 00:00:01
  • opinion drawn: John describes the town as a fevered pitch for investment, growth and change, urging visitors to think India, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Salesforce, Microsoft, Accenture and Bank of America. (00:00:31)
• 2016-01-29 · update · Hank: During this week's (week of 25 January 2016) Dear Hank and John recording John told Hank about his World Economic Forum article 'Why the Word Millennial Makes Me Cringe', which Hank read right afterwards. — Why the Word "Millennial" Makes me Cringe 00:00:53
  • point made: Hank sums up: one group created a term for another and used it to call them scary, belittle and mock them, which is going to make people cringe. (00:01:35)

John travels to Jordan and Tunisia to visit refugee camps (2016)

2 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-03-04 · told · Hank: Hank notes that John has just returned to America from Jordan and Tunisia, where he visited refugee camps, and says he looks forward to John's thoughts from there. — Startling Facts About the Government that Made Me Feel Good 00:00:00
  • video's point: Against the image of a bloated, inefficient bureaucracy, Hank argues the US federal government is effective, efficient and surprisingly small: its workforce has not grown in 50 years, state and local governments employ far more people, and most federal spending goes to Social Security, health programmes, poverty assistance and veterans.
• 2016-03-08 · update · John: John is just back from a trip to northern Jordan with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. — Aida and Majeeda: Thoughts from the Azraq Refugee Camp 00:00:01
  • video's point: Back from northern Jordan with UNHCR, John marks International Women's Day by telling the story of Syrian sisters Aida (10) and Majeeda (12), newly arrived at the Azraq camp and longing above all for school, and argues that refugees are not a lost generation: we must support UNHCR and fight their dehumanization.

John visits the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and meets refugee families (2016)

2 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-03-08 · told · John: The day before, in the Zaatari camp, John met the Tiger Group, where young women mentor girls; asked what they wanted most, Aryam and Farah immediately answered 'to learn'. — Aida and Majeeda: Thoughts from the Azraq Refugee Camp 00:00:52
  • point made: Asked about their most urgent needs, the girls' parents said only that they wanted the children in school, a theme among almost every refugee John met. (00:00:43)
• 2016-06-07 · told · John: John tells of driving out from Amman to visit the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and meeting refugee families there. — Zaatari: Thoughts from a Refugee Camp 00:00:00
  • video's point: John recounts his visit to Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp, where refugees told him their worst struggle is being dehumanized, and argues that human nature is not a fixed force but something we create by how we treat each other.

John drives the pace car at the Indianapolis Grand Prix (May 2016)

2 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-05-03 · told · John: John says he will drive the pace car on May 14 at the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. — No Fumar 00:01:01
  • video's point: From the Indianapolis airport after voting, John wishes their dad a happy birthday, says he will drive the pace car at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, tells AP test-takers that tests are not the point of education, celebrates AFC Wimbledon reaching the playoffs, and reminds Nerdfighters of VidCon registration.
• 2016-05-24 · update · John: John says he drove the pace car at the Indianapolis Grand Prix a couple of weeks earlier. — Easier Than IKEA: A Video in Two Parts 00:02:23
  • video's point: In two parts, John shares an excerpt of his Kenyon College commencement address, which mocks dreaded adulthood and ends up celebrating unironic conversations about the weather, then his greatest sports month: an Indy pace-car drive, the Indy 500 and AFC Wimbledon's play-off final at Wembley, which he asks London Nerdfighters to attend.

John's 36 hours from the Indianapolis 500 to Wembley and AFC Wimbledon's promotion party (May 2016)

7 videos, told 2016–2025 · thread page

• 2016-05-31 (said on 2016-05-29, implied) · told · John: John tells of his 36 hours from a bike ride to the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday (29 May 2016) to Wembley a day later (30 May 2016) for AFC Wimbledon, ending at a promotion party. — The Most Amazing Day video description
  • video's point: John vlogs 36 hours from Indianapolis 500 race day, which he leaves early, to Wembley, where AFC Wimbledon win the play-off final and promotion to League One, and the celebration at Kingsmeadow.
• 2016-11-15 · retold · John: John asks viewers buying a Pizza John hoodie at DFTBA.com to also buy an AFC Wimbledon Nerdfighteria scarf; all proceeds go to the club, which might help them back to the playoffs and Wembley. — Good News/Bad News: A Pizzamas Video in Nine Slices 00:01:42
  • video's point: On the ninth day of Pizzamas John gives nine parts alternating good and bad news: flat global carbon emissions vs. 2016 as the hottest year, AFC Wimbledon's success, Leonard Cohen's death, and great new books, with merch plugs and a Question Tuesday call.
• 2016-12-27 · retold · John: From the Indy 500 John flew to London to see Nerdfighteria-sponsored AFC Wimbledon win at Wembley for a third-tier spot, then partied at their home stadium with his dad and players. — The Best of My 2016 00:00:50
  • opinion drawn: John says that although he isn't usually a crowds person, it is truly wondrous to see so many different people come together. (00:00:45)
• 2019-12-17 · retold · John: Lyle Taylor scored to put AFC Wimbledon into the third tier, and John partied all night with fans, friends, players and his dad. — The Best Days of My Decade 00:01:32
  • video's point: In his last video of the decade, John recalls his favorite days of the 2010s (apart from his kids' births, which he keeps private): An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall, AFC Wimbledon's Wembley play-off win, finishing Turtles All the Way Down after Sarah suggested a time jump, and Hank's first-novel launch, then lists little moments and asks viewers to share theirs.
• 2023-04-04 · retold · John: When John saw AFC Wimbledon promoted to the third tier at Wembley with his dad, friends and 60,000 others, he felt pure, simple joy without dread. — The Search for Real Feeling 00:02:05
  • point made: John says this is ultimately why he loves sports so much: sometimes he needs to feel in a straightforward, uncomplicated way. (00:01:58)
• 2023-04-11 · retold · John: John recalls watching AFC Wimbledon, sponsored by them for over a decade with DFTBA on their shorts, win a play-off final against Plymouth Argyle; a crying Plymouth fan answered his condolences with 'Great day for you lot, though.' — Wrexham's Most Amazing Feeling 00:01:05
  • point made: John loves sports not for the balls but for the people: loving something together lets him feel earnest, unironic connection and emotion he couldn't feel otherwise. (00:00:44)
• 2025-05-20 · retold · John: John recalls that he and Stuart completed the double before, a day so magical he made a Vlogbrothers video about it and his suit lining depicts that day at Wembley. — The Double 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: John wonders whether he and Stuart, having aged since the first double, still have the endurance, and says only time will tell, but he will enjoy every minute. (00:02:55)

Amy Krouse Rosenthal turns 'We're here because we're here' into hope for a depressed John at her reading (2005)

5 videos, told 2016–2026 · thread page

• 2016-08-02 · told · John: That evening Amy hosted The Beckoning of Lovely at the Bean in Millennium Park; what stuck with John most was singing an old soldiers' song to Auld Lang Syne with hundreds of people. — Beckoning Lovely 00:01:40
  • video's point: John credits his friend Amy Krouse Rosenthal with an early radio break and, more importantly, with teaching him that stories work only when readers and writers are both generous; he recalls 8/8/08 and plugs her new book Textbook and her 8/9/16 gathering at the Bean.
• 2017-11-03 · told · John: John tells an Amy story from his tour: in 2005 Amy, a children's book writer, memoirist and professional seeker of wonder, invited him to one of her readings. — Because We're Here 00:00:38
  • point made: John says that night Amy transformed the song for him without changing its words: we were here together, never really alone, part of a vast, deeply interconnected us. (00:02:05)
• 2020-04-28 · mentioned · John: John says Amy Krouse Rosenthal beckoned so much lovely into the world and helped him and many others sing and hope that we're here because we're here. — get your game on 00:03:24
  • opinion drawn: John says Amy Krouse Rosenthal beckoned so much lovely into the world and helped him and many others sing and hope that we're here because we're here. (00:03:24)
• 2020-12-31 · retold · John: In public appearances Amy would ask audiences to sing the soldiers' recursive lament with her, transforming it without changing the tune or words. — Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed 00:18:46
  • point made: Singing the nihilistic song with Amy, John always saw hope in it: we are here together and not alone, we exist, and astonishing unlikelihoods made us possible. (00:19:10)
• 2026-02-15 · mentioned · John: Chat's "we're here because we're here because we're here" always makes John emotional, as it makes him think of his great friend Amy Krouse Rosenthal. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 04:27:41
  • opinion drawn: John thanks Hank for joining when he did and giving the livestream a big boost, because John was flagging a little. (04:26:56)

John's big break: Amy Krouse Rosenthal gets him recording essays for WBEZ (2002)

2 videos, told 2016–2020 · thread page

• 2016-08-02 · told · John: John tells how Amy Krouse Rosenthal, after emailing him at Booklist in 2002, got him recording essays for WBEZ, which helped him sell Looking for Alaska. — Beckoning Lovely 00:00:17
  • point made: John says Amy's real gift to him was not radio but teaching him that for stories to work, readers and writers must both be generous. (00:00:52)
• 2020-12-31 · retold · John: John sent Amy three short essays; she liked one and had him record it for her show on Chicago public radio station WBEZ, his first time reaching such a large audience. — Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed 00:04:57
  • opinion drawn: Mostly the song is an unapologetic celebration of the good old days and of looking back on them. (00:04:25)

John's teenage mistreatment of his body and later quitting smoking and running (c. 1993-2005)

7 videos, told 2016–2026 · thread page

• 2016-08-30 · told · John: John says until recently he felt better than 10 or 20 years ago, largely because when younger he treated his body terribly, smoking and refusing to exercise. — My Body Is a Broken Temple 00:00:46
  • point made: John calls that view seductive but flawed, because there is no distinct line between body and mind. (00:01:38)
• 2019-03-26 · retold · John: Asked how he quit smoking, John says with nicotine gum; the hard part was quitting the gum. — Optimism and Spider People: Question Tuesday from the Looking for Alaska Set 00:01:27
  • opinion drawn: John's favorite Catholic saint is probably St. Francis, but Sister Corita Kent would be his favorite if canonized, as a recent Art Assignment video explains. (00:01:57)
• 2020-02-11 · retold · John: As a kid John took a comedian's joke, that jogging extends life by exactly the minutes spent jogging, as a reason not to exercise; now, even if it were true, which it isn't, he'd still run. — 1,100 Days: A Mental and Physical Health Update 00:03:24
  • point made: John values exercise because it is engrossing, 'a terrible word for a wonderful experience': it takes, uses and benefits all of him. (00:03:24)
• 2024-06-11 · retold · John: John says he used quite a lot of tobacco when he was younger, though he understood the serious health risks, because smoking was cool. — BEEF DAYS 00:01:56
  • point made: John says bigger, more energy-intensive cars and houses are a social-norm problem, not a technological one: limiting climate change needs new technologies and changed social norms. (00:01:56)
• 2025-06-24 · retold · John: John started smoking at 14 and smoked compulsively until his late 20s, 30 or 40 cigarettes a day, even waking at 3 a.m. to smoke to calm himself down. — Am I Cigarettes? 00:00:05
  • opinion drawn: The description urges viewers not to smoke: it only transfers their wealth to the most pernicious companies in existence in exchange for lung disease. (video description)
• 2026-02-13 · mentioned · John: John says he once thought smoking cool and earnestness the worst thing to be; now he thinks smoking the lamest thing, handing money to tobacco companies, and earnestness super underrated. — Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! 07:14:39
  • point made: John says where you are is not where you will always be, for a person or for the species: that should be a source of hope, a reminder that we are not stuck with the present and can create better worlds together. (07:15:19)
• 2026-02-15 · mentioned · John: John says he still has Instagram on his phone though he does not want to; he knows it is bad for him, like cigarettes, which he smoked for a long time and took a long time to quit. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 04:34:38
  • video's point: In the fifth and last part of the 2026 Project for Awesome livestream, on the morning of February 15, John takes over from Rosianna Halse Rojas, lets Alice do his makeup at $3.3 million and says seven years on his novel taught him writing is also for himself; Hank arrives 45 minutes early, uploads a Vlogbrothers video mid-stream to draw viewers, and the 2026 P4A becomes the biggest ever, passing $3.7 million.

John fails to write a follow-up to The Fault in Our Stars: abandoned identity-thieves and con-artists novels (2012-2015)

4 videos, told 2016–2017 · thread page

• 2016-09-20 · told · John: John says that meanwhile he was hard at work on a new book about teenage identity thieves, as he always wrote a new book after publishing one, but it wasn't working. — Failing to Follow Up The Fault in Our Stars 00:00:37
  • video's point: Continuing Hank's discussion of failure, John explains that no novel has followed The Fault in Our Stars because its public success coincided with private failures: two abandoned books, intense pressure and writing that stopped being a release; he returned to writing for fun and has become okay with not knowing whether he will publish again.
• 2017-06-13 · retold · John: John spent about a year in Cheyenne finishing The Fault in Our Stars, but also several months a few years ago only to realize the book he'd worked hard on wasn't good and wouldn't be published. — Cheyenne, Wyoming 00:01:36
  • opinion drawn: John says the other thing about going to Cheyenne is that you aren't necessarily going to come home with anything. (00:01:31)
• 2017-06-22 · update · John: John thanks people, especially his family, for their patience and kindness over five and a half years: he often worried he would never publish another book, and without their support wouldn't be. — My New Book 00:00:48
  • opinion drawn: John says he is so happy to be finished with a book he is proud of, and hopes viewers like it. (00:00:44)
• 2017-07-11 · retold · John: A selfish reason: for 2,000 days or so of writing this book John rarely knew if his work would make it in or bring him closer; signing, he knows people will like it and each one gets him closer to done. (hedged) — Signing 200,000 Autographs 00:01:14
  • opinion drawn: Not totally sure why he does it, John says one reason is that it is unfair that people far from big cities or unable to attend author events get signed books only by paying a surcharge. (00:01:04)

John turns his phone into a 'dumb phone' and changes how he follows the news (2016)

5 videos, told 2016–2019 · thread page

• 2016-11-17 · told · John: John says a few months ago he turned his phone into a dumb phone (texts, calls, Pokémon Go), and about a year ago began reading four newspapers instead of relying on his social media feed. — Decathlons, Pretension, and the Weirdest Animal I've Met: It's Question Thursday 00:02:15
  • video's point: John answers rapid-fire viewer questions on Question Thursday, from his books and favourite things to why he gave up Snapchat, how he follows the news, his view of social media, and why he reads fiction.
• 2017-03-21 · retold · John: On a friend's advice, a month later after an egregious bout of twittering, John made his phone a dumb phone: no Twitter, Facebook, email or Reddit, and he deleted Pokémon Go, breaking his son's heart. — My Information Diet 00:00:49
  • video's point: John describes 'twittering', his word for the buzzing misery the social internet gives him; turning his phone into a dumb phone hasn't worked, the feed neither informs him nor brings out the person he wants to be, so he has put himself on an information diet of newspapers and magazines and asks Nerdfighters if they feel the same.
• 2017-03-21 · update · John: John says in the last couple of weeks he has scaled way back on the social internet for an information diet: an hour or two each morning reading mostly The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Indianapolis Star. — My Information Diet 00:02:28
  • opinion drawn: John says the early results of his information diet are positive, but it is too soon to know for sure. (00:02:57)
• 2018-11-06 · update · John: John posts much less than he used to but still spends huge swaths of time on those platforms; all his attempts at an information diet or dumbing down his phone have failed. — Taking a Year Off 00:02:26
  • opinion drawn: John hopes that with less fractured attention he will be more present in the places that matter most to him. (00:02:55)
• 2019-01-08 · update · John: On his phone John used Screen Time to disable Safari and the App Store and deleted all the attention-grabbing apps. — I Quit Social Media. Here's How It's Going 00:00:29
  • video's point: A month into his year without social media, John reports he is less anxious, has more time and gets bored into having thoughts, but misses it and finds that quitting platforms fixes nothing: the internet is not the problem, his internet is; his Crash Course on navigating digital information helped more.
• 2019-11-07 · update · John: He feels better informed than a year ago: he misses watching news unfold live online, but learns a lot from his local newspaper, podcasts and outlets like The Economist. — I took a year off social media. Here's what happened. 00:01:44
  • opinion drawn: John might eventually return to use the platforms only for promotion, but for now he would get sucked back into the feed, given his long history of failing to moderate his social media use and other obsessions. (00:00:58)

John trains for a half marathon (2017)

3 videos, told 2017 · thread page

• 2017-05-02 · told · John: John is training for a half marathon and a couple of days ago ran 12 miles without stopping, which pleases him. — The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up 00:00:04
  • video's point: Training for a half marathon, John tells how a thumbs up from a passing runner, and then giving thumbs ups himself, made him run faster and happier, and asks people who see him running to give him one.
• 2017-05-05 · update · Hank: Hank congratulates John on working hard on his run and getting his first half marathon. — Sick and Tired 00:02:31
  • point made: Hank says it is nice to break a little out of the meaningless norms of daily exchanges (grocery-line talk, thank yous, have-a-nice-days) to show real gratitude and real good wishes. (00:02:31)
• 2017-05-23 (said on 2017-05-14, implied) · update · John: Asked about life after 100 Days, John says it is good: he finished his first half marathon in two hours and seven minutes. — Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday 00:01:48
  • opinion drawn: At VidCon John most looks forward to the annual Nerdfighter meetup, where they talk about future plans for Crash Course and more. (00:01:42)

John takes a week or two away from the internet to focus on writing (2017)

3 videos, told 2017 · thread page

• 2017-05-16 · told · John: In the end screen John says he won't see Hank on Friday: he is taking a week or possibly two away from the internet to write, and next Tuesday's (23 May 2017) video is prerecorded. (hedged) — The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job 00:03:42
  • video's point: John recalls that their dad is a documentary filmmaker and that his childhood dream job was to introduce documentaries on TV; he names favourite documentaries, argues that Kedi, unlike most nature documentaries, shows humans as part of nature, and recommends Kedi, PBS documentaries and The Road to Nerdfighteria.
• 2017-05-23 (said on 2017-05-14, implied) · update · John: John says the video was filmed nine days earlier because he is taking a week or two away from the internet to work. — Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday 00:00:06
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday filmed nine days early during his break from the internet, John answers viewer questions on the boxes, butterflies, uncertainty, VidCon, his first half marathon, the Mountain Goats and favourite things, reports that Willy has a slow-growing cancer, and answers a request for marriage advice with a Philip Larkin poem.
• 2017-06-13 · update · John: John has been in Cheyenne for quite a while and expects to stay longer; it is frustrating because he likes his real life and his Tuesday videos, isn't all the way here, and worries he should be. — Cheyenne, Wyoming 00:01:18
  • opinion drawn: John says the other thing about going to Cheyenne is that you aren't necessarily going to come home with anything. (00:01:31)

John's dog Willy has a slow-growing cancer (2017)

2 videos, told 2017–2018 · thread page

• 2017-05-23 (said on 2017-05-14, implied) · told · John: John says Willy is not doing great: he has a very slow-growing cancer, but he is much loved and has a relatively good prognosis, so they are hopeful. — Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday 00:02:43
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday filmed nine days early during his break from the internet, John answers viewer questions on the boxes, butterflies, uncertainty, VidCon, his first half marathon, the Mountain Goats and favourite things, reports that Willy has a slow-growing cancer, and answers a request for marriage advice with a Philip Larkin poem.
• 2018-02-27 · update · John: John says their dog Willy is probably near the end of his life, and he wants to eulogize him before he dies. (hedged) — Ode to a Dog 00:00:01
  • video's point: With his dog Willy near the end of his life from cancer, John eulogizes him: a stubborn, uncuddly dog who was gentle with John's children, a constant in the family, and a companion who, unlike people, takes John's irrational obsessive fears seriously.

John co-hosts a stop on Joe Biden's book tour and is struck by his listening

3 videos, told 2017–2022 · thread page

• 2017-11-07 · update · John: John will miss PodCon's first day, Saturday, because he is interviewing former Vice President Joe Biden; there will still be plenty of live Dear Hank and John. — Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday 00:01:08
  • opinion drawn: John says he is not that sad because he is pretty psyched about interviewing Joe Biden. (00:01:18)
• 2020-10-27 · told · John: A while back John was asked to host a book event with Joe Biden. — The time I met Joe Biden 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John generally dislikes political memoirs but was moved by Biden's book, about grief and what serving the public means: sad, human and openly conflicted. (00:00:00)
• 2022-04-05 · retold · John: Several years ago Joe Biden asked John to co-host a stop on his book tour; Biden was so empathetic and careful a listener that John made a whole video about it. — Celebrities I've Met and Whether I'd Vote for Them??? 00:01:27
  • opinion drawn: John happily voted for Joe Biden and is very glad he did. (00:01:27)

John is very sick and misses a vlogbrothers video for the first time in a long time (November 2017)

3 videos, told 2017–2018 · thread page

• 2017-11-17 · told · Hank: Hank hopes John is feeling better: John missed a video for the first time in a long time because he was very sick, which Hank cannot hold against him. — Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) 00:00:00
  • video's point: Partly in song, Hank explains why the US tax code is complicated: a head tax or flat tax would not work, so the code taxes value, corporations, capital gains, uses brackets, credits and fairness provisions, and adds rules against avoidance; every change affects real people.
• 2017-11-21 · update · John: The description's health update: after shooting the video, John was hit by vertigo that made him barf for days; it appears to be labyrinthitis and recovery is slow. — Two Love Stories video description
  • video's point: Sick with the flu, John cheers himself up with two Nerdfighter love stories: Sara and Luis, who met at a 2012 tour stop near Washington, DC and married, and Kenny and Amy, who met at his 2012 Cincinnati event; love, he says, surrounds us.
• 2018-04-03 · mentioned · John: John recalls missing a Tuesday video when he had labyrinthitis, a disease with an extremely low pleasantness factor. — On Punctuality 00:00:05
  • video's point: John, who has made 323 consecutive Tuesday videos bar two illnesses, calls punctuality the cardinal virtue he suspects himself of, a way to value others' time; reading E.B. White on punctuality disturbing the peace, he concludes that extreme punctuality can become a vice.

John's yearly January letters to himself: a look back and goals for the new year

7 videos, told 2018–2025 · thread page

• 2018-01-02 · update · John: John finds it nerve-wracking to talk about goals not yet accomplished, but thinks it can increase accountability. (hedged) — BRING IT IN 2018 00:03:27
  • opinion drawn: John finds it nerve-wracking to talk about goals not yet accomplished, but thinks it can increase accountability. (00:03:27)
• 2019-01-01 · retold · John: Instead of resolutions, John writes himself a yearly letter looking back and ahead, about the trade-offs and changes he would like to make. — How to Make Goals, Not Resolutions 00:01:13
  • point made: Life is a series of trade-offs and compromises; unmade consciously, they get made in a panic or denied until the system, a body or a federal government, shuts down. (00:00:58)
• 2020-01-07 · retold · John: Every January John writes himself two letters, one looking back at the year and one setting goals; over ten years they have become a big deal to him, helping him reflect and choose consciously. — Endings · Beginnings 00:00:00
  • video's point: John frames his yearly letters to himself around endings and beginnings: in 2020 he will finish Crash Course European History, hopes to finish raising Partners In Health's $20 million for the Maternal Center of Excellence and to write a book, wants to stop working nights and weekends, will tour for Sarah's and Hank's books, and will write a thank-you note every day.
• 2023-01-03 · retold · John: Every year John writes himself two letters, one looking back at the past year and one looking ahead, to understand his choices and be intentional, usually setting goals. — TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: John says the weekly video is also a choice: he chooses each Tuesday whether to make one, and viewers choose whether to watch, though he struggles to remember routines are choices. (00:00:29)
• 2023-01-03 · update · John: John says sometimes you need to take it down a notch, and that is his only goal for 2023. — TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH 00:01:27
  • point made: John says sometimes you need to take it down a notch, and that is his only goal for 2023. (00:01:27)
• 2023-01-31 · update · John: In a channel comment John apologizes for the video's inconsistent lighting, which he did not fix because he is taking it down a notch in 2023. (playful) — I'm Going Back to College? creator comment
  • opinion drawn: John says that is how he imagines going back to college: he has less free time than at 19 but is far more capable and prepared. (00:00:29)
• 2023-08-08 · update · John: John replays a clip of his January 2023 video in which he said his only goal for the year was to take it down a notch. (playful) — TAKE IT UP A NOTCH 00:00:00
  • video's point: John replays his January goal to take it down a notch and lists how 2023 instead took it up a notch (Hank's cancer, his temporary CEO jobs, a fight with drug companies); he argues we do not control our fate and that blaming people for their illness breeds stigma, then asks viewers to vote in a poll on whether to keep the four-minute rule.
• 2025-01-07 · retold · John: Every new year John writes himself two letters: one looking back on the year, one looking ahead and stating intentions rather than goals. — The Format but it hurts to stand up 00:02:36
  • opinion drawn: John says he used to set specific, measurable goals, but the year Hank got cancer showed him that telling a year what will happen is a fool's errand; now he has only hopes, prayers and intentions. (00:02:59)
• 2025-01-07 · update · John: John says he used to set specific, measurable goals, but the year Hank got cancer showed him that telling a year what will happen is a fool's errand; now he has only hopes, prayers and intentions. — The Format but it hurts to stand up 00:02:59
  • opinion drawn: John says he used to set specific, measurable goals, but the year Hank got cancer showed him that telling a year what will happen is a fool's errand; now he has only hopes, prayers and intentions. (00:02:59)

John and Sarah's two-person book club before they started dating

2 videos, told 2018–2019 · thread page

• 2018-10-16 · told · John: When John and Sarah first met they started a two-person book club and kept it up for about three months before they started dating, failing to notice they were in love. (playful) — Life's Library 00:00:27
  • point made: John says reading is usually solitary and private, but talking about a finished book with other people can be very fulfilling. (00:00:20)
• 2019-09-10 · retold · John: John tells how, before they dated, he and Sarah had a two-person book club; discussing Philip Roth's The Human Stain at her Chicago apartment, they found they'd highlighted the same passage. — Another Contender in the Room 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John says Sarah's thinking about art, love and how to make things has shaped his whole professional life so deeply that their work is impossible to disentangle. (00:00:29)

John's burnout after taking on new projects (2018)

3 videos, told 2018–2019 · thread page

• 2018-11-13 · told · John: John says he can't see burnout coming; when it arrived recently he was gobsmacked by how much there was to do, though he had scheduled it that way. — HAIRMERGENCY! 00:02:33
  • point made: John thinks this happens to many people: current you imagines future you will be slightly more productive and energetic than you are now. (00:02:45)
• 2018-11-16 · retold · Hank: Echoing John's last video, Hank says he loves every individual thing he is doing. — Doing This Makes Me Happy, but Maybe it Doesn't' Seem that Way? 00:02:36
  • point made: Hank says Vlogbrothers has never felt like maintenance or keeping a thing alive to him: it is a creative outlet with freedom and complete control over the process. (00:02:36)
• 2019-11-26 · update · John: John says he has been thinking about burnout lately; he is not really burnt out now, but is starting to think differently about the role work plays in his life. — old fashioned parts video 00:00:15
  • video's point: In a four-part update, John says he will take Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve off, that his goal for the next decade is less of what the world calls work, and announces the 13th Project for Awesome (December 6-8, Indiegogo from December 3), kept separate from the Partners In Health Sierra Leone project, with a $150,000 match.

John's 2019 sabbatical: a break from most work to focus on writing, with six pre-made videos

2 videos, told 2019 · thread page

• 2019-09-03 · told · John: The description says John is on a sabbatical, taking a break from most work to write; this is the first of six videos during it, many pre-written or pre-shot. — Death, Love, and John's Religion: The Big Questions Take Over Question Tuesday video description
  • opinion drawn: John says religion is an important part of his life and he likes going to church, but finds the way people often talk about religion baffling. (00:00:00)
• 2019-09-17 · update · John: In a comment John says his sabbatical lasts four more weeks, until October 15th, and he hopes to extend it a bit. — 'end the stigma'
  • point made: Amid talk of ending the stigma of mental and other illnesses, Dr. Bailor Barrie told John in Sierra Leone that we can't know how to end stigma until we grapple with its causes. (00:00:00)

John's goal for the 2020s: do fewer things the world calls work (2019)

3 videos, told 2019–2020 · thread page

• 2019-11-26 · told · John: John says his central goal for the next decade is to do fewer things the world constructs as work and more valuable things not imagined as work: family time, dishes, sleep, reading, volunteering. — old fashioned parts video 00:00:32
  • video's point: In a four-part update, John says he will take Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve off, that his goal for the next decade is less of what the world calls work, and announces the 13th Project for Awesome (December 6-8, Indiegogo from December 3), kept separate from the Partners In Health Sierra Leone project, with a $150,000 match.
• 2020-01-07 · update · John: John wants to stop working at night and on weekends: to keep the goal specific, measurable and achievable, no more than one night a week and never weekends except work travel. — Endings · Beginnings 00:01:36
  • video's point: John frames his yearly letters to himself around endings and beginnings: in 2020 he will finish Crash Course European History, hopes to finish raising Partners In Health's $20 million for the Maternal Center of Excellence and to write a book, wants to stop working nights and weekends, will tour for Sarah's and Hank's books, and will write a thank-you note every day.
• 2020-12-29 · update · John: John's goal of no longer working nights or weekends failed: from March he became a part-time e-learning consultant to his two young children and worked when alone and awake, which was rarely, grateful to have work. (playful) — Looking Back at My 2020 Goals 00:01:27
  • opinion drawn: Not flying made John realize that many trips he thought inevitable or necessary are in fact neither. (00:02:12)

John's regular exercise after 100 Days and its effects on his body and mind (2017)

4 videos, told 2020–2023 · thread page

• 2020-01-07 · update · John: John wants to continue exercising at least 150 minutes a week, making Dear Hank and John every Monday and a Vlogbrothers video every Tuesday. — Endings · Beginnings 00:03:09
  • video's point: John frames his yearly letters to himself around endings and beginnings: in 2020 he will finish Crash Course European History, hopes to finish raising Partners In Health's $20 million for the Maternal Center of Excellence and to write a book, wants to stop working nights and weekends, will tour for Sarah's and Hank's books, and will write a thank-you note every day.
• 2020-02-11 · update · John: Three years later John is mostly in better shape: he has cut 30 seconds off his mile pace, is stronger, and has good blood pressure. — 1,100 Days: A Mental and Physical Health Update 00:00:29
  • video's point: Three years after 100 Days, John reports on 1,100 days of regular exercise: some benefits plateau and can start a vicious cycle, others keep improving, his mental health is probably the best it has been, and he no longer imagines his mind as separate from his body.
• 2020-12-29 · update · John: John's small goals, exercising at least 150 minutes a week and making Dear Hank and John every Monday and a Vlogbrothers video every Tuesday, were not easy, but he did them. — Looking Back at My 2020 Goals 00:02:19
  • opinion drawn: Not flying made John realize that many trips he thought inevitable or necessary are in fact neither. (00:02:12)
• 2023-01-03 · update · John: John's past goals included exercising 150 minutes a week and finishing The Anthropocene Reviewed book, and he has a pretty good track record of meeting them. — TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: John says most of his goals turned it up a notch (write a book, start a channel, make a podcast, produce a movie), and often pushing himself is what he needs. (00:00:58)

John and Sarah's 2019 trip to Sierra Leone and its hospitals (2019)

4 videos, told 2020–2026 · thread page

• 2020-01-28 · retold · John: John says he looked away: he didn't want to gawk, didn't know how to help in that moment, and it was awful to see a mother in such pain and a child suffering. — Looking Away (Again) 00:01:51
  • point made: John says most children who die in Sierra Leone die of conditions we know how to treat or prevent. (00:01:51)
• 2022-01-04 · retold · John: On their 2019 visit to Kono, John and Sarah saw a primary health care center in Kombayendeh that was not functioning: no running water, electricity or paid staff; the only care that day was a vaccination. — After 15 Years on YouTube, THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING THING 00:04:35
  • point made: John likens Kono's health system to a wheel: Koidu Government Hospital is the hub, surrounded by primary health care centers with safe delivery spaces, trained staff and a referral and transport system. (00:04:06)
• 2023-10-24 · retold · John: John says Mondeh, like Hank, is now in remission and is a great young artist; visiting him in 2019, John saw his sketch of Mohamed Salah, John's favorite football player. — A Tale of Two Cancers 00:02:28
  • point made: John says much had to go right for Mondeh to survive: a correct diagnosis, though early diagnosis, often called vital in cancer care, is basically impossible in such circumstances. (00:02:38)
• 2026-04-28 · retold · John: John recalls that on his first visit in 2019 KGH, already improved with PIH support, had running water and 24-hour electricity but no ultrasound or diabetes treatment, and far fewer patients. — What I Can't Show You 00:00:29
  • point made: John says the wards are crowded because they give real care, with the staff, stuff and systems to save lives: the first difference PIH makes is building and maintaining hospitals where you come to get well. (00:01:56)

Wallet Island, John's name for a White River island, appears on Google Maps (2020)

2 videos, told 2020 · thread page

• 2020-06-16 (said on 2020-06-07, implied) · told · John: John named it Wallet Island because he once found a wallet there; it is not its official name, and he doesn't know if it has one. — a cool place 00:01:21
  • point made: John calls Wallet Island a place of contradictions but also of beauty. (00:01:50)
• 2020-07-21 · update · John: Wallet Island being on Google Maps feels lovely: it would be a wonderful coda to Paper Towns if a place that only exists sometimes became real by being named on a map. — Somebody Once Asked . . . 00:02:52
  • opinion drawn: Wallet Island being on Google Maps feels lovely: it would be a wonderful coda to Paper Towns if a place that only exists sometimes became real by being named on a map. (00:02:52)

John draws 170,000 circles to grasp the US COVID-19 death toll (2020)

8 videos, told 2020–2021 · thread page

• 2020-08-18 · told · John: After a stressful week, John says he has a long-term plan to draw 170,000 or so circles. — what's wrong with taking the back streets? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John likes drawing circles partly because it is impossible: his shaky hand and his pens mean he will never quite draw an actual circle. (00:00:00)
• 2020-08-18 · update · John: In comments John updates that he has reached 3,400 circles and may livestream his progress; he counts in groups of 100, switching pens and making a tally mark each time. — what's wrong with taking the back streets?
  • opinion drawn: John likes drawing circles partly because it is impossible: his shaky hand and his pens mean he will never quite draw an actual circle. (00:00:00)
• 2020-08-25 · update · John: In a comment John says he has drawn 12,000 circles so far, and it has been very moving to see so many viewers also take up drawing circles. — Somebody once told me…
  • point made: John says humans trust information from people they trust, which is why so many sentences start with what someone told us; online this rumor- and anecdote-driven sorting runs wild. (00:00:00)
• 2020-09-01 · update · John: 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. — get the show on 00:02:26
  • video's point: John announces that his podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed, which he says is really about hope and humanity's paradoxical power, will become his first nonfiction book on May 18, 2021, that he will sign the entire US and Canadian first printing, and updates his circle-drawing project at 17,000 circles.
• 2020-10-05 · update · John: John unboxes this year's (2020) items, starting with Circles Pizza John, which combines two of his favorite things, drawing tiny circles and having a mustache, then shirts, a hoodie, a tote, socks, pins, wrapping paper. (playful) — Thank God It's Over and PIZZAMAS IS HERE!!!!!!! 00:00:29
  • video's point: John opens Pizzamas 2020, freed from the All Star titles, by unboxing this year's Pizza John merch (all profits to charity for child and maternal mortality and COVID relief) while mocking his mustache; a P.S. credits Maddie's YouTube comment with inspiring the All Star title project.
• 2020-10-07 (said on 2020-10-06, implied) · update · John: John loves seeing people draw circles in response to his circle drawings; a Pizzamas t-shirt is such a drawing, made by a nerdfighter named Kimmy. — The Golden Age of Vlogbrothers 00:01:56
  • opinion drawn: John says Nerdfighteria did lots of cool things between 2014 and 2017, but honestly he enjoys it more these days. (00:01:56)
• 2021-02-23 · mentioned · John: John makes drawings obsessively, like his drawing of 17,000 circles, or rather 17,000 failed attempts at circles. — A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life 00:01:56
  • point made: Citing art critic Robert Hughes on the peculiarly modernist hell of repetition, John says he likes work that turns that on its head and finds color and joy in repetition. (00:02:14)
• 2021-04-27 · update · John: The book's endpapers are based on John's circle drawings. — What is my new book about? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Much of the book was inspired by Sarah telling John that in the Anthropocene there are no disinterested observers, only participants. (creator comment)
• 2021-11-23 (said on 2021-10-28, implied) · update · John: Lastly, John needs to finish his ridiculously time-consuming circle drawings. — I have been playing a small trick on you. 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: Everything takes John longer than he expects, not least because he always assumes future him will be more productive than current him. (00:02:55)

John writes his first nonfiction book, The Anthropocene Reviewed (2020)

15 videos, told 2020–2025 · thread page

• 2020-09-01 · told · John: John says writing these essays has been the most fun he has had writing since maybe ever, and he is going back to it. — get the show on 00:03:24
  • video's point: John announces that his podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed, which he says is really about hope and humanity's paradoxical power, will become his first nonfiction book on May 18, 2021, that he will sign the entire US and Canadian first printing, and updates his circle-drawing project at 17,000 circles.
• 2020-12-29 · update · John: The book John wanted to finish in 2020 is The Anthropocene Reviewed; he has not exactly finished it but has made good progress. — Looking Back at My 2020 Goals 00:00:58
  • video's point: John reviews his January 2020 goals video, teasing his past self's certainty: he finished Crash Course European History, paused The Anthropocene Reviewed and progressed on its book, never stopped working nights and weekends, never toured, and saw Partners In Health's $20 million Maternal Center of Excellence goal reached; good goals set a path, and there will be a way forward.
• 2021-01-12 · update · John: John stands by his goal of finishing his book, which he calls extremely in-depth Yelp reviews, coming out later this year (2021). (playful) — My 2021 Vision Board 00:00:00
  • video's point: John answers comments on his 2021 vision board, jokingly defends its goals (a Cats sequel, finishing his book), declares 2021 the year of a weekly vision board, and walks through this week's: reviewing lemmings, microencapsulation, birds with arms, convincing geese to migrate, signing 10,000 times a week, and reading books, not tweets.
• 2021-01-26 · update · John: In a comment John says he has fixed in the book a detail about what sycamore trees are made of, after a viewer pointed out a sycamore isn't mostly water and dirt. — The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed video description
  • opinion drawn: In a comment John concludes that we are here to make shade for ourselves and those we love, and to pay attention to sycamore trees. (creator comment)
• 2021-02-23 · update · John: Despite its grandiose title, John says, The Anthropocene Reviewed is a very personal book, his first attempt to write about his actual self. — A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: John does not want to imply writing is difficult work, since he has done difficult work and writing is not it, but it needs intense focus that can be emotionally exhausting. (00:01:05)
• 2021-03-02 · update · John: The last edits for The Anthropocene Reviewed book are due in three days, which is also a little stressful for John. — What's Not in the Frame 00:03:35
  • video's point: John reveals that the last two weeks were his most stressful in a while because a family member had COVID, explains why weekly videos make it hard to say how he is really doing, and reflects that the social internet shows only what is inside the frame, asking viewers how to navigate it better.
• 2021-03-30 · update · John: John has had a very rough period finishing the book, mostly from things more important than books (family health, managing his brain disorder), but partly from the book. — I did it! 00:02:25
  • opinion drawn: John doesn't think he will ever sign his name 250,000 times again. (00:02:25)
• 2021-05-18 · retold · John: After a long three years and a really long year and a half, John is so grateful the book is here. — Saying What I've Needed to Say to Hank for a While 00:02:32
  • opinion drawn: John wrote the book to write his way back to wonder, hope and sustained attention; it gave him that gift, and he hopes it gives readers some of it too. (00:02:39)
• 2021-05-25 · retold · John: In early 2020, after two years of writing the podcast, a novel coronavirus appeared, and John began to write about the only thing he could write about. — The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated 00:12:53
  • point made: Falling in love with the world doesn't ignore suffering: it is to feel your mind swim before the beauty and distance of the stars, to hold your crying children, to watch sycamores leaf out in June. (00:14:20)
• 2021-11-23 (said on 2021-10-28, implied) · retold · John: Writing and publishing The Anthropocene Reviewed book were both really fun and fulfilling, so John is not in a hurry to write or publish anything. — I have been playing a small trick on you. 00:02:26
  • opinion drawn: Everything takes John longer than he expects, not least because he always assumes future him will be more productive than current him. (00:02:55)
• 2021-12-14 · retold · John: In a comment John thanks people for sharing The Anthropocene Reviewed, which is suddenly finding many new readers, and says he loved writing nonfiction too. — MAKE. BELIEVE. creator comment
  • video's point: Back from his sabbatical, John says he rediscovered how much he enjoys writing: all writing is rewriting, both in revision and in translating thought into language, writing brings him calm, and working on a story gives his wandering mind the joy of make-believe; he updates on his foot and asks viewers to take the Census.
• 2022-09-20 · retold · John: In three and a half years writing the book John learned about Staphylococcus aureus and grocery stores, but the biggest, surprising lesson was that he is broadly in favor of humans. — Against Nihilism 00:00:58
  • point made: John rejects nihilism, because like all straightforward answers to life's great questions it is inadequate, and because he thinks human life itself is imbued with meaning. (00:00:29)
• 2023-01-03 · mentioned · John: John's past goals included exercising 150 minutes a week and finishing The Anthropocene Reviewed book, and he has a pretty good track record of meeting them. — TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: John says most of his goals turned it up a notch (write a book, start a channel, make a podcast, produce a movie), and often pushing himself is what he needs. (00:00:58)
• 2023-10-17 · retold · John: Retirement didn't stop John writing, only writing what people expect: he wrote the weird, personal nonfiction book The Anthropocene Reviewed, which found a broad audience, though not as broad as his novels. — My Next Book 00:01:56
  • point made: For John, retirement means not obsessing over becoming richer, more famous or more viewed, and defining work by passion and impact. (00:01:27)
• 2025-06-03 · retold · John: After he started writing nonfiction John announced he was done with fiction: as in The Anthropocene Reviewed, he no longer saw its point and felt his historical moment could only be met with truth. — My Lies 00:02:20
  • opinion drawn: John says the nonfiction books are still about imagining other people complexly, his overarching theme, and both have kids who like poetry, his other jam. (00:01:51)

John's labyrinthitis after the Turtles All the Way Down tour (2017)

10 videos, told 2021–2026 · thread page

• 2021-05-25 · retold · John: A week later, his balance suddenly failed: the world spun, his eyes shivered, he vomited and was rushed to hospital; diagnosed with labyrinthitis, an inner-ear disease, it was an unambiguously one-star experience. — The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated 00:00:58
  • video's point: Reading the first chapter of The Anthropocene Reviewed over animation by Meitar Almog, John tells how labyrinthitis after the 2017 tour, his Booklist years, Hank's joke name and Sarah's insight that there are no observers, only participants, led him to review the human-centered planet, and resolves to fall in love with the world.
• 2021-08-10 · retold · John: Three and a half years ago John was diagnosed with labyrinthitis, a viral inflammation of the inner ear: he went from a slight head cold to incapacitating vertigo, fell over, vomited and was rushed to hospital. — My Physicalmental Illness 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: In the description John says stigma is complicated: illness is stigmatized partly by how well we understand and treat it, by who it mostly affects, and by which bodily systems it affects, with real impacts on health care. (video description)
• 2021-09-14 · mentioned · John: John recalls making Tuesday videos when labyrinthitis kept his eyes from focusing. — I do this every. single. tuesday. 00:00:15
  • point made: John doesn't have to make videos this way but likes to; 15 years of consistency is notable because he is the worst at consistency. (00:00:45)
• 2022-04-12 · retold · John: John says many bad things that didn't kill him didn't make him stronger at all; labyrinthitis just made his life worse, and still does a little. — Utter Chippy Butty Chaos 00:01:06
  • opinion drawn: John says lots of bad things that happened to him, like labyrinthitis, did not make him stronger at all and still make his life a little worse. (00:01:06)
• 2022-10-18 · retold · John: Recovering from labyrinthitis, John was told by his physical therapist to go outside daily; relearning balance, his brain relied on visual cues and was easily overwhelmed. — Terraverse Over Everything: Thoughts from London 00:03:16
  • point made: John loves the internet, where he made wonderful friends and had deep, real experiences, but says it is a complement to the Terraverse, not a replacement for it. (00:02:47)
• 2023-10-17 · retold · John: In November 2017, just after publishing Turtles All the Way Down and a grueling tour, John's balance failed at home; he was hospitalized and diagnosed with labyrinthitis. — My Next Book 00:00:00
  • point made: John feels he worked himself into the misery of labyrinthitis for money and fame he didn't need and that wouldn't make his life better, so he decided to retire. (00:00:58)
• 2025-04-22 · retold · John: John recalls that a few years ago, with labyrinthitis, he was stuck in bed with his eyes closed for two weeks because opening them made him throw up. — The Unimportant Things 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John says it is a privilege to spread the news that the world's deadliest infectious disease is preventable and curable. (00:00:00)
• 2025-08-12 · retold · John: John recalls that on a Monday afternoon in 2017, while rummaging through a drawer, his sense of balance suddenly failed; he fell to the floor and started vomiting. — On Balance 00:00:00
  • point made: John says you don't notice your sense of balance when it works: he can describe what he smells, sees, hears, tastes and touches, but not his balance, because it is functioning. (00:00:24)
• 2025-08-12 · update · John: John says he is making this video because his vertigo returned a couple of weeks ago. — On Balance 00:01:10
  • opinion drawn: John says vertigo is almost impossible to explain to someone who has never had it; comparisons like a small boat on a heaving ocean or being spun around fall short because those feelings end. (00:00:43)
• 2026-01-02 · mentioned · Hank: A few weeks ago Hank woke in the night with the room spinning; he hated it, partly because he knows it has happened to John and that John hates it. — I Got a New Disease and I Kinda Liked It. 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank tells John that a bout of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, whose only lasting effect was to make him take pleasant morning walks, made him wonder whether he would pay to be nudged into healthy habits; since no drug can do that for hyperpalatable online content, he argues for tools such as Focus Friend and We're Here and for social support, wanting his 2026 to be more lived and less scrolled.
• 2026-02-15 · mentioned · John: John does not need a yacht: he dislikes boats because a vestibular disorder from his labyrinthitis in 2017 makes him sick; he is glad they are hiring community health workers in Lesotho. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 03:12:33
  • opinion drawn: Rosianna's self-care bunnies remind John that it is important to take care of himself as well as others; they can coexist, and often what feeds him also feeds others. (03:14:09)

John paces his friend Craig for 17 miles of a 100-mile trail race (2021)

2 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-10-12 · told · John: John's friend Craig, a high school teacher, ran a 100-mile trail race in just under 24 hours; John paced him for 17 miles, the longest run of John's life. — Fine, I'll take the bait. 00:02:26
  • video's point: Taking up Hank's fastest-things title, John notes cosmic inflation and Earth's and the Sun's speeds, then argues the fastest thing he has known is the accelerating flow of information, from pi's digits to the internet, which he only grasped while pacing his friend Craig for 17 miles of a 100-mile trail race without reception.
• 2021-10-13 · mentioned · Hank: Since speed is relative, Hank tells John that to him and probably many viewers any speed after 16 miles of running is effectively infinite, so John's 17 miles were not slow. (playful) — The Web of Care 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says we are individuals but act on the world, and it on us, in ways individuality explains badly; Hank's self-centered 'everything needs me' feeling serves neither the world nor him. (video description)

John's secret November 2021 mini-sabbatical with pre-made Vlogbrothers videos (2021)

2 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-11-23 (said on 2021-10-28, implied) · told · John: Recording on Thursday, October 28, John reveals he secretly pre-made a batch of Vlogbrothers videos and took November off as a sort of mini-sabbatical. — I have been playing a small trick on you. 00:00:00
  • video's point: Recording on October 28, John reveals he pre-made his November videos to take a secret mini-sabbatical, and gives five reasons: work is no longer his life's center, rehab for his boot, a recent dip in his mental health, a renewed wish to write, and his circle drawings.
• 2021-12-14 · update · John: During his semi-secret sabbatical John got a fair amount of writing done and loved it in a way he had kind of forgotten. — MAKE. BELIEVE. 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back from his sabbatical, John says he rediscovered how much he enjoys writing: all writing is rewriting, both in revision and in translating thought into language, writing brings him calm, and working on a story gives his wandering mind the joy of make-believe; he updates on his foot and asks viewers to take the Census.

John wears a boot (2021)

2 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-11-23 (said on 2021-10-28, implied) · update · John: Second, John's boot situation requires a bit of rehab. — I have been playing a small trick on you. 00:01:27
  • video's point: Recording on October 28, John reveals he pre-made his November videos to take a secret mini-sabbatical, and gives five reasons: work is no longer his life's center, rehab for his boot, a recent dip in his mental health, a renewed wish to write, and his circle drawings.
• 2021-12-14 · update · John: Over the six weeks John had a lot of family stuff and work, and rehabbed his foot, now in a normal shoe instead of a boot, though not totally recovered. — MAKE. BELIEVE. 00:02:55
  • point made: A gift writing stories gives John, more than nonfiction does, is the joy of pure imagination, what his childhood called make-believe. (00:02:55)

John gets COVID (2022)

2 videos, told 2022 · thread page

• 2022-08-16 · told · John: John reports that he has COVID, opening his video with greetings from it. — cars vs. covid 00:00:00
  • video's point: Sick with COVID, John plays 'America's leading COVID-stricken Cars vs. influencer and analyst', reacting to Cars vs. videos with jokes about his fears, a misspoken line he prefers to his most famous one, a pun in progress and his adult cowardice.
• 2022-08-23 · update · John: The Sunless City arrived in John's mailbox just as COVID was settling upon his house. — Flin Flon: One Book's Unlikely Survival 00:00:29
  • video's point: John tells how The Sunless City (1905) by J. E. Preston Muddock, a forgotten and misogynistic adventure novel, survives only because a prospector named his copper mine, and so the town of Flin Flon, after its hero; books usually die young, and this one lives on through the town.

John makes secret-keeper pottery (2023)

3 videos, told 2023–2024 · thread page

• 2023-01-10 · told · John: John calls the forms secret keepers: you whisper difficult, worrisome or traumatic things into the holes so the worry lives in the form, not your head. — Introducing: The Format 00:02:37
  • opinion drawn: John says the secret keepers probably do not work, but he likes them conceptually. (00:03:06)
• 2023-02-21 · told · John: John makes closed clay forms he calls secret keepers: you whisper something difficult, painful or traumatic into their holes so the secret lives in the form, not your brain. — Maybe Art Only Needs to Be 00:00:23
  • video's point: Throwing a secret keeper on the pottery wheel after the P4A weekend, John reports the 16th Project for Awesome has raised over $3 million, muses that wheels were invented for pottery, calls the chat's closing chorus his favorite part and a reminder that hope is the right response to consciousness, and says art need not be great to be worthwhile.
• 2024-08-06 · update · John: John makes small closed forms he calls secret keepers: you whisper secrets or traumas into them so they hold them for you; asked whether it works, he says not really. (playful) — What Helped Through Depression 00:00:29
  • point made: The second thing that helped was his communities; John gets unusual, unreplicable support from Nerdfighteria, for which he is very grateful. (00:00:29)

John reads widely about tuberculosis and 19th-century illness (2022)

28 videos, told 2023–2026 · thread page

• 2023-01-31 · told · John: John explores these questions in his free time for fun, which would have been hard to explain to his 19-year-old self. — I'm Going Back to College? 00:01:27
  • point made: John says he never understood that the point of school is not a degree or meeting expectations but to better understand the universe and your place in it. (00:00:58)
• 2023-02-07 · update · John: John says, as if it were news, that he has been reading a lot about tuberculosis recently. (playful) — Mid-Morning Existential Crisis: The Format Returns 00:02:20
  • opinion drawn: John finds humanity's relationship with air strange, especially since for a long time we didn't know air was made of stuff. (00:02:20)
• 2023-02-28 · update · John: John says he has just read a bunch of 19th-century invalids' memoirs. — Empathy and its Limits 00:02:47
  • point made: John says he can't know what it's like to be a bird or to have someone else's pain, but he can listen to people when they tell him of their pain and believe them. (00:02:47)
• 2023-03-28 · update · John: John says he has been reading a lot about tuberculosis lately: many journal articles and over 20 books. — My Tuberculosis Reading List 00:00:00
  • video's point: After reading over 20 books on tuberculosis, John recommends three TB reads (Handaa Enkh-Amgalan's memoir Stigmatized, Vidya Krishnan's Phantom Plague with Shreya Tripathi's story, and Paul Farmer's paper on the new tuberculosis) and argues TB persists because of poverty and unequal investment, asking viewers to vote, raise awareness and donate.
• 2023-05-16 · update · John: John calls making connections between human history and tuberculosis his favorite leisure activity. (playful) — Did TB Cause World War I? 00:00:29
  • point made: Citing a historian, John says all three suffered from tuberculosis and knew they would not live long, which made them willing to give their lives for what they saw as a great cause. (00:01:57)
• 2023-06-13 · update · John: John's deep-dive topic is tuberculosis, which he calls the oldest, deadliest and, in his opinion, least understood infectious disease in human history. — touched by a king 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John's deep-dive topic is tuberculosis, which he calls the oldest, deadliest and, in his opinion, least understood infectious disease in human history. (00:00:00)
• 2023-07-14 · update · Hank: Hank admits that during the last year he sometimes thought John was over-investing in tuberculosis, a feeling he no longer has: going deeper shows people working on real solutions. (playful) — The Good News Video 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: The description notes J&J did not abandon its patent and could still limit access, but calls its licenses for generics where most needed a massive win. (video description)
• 2023-07-18 · update · John: John says his tuberculosis obsession goes so far that even on vacation he is reading a book about Arthur Conan Doyle and his contributions to tuberculosis research. (playful) — Tuberculosis Fighters Have a Posse 00:00:00
  • video's point: John argues that diseases get solved when they have a global constituency that includes the rich and powerful, as COVID-19, HIV and malaria show, and that tuberculosis, a curable disease of poverty, needs the rich world to listen and give its fighters 'a posse'; he credits the community with a big step last week.
• 2023-08-15 · update · John: John came home from that trip obsessed with tuberculosis and spent the next few years learning about it, often thinking of and praying for Henry but never daring to ask what happened to him. — Henry 00:03:14
  • opinion drawn: John says it was only one kid, but tell that to his mother, and maybe this one kid could be the first of many. (00:03:14)
• 2023-08-22 · update · John: John's current favorite tuberculosis fact comes from rereading the book Living in the Shadow of Death; he admits it can seem he only thinks about tuberculosis. — The Panera Phenomenon 00:00:58
  • point made: John says this was not ancient history but two human lifetimes ago: the idea that anyone is insulated from tuberculosis is very recent. (00:01:27)
• 2023-09-05 · update · John: John says his Cheyenne, Wyoming has been figuring out how tuberculosis's change happened and how to tell its story. — I Ain't Even Here, Sergeant. I'm in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 00:01:40
  • point made: John says that in the 21st century the deadliest infectious disease is curable, which is unprecedented: the deadliest diseases of the 20th, 19th and 18th centuries were not. (00:01:45)
• 2023-09-14 · update · John: John recalls a memoir by a woman who had TB as a child in mid-20th-century US sanatoriums until streptomycin saved her; going home, she had forgotten being touched with love. — Talking Tuberculosis, GeneXpert, J&J, and more with MY HEROES 00:48:37
  • opinion drawn: John says such isolation is heartbreaking and unnecessary, since people a few weeks into treatment are no longer infectious and pose less threat than a crowded bus. (00:49:06)
• 2023-09-15 · update · Hank: Hank says he would love to read a John Green book about tuberculosis; John is definitely the expert on it. — The Worst Disease in Human History 00:00:35
  • video's point: Hank explains why tuberculosis, the deadliest infectious disease for most of human history, is so hard to fight: its thick waxy cell wall resists antibiotics, aids biofilms and resistance, and slows growth, which makes culture diagnosis slow; so molecular test cartridges must get cheap, and he calls Danaher and Cepheid allies against TB in getting them to $5.
• 2023-10-17 · update · John: Over the last couple of years John has mostly been writing, somewhat obsessively, about tuberculosis, which is exactly what he wants to write about. — My Next Book 00:02:47
  • point made: For John, writing about tuberculosis is a way to understand historical and contemporary inequities: the toll of a disease the rich world ignores resulted from historical forces and TB's own quirks. (00:02:47)
• 2023-11-07 · update · John: John says that when he started writing about tuberculosis a few years ago he expected a small, straightforward project with no risk of a movie adaptation; it has not been small, because tuberculosis is not a simple concept. (playful) — NaFaDoYBIMSCoM 00:00:29
  • point made: John says what he is writing is not only about tuberculosis but about how tuberculosis is a form and expression of injustice. (00:00:29)
• 2023-11-28 · update · John: John admits that yes, he has a favorite tuberculosis book of the year. (playful) — John's (Mostly Book) Holiday Gift Recommendations 00:00:29
  • video's point: In his yearly holiday gift roundup John recommends books (Hannah Ritchie, Rebecca Makkai, Maria Smilios, Leslie Jones, Ilene Cooper, Adam Grant, Ed Yong), argues for reading kids' books to learn a subject, plugs Hank's Cancer Socks, a Sun Basin bath box and Awesome Coffee gift boxes, and asks Hank for the bath box.
• 2024-02-06 · update · John: With Hollywood not chasing The Anthropocene Reviewed or his forthcoming tuberculosis book, John says this may be his last time seeing hundreds of people make something wonderful together. (hedged) — The Truth of How Books Become Movies 00:04:52
  • opinion drawn: With Hollywood not chasing The Anthropocene Reviewed or his forthcoming tuberculosis book, John says this may be his last time seeing hundreds of people make something wonderful together. (00:04:52)
• 2024-04-16 · update · John: In a channel comment, John says his next work is a nonfiction book about 19th-century human responses to tuberculosis, unlikely Hollywood material. — I Already Got Paid creator comment
  • point made: John's problem with profit-share deals: if the movie is bad, even one furthering stereotypes he wrote against, he is still incentivized to like it or pretend to. (00:00:29)
• 2024-05-28 · update · John: John says he is writing a book about the history and presence of tuberculosis, which will come out next year (2025). — A Midlife Crisis 00:02:26
  • point made: John says these choices aren't binary, since some things can be dialed up and others down, but you still have to choose and prioritize, especially once aware that time is limited. (00:02:55)
• 2024-06-25 · update · John: John must finish his book so it can come out next year (2025), and that alone feels like too much work for his depressed brain. — taking a break 00:00:58
  • video's point: After congratulating Hank on his comedy special, John says he will take July away from the internet because of depression: finishing his book feels like too much, and like Daniel Biss's clean water dumped into the toxic lake of Twitter he doubts his making stuff helps anyone; he closes by insisting that despair and hopelessness are lies.
• 2024-08-07 · update · John: Answering a patron, John says he still reads mostly about tuberculosis because he is in the last edit of his book. — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:28:39
  • video's point: In a public Dear Hank and John Patreon livestream, John (back at work after his breakdown) and Hank discuss business stress, cycles of fame and hate, the fracturing internet and addictive platforms, and how being an influencer ties self-worth to an internet commodity; they then answer patrons on reading and where to live.
• 2024-08-20 · update · John: John woke up over the Irish Sea, started reading a great book about tuberculosis called Breathless, and landed in London, taking a cab when his train was cancelled. — Thoughts from Places: BROMLEY! 00:00:00
  • video's point: John flies to London to watch AFC Wimbledon lose away at Bromley, mock-praises the town before it charms him, and argues that football is love and hope shared with people, past and present, so that even in defeat he is in joy again.
• 2024-10-22 · retold · John: John says he began writing about TB because writing is how he thinks and he wanted to remember what survivors and experts taught him; eventually he set aside the novel he'd been working on. — My New Book: Everything Is Tuberculosis 00:01:40
  • point made: John says we in turn have shaped TB, because the disease follows the trails of injustice that we blazed for it. (00:02:15)
• 2024-12-31 · update · John: John calls Everything Is Tuberculosis the culmination of three years of his obsession with tuberculosis, its ongoing prevalence, and what that says about the world. — I Just Can't Do It Anymore 00:03:53
  • point made: John says his relentless always-working habit has benefited his work but not other parts of his life, including his right shoulder, and the injury has him rethinking his relationship with work. (00:03:24)
• 2025-02-25 · update · John: John says his wife Sarah jokes that in his mind everything is about tuberculosis and tuberculosis is about everything, and she is right. (playful) — EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS 00:09:05
  • point made: John says because TB spreads well in crowded slums and factories it is seen as a disease of poverty, walking the trails of injustice we blazed for it. (00:08:43)
• 2025-03-14 · update · Hank: Hank says John has focused for years on tuberculosis, a massive problem few others think about, which objectively makes sense even if not to Hank's interest-seeking brain. — Probably the Luckiest Thing in my Life 00:02:39
  • opinion drawn: Hank says John asks not what is the clearest path to something interesting but what is the most important problem to turn their energy toward, and Hank would be lost without that. (00:02:39)
• 2025-11-04 · update · John: Replying to Hank, John says his tuberculosis obsession is a path into a larger obsession he has had since being a hospital chaplain: why suffering is so unjustly distributed and what human-built systems can do about it. — The Real Question 00:00:00
  • point made: Replying to Hank, John says his tuberculosis obsession is a path into a larger obsession he has had since being a hospital chaplain: why suffering is so unjustly distributed and what human-built systems can do about it. (00:00:00)
• 2026-08-25 · retold · John: Researching Everything Is Tuberculosis, John read Gail Perkins's memoir The Baby's Cross: infected by raw milk at three, she spent over 13 years in a sanatorium and came home unaccustomed to touch. — The Great Thing about Infectious Disease 00:03:24
  • point made: No one alive remembers 1890, and John worries we are collectively starting to forget life before vaccination, antibiotics and clean water. (00:01:56)

John's back pain (2023)

3 videos, told 2023–2024 · thread page

• 2023-03-24 · update · Hank: Hank is sorry to hear about John's back and hopes he feels better; he researched herniated discs in response. — The Two Reasons Why Humans Have Such Bad Backs 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank says the reason humans so often have bad backs may stretch all the way back to the advent of bipedalism. (00:00:00)
• 2023-03-28 · update · John: Replying to a viewer hoping he feels better, John says he is massively better after injections, maybe not a permanent solution but a good one. — My Tuberculosis Reading List creator comment
  • video's point: After reading over 20 books on tuberculosis, John recommends three TB reads (Handaa Enkh-Amgalan's memoir Stigmatized, Vidya Krishnan's Phantom Plague with Shreya Tripathi's story, and Paul Farmer's paper on the new tuberculosis) and argues TB persists because of poverty and unequal investment, asking viewers to vote, raise awareness and donate.
• 2024-05-28 · update · John: At physical therapy for his chronic back pain, John told his physical therapist he was 46, 'halfway home', his standard joke when asked his age. (playful) — A Midlife Crisis 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says John isn't sure how to square the benefit of reading a book with the benefit of giving birth in a safe, well-supported environment. (video description)

John's stint as reluctant temporary CEO of DFTBA.com during Hank's cancer (2023)

6 videos, told 2023 · thread page

• 2023-05-23 · told · John: John asks people to spare a thought for the employees of DFTBA and Complexly, who now have him, a store-brand Hank Green, as temporary CEO. (playful) — Rough Week 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: John says the world still needs Crash Course, SciShow and everything else Complexly makes. (00:03:14)
• 2023-06-20 · update · John: John says he loves being the part-time, temporary, reluctant, marginally competent CEO of the two companies and genuinely doesn't resent the brief promotion. — Reflections from a Terrible CEO 00:02:00
  • opinion drawn: John says he loves being the part-time, temporary, reluctant, marginally competent CEO of the two companies and genuinely doesn't resent the brief promotion. (00:02:00)
• 2023-08-01 · update · John: The description names Laura Joukovski as DFTBA's incoming CEO. — Three Mornings video description
  • opinion drawn: In a comment, John says customers should be suspicious of 'sustainability' or 'fair trade' claims because such terms are barely regulated. (creator comment)
• 2023-08-08 · retold · John: John says he was unexpectedly promoted to reluctant and temporary CEO of two companies with 115 employees in total. (playful) — TAKE IT UP A NOTCH 00:00:29
  • video's point: John replays his January goal to take it down a notch and lists how 2023 instead took it up a notch (Hank's cancer, his temporary CEO jobs, a fight with drug companies); he argues we do not control our fate and that blaming people for their illness breeds stigma, then asks viewers to vote in a poll on whether to keep the four-minute rule.
• 2023-08-29 · stopped · John: John announces that in one week he will no longer be the CEO of DFTBA.com. — Breaking News: CEO Demoted 00:01:57
  • opinion drawn: John says he will nonetheless miss the job, because it is a joy to be with people who care about their work and together make something special. (00:01:57)
• 2023-10-06 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that during his cancer treatment John took over as CEO of DFTBA and Complexly before LJ started. — I Quit 00:04:54
  • opinion drawn: Hank says his fear at root was that the new leader would decide differently than he would, but that is how it will work, and good, since LJ knows much more than he does. (00:04:24)

John and Henry Reider, a Sierra Leonean teenager with multidrug-resistant TB he met at Lakka hospital (2019)

11 videos, told 2023–2026 · thread page

• 2023-08-15 · told · John: In 2019 John visited the Lakka TB hospital in Sierra Leone and met Henry, who shares his son's name and seemed his son's age; Henry showed him around, and John assumed he was a nurse's child. — Henry 00:00:00
  • point made: John says people often ask him why he is obsessed with tuberculosis, and this video is why. (00:00:00)
• 2023-08-15 · update · John: Returning to Lakka with Sarah in 2023, John is reunited with Henry, who was cured after a bedaquiline-based cocktail and now attends university. — Henry 00:03:43
  • opinion drawn: John says it was only one kid, but tell that to his mother, and maybe this one kid could be the first of many. (00:03:14)
• 2024-08-06 · update · John: John's friend in Sierra Leone, Henry Reider, is trying to build a well in Freetown to address the water crisis there. — What Helped Through Depression 00:01:56
  • point made: Helping helps: engaging with issues he cares about, and the friendships and connections that emerge from that work, encourage John. (00:01:56)
• 2024-10-22 · retold · John: John says in 2019 he visited a tuberculosis hospital in Sierra Leone, met a boy who shared his son's name, and came home obsessed with tuberculosis. — My New Book: Everything Is Tuberculosis 00:00:33
  • video's point: John announces his new nonfiction book, Everything Is Tuberculosis (out March 18), explaining how a 2019 visit to a Sierra Leone TB hospital made him obsessed with a curable disease that still kills over a million people a year; he shows the cover, says he is signing 100,000 pre-ordered copies, and hopes the book helps make TB history.
• 2024-12-10 · retold · John: Like most of his books, John says, it stars a smart teenager who loves poetry: Henry Reider, a young man who lived with tuberculosis for most of his childhood. (playful) — On Writing 00:03:23
  • point made: John says tuberculosis speaks to his recurring theme of how we imagine and misimagine each other: we see our own lives as complex and multitudinous but imagine others' lives simplistically. (00:03:08)
• 2025-01-10 · retold · Hank: Kirkus, read by Hank, says that after John met a sick boy, Henry, in Sierra Leone in 2019, he set out to learn everything about TB and concluded it persists through racism, greed and public-health economics. — SECRET PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT! 00:03:58
  • opinion drawn: Kirkus, read by Hank, says that after John met a sick boy, Henry, in Sierra Leone in 2019, he set out to learn everything about TB and concluded it persists through racism, greed and public-health economics. (00:03:58)
• 2025-03-18 · update · John: John says Henry told him yesterday that his dream is 100,000 subscribers and the silver plaque, and asks viewers to help make it come true. — ITS ALL HAPPENING 00:02:58
  • video's point: On the day Everything Is Tuberculosis comes out, John films backstage at CBS Mornings and Morning Joe, contrasts it with Looking for Alaska's quiet launch, wishes the book were less timely, asks viewers to subscribe to Henry's YouTube channel, warns of a projected rise in drug-resistant TB, and rejects cynicism: we live in the middle of the story.
• 2025-11-13 · retold · John: John says his friend Henry, an MDR-TB survivor in Sierra Leone, credits Dr. Girum Tefera and also his mother, who brought him extra food when many are abandoned by families. — Fighting TB in Kids: A Discussion with Doctors without Borders 00:47:09
  • opinion drawn: John recalls a young MSF doctor in Manila urging him to treat the person, not the lab: especially in kids, a negative GeneXpert test may not tell much. (00:47:51)
• 2025-11-24 · update · John: John tells Hank he has been traveling to Denmark and England; in Denmark he attended the Union Conference on Lung Health with Henry Reider, whom viewers know from Everything Is Tuberculosis. — Good Store Holiday Gift Guide LIVE with Hank and John 00:00:00
  • video's point: In a Good Store holiday livestream, John and Hank present the store's holiday gifts and discount codes, launch cancer compression socks, note that Good Store has donated over $11 million to charity, read reviews and buyers' names, and banter about Paul Newman, their colleges, a planned reunion video and Henry's wisdom teeth.
• 2025-11-25 · retold · John: John recalls that Henry Reider inspired his interest in TB and that Henry's effort to survive multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a through line in Everything Is Tuberculosis. — Poverty Is Expensive 00:00:00
  • video's point: John tells how Henry Reider and his mother Isatu, invited to the Union tuberculosis conference in Copenhagen, waited weeks in Ghana for Danish visas and Isatu was denied; he argues that TB and visa injustice show poverty is expensive and that visas shape who is heard about TB, which persists because we fail to treat all humans as equal.
• 2025-11-25 · update · John: John tells how Henry and Isatu, invited to the Union conference in Copenhagen, waited about 25 days in Ghana for visas; Isatu was denied, while Henry got his visa and spoke at the conference. — Poverty Is Expensive 00:01:56
  • video's point: John tells how Henry Reider and his mother Isatu, invited to the Union tuberculosis conference in Copenhagen, waited weeks in Ghana for Danish visas and Isatu was denied; he argues that TB and visa injustice show poverty is expensive and that visas shape who is heard about TB, which persists because we fail to treat all humans as equal.
• 2026-02-13 · mentioned · John: John says P4A donations support structural change and individual lives like his friend Henry Reider, in the chat, whom he wrote Everything Is Tuberculosis about and who would not be alive without Partners In Health. — Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! 01:42:50
  • point made: John says the pace of change is frustrating, insufficient and inadequate, but real change is still possible. (01:41:07)
• 2026-08-03 · retold · John: John cannot reconcile himself to his friend Henry having almost died of TB and living with its scars. — Esther Day 2026: Some Thoughts on Loss 00:02:13
  • point made: John says he still has not reconciled himself to the fundamental injustice of death; he understands that life isn't fair in the abstract but not in day-to-day life. (00:02:13)

John and his mom's homemade hot sauce (2023)

4 videos, told 2023–2026 · thread page

• 2023-08-22 · told · John: The peppers are for John and his mom's annual hot sauce: he is making experimental fermented sauces with the early peppers, and the traditional family sauce later in the year. — The Panera Phenomenon 00:03:08
  • video's point: In a four-part Format video John shows the nearly finished Maternal Center of Excellence as hope realized, argues from Franklin Pierce's tuberculosis-ridden administration that today's world is new and so changeable, muses on Panera's frequent mentions in hip-hop, and shows his bathtub-grown peppers for his family's annual hot sauce, asking for name ideas.
• 2023-09-25 · update · John: John shows Pizza John's hot sauce, which tastes much like the hot sauce he makes with his mom but cannot legally sell; it is US-only as food. — PIZZAMAS IS HERE!!! 00:03:00
  • video's point: John opens Pizzamas 2023 by unboxing the year's Pizza John merch (Drawfee shirt, holiday sweater, Cheez-A-John, hot sauce, mug, bath bomb, neon sign and more), sold for two weeks with all proceeds going to tuberculosis work, and teases Hank's facial hair for tomorrow.
• 2023-10-31 · update · John: John shows this year's (2023) hot sauce made with his mom, from bathtub seedlings and a big harvest to a fermented mash with no mold, bottled to give family and friends for the holidays. — How to Make Hot Sauce for Just $65 per Bottle 00:02:40
  • opinion drawn: John says homemade hot sauce is miles better than store-bought, though he does not even like hot sauce that much. (00:02:05)
• 2026-10-27 · mentioned · John: John and his mom grow pepper plants to make their family hot sauce; tending them is another thing he might be doing if he ever Salingered. — Should I Salinger… 00:03:32
  • opinion drawn: John says imagining Salingering is sometimes a useful daydream that releases a pressure valve. (00:03:09)

John attends and speaks at the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis (2023)

4 videos, told 2023–2024 · thread page

• 2023-09-19 · told · John: John says that this week (week of 18 September 2023) he will be in New York to continue conversations about tuberculosis at the United Nations. — So, um.... GOOD NEWS?!?!?! 00:04:25
  • opinion drawn: John says the work is not finished; really, it is just beginning. (00:04:25)
• 2023-09-27 · told · John: John vlogs his trip to the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis with Sarah, where he gets to give a speech of under two minutes. — John Goes ... to the UNITED NATIONS? 00:00:00
  • video's point: John vlogs his trip to the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis, where the political declaration is approved, remembers Shreya Tripathi, and in a two-minute speech argues that TB deaths are now caused by human choices: the cure is where the disease is not.
• 2023-09-28 · retold · Hank: Hank finds it amazing that John was on the UN stage and said what needed saying: the continued burden of tuberculosis is a choice we are making. — What the Heck is the UN? 00:06:44
  • point made: Hank says we can make different choices because we already have, showing charts of world deaths by age since 1950, polio burden since 1980 and TB death rates since 1990. (00:07:13)
• 2024-01-02 · retold · John: John recalls that he later became a guy who gave a speech at the United Nations. — Being Old on YouTube 00:00:45
  • opinion drawn: John says many YouTubers are younger than the brothers on YouTube, and that they still make videos is mostly a testament to a loyal community that grew and changed with them. (00:00:29)

John's family gets a puppy, Potato (2023)

9 videos, told 2023–2026 · thread page

• 2023-12-12 · told · John: John tells Hank his family has a puppy named Potato, five months old, whom he calls the greatest and a very good boy. — POTATO! 00:00:00
  • video's point: John introduces Potato, his family's five-month-old Lagotto Romagnolo puppy, explains that the kids named him after the breeder's 'little potato' and that the breed suits their lung allergies, then answers joke questions about him, including a mock lesson on tuberculosis.
• 2024-04-23 · update · John: John takes a 'potato break' with Potato, who is still a puppy and doesn't come when called, and compliments his bow tie. (playful) — Full Hank 00:00:58
  • point made: John's second reason for making stuff when overwhelmed is that he likes making stuff: being creative doesn't exactly make him happy, it makes him feel conscious of being alive. (00:00:58)
• 2024-08-07 · update · John: John opens the stream watching the Olympics, with his puppy Potato running around. — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:00:00
  • video's point: In a public Dear Hank and John Patreon livestream, John (back at work after his breakdown) and Hank discuss business stress, cycles of fame and hate, the fracturing internet and addictive platforms, and how being an influencer ties self-worth to an internet commodity; they then answer patrons on reading and where to live.
• 2024-10-30 · update · John: John's family's dog Potato ate a pair of earrings; they searched his poop and found half of it, chewed up. — Sipping the Tea with Hank 00:23:42
  • video's point: In an hour-long livestream from John's kitchen, John and Hank kick off Good Store's 2024 holiday season, launching its new undies, brewing and tasting Keats & Co. teas, reading out orders and stressing that all profit funds maternal health in Sierra Leone and TB care in Lesotho; at the end Hank says he is struggling and asks John to make a video with him.
• 2024-11-13 · update · John: John says Potato has giardia and has been sick for about a week, preferring to have his diarrhea inside. — Some New Things… 00:23:01
  • video's point: In a Good Store holiday livestream, John (with Sarah, Henry and Alice dropping in) and Hank brew Keats & Co. teas, show new stationery and soft-launched undies, read orders and note $1.25 million donated in 2024, while Hank recovers from falling for a Facebook scam that turns out to be a two-step scheme caught at step one.
• 2025-03-11 · update · John: John tells his dog Potato he is trying to make a video and Potato has to take it down a notch and get with the Format vibe. (playful) — Hank Green's Brother 00:00:24
  • video's point: A week before Everything Is Tuberculosis comes out, John says his most important job is being Hank Green's brother, fielding Hank's endless ideas, and announces Hank's relaunch of EcoGeek as a subscription for eco-friendly cleaning supplies whose profits go to the Coral Reef Alliance.
• 2026-02-13 · update · John: John says his dog Potato is not fully potty-trained or friendly to strangers, but punches back if you punch at him and give him a treat. (playful) — Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! 02:15:29
  • video's point: Opening the 19th Project for Awesome livestream, John and Hank joke that it is 2027 and every 2026 problem is solved while pitching perks and a $1.5 million matching fund; John, hosting with his son Henry and Partners In Health's Joia Mukherjee, says the P4A funds real change and organized advocacy cut TB drug prices, as the total passes $1.1 million in two and a half hours.
• 2026-02-14 · update · John: John says his dog Potato is very afraid of Stan Muller, out of fear rather than malice: he doesn't like men, and the taller they are the less he likes them. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 3! 01:11:54
  • video's point: In the third part of the 2026 Project for Awesome livestream, John hosts the morning of February 14 with Stan Muller, playing Fortnite as pacifists while AFC Wimbledon draw 3-3 at Barnsley from 2-0 down, as the total passes $2 million; Phil Plait joins as his meteorite perks sell out; Hank hosts the afternoon with Alexis Nikole, Tom Lum and Drawfee, and at $2.5 million eats burrata like a soup dumpling and shows fan-made flags of Earth.
• 2026-02-15 · update · John: Potato ate half of the 12-ounce block of cheese left over from John's Banana Loca and brought the rest upstairs very proudly. (playful) — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 02:45:11
  • opinion drawn: John says Willy was not cuddly but oversaw the family; Potato is not that cuddly either but wants to be near you, and John loves both dogs equally and immensely. (02:44:47)

John watches AFC Wimbledon beat the Milton Keynes franchise with a last-minute goal at Plough Lane (2024)

2 videos, told 2024–2026 · thread page

• 2024-03-05 · told · John: In the last minute, John's friend Lex was filming what seemed the end of the game, but it was not; John then plays the moment in commentator Mikey T's voice, calling a chance for Ronan Curtis and crying go, go Wimbledon. — THE BEST DAY 00:02:22
  • opinion drawn: John points to the 20 years of shared commitment and effort that brought the club to this moment. (00:03:15)
• 2026-10-06 · retold · John: John says Mikey T and his partner Rob Cornell made gripping radio, and plays Mikey's call of Ronan Curtis's last-second goal against the Milton Keynes franchise. — Make Your Art. 00:01:27
  • point made: John says Mikey T would never have called himself an artist, but he was one: he made and shared art, and in doing so encouraged and connected others. (00:00:29)
• 2026-10-06 · update · John: John assures Hank the ball boy was fine: John saw him a few weeks ago and he said it was the best moment of his life. (playful) — Make Your Art. 00:02:11
  • point made: Though we think artists must reach millions to succeed, John says Mikey T was a hugely successful broadcaster because he connected people more deeply to the game, the club and each other. (00:02:11)

John's great-uncle Stokes Goodrich dies of tuberculosis (1930)

3 videos, told 2024–2025 · thread page

• 2024-03-12 · told · John: John's great-uncle Stokes died of tuberculosis in 1930, when TB was still one of the leading causes of death in the United States. — How We End TB 00:00:29
  • point made: John says we know how to end TB as a society because we have done it before. (00:00:29)
• 2025-02-25 · retold · John: John retells how his great-uncle Stokes Goodrich, diagnosed with miliary TB, grew worse in an Asheville sanatorium and died on May 18, 1930, aged 29. — EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS 00:03:50
  • opinion drawn: John often wonders what it was like for his great-grandfather, a trained doctor, to be unable to save his own son. (00:03:50)
• 2025-04-15 · mentioned · John: John says tuberculosis is a big part of American history: his great-uncle died of TB. — Chatting with ... a U.S. Senator? 00:13:38
  • video's point: After a TB-advocacy trip to Washington, John interviews Senator Adam Schiff, who argues Congress is surrendering its power of the purse to the president yet stays optimistic; they discuss USAID cuts reversing progress against tuberculosis and the meaning of The Fault in Our Stars' title.

John's 2024 depression and his month away from the internet (2024)

9 videos, told 2024 · thread page

• 2024-06-25 · told · John: John can't tell where circumstances end and depression begins: he is in an objectively hard time he won't make public, but has had harder times without this much despair. — taking a break 00:00:29
  • video's point: After congratulating Hank on his comedy special, John says he will take July away from the internet because of depression: finishing his book feels like too much, and like Daniel Biss's clean water dumped into the toxic lake of Twitter he doubts his making stuff helps anyone; he closes by insisting that despair and hopelessness are lies.
• 2024-07-09 · update · John: John says people, including many AFC Wimbledon fans, have been kind and generous since his video about having a hard time, reminding him he is part of many great communities. — Is the Inside of Your Mouth a Soup? (a vidcon reunion video) 00:00:25
  • video's point: In a reunion video recorded at VidCon, John shows his AFC Wimbledon suit lining and thanks people for their kindness after his hard-time video, the brothers recall co-throwing a first pitch at an Angels game, and they banter over viewer questions: whether the inside of the mouth is a soup, writing as a way of thinking, and whether to return to four-minute videos.
• 2024-07-19 · update · Hank: Hank congratulates John on picking an amazing month to take off from the internet. (playful) — The Assassination Attempt and the Comfort of Certainty 00:00:00
  • point made: The description says doomscrolling during a significant event makes sense even if unhealthy; called irrational, Hank answers he is an animal trying to feel safe. (video description)
• 2024-07-26 · update · Hank: Hank tells John he is impressed by the particular period John chose to take off from making videos, because it has been a lot. (playful) — Hank Green's Top 7 Best Coconut Tree Facts!! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Saying that for his own mental health he won't make another big thoughtful video while John is away, Hank offers numbered coconut facts: the 150-deaths-a-year figure is wrong, storms and people spread coconuts, coconut trees aren't trees, coconuts are drupes not native to the Caribbean, too much coconut water can be dangerous, and an early fossil coconut was strawberry-sized.
• 2024-08-03 · update · John: John returns to YouTube on Esther Day after his longest break in 11 years, says he is feeling much better and thanks viewers for their kind messages. — I Love Hank. (Also I'm back.) 00:00:00
  • video's point: Returning on Esther Day 2024 from his longest break in 11 years, John recalls that Esther Earl chose a holiday for non-romantic love, tells Hank he loves him, says his month off taught him he deserves to be happy and functional, and argues Nerdfighteria is made by the people in it.
• 2024-08-06 · update · John: John says he had a low-to-mid-level nervous breakdown and took a break from the internet; now back-ish and feeling better-ish, he describes what helped through this serious depression. — What Helped Through Depression 00:00:00
  • point made: The second thing that helped was his communities; John gets unusual, unreplicable support from Nerdfighteria, for which he is very grateful. (00:00:29)
• 2024-08-07 · update · John: John says he never stopped working full time during his mid-level nervous breakdown but worked less; this week (week of 5 August 2024) he feels fully back in the rhythm, a relief, though tiring. — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:00:54
  • video's point: In a public Dear Hank and John Patreon livestream, John (back at work after his breakdown) and Hank discuss business stress, cycles of fame and hate, the fracturing internet and addictive platforms, and how being an influencer ties self-worth to an internet commodity; they then answer patrons on reading and where to live.
• 2024-08-20 · update · John: Playing on 'enjoy', John says even when Wimbledon loses he is in joy, and it is a relief to be able to feel in joy again. — Thoughts from Places: BROMLEY! 00:03:24
  • point made: John says he wasn't there for the goals but for the pleasure of being with a few hundred people whose love points the same way as his. (00:02:55)
• 2024-09-17 · update · John: John says he has been emerging from a depression, partly by engaging less with algorithms. — My Consciousness. Their Capital. 00:00:29
  • point made: John says that for most internet citizens, algorithms decide to a remarkable degree what we think about and how we feel. (00:00:00)

John and Stuart attempt the double again: the Indianapolis 500, then AFC Wimbledon's play-off final at Wembley (May 2025)

2 videos, told 2025 · thread page

• 2025-05-20 · told · John: John announces that this weekend he will attempt, for 'the second time in human history', the endurance feat known locally as the double. (playful) — The Double 00:00:00
  • video's point: John, exhausted after 43 airports in 60 days of his Everything Is Tuberculosis tour, prepares to repeat 'the double' with his friend Stuart: the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, then a flight to London for AFC Wimbledon's play-off final at Wembley the next day, nine years after their first; he reflects that life is short and calls the second chance a gift.
• 2025-05-27 (said on 2025-05-25, implied) · update · John: John says they only made it to lap 165 before he and Stuart left, biking to the airport, which he calls bonkers. — The Longest (and best) Day 00:00:29
  • video's point: John vlogs the double with his friend Stuart: biking to a rain-delayed Indianapolis 500, leaving at lap 165 to bike to the airport, flying to London and heading to Wembley for AFC Wimbledon's play-off final in the outfit he wore nine years ago; the description says he completed the double and Wimbledon made magic at Wembley again.

John writes his first novel in almost ten years (2025)

5 videos, told 2025–2026 · thread page

• 2025-06-03 · told · John: Since finishing Everything Is Tuberculosis John has been writing fiction; it may never come to anything and he will not promise it becomes a book, but the process has been thrilling. — My Lies 00:02:49
  • point made: John says trying to shrink the empathy gap through imagination turns out to be a worthwhile endeavor, even in 2025. (00:03:18)
• 2026-01-20 · told · John: John is writing fiction again, his first novel in almost ten years, and wonders whether anything he has to say will resonate with or be useful to anyone. — Am I ... Good? 00:03:09
  • point made: Since Zombicorns' flaws didn't bother him, John wonders whether his published work might also be good, or at least better than he remembers. (00:03:09)
• 2026-02-13 · update · John: John says his work in progress is taking a long time to write: in early 2020 he read it aloud in semi-secret livestreams, when he was sad, depressed and alone like everyone else. — Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! 01:15:37
  • video's point: Opening the 19th Project for Awesome livestream, John and Hank joke that it is 2027 and every 2026 problem is solved while pitching perks and a $1.5 million matching fund; John, hosting with his son Henry and Partners In Health's Joia Mukherjee, says the P4A funds real change and organized advocacy cut TB drug prices, as the total passes $1.1 million in two and a half hours.
• 2026-02-15 · update · John: John says the last seven years of working on his novel taught him that writing, like art, is done for others but also for one's own clarity and fulfillment: it need not be read to be fulfilling. He used to think it was only for other people. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 02:37:14
  • point made: John says the last seven years of working on his novel taught him that writing, like art, is done for others but also for one's own clarity and fulfillment: it need not be read to be fulfilling. He used to think it was only for other people. (02:37:14)
• 2026-03-31 · update · John: John has been trying to write this novel since 2017, with significant progress at points, but only in the last couple of years saw the path forward clearly. — I've Been Keeping a Secret… 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: John was reminded that writing is child's play, something he has done for fun since he was eight; he loves writing and loved writing this book. (00:02:55)

John and hundreds of TB fighters lobby over 250 congressional offices on Capitol Hill (2026)

2 videos, told 2026 · thread page

• 2026-03-03 · told · John: John filmed this video in advance because next week (week of 9 March 2026) he will be in Washington, D.C., lobbying on Capitol Hill for global health and tuberculosis funding with hundreds of TB fighters. — The Best Fan Mail I Ever Received 00:00:00
  • video's point: While away lobbying in Washington, D.C., John gives star ratings to the memorabilia in his middle-school knapsack (fan mail, report cards, early Vlogbrothers tapes, his third-grade writing award) and concludes from his clingy college emails that the self is a story that keeps changing.
• 2026-03-10 · told · John: Last week (week of 2 March 2026) John was on Capitol Hill with hundreds of TB fighters from the community, meeting over 250 Senate and congressional offices about global health and tuberculosis funding and research. — Is Hank Green Running for Congress? 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back from lobbying on Capitol Hill with TB fighters, where staffers kept asking whether Hank would run for Congress, John weighs Hank's fitness for office and argues that public service takes many forms, such as the activists' work that has kept TB and global health funding flat.

John's 2026 visit to Koidu Government Hospital and the Maternal Center of Excellence (2026)

3 videos, told 2026 · thread page

• 2026-04-24 · told · Hank: Hank says John is in Sierra Leone visiting the Maternal Center of Excellence; they were just texting, and Hank can't wait to see more of it. — The AI Question that No AI Person Asks 00:00:00
  • point made: When someone says AI will change everything and solve all problems, Hank checks it against a benchmark he created, Shelter Bench: how will AI help solve the housing crisis? (00:00:00)
• 2026-04-28 · told · John: The description says John visits Koidu Government Hospital and sees the Maternal Center of Excellence for the first time, thanks everyone who made it possible, and calls it the proudest day of his 19 years as a vlogbrother. — What I Can't Show You video description
  • video's point: Visiting Koidu Government Hospital, John tells Hank he can show almost nothing because its wards are packed with patients who now trust it, then tours the new Maternal Center of Excellence and tells of Rebecca, a high-risk mother there: one C-section, two lives saved; there is more work, but he has never been so proud.
• 2026-05-05 · retold · John: Last week (week of 27 April 2026) John met two 20-year-old best friends who live together; one is being treated for tuberculosis alongside her one-year-old child. — Noted Brother Hank Green 00:02:44
  • point made: John says the two women sharing their stories helped him bridge the empathy gap: what feels distant collapses when sitting together, invited into their home. (00:02:59)

Hank's life (79)

Hank visits the Detroit auto show at General Motors' invitation (2007)

3 videos, told 2007–2012 · thread page

• 2007-01-09 · told · Hank: Hank tells John he accepted General Motors' invitation to the Detroit auto show as a writer for environmental blogs, and shows the show. — Brotherhood 2.0: January 9th 00:00:34
  • opinion drawn: Hank says it is nice of John to say he lives in a way commensurate with his values, but he has not felt that way lately. (00:00:34)
• 2007-01-11 · update · Hank: After watching his January 9 video, Hank says he is paying the price for the Detroit trip: he came back ill. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: January 11th 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, sick after Detroit, blames 'tiny chickens' hatching in his head, proposes new punishment options because 500 Miles would not be a punishment for him, and asks John and viewers what to do with misprinted EcoGeek business cards.
• 2012-11-08 · retold · John: John says he has dreamed of a Chevy Volt since Hank's January 2007 Detroit Auto Show video, where it emerged as a concept car, and waited six years, partly for lack of money. (playful) — VOLT! A Dream Comes True. 00:00:29
  • video's point: John reports that his six-year dream of owning a Chevy Volt has come true, shows off the car, and says he bought it because it is awesome rather than to fix global warming; he closes by plugging a limited Pizza John shirt pre-order.

Hank and Katherine's yearly trip through the southeastern United States (2007)

8 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-01-25 · told · Hank: Hank tells John he and Katherine have begun their yearly southeastern trip (Asheville, Athens, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Englewood) and will lack high-speed internet for two of the three weeks. — Brotherhood 2.0: January 25th 00:00:09
  • video's point: From his parents' cabin in Asheville at the start of his and Katherine's yearly southeastern trip, Hank warns he will lack broadband for weeks, proposes that the unpunished brother choose the other's punishment, and shares childhood memories and a Kraft single.
• 2007-01-29 · update · Hank: Three days on, Hank has made the trip to Athens and is staying at a friend's house. — Brotherhood 2.0: January 29th 00:00:11
  • video's point: From Athens on his southeastern trip, Hank reveals his mountain-top intro was filmed days earlier and performs, with Katherine and friends, a project inspired by John: 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone From Your Pants'.
• 2007-01-31 · update · Hank: Hank has left Athens and is now in Orlando, Florida. — Brotherhood 2.0: January 31st 00:00:39
  • video's point: Hank, sitting on Athens' bulldogs in footage from his last video's day and now in Orlando, sets John's CC punishment as a choice of two, and rules that 'Everyone Poops in My Pants' is funnier.
• 2007-02-02 · update · Hank: Hank is on his way from Orlando to Sarasota, Florida, near Tampa and St. Petersburg. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 2nd 00:00:29
  • video's point: On his first even-numbered-day video, Hank, heading from Orlando to Sarasota, shows his slept-on hair and walks back 'Orlando sucks' with Guitar Hero and Little Vietnam.
• 2007-02-06 · update · Hank: On their tour of the southeastern United States Hank and Katherine have met several babies; Hank is now at Katherine's parents' house. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 6th 00:00:44
  • opinion drawn: Hank has found the babies rather adorable and, having met a few, now kind of likes them. (00:01:21)
• 2007-02-08 · update · Hank: Hank is now in Englewood, Florida, sleeping on a sofa bed in the house's living room, and is taken to a banjo concert for old people. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 8th 00:00:11
  • video's point: From Englewood, Florida, Hank tours the neighbourhood, describes a banjo concert for about 400 old people, and does a 'back of napkin' calculation of the chance that someone there died while he watched; he accepts John's survey challenge.
• 2007-02-12 · update · Hank: Hank and Katherine are still on their yearly southeastern tour; Hank visits his old college and flies home via Denver to Missoula. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 12th 00:01:34
  • video's point: Filmed early in Florida and posted while he flies home to Montana, Hank kayaks, shows the Florida birds he photographed, and at a 7-Eleven near his old college finally finds Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill for the Strawberry Hill Challenge, to be completed on Wednesday.
• 2007-02-14 · update · Hank: Hank is home in Montana after the southeastern trip; it is cold and snowing. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 14th 00:00:04
  • video's point: Home in snowy Montana with a corrupted hard drive, Hank offers a mock etymology of Valentine's Day (Babylon 5's Valen plus 'tine', a point) and then shows himself drinking Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill to complete the Strawberry Hill Challenge.

Hank's hard drive is corrupted; he may need a new computer (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-02-14 · told · Hank: Hank comes home to a corrupted hard drive and thinks he may have to buy a new computer. (hedged) — Brotherhood 2.0: February 14th 00:00:04
  • video's point: Home in snowy Montana with a corrupted hard drive, Hank offers a mock etymology of Valentine's Day (Babylon 5's Valen plus 'tine', a point) and then shows himself drinking Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill to complete the Strawberry Hill Challenge.
• 2007-02-20 · update · Hank: Hank bought three computers in a week, returned two to Best Buy, and now has one that works. — Brotherhood 2.0: February 20th: Computer Trouble 00:00:10
  • video's point: Hank recounts buying three computers in a week before one worked, muses about Wikipedia in your brain, reports the new Brotherhood 2.0 MySpace page and the flood of survey responses, and meets a 'secret brother' named Tom.

Hank's weekend haircut and earwax removal at the doctor, filmed (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-02-26 · told · Hank: Hank tells of his weekend haircut and having a large mass of earwax flushed out by ear irrigation at the doctor's, which he filmed. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: Earwax 00:01:35
  • video's point: Playing teacher to an imaginary class, Hank reports his weekend 'campaign to decrease the weight of my head': a haircut and a large mass of earwax flushed out at the doctor's, shown on video; feeling he has done a challenge, he sets John one involving a hat, horseradish and the Blossom theme song.
• 2007-03-01 · mentioned · John: Inspired by Hank's earwax video, John proposes Hank could build the world's largest ball of earwax by the end of 2007, with viewers and their friends sending theirs. (joke) — Brotherhood 2.0: March 1, 2007: Sophistication. And balls. 00:01:22
  • video's point: In four parts John thanks Hank for the picture book and owns up to his poor gift record, comically starts and abandons reading Ulysses aloud, proposes that Hank build the world's largest ball of earwax with viewers' help, and asks whether Brotherhood 2.0 should endorse a presidential candidate (he thinks yes, and Barack Obama).

Hank: living with ulcerative colitis (2007)

29 videos, told 2007–2026 · thread page

• 2007-03-02 · told · Hank: Hank announces that he has been living with ulcerative colitis. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: March 2nd: Politics and Butt Explosions 00:01:04
  • video's point: Hank accepts the viewers' verdict that he be punished, argues it is too early for Brotherhood 2.0 to endorse a presidential candidate, and announces he has ulcerative colitis, amid answers to comments and a 'Being John for a day' song.
• 2008-01-08 · update · Hank: Hank says he cannot get health insurance despite money and will, and that the same colon disorder bars him from sesame seeds on doctor's orders. — Sledding and YouTube Tag 00:01:20
  • opinion drawn: Hank says lacking health insurance is one more reason he is leaning strongly toward the left in the upcoming election. (00:01:20)
• 2008-04-24 · update · Hank: Hank is doing much better thanks to the ER doctors but wishes he hadn't had to go through it just because he can't get health insurance; he is back on the expensive drug. — Pills Pills Pills 00:03:11
  • opinion drawn: Hank is doing much better thanks to the ER doctors but wishes he hadn't had to go through it just because he can't get health insurance; he is back on the expensive drug. (00:03:11)
• 2008-04-28 · update · John: John says insurers will not cover Hank at any price, though his only wrong was being sick; this unfairness, unlike some of illness, can be fixed. — Ranting and Giving Stuff Away 00:03:14
  • point made: John argues that although much in life is arbitrarily unfair and can't be helped, we still have to act on the unfairness we can fix, such as health care. (00:02:16)
• 2009-04-01 (said on 2009-03-31, implied) · update · Hank: Hank says he currently can't eat wheat or seeds because of his colon. — A Few Of My Favorite Things 00:00:58
  • video's point: Hank argues people dwell on what they dislike and should dwell as intensely on what they like, then lists his favourite things, ending with Nerdfighters' DFTBA acronym illustrations.
• 2009-05-20 · retold · Hank: Hank retells his ulcerative colitis diagnosis as a comic song: symptoms at 23, colonoscopy, diagnosis, no cure, costs. (playful) — Ulcerative Colitis: A Song 00:00:34
  • video's point: Hank sings a comic song about his ulcerative colitis, from symptoms and diagnosis to being uninsured and priced out of care, then, prodded by his sock puppet, answers questions on a new album, DFTBA Records releases and LeakyCon plans.
• 2009-09-20 (said on 2009-09-21, implied) · retold · John: John retells that Hank has ulcerative colitis and could not get health insurance for many years because of it. — Health Care Reform: The Hank Factor 00:01:06
  • opinion drawn: John says insurers are not evil; they simply, and correctly, see Hank as a bad investment. (00:01:06)
• 2009-09-20 (said on 2009-09-21, implied) · update · John: John reports Hank now has insurance through Montana's state plan, still pays $20 a day for medicine without drug coverage, and invests more in EcoGeek. — Health Care Reform: The Hank Factor 00:02:04
  • point made: John calls this the real conservative economic argument for a public health-insurance option across America. (00:02:33)
• 2010-03-12 · update · Hank: Hank says he has been feeling much better and has a new prescription drug at about half the price of the old one, whose price had risen sharply. — Peeing, Pooping, Prescription Drugs, and Ramen Noodle Fires 00:00:58
  • video's point: In an eight-item catch-up list Hank reports that the foster greyhound was rehomed and he and Katherine adopted retired racer Lemon, urges greyhound adoption, says he feels better on a cheaper new drug, riffs on Canada's Olympic hockey final, and announces the Harry Potter Alliance's Helping Haiti Heal raffle winners.
• 2010-03-22 · update · Hank: Hank says he is self-employed with chronic pre-existing conditions, which the new health-care law will protect from insurer bias. — Top 10 Weirdest Diseases 00:00:02
  • opinion drawn: Hank calls health-care reform good news for self-employed people with chronic pre-existing conditions like him: insurers soon can't be biased against them. (00:00:01)
• 2011-01-24 · retold · Hank: Hank reminds those who don't know that he has ulcerative colitis, a chronic illness with no known cure, and has taken Asacol for about five years. — The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs 00:00:11
  • point made: Hank says Asacol's maker then created Asacol HD just as Asacol was about to go generic: basically the same drug under a name different enough to extend its patent. (00:00:37)
• 2011-01-26 · update · John: The CEO does not work for Hank or other people with ulcerative colitis but for shareholders like John; his business is a return on John's investment, not supplying Hank with Asacol. — I OWN WARNER CHILCOTT! 00:00:30
  • point made: The CEO does not work for Hank or other people with ulcerative colitis but for shareholders like John; his business is a return on John's investment, not supplying Hank with Asacol. (00:00:30)
• 2011-04-01 · retold · John: John recalls buying Warner Chilcott stock after the company 'Warner Chilcotted' Hank and others with ulcerative colitis; he sold it today for a $26 profit and can't recall feeling worse about making $26. (playful) — Many Truths, 1 Lie! 00:01:39
  • video's point: For April Fool's Day John presents eight short parts (trivia about Ivan the Terrible's library, celebrities, Marie Curie and falls, plus news about Henry and his Warner Chilcott stock) and says one of them is a lie for viewers to guess.
• 2012-12-14 · update · Hank: Hank says he has just made a very personal video on Hank's channel about having ulcerative colitis, and confirms he has it. — I Got Nothin… 00:00:28
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he does not feel like analysis or musings, he's 'got nothing', and he thinks everybody feels about the same. (00:00:28)
• 2013-09-03 · update · John: John says Hank, uninsurable because of ulcerative colitis, now has Montana catastrophic coverage capping out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 a year; before, he had no insurance. — Bigger Pizzas: A Capitalist Case for Health Care Reform 00:02:26
  • point made: John: freed from saving every dollar against bankruptcy, Hank could invest in DFTBA Records, VidCon, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Crash Course, SciShow, the Foundation to Decrease World Suck and more; none could have happened without publicly subsidized health insurance. (00:02:55)
• 2014-05-20 · retold · John: John argues we don't deserve the terrible things either: Hank doesn't deserve ulcerative colitis, no one deserves chronic pain, dementia or poverty; deserving may not be the best way to imagine it. (hedged) — Deserving 00:01:53
  • point made: John argues we don't deserve the terrible things either: Hank doesn't deserve ulcerative colitis, no one deserves chronic pain, dementia or poverty; deserving may not be the best way to imagine it. (00:01:53)
• 2015-11-20 · retold · John: John says he hopes ulcerative colitis is cured someday but doesn't expect Hank to get well soon, hoping instead Hank lives a full life without being marginalised. — On Mental Illness (and the end of Pizzamas) 00:01:32
  • point made: John argues the usual image of sickness as something to conquer and put behind us doesn't fit chronic illness: it often isn't a question of getting well soon. (00:01:12)
• 2016-02-26 · update · Hank: Hank's 20-year goal is still to have a colon when he is 55. (playful) — Things You Don't Know About Us (REUNION!) 00:02:28
  • video's point: Together for a reunion 'Question Tuesday' on a Friday, Hank and John mark nine years of vlogbrothers by answering viewers' Twitter questions about themselves: childhood ambitions, petty arguments, ears, baths, favourite works and their biggest accomplishments.
• 2016-07-01 · update · Hank: After taking a lot of DayQuil and ibuprofen, Hank's colitis started acting up; he says he can never again take the nighttime cold medicine. — So, I Ruptured Both my Eardrums! (Also, NerdCon: Nerdfighteria) 00:02:04
  • video's point: Hank says VidCon 2016 went very well, then tells how, sick afterwards, he ruptured both eardrums flying home and learned common pain relievers are dangerous with his ulcerative colitis. He reveals the promised Boston announcement: NerdCon: Nerdfighteria next February for ten years of Vlogbrothers, with optional scholarships.
• 2016-07-08 · update · Hank: Hank says fad-diet cures never worked for his ulcerative colitis, only his doctor's medicine did, and he has dealt with the illness by accepting it. — Your Illness is Not Your Fault 00:00:28
  • opinion drawn: Hank says that for years many people have offered a cure for his ulcerative colitis: going gluten-free, grain-free, paleo or vegan, cutting short-chain carbohydrates, or fasting three days then eating an apple. (00:00:08)
• 2017-10-17 · retold · John: To cut the sentimentality, John has his four-year-old daughter Alice insult Uncle Hank ('stupid butt'), adding it is kind of true given Hank's ulcerative colitis. (playful) (hedged) — Look at Tiny Baby Hank 00:02:30
  • video's point: From Legoland, Orlando and Nashville, John reports a tour week: a signing at Hank's old high school with his yearbook photo, 10,000 people at the shows, Turtles All the Way Down at number one on Amazon and generous reviews, but also strained mental health; he thanks Hank for his kindness.
• 2018-11-01 · retold · Hank: Hank says he deserves neither his guilt nor his advantages, nor his ulcerative colitis or healthy child: deserving is the wrong frame; the question is what to do with what you have. — Should I Feel Guilty? 00:03:12
  • point made: Hank says he deserves neither his guilt nor his advantages, nor his ulcerative colitis or healthy child: deserving is the wrong frame; the question is what to do with what you have. (00:03:12)
• 2019-03-22 · update · Hank: The description says the procedure went great, Katherine filmed him being a dork, and he still has moderate inflammation in his distal colon, normal for him but worth treating. — How to Get a Colonoscopy video description
  • point made: The description says Hank talks about his routine procedure to remove stigma, give advice and make clear that preventative medicine is important. (video description)
• 2019-07-26 · retold · Hank: The drugs kept Hank out of constant pain, helped his body take in nutrition and stop bleeding into itself, and prevented a lifelong loss of physical ability. — The Best $10,000 I Ever Spent 00:00:29
  • video's point: Hank says the best money he ever spent was over $10,000 on prescription drugs while uninsured, then argues that prevailing economics wrongly equates making more money with creating value: price hikes on insulin or his own drug serve fewer people and destroy value, while drug companies favor buybacks and patent extensions.
• 2020-03-20 · retold · Hank: After his first colonoscopy Hank was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. — The Sudden Obliteration of Expectation 00:00:58
  • video's point: Retelling his ulcerative colitis diagnosis, Hank describes the sudden feeling that the story you told yourself about the future is gone, argues that swinging between denial and fear is a strategy for finding a new normal, and says the pandemic feels similar: it will take time, but we will reach stability together.
• 2020-03-20 · update · Hank: More than 15 years on, Hank has been popcorn abstinent for over a decade and structures his life around his disease a little. (playful) — The Sudden Obliteration of Expectation 00:06:25
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he didn't want the new reality to be real, so he looked for reasons it wasn't. (00:05:17)
• 2020-11-20 · retold · Hank: Health-care workers have shown Hank tremendous kindness every time he went to the hospital, with a broken bone or for his ulcerative colitis. — Would I Take a COVID Vaccine? 00:02:58
  • point made: Everyone needs to help frontline health-care workers, who are having a year unlike any before. (00:02:28)
• 2023-01-17 · update · John: John says Hank has ulcerative colitis, has lived with it most of his adult life, and it is really hard, but he is doing it. — John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions 00:01:27
  • opinion drawn: Asked to go in on the venture, John said no; he was definitely wrong and learned never to bet against Hank Green. (00:01:27)
• 2023-02-03 · update · Hank: Hank thought he had a colonoscopy today, but after he started a new medicine it was pushed back to May; he had not taken it off his schedule, so he gained an extra day. — My Mid-Afternoon Existential Crisis 00:00:00
  • video's point: Making a surprise appearance on a day freed up by a postponed colonoscopy, Hank runs through updates: a subscription glitch for the socks and coffee clubs, open video submissions for the Project for Awesome on February 17, the Nerdfighteria Census, and Delete This's new 'Wet or Dry' format. Along the way he has a playful mid-afternoon existential crisis about which of his projects matters most.
• 2023-08-08 · retold · John: John says they have both seen comments blaming Hank's cancer on a vaccination, on working too hard, or on his ulcerative colitis. — TAKE IT UP A NOTCH 00:01:56
  • opinion drawn: John says such comments are designed to make the commenter feel safe from cancer; hunting for the cause when you are not Hank's physician is about wanting to feel better yourself, not about Hank. (00:01:56)
• 2026-04-07 · retold · John: John notes Hank has always had to destigmatize pooping somewhat because he has ulcerative colitis. — I've Been Pooping All Wrong 00:01:56
  • video's point: John tells Hank that Dr. Trisha Pasricha's book You've Been Pooping All Wrong changed his life (more fiber, the gut-brain link, less shame about poop), then interviews her: gut microbes shape the neurochemical weather of mood and OCD without directly causing thoughts, and fiber is the number one thing for gut health.

Hank's confidential meeting with Yahoo (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-03-14 · told · Hank: Hank has a confidential phone meeting with Yahoo, opens it with 'I Googled you', and says it went very well. — March 14: Becoming a NerdFighter 00:00:11
  • video's point: After a confidential meeting with Yahoo, Hank proposes that becoming a nerdfighter should involve tasks: figure out what kind of nerdfighter you are and write a lyric for the nerdfighter song; he offers his own as a Magic: The Gathering nerd and asks viewers to post theirs on Brotherhood2.com.
• 2007-05-21 · update · Hank: Hank reveals the long-secret deal: Yahoo's new green site features EcoGeek content and sends it lots of traffic. — May 21st: Comment Bashing, Anniversaries and EBO Ladies 00:01:36
  • video's point: Hank shares news (Katherine back at work, John's first wedding anniversary), laughs off mean Gizmodo comments on his EcoGeek video, announces EcoGeek content on Yahoo's new green site, and argues the Evil Baby Orphanage needs secrecy and female evil babies.

Hank's rented house goes up for sale (2007)

4 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-04-19 · told · Hank: Hank finds his rented house listed for sale by his landlord at $515,000 together with the house behind it; he loves the house and Missoula, expects a buyer will likely keep the renters, and his impulse is to stay. — April 19th: For Sale?! 00:00:03
  • video's point: Hank finds his rented house (with the one behind it) listed for sale by his landlord, weighs what he loves about Missoula against its drawbacks, and says that having roots in a place matters and his impulse is to stay.
• 2007-04-27 · update · Hank: Prospective buyers are walking through the house Hank lives in, to see if they want to buy it and kick him and Katherine out. — April 27th: Bad Day,,, 00:00:11
  • video's point: Hank has a bad day: strangers are touring his house, a website deal disappointed him, and a web-design client hasn't paid him for months; the good news is a weekend trip to Helena to see Neil Gaiman and new jobs for Katherine and the Yeti.
• 2007-07-30 · update · Hank: Hank reports that his rented house, which he and John had been discussing because it was for sale, has a new owner who is happy to keep him as a tenant. — July 30: Mystery Lyrics and Paying Rent 00:00:45
  • video's point: Hank celebrates paying rent because the new owner of the house he rents will keep him as a tenant, then tells how, looking for paper to write down new lyrics at 3 a.m., he found song lyrics he had already written and forgotten.
• 2007-08-03 · retold · Hank: Hank says he so recently dodged the bullet of losing his home that he feels for someone kicked out of hers. — August 3: The Retail Dance 00:03:28
  • video's point: Hank tells of three times in a week when he got something at a store without the usual exchange (free sand, store credit, a free cheeseburger) and says it felt like breaking the rules of the 'retail store dance'; he then sets John a preliminary punishment for his textual communication and raises the WorldSuck meter to orange.

A web-design client doesn't pay Hank (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-04-27 · told · Hank: A web-design client hasn't paid Hank for months of work and says it is having trouble coming up with the money. — April 27th: Bad Day,,, 00:00:39
  • video's point: Hank has a bad day: strangers are touring his house, a website deal disappointed him, and a web-design client hasn't paid him for months; the good news is a weekend trip to Helena to see Neil Gaiman and new jobs for Katherine and the Yeti.
• 2007-05-01 · update · Hank: Hank reports no progress on being paid for his work. — May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena 00:02:58
  • video's point: Hank answers John's author greetings with his own: Neil Gaiman, met in Helena, says hi to John; Hank shares a clip of Gaiman on being an author and answers John's song challenge with a comic song about Helena, Montana.

Hank and Katherine's weekend trip to Helena to see Neil Gaiman (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-04-27 · told · Hank: Hank and Katherine leave town for Helena to see Neil Gaiman and visit friends. — April 27th: Bad Day,,, 00:01:49
  • video's point: Hank has a bad day: strangers are touring his house, a website deal disappointed him, and a web-design client hasn't paid him for months; the good news is a weekend trip to Helena to see Neil Gaiman and new jobs for Katherine and the Yeti.
• 2007-05-01 · update · Hank: Hank says he had other reasons than Neil Gaiman to be in Helena; his song mentions frisbee at the Capitol and belt buckles. (playful) — May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena 00:01:57
  • video's point: Hank answers John's author greetings with his own: Neil Gaiman, met in Helena, says hi to John; Hank shares a clip of Gaiman on being an author and answers John's song challenge with a comic song about Helena, Montana.
• 2007-05-02 · update · John: John thanks Hank for standing in line to get Neil Gaiman to say hi, noting Gaiman signed more books that day in Helena than John has in his whole career. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: May 2: Book Banning 00:00:10
  • video's point: John argues against an Oklahoma high school's ban of Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle, whose only 'offense' is gay characters, says bans also keep books out of libraries, and asks viewers to email the school committee.

Hank's 27th birthday (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-05-04 · told · John: John says tomorrow, Saturday May 5, is Hank's 27th birthday and wishes him happy birthday. — Brotherhood 2.0: May 4: The Top Secret Project 00:00:20
  • video's point: John reveals the Top Secret Project: for Hank's 27th birthday, Nerdfighters send a compilation of greetings, songs and outtakes, ending with Happy Birthday.
• 2007-05-07 · update · Hank: Hank tells how he spent his 27th birthday and the day before it and thanks everyone. — May 7th: Birthday Extravaganza 00:02:12
  • video's point: Hank recounts the two days around his 27th birthday (the Nerdfighters' surprise greeting, a John Kerry interview invitation, Neil Gaiman linking Brotherhood 2.0, a party at a fun center) and thanks everyone.
• 2007-05-09 · retold · Hank: Hank's song retells his birthday: the wishes, Neil Gaiman's blog post, mini corn dogs. (playful) — My 9th: Singing and Randy 00:01:07
  • video's point: Hank accepts a challenge to write a song every two weeks and sings a farewell to his 26-year-old self; then he debuts the viewer-built World Suck Index at 'red' because a viewer's best friend died, directing two weeks of Foundation donations to the friend's family.

Hank mispronounces 'façade' throughout a college oral presentation on Leon Battista Alberti (college)

3 videos, told 2007–2014 · thread page

• 2007-05-17 · told · Hank: Hank insists he is right about Wikipedia, though wrong about many things, such as once mispronouncing 'façade' in a Renaissance presentation. (playful) — May 17th: Wikeeeeeepedia...and Happy Birthday Katherine 00:02:02
  • point made: Hank calls it an interesting side effect of text-based communication that you never learn how words are pronounced; without text, he can now catch and correct John. (00:02:29)
• 2010-09-27 (said on 2010-09-28, implied) · retold · Hank: Hank says that in college he gave a long oral report on Leon Battista Alberti's Renaissance façades, mispronouncing 'façade' throughout; finding out was one of his most embarrassing moments. — Stop Embarrassing Yourself 00:02:53
  • video's point: Hank lists commonly misused phrases, place names and pronunciations (couldn't care less, ironic, UK vs England, affect/effect, façade) to help viewers avoid the embarrassment of saying things wrong.
• 2014-11-18 · told · Hank: Hank retells his college oral presentation on Leon Battista Alberti, in which he said 'fah-caid' for façade about 26 times; it left a permanent scar. — How to Never Feel Embarrassed Again 00:00:34
  • opinion drawn: Hank is not embarrassed about his diphthong mistake and wants to know why. (00:00:27)

Hank is asked to be interviewed for a Weather Channel show on global warming (2007)

5 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-06-05 · told · Hank: The Weather Channel emails Hank asking to interview him for a new show on global warming. — Jun 5th: S-S-S-Somethin From the Forum 00:01:37
  • video's point: Hank launches the Brotherhood 2.0 forum, named 'My Pants', which made his video late; he also recommends M. T. Anderson's Feed, frets about friends' babies, reports a Weather Channel interview request, and retracts his McCain remark.
• 2007-06-06 · retold · John: John reacts to Hank's Weather Channel interview: Hank is going to be a TV star, the Michael Ian Black of the Weather Channel. (playful) — June 6th: Lindsay Lohan's Bikini and My Pants 00:01:35
  • opinion drawn: John appreciated Hank's John McCain retraction on the forum, but says Hank is still underestimating Obama. (00:01:35)
• 2007-06-07 · update · Hank: Hank prepares a makeshift studio for the Weather Channel, which calls his Montana location a daunting task; after a phone call he says he is going to be on the channel, with another call tomorrow. — June 7: Weather and My Pants 00:02:34
  • video's point: Hank rigs a makeshift basement studio to win over the Weather Channel, which found his Montana location a 'daunting task', and by the end of a phone call learns he will be on the channel; he also marvels at the forum 'My Pants' growing to over 300 users overnight.
• 2007-06-19 · update · Hank: The Weather Channel interview airs: Hank appears at the end of a Forecast Earth episode, his first national TV appearance; he missed it but it will rerun. (hedged) — June 19: GOOD LUCK JOHN 00:02:19
  • video's point: Back in his basement, Hank wonders where John will film after moving, asks for location ideas, shares news that he has something published and that he appeared on the Weather Channel's Forecast Earth, and wishes John luck moving from New York to Indianapolis.
• 2007-06-20 · update · John: John congratulates Hank on his Weather Channel appearance, which their mom says is awesome. — Brotherhood 2.0: June 20: Moving 00:00:52
  • video's point: John reports driving a moving truck from New York to Indianapolis, asks Hank what to do about his brown lawn, and tells how a half-featured Brotherhood 2.0 video drew baffled YouTuber comments, asking why Nerdfighters are proud to be nerds.

Hank misplaces the FireWire cable during the Dominican Republic trip (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-06-13 · told · Hank: Hank has misplaced the FireWire cable, so his footage is stuck on the camera and he records on the MacBook camera. — June 13: Dominican Debacles 00:00:03
  • video's point: Without his FireWire cable or guitar, Hank records on the laptop camera and sings a short GarageBand song about his big family; he says it is disturbing to lounge in an isolated Dominican hotel near deep poverty, reports a village visit their dad arranged, and relays a man's account of migration toward better conditions.
• 2007-06-14 · update · John: John reports they got the camera-to-computer cord brought from the big city an hour and a half away. (playful) — Brotherhood 2.0: June 14: Good News/Bad News 00:00:03
  • video's point: John reports good news (the camera cable arrived from the big city) and bad news (the long-awaited miniature donkey polo was cancelled due to heat), then closes the Dominican Republic reunion week saying they learned about microfinance and poverty and will make videos about it at home.

Hank's visit to John's house after John's birthday, with family (2007)

5 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-08-27 · told · Hank: Hank reveals he has been with John since Sunday (26 August 2007), at John's house, kept secret from the Nerdfighters; Sarah, Katherine and their parents are there too. — August 27th: Thanks Yous and Cameos 00:00:41
  • video's point: John thanks Hank and the Nerdfighters for his two-day birthday present; Hank reveals he has been at John's house since Sunday, chats about his hair and the family gathering, and thanks Nerdfighters for the secret project, hinting at another.
• 2007-08-28 · update · John: With Hank visiting, John wakes him in person and says good morning at 11:40 on Tuesday. (playful) — August 28th: Starring Mom 00:00:03
  • video's point: With Hank visiting, John wakes him in the actual morning, thanks Hank and the Nerdfighters again for his birthday while racing to finish Paper Towns, asks for help on the difference between a nerd and a geek, and features their mom, who learns the Nerdfighter sign.
• 2007-08-30 · update · both: Still together, the brothers make a joint video. (playful) — August 30th: A Secret Project for Nerdfighters 00:00:10
  • video's point: In a joint video, John and Hank answer frequently asked questions (telling them apart, the Yeti, becoming a nerdfighter or secret sibling, abandoned projects) and reveal the secret project: Nerdfighters send short happy dances filmed at awesome local places, by October 1, for a compilation.
• 2007-08-31 · update · Hank: Filming at John's house while John mows the lawn, Hank says he and Katherine are about to go back to Montana. — August 31: Copyright and Airports 00:00:10
  • video's point: Hank, leaving John's house for Montana, asks to see songs John wrote for a high-school band idea, reports that the brothers' YouTube partnership call was a copyright lecture (choreographed dances are copyrighted; their happy dances are Creative Commons), and jokes about Pittsburgh's airport and Labor Day.
• 2007-09-04 · update · John: John thanks Hank and Katherine for visiting last week (week of 27 August 2007); he and the Yeti had a great time. — September 4th: Negative Suck Cubed Equals Awesome 00:02:46
  • video's point: Answering Hank's suggestion that he isn't proud of 'Moe and the Lawns', John lists the names of the hypothetical bands he would be in if he could play music, then praises Hank for the new Brotherhood2.com and thanks him and Katherine for their visit.

Hank reviews children's books on global warming for The New York Times Book Review (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-09-25 · told · Hank: Hank reports he got a gig reviewing children's books on global warming for The New York Times Book Review. — September 25th: TMBG and NYT 00:01:57
  • opinion drawn: Hank says it is nice to have people you don't know be nice to you and happy for you. (00:02:32)
• 2007-10-18 · update · John: John congratulates Hank on being published in The New York Times this Sunday (21 October 2007). — October 18: Live from Datyon: PARTY BLOWER SOLO 00:02:27
  • video's point: Vlogging from a Dayton hotel between two library-conference presentations, John calls Hank's Tetris song his favourite Brotherhood 2.0 song and replays its Party Blower Solo as a cure for nerves.

Hank and Katherine's October trip: drive from Montana to Seattle, then fly on (2007)

5 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-10-19 · told · Hank: Hank reports from an airplane after driving with Katherine from Montana through Idaho to Kirkland, Washington, seeing friends and being driven to the airport. — October 19th: Missoula to Seattle 00:00:03
  • video's point: Hank, filming on an airplane, presents a comic travelogue of his and Katherine's drive from Montana through Idaho to Kirkland, Washington, including a silver-dollar casino, Zips' onion ring and bad traffic, and warns 16-year-olds that a car is like a tattoo.
• 2007-10-23 · update · Hank: Hank explains the Missoula-to-Seattle drive (Missoula airfares) and reports that he and Katherine flew on to Georgia for friends' wedding. — October 23rd: Some Explaining to Do… 00:00:10
  • video's point: From a friends' wedding in Georgia, Hank explains his blue lips and the drive to Seattle, apologises to viewers offended by his tattoo remark while explaining he would rather be judged by his words than his looks, sides with John and 'Team Science' against young-earth creationism, and argues that nerdfighterness is about joining up, not fighting.
• 2007-10-29 · update · Hank: Hank reports going up 'Mount Craggy' with their parents, Katherine, Jessalyn and Brian, and that their time in Asheville has come to an end. — October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair 00:00:03
  • video's point: Wrapping up a family trip in Asheville, Hank says his song day falls on Halloween, reports he could not find John's childhood box at their parents' house, and instead reads aloud 'It Just Isn't Fair', a book John wrote at eight, calling him a Nerdfighter from birth.
• 2007-11-02 · update · Hank: Hank reports he is now in Englewood, Florida, wearing glasses to fit in with the old residents. (playful) — November 2nd: John Green at the Young Author's Award 00:00:04
  • video's point: From Englewood, Florida, Hank shows their dad's home video of eight-year-old John at the Orange County Young Authors Award and playfully presents a girl's compliment on John's book as the moment John became a writer.
• 2007-11-06 · update · Hank: Hank, still on the road and staying at friends' houses, left his camera inside, locked himself out and could not film until 10 pm. (playful) — Nov 00:00:00
  • video's point: Rushed on the road, Hank says he doesn't understand John's Pakistan update and asks John to explain it while eating something inedible such as AirTran's pretzels, then jokes through his support for impeaching Dick Cheney before George W. Bush.

Hank's time in a Rocky Horror Picture Show cast

3 videos, told 2007–2020 · thread page

• 2007-10-25 · told · Hank: Hank shows ticket stubs from seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show many times and says he really did win his high school's best dancer award. (playful) — October 25th: Down Memory Lane 00:02:29
  • opinion drawn: Hank says it is very strange to go through a box holding so much of his life, and he is glad to share some of it since John doesn't know a lot of it. (00:03:08)
• 2010-10-25 · told · Hank: Hank says he used to be in a Rocky Horror cast, a culture he was part of and needed because YouTube didn't exist yet. — Rocky Horror + Glee = ? 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: Hank admits the Rocky Horror Picture Show is objectively a very bad movie: terrible sets and dialogue, and most of its songs aren't very good, citing a mustard lyric. (00:00:29)
• 2020-07-24 · retold · Hank: Asked who he played in his Rocky Horror shows, Hank shows a photo and reveals he played Rocky. — Could I Spare some Change for Gas? 00:01:59
  • opinion drawn: Hank's biggest advice to someone newly diagnosed with ADHD: a brain that works differently does not work worse. (00:01:59)

Hank goes through his box of childhood keepsakes at their dad's house (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-10-25 · told · Hank: At his dad's house in Fairview, North Carolina, Hank opens a box of 'everything that ever mattered' in his life and shows keepsakes from childhood, college and his first publication. — October 25th: Down Memory Lane 00:00:10
  • video's point: At his dad's house in Fairview, North Carolina, Hank goes through a box of his childhood and college keepsakes, mostly to make fun of himself, and says it is strange to see so much of his life in one box.
• 2007-10-29 · update · Hank: Their parents said John has a box like Hank's but would not reveal where it is; after they went to sleep Hank searched for it and could not find it. (playful) — October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair 00:00:51
  • video's point: Wrapping up a family trip in Asheville, Hank says his song day falls on Halloween, reports he could not find John's childhood box at their parents' house, and instead reads aloud 'It Just Isn't Fair', a book John wrote at eight, calling him a Nerdfighter from birth.

Hank finds and reads John's childhood book 'It Just Isn't Fair' (2007)

3 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-10-29 · told · Hank: After failing to find John's box at their parents' house, Hank finds John's childhood book 'It Just Isn't Fair' and reads it aloud for Nerdfighters. — October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair 00:00:51
  • video's point: Wrapping up a family trip in Asheville, Hank says his song day falls on Halloween, reports he could not find John's childhood box at their parents' house, and instead reads aloud 'It Just Isn't Fair', a book John wrote at eight, calling him a Nerdfighter from birth.
• 2007-10-30 · update · John: John thanks Hank for sharing the book he wrote at eight, says it proves he is a nerd, and discusses its cover art. (playful) — Oct. 30th: My Name Is John Green. And I'm a Nerd. 00:00:19
  • video's point: Thanking Hank for sharing 'It Just Isn't Fair', John says the book proves he is a real nerd, then shows highlights from his own childhood box, ending with the 'all-star in our hearts' trophy his parents had made for him, as his nerd credentials.
• 2007-11-02 · update · Hank: Hank says that after reading John's childhood book It Just Isn't Fair on Monday, he discovered it received the Orange County Public Schools Young Authors Award. — November 2nd: John Green at the Young Author's Award 00:00:43
  • video's point: From Englewood, Florida, Hank shows their dad's home video of eight-year-old John at the Orange County Young Authors Award and playfully presents a girl's compliment on John's book as the moment John became a writer.

Hank shows Dad's home video of eight-year-old John at the Orange County Young Authors Award (2007)

4 videos, told 2007–2026 · thread page

• 2007-11-02 · told · Hank: Hank shows their dad's home video of eight-year-old John at the Orange County Young Authors Award conference and calls a girl's compliment the moment John became a writer. — November 2nd: John Green at the Young Author's Award 00:00:43
  • video's point: From Englewood, Florida, Hank shows their dad's home video of eight-year-old John at the Orange County Young Authors Award and playfully presents a girl's compliment on John's book as the moment John became a writer.
• 2007-11-05 · retold · John: John thanks Hank and Dad for the award video and reinterprets it: the first moment he realized a girl might like him, not his writing connecting him to the world. (playful) — November 5th: John's Not Happy about Pakistan 00:00:31
  • video's point: In a ten-part video John says he is really mad about what is happening in Pakistan, mocks George W. Bush's judgment of Musharraf and Putin and his claim that 'democracy is on the march', and fits in Paper Towns editing, earworms, the secret-sibling fund and scavenger hunt news.
• 2020-10-20 · retold · John: John recalls winning a writing contest at nine to attend the 1987 Florida Young Writers Conference, where a famous author he loved refused his worn paperbacks, signing only new hardcovers he couldn't afford; he felt horrible. — How to Sign Your Name 150,000 Times 00:01:54
  • opinion drawn: John now understands the author probably wasn't as wealthy as he imagined and faced pressure to sell new books, but says it's still not that hard to sign your name. (00:02:24)
• 2026-03-03 · retold · John: In third grade John wrote a story about death, It Just Isn't Fair, and won the Audubon Park Young Author Award for 1986. — The Best Fan Mail I Ever Received 00:05:03
  • opinion drawn: John is convinced that without the award he would never have become a writer: it was the first time he heard he was extraordinary at anything, and that affirmation helped make his writing life. (00:05:10)

Hank's full-body allergic reaction to sulfasalazine (2008)

3 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-04-16 (said on 2008-04-17, implied) · told · Hank: Hank has a full-body rash, a side effect of a viral infection he probably caught at the Barack Obama rally, after five days of 103-degree fever. (hedged) — ITCHY MUSIC! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, bedridden with a full-body rash after a viral infection he probably caught at the Obama rally, shares a top-nine list of songs he found on YouTube while convalescing and asks Nerdfighters what they listen to.
• 2008-04-24 · update · Hank: Hank corrects last week's (week of 14 April 2008) account: the illness was an allergic reaction to sulfasalazine, not a virus; a relapse after resuming it sent him to the ER for IV fluids and steroids. — Pills Pills Pills 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank reports that last week's illness was an allergic reaction to sulfasalazine, the cheap drug he took for lack of health insurance, which sent him to the ER; he wishes he had not had to go through it just because he can't get insurance.
• 2008-04-28 · retold · John: John retells Hank's illness: his doctor gave him an unsafe cheaper drug to save money and he had to pay for the hospital himself, since insurers won't cover him. — Ranting and Giving Stuff Away 00:02:45
  • point made: John argues that although much in life is arbitrarily unfair and can't be helped, we still have to act on the unfairness we can fix, such as health care. (00:02:16)

Hank loses his glasses tubing on the Clark Fork River (2008)

2 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-07-27 · told · Hank: Hank lost his glasses while tubing on the Clark Fork River and is shopping for new ones. (playful) — How to Buy Glasses Cheap...and Help Hank Pick Frames! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Having lost his glasses in the Clark Fork River, Hank explains how to buy glasses cheaply (note the frame's serial number in the store, buy online, get lenses made locally) and asks viewers to vote on his new frames.
• 2008-08-18 · update · Hank: Hank shows his new glasses, green in the right light and very cheap. — This Video Comes in Threven Parts 00:00:00
  • video's point: In a multi-part housekeeping video that loses count of its parts, Hank shows his new glasses, names a Blurbing Book Club winner, invents the non-existent Nerdfighting Prize of the Day, and points Nerdfighters to a secret-project sign-up, the T-shirt vote and John's European scavenger hunt.

Hank's 2008 deal to sell EcoGeek to Scientific American, paused by the financial crisis (2008)

2 videos, told 2008–2024 · thread page

• 2008-08-12 · told · Hank: In New York City Hank met the editor-in-chief of Scientific American, who said he admires EcoGeek; Hank says it felt like being king of nerddom for a day. — Eight Days of Awesome 00:00:40
  • video's point: Hank recounts eight consecutive days of awesome — a studio recording, raspberry picking, New York, a Barnes & Noble flash mob, the Chicago 8/8/08 gatherings with John — asks buyers whose CD orders he lost to email him, and challenges John to discuss Georgia while wearing a peanut butter face.
• 2024-10-02 · retold · Hank: On one of the weirdest days of his life, in New York in 2008, just after his first Nerdfighter gathering and wearing a fan-made Nerdfighteria shirt under his suit, Hank made a deal to sell EcoGeek to Scientific American for money and a job. — What I learned from the weirdest day of my life 00:00:29
  • point made: Hank asks what makes something look like a summit: social status, money, heroes' stories, family expectations, freedom from worry, or broader abilities and opportunities. (00:01:27)
• 2024-10-02 · update · Hank: When Lehman Brothers collapsed and the economy crashed in September 2008, Scientific American's owner paused all deals indefinitely; Hank jokes that the deal is still on pause. — What I learned from the weirdest day of my life 00:00:58
  • point made: Hank asks what makes something look like a summit: social status, money, heroes' stories, family expectations, freedom from worry, or broader abilities and opportunities. (00:01:27)

Hank and Katherine buy a house (2008)

3 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-09-13 · told · Hank: Hank says he and Katherine are thinking about buying a house and are excited about one place. (hedged) — Hank Vlogs (and a String Quartet) 00:01:52
  • video's point: Hank catches John up on EcoGeek, the end of his Planet Green segments and house hunting, disputes who talks faster, asks UK Nerdfighters to email a campaign for a UK Paper Towns edition, then shares a string-quartet Accio Deathly Hallows.
• 2008-10-14 (said on 2008-10-13, implied) · update · Hank: Hank has bought and moved into his own house. — Numa Numa Hank Dance 00:00:29
  • video's point: Posting late after repeated computer crashes, Hank shows off the house he has just bought and moved into by doing a Numa Numa dance through it, then asks viewers whether he should be punished.
• 2008-10-21 · update · Hank: Hank reports he and his household have moved into their new place and are getting used to it, with first guests soon after. — Lonesome Cloud 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank calls Brian a fantastic guitarist and songwriter and Jessalyn and Katherine wonderful singers; the three recorded the song he plays in the background. (00:00:00)

Hank loses his camcorder on the Tour de Nerdfighting (2008)

2 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-11-06 · told · Hank: Hank says he lost his camcorder on the road and has no idea where he left it. — Funny Noises from Tennessee 00:00:06
  • video's point: On the road after the Knoxville gathering, Hank says goodbye to Brotherhood 2.1, teaches the Nerdfighter chant from the tour gatherings, makes the funny noises John says Nerdfighters want, and asks for jokes for a planned 50 Jokes video.
• 2008-11-07 · update · Hank: Hank has found his camcorder. — Vlogging from Gadsden 00:00:00
  • video's point: Arriving early at the Gadsden Public Library tour stop, Hank jokes that John lost the presidency to Obama, reports finding his camcorder, shows his CDs and the signing tables, and says the whole Gadsden event is being broadcast on BlogTV.

Hank visits the North American International Auto Show in Detroit (2009)

2 videos, told 2009 · thread page

• 2009-01-14 · told · Hank: Hank says he just got back from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where he wrote a song. — TIny Cars SUCK! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back from the Detroit auto show, Hank sings a satirical song in the voice of a gas-guzzler lover who scorns small fuel-efficient cars, then announces Song Wednesday's return and plans to read his own old journals.
• 2009-01-16 · update · Hank: Hank reports from the floor of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, back again after last year (2008). — Hank Green from the Detroit Auto Show 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank finds this year's (2009) Detroit Auto Show more exciting than last year's (2008): less glitz, more of what he is actually interested in, green cars. (00:00:00)

Hank writes a novel (2009)

2 videos, told 2009 · thread page

• 2009-04-08 (said on 2009-04-07, implied) · told · Hank: Hank says he has just finished the first section of his novel, about 150 pages, and John will proofread it. — Become a Time Traveller TODAY! 00:00:25
  • video's point: Answering John's call for a time machine for the Evil Baby Orphanage, Hank explains relativistic time travel and a wormhole time machine that could never reach before its own creation.
• 2009-04-25 · update · John: Asked whether Hank's book was any good, John says he still hasn't read it. — Saturday Video?!?!?! 00:01:04
  • opinion drawn: John's favourite Mountain Goats song is 'Up the Wolves'. (00:01:04)

Hank's camcorder FireWire port breaks (2009)

2 videos, told 2009 · thread page

• 2009-07-30 · told · Hank: Hank's camcorder FireWire port broke, so he made the video on his still camera and hopes Canon honors the warranty. — Mules are so Half-Ass 00:00:00
  • video's point: With his camcorder's FireWire port broken (so no Truth or Fail this week), Hank sings a pun song shot on his still camera, then plugs DFTBA Records' $10 live album of his Cambridge, Massachusetts show and shows a DFTBA-acronym rap.
• 2009-08-04 · update · Hank: Hank's expensive camcorder is still not working, so he films on his old one. — Twitter Games and Truth or Fail 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, back home but still on his old camcorder, launches a personal Twitter and asks followers to tweet ridiculous sentences (#HankVideo) that he promises to say in a video, then starts a Shark Week edition of Truth or Fail.

Hank's internetless vacation in rural Maine (2009)

2 videos, told 2009 · thread page

• 2009-09-15 · told · Hank: Hank is visiting relatives (great-aunt and uncle-in-law) in the middle of nowhere in Maine, hours from the nearest internet connection. — Internetless in Maine 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, visiting relatives in rural Maine far from the internet, offers two brain crack ideas and argues that understanding people complexly requires time with people unlike ourselves, away from the screens he lives in.
• 2009-09-16 · update · Hank: From a hotel in Maine before a 4 a.m. departure, Hank says he deleted the video he had made for John in Missoula, so he films on the iSight again. — #@$%#!!! From Maine 00:00:40
  • video's point: Filming again on the iSight camera from a Maine hotel, Hank rages that he deleted the video he had made in Missoula, recalls teaching his three-year-old nephew that all things are ephemeral, and offers brain crack for a sleep-cycle alarm.

Hank replaces his worn-out phone with a Motorola Droid (2009)

2 videos, told 2009–2019 · thread page

• 2009-11-07 · told · Hank: Hank retires his battered three-year-old phone and gets a Motorola Droid, on which he films this video. — The TOUR DE HANK!!! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Filming on his new Motorola Droid, Hank answers viewer questions about pre-ordering This Machine Pwns n00bs (guitar picks, shipping, shirts, iTunes, buying at shows) and announces his Tour de Hank, which will not reach Canada.
• 2019-12-27 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls, with disgust, that he had a Motorola Droid in 2009. (playful) — Why I'm Worried about 2020 00:00:33
  • opinion drawn: Hank says that in many ways the world, even just America, got better over the last ten years. (00:00:25)

Hank and Katherine foster a greyhound, then adopt retired racer Lemon (2010)

5 videos, told 2010–2016 · thread page

• 2010-01-25 · told · Hank: Hank and Katherine are fostering a nameless eight-year-old female greyhound that didn't work out in another home; keeping her depends on Cameo the cat. — Name My Dog! 00:01:08
  • video's point: With John on paternity leave, Hank revisits his logarithmic age scale idea, relays news of John's newborn son, announces that he and Katherine are fostering a nameless eight-year-old greyhound whose stay depends on Cameo the cat and wants a name for her, then hands over to a pre-recorded Truth or Fail about dogs.
• 2010-03-12 · update · Hank: Hank reports the foster greyhound went to a home without cats, and he and Katherine adopted retired racer Lemon. — Peeing, Pooping, Prescription Drugs, and Ramen Noodle Fires 00:00:00
  • video's point: In an eight-item catch-up list Hank reports that the foster greyhound was rehomed and he and Katherine adopted retired racer Lemon, urges greyhound adoption, says he feels better on a cheaper new drug, riffs on Canada's Olympic hockey final, and announces the Harry Potter Alliance's Helping Haiti Heal raffle winners.
• 2011-12-07 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that when they first got Lemon nearly everything was new to her and her introduction to the household was confusing, but she took at once to cuddling. — World's Stupidest Dog 00:02:44
  • video's point: Hank affectionately portrays his retired racing greyhound Lemon as a lovable 'derp' - her quirks, track past and racing pedigree records - and suggests viewers consider adopting a greyhound.
• 2016-02-16 · retold · John: Lemon was a racing greyhound, often not the best dog life, but after retiring she came into Hank's life, and each made the other's life better. — Kindness 00:02:31
  • point made: We often imagine the world as zero-sum, but John believes kindness can change that arithmetic, citing the love Lemon's life brought to Hank and many others. (00:02:40)
• 2016-02-19 · retold · Hank: Hank was uncomfortable calling Lemon a rescue: they adopted her because they wanted a dog and greyhounds are good dogs, not as charity. — Thanks, Lemon 00:02:39
  • point made: Lemon was just another dog, yet Hank thought her important and she left a hole in his heart: nothing matters but to each other, and Lemon mattered to him. (00:02:19)

Hank's childhood hand injury, whose lasting pain taught him right from left

2 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-02-22 (said on 2010-02-23, implied) · told · Hank: Hank tells how, doing garbage duty as punishment for a broken pot, he cut his hand on a terracotta shard and saw the bones when it was put under a faucet. — TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND!! 00:01:34
  • video's point: On his way to the doctor with a neck he can't move, Hank marks 200,000 subscribers, proposes childhood stories as the week's theme, tells how he cut his hand open on terracotta as a fifth grader, and asks viewers about their injuries.
• 2010-08-13 · told · Hank: Hank tells how cutting his hand on terracotta at nine severed a tendon, leaving a constant ache that finally taught him right from left. — The Marvelous Mystery of The Dan 00:03:28
  • video's point: Hank presents visiting YouTuber Dan Brown in a nature-documentary parody, then explains Dan 3.0, in which Dan lets his community decide his year, arguing it reflects how many people don't know what to do with their lives; he closes with left-handers' day anecdotes and how a hand injury taught him right from left.

Hank is recognised alongside Snooki at the airport after VidCon (2010)

2 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-07-21 · told · Hank: Hank tells how, at the airport home from VidCon, a fan asked him for a photo right after Snooki's, leaving Snooki confused. — I Hung out with Snookie...Accidentally 00:00:00
  • video's point: In a four-part letter, Hank tells of being recognised alongside Snooki at an airport, marks three years since Accio Deathly Hallows was featured with a mustached alter-ego skit, plays his yearly Harry Potter song's chorus, and sets John's punishment: a nerd workout video.
• 2010-07-24 (said on 2010-07-23, implied) · retold · John: After Hank's video on Wednesday about meeting Snooki, a reality TV star John only half knew, John checked her Twitter, and what he found troubled him. — Grammar School with Snooki 00:00:19
  • point made: John grants that the importance of grammar and spelling can be exaggerated, but says they exist to make communication as clear and transparent as possible. (00:00:35)

Katherine's family visits Hank, including a four-year-old nephew (2010)

2 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-07-30 · told · Hank: Hank tells John that Katherine's parents and her brother's family, including their four-year-old son, are visiting. — Demon Four Year Old 00:00:32
  • video's point: Hank describes visits from Katherine's offline parents and her family's exhausting four-year-old son, concluding that children's slow development is the price of humans relying on cultural rather than genetic evolution.
• 2010-08-04 · update · Hank: Hank reports Katherine's family is still in town: Greenough Park, the nephew's first deer and baseball game, his departure, and a trip with her parents to the National Bison Range. — Family, Love and BISON ATTACKS! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank notes the Vlogbrothers are about to be passed by Toby Turner in the subscriber charts, then recounts outings with Katherine's visiting family, from his nephew's first deer and baseball game to the National Bison Range, warning never to approach wildlife.

Hank's Asacol HD price rises from $50 to $620 a month (2011)

4 videos, told 2011–2015 · thread page

• 2011-01-24 · told · Hank: Hank tells how Asacol HD, offered at $50 a month, went to $620 at the pharmacy when the patient savings card lapsed before its listed April 1st, 2011 expiry, and the help line's mailbox was full. — The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs 00:01:02
  • point made: Hank says Asacol's maker then created Asacol HD just as Asacol was about to go generic: basically the same drug under a name different enough to extend its patent. (00:00:37)
• 2011-01-26 · retold · John: John recaps that Warner Chilcott raised the price of Hank's Asacol HD overnight by more than 1200%, and later that it went from $50 to $620 a month. — I OWN WARNER CHILCOTT! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Answering Hank's drug-price video, John buys Warner Chilcott stock to show that the company works for its shareholders, and argues that free markets, good at much, fail at health care, so the US needs universal health insurance for its economy's sake.
• 2011-01-28 · update · Hank: Hank says Asacol now costs $600 and Apriso's 'pay no more than $25' card still leaves him paying about $150. — Is Hank Green Batman? 00:02:27
  • video's point: Hank's list of good news after the bad news of his last video: a failed try at George Watsky's fast rap, Google autocomplete asking if he is Batman, a Battlestar Galactica star-system map, his rule that science fiction cannot contain fantasy, a cheaper but misleading Apriso card, and the official launch of VidCon 2011.
• 2015-11-24 · mentioned · John: John reminds long-time Nerdfighters that in 2011 Warner Chilcott raised the price of Asacol 1200% overnight, as an example of routine US drug-price hikes. — Crime and Outrage 00:02:19
  • point made: John argues the hikes stem not from one person's 'asshattery' but from a huge web of problems in US pharmaceutical markets; outrage may have slightly cut one rarely prescribed drug's price but did nothing for the larger issues. (00:02:29)

Hank interviews Missoula mayor John Engen (2011)

2 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-02-21 · told · Hank: Hank calls Missoula's mayor's office and interviews mayor John Engen on camera about pets, past jobs and what a mayor does. — Hank Interviews His Mayor 00:00:38
  • video's point: Casting himself and John as Nerdfighteria's co-mayors, Hank interviews Missoula mayor John Engen about his pets, past jobs and what a mayor does, then plugs his shows and asks viewers for challenges.
• 2011-02-23 · retold · John: John loved Hank's interview with the mayor of Missoula and wishes he could be his mayor without moving there. — WE ARE 812 YEARS OLD 00:00:04
  • opinion drawn: John loved Hank's interview with the mayor of Missoula and wishes he could be his mayor without moving there. (00:00:04)

Hank's mini Pacific Northwest tour with Paul and Storm and Mike Phirman (March 2011)

2 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-02-21 · told · Hank: Hank will play music in Seattle and Portland at the end of March with Mike Phirman and Paul and Storm; tickets are $20 and selling fast. — Hank Interviews His Mayor 00:03:18
  • video's point: Casting himself and John as Nerdfighteria's co-mayors, Hank interviews Missoula mayor John Engen about his pets, past jobs and what a mayor does, then plugs his shows and asks viewers for challenges.
• 2011-03-25 (said on 2011-03-24, implied) · told · Hank: Hank reports he is on a tiny mini tour of the Pacific Northwest with Paul and Storm and Mike Phirman, where Jason Finn and Paul played along to his song at soundcheck; a Portland show is next. — Hank is an Adorable, Drunk Princess 00:00:31
  • video's point: From a Seattle hotel floor on a mini Pacific Northwest tour with Paul and Storm, Hank recounts a soundcheck where Jason Finn drummed along to his song, plugs his Portland show, and admits he is ashamed to profit from advertising, which he thinks a little evil, while keeping ads to fund the videos and mocking Geico and Toyota commercials.

Hank's trip to Haiti (2011)

14 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-02-25 · told · Hank: Hank says he will be in Miami because he is going to Haiti with Water.org, leaving him a free evening there. — Gussie Manlove UNCOVERED! 00:03:15
  • video's point: Hank tells the life story that Nerdfighters and John uncovered for Gussie Manlove, the widow on the Knightstown tombstone, through her many marriages and name changes, with parody-song interludes, then plugs his Miami planetarium show.
• 2011-03-02 · update · Hank: Hank has had his immunizations for Haiti and will be there in about a week. — How to Name Your Baby Properly 00:03:27
  • video's point: Replying to John's funny-names list, Hank gives future parents seven comic rules for naming a baby, then concludes there are no rules: you are not your name. He closes by plugging his Miami show before his Haiti trip.
• 2011-03-07 · told · Hank: Hank says he leaves for Haiti the morning after his Miami concert, takes his malaria pills, and is excited to help people there in small ways. — Why is Haiti Poor? 00:00:20
  • video's point: Before flying to Miami for a show and then to Haiti, Hank sketches three explanations for why Haiti is far poorer than the Dominican Republic on the same island: a dry side of the mountains, exploitative French colonialism, and a century of very bad government. He says no one has a solution, but people can still be helped in small ways.
• 2011-03-09 · update · John: John notes Hank is in Haiti and not watching, and thanks him for going to the front lines to decrease worldsuck. (playful) — DANDY LIONS! It's Question Day 00:00:00
  • video's point: With Hank in Haiti, John answers rapid-fire Nerdfighter questions: his untitled new novel (out in about a year, two teenage cancer survivors, narrated by Hazel), Libba Bray's Beauty Queens and broken elbows, his old phone number in Looking for Alaska, and a string of joke answers.
• 2011-03-11 · update · Hank: Hank says that by the time John sees this video he will be in Haiti, without internet. — Superhero Creation Myths 00:00:01
  • video's point: Pre-recorded before his Haiti trip, Hank says there is no science of zombies, then argues that how fiction creates supernatural beings and superheroes (disease, radioactivity, genetic modification, pills) reveals what a culture is obsessed with and afraid of.
• 2011-03-14 · update · John: John welcomes Hank back from Haiti. — Thoughts from Places: Los Angeles after the Earthquake 00:02:31
  • video's point: John recounts the Friday of the Japan earthquake and tsunami in Los Angeles (his friend Ransom's found photographs, the beach, the Venice Canals, a Beverly Hills wedding) and reflects that water connected everything that day, yet technology can never quite bridge the oceans between us.
• 2011-03-16 · update · Hank: Hank postpones his thoughts from Haiti to explain the Fukushima reactors. — Why Did Fukushima Explode? 00:00:05
  • video's point: Postponing his thoughts from Haiti, Hank explains nuclear terms and how a reactor works, then why Fukushima is in trouble: decay heat with coolant systems knocked out by the earthquake and tsunami, hydrogen explosions, and uncooled spent-fuel pools. He says he does not know whether nuclear power's benefits outweigh its risks and faults people for making up their minds on a complicated issue.
• 2011-03-21 · update · Hank: Hank reports on his trip last week (week of 14 March 2011): Miami to Port-au-Prince, then a small plane to Pignon, to meet the people of Savann Tabak with Water.org. — Helping Haiti 00:00:32
  • video's point: On World Water Day, Hank reports from his trip with Water.org to Savann Tabak, a village near Pignon, Haiti, and introduces its well committee, explaining why Water.org requires a broad community coalition. Having seen how Water.org operates, he asks viewers to follow the village's progress and donate at my.water.org/vlogbrothers.
• 2011-03-23 · retold · John: John thanks Hank for his extraordinarily thoughtful and nuanced video about Haiti, which gave viewers a real way to really help, linked in the description. — Why Does My Dog Eat Poop? 00:00:00
  • video's point: After thanking Hank for his Haiti video and its way to help, John answers, mostly comically, the ten most common Google autocomplete questions beginning 'Why does my…', from cats licking to dogs eating poop, and closes by thanking Hank for a reminder that the hardest problems most need solving.
• 2011-04-04 · update · Hank: Hank continues the story of his Haiti trip: the Savann Tabak villagers walk him past a broken well, a sugar cane mill and storehouses to the muddy spring where they get water. — Thoughts from The Well 00:00:03
  • video's point: Hank narrates the Savann Tabak villagers' walk to their water source, past a broken well, a sugar cane mill and storehouses on stilts, to a muddy spring, and reports that about six villagers recently died of cholera. He says they need a sustainable well, which Water.org will provide, and asks viewers to follow and give.
• 2011-04-06 · retold · John: John says Hank's Haiti videos inspire him and Nerdfighteria and that, to thank Hank, he has made a $300 gift to Water.org. — Tales of Nerd Love! 00:03:08
  • video's point: John tells four stories of Nerdfighters falling in 'Nerdfighterlike', from the couple he proposed for in 2009 (now married and expecting) to a crush lost in a bookstore, while sitting in spilled champagne. He closes by plugging the Will Grayson, Will Grayson paperback and giving $300 to Water.org in thanks for Hank's Haiti videos.
• 2011-05-05 · retold · John: Hank inspired Nerdfighters to support building a well by traveling to Haiti with Water.org, John says. — IT'S HANKO DE MAYO!! 00:02:03
  • point made: Hank inspired Nerdfighters to support building a well by traveling to Haiti with Water.org, John says. (00:02:03)
• 2011-05-30 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls going to Haiti with Water.org to learn how they operate. — Horatio, the Newest Member of our Family 00:02:07
  • video's point: In a multi-part vlog from Florida Hank introduces his zit Horatio, praises silliness as a virtue, and reports giving Water.org the $634.12 Nerdfighters gave him for his birthday, doubled, plus progress on the Savann Tabak well.
• 2011-12-17 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls being in Haiti with Water.org less than a year ago, learning about the people's problems, dreams and frustrations. — We Built a Well in Haiti 00:00:00
  • point made: What astounded Hank in Haiti was not the medieval-level hygiene but that the people are, in the important ways, exactly like him, his friends and family: caring, fun-loving, communal, wanting better for their children. (00:00:00)

Hank's trip to Florida to visit his in-laws and his high-school friends in Orlando (2011)

3 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-05-30 · told · Hank: Hank tells he is in Florida visiting his in-laws and has just visited his high-school friends in Orlando. — Horatio, the Newest Member of our Family 00:00:01
  • video's point: In a multi-part vlog from Florida Hank introduces his zit Horatio, praises silliness as a virtue, and reports giving Water.org the $634.12 Nerdfighters gave him for his birthday, doubled, plus progress on the Savann Tabak well.
• 2011-06-03 · update · Hank: Hank is still with his in-laws in Florida and has to eat whatever they serve. — I AM A BAD PERSON! 00:01:35
  • point made: Hank says eating meat is still objectively bad, as he argued on this same dock a couple of years ago. (00:01:01)
• 2011-06-06 · mentioned · John: John hopes Hank enjoyed his stay in Venice, Florida. — Men Running on Tanks and the Truth about Book Editors 00:00:06
  • opinion drawn: John calls Allora & Calzadilla's pavilion (overturned tanks, Olympic athletes, an ATM that is also a pipe organ) a total success and is proud of everyone at the IMA. (00:00:31)

Hank tries GOOD magazine's meat-free June challenge (2011)

2 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-06-03 · told · Hank: Hank says he thinks he'll try GOOD magazine's challenge not to eat meat in June, though he won't fully succeed while staying with his in-laws. (hedged) — I AM A BAD PERSON! 00:01:27
  • point made: Hank says eating meat is still objectively bad, as he argued on this same dock a couple of years ago. (00:01:01)
• 2011-11-09 · update · Hank: Hank reports he did not eat meat for a month, though he never talked about it again; it was not easy and his life became very cheese-centric. — 27 Part Video 00:02:40
  • opinion drawn: Hank says giving up meat is not an easy life choice and it is clear why most people eat meat: it is delicious and easy; he doubts his cheese-heavy month was healthy. (00:02:40)

Hank is bullied and survives it without dealing with it

2 videos, told 2011–2018 · thread page

• 2011-07-25 · told · Hank: Hank recalls being physically and psychologically tortured by bullies: he cried and hated himself and his life, and survived it without dealing with it. — I Am Not a P#$$Y - this video contains mild swear words. 00:03:18
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the shouts of 'it gets better', 'stay strong' and 'we love you' would not have helped him while he was bullied; it does get better, but the moment is hard to see past. (00:03:18)
• 2018-06-15 · retold · Hank: Hank still has a 'sports are dumb' mentality left over from being socially discounted and occasionally punched by athletic people as a teen. — Sports are Dumb 00:00:58
  • point made: Rationalizing that mentality is a problem: it really comes from not liking what people who don't like you like, dressed up as half-assed arguments. (00:01:09)

Hank and Katherine's fifth wedding anniversary trip to the San Juan Islands (2011)

2 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-09-20 (said on 2011-09-19, implied) · told · Hank: Hank and Katherine are on San Juan Island, Washington, on vacation for their fifth wedding anniversary; they head off on a hike. — Fifth Anniversary with The Katherine 00:00:02
  • video's point: On their fifth wedding anniversary trip to San Juan Island, Washington, Hank interviews Katherine about their marriage, Nerdfighteria, HankGames and social video gaming, and the giant banana slugs they met.
• 2011-09-23 · update · Hank: On the anniversary trip, Hank and Katherine visit Friday Harbor and San Juan Island; Katherine suggests the video's topic. — The Improbability of Place - Thoughts from the San Juans 00:00:51
  • opinion drawn: Hank says no amount of sleep paralysis has made him want to stop lucid dreaming. (00:00:22)

Hank's botched new glasses: wrong prescriptions and swearing in front of children at the mall (2011)

2 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-11-28 · told · Hank: Trying to pick up his wrongly made glasses at the mall yesterday (27 November 2011), Hank was so frustrated he said the F word in front of little kids. — Stuffed with STUFF! 00:02:55
  • video's point: Hank updates John on everything he is doing: 2D Glasses fame, HankGames, the Your Pants forum, Read It First, a URLatron price cut, VidCon, Truth or Fail, DFTBA Records' anniversary sale, his botched new glasses and the coming Project for Awesome.
• 2011-12-02 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that, as told in his last video, he said the F word in front of little kids at the mall and felt terrible; it prompts this video. — F#*%? An Explanation of Curse Words 00:00:00
  • point made: Finding existing definitions lacking, Hank defines a swear word as one you know how to say and what it means, but know not to say in front of your mom. (00:00:00)

Hank visits Northrop Grumman to meet the builders of the James Webb Space Telescope (2012)

2 videos, told 2012–2022 · thread page

• 2012-04-06 · told · Hank: Hank tells of visiting Northrop Grumman with Katherine, Michael Aranda and Ze Frank to meet the people building the James Webb Space Telescope, invited after his earlier Webb video circulated at NASA. — Can I be Space President? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The moral of the story, Hank writes, is that we are very lucky someone is working on a project of this scale, and that its people are smart, funny, cool, stressed out and thoughtful. (video description)
• 2022-07-22 · update · Hank: Hank writes that his 2011 James Webb Space Telescope video became a big deal for people working on the telescope, who handed out 'I Decrease Suck' and 'I Increase Awesome' buttons. — What are These Boys Doing?? video description
  • opinion drawn: In a channel comment Hank argues ambition and motivation matter, and leaving them only to people who want wealth selects for not the best group of people to have a lot of power. (creator comment)

Hank's quick three-day tour with Harry and the Potters and Potter Puppet Pals: Portland, Olympia, Seattle (2012)

3 videos, told 2012 · thread page

• 2012-07-20 · told · Hank: Hank announces he will join Harry and the Potters and Potter Puppet Pals on three tour dates: Portland, Olympia and Seattle. — The Universe is Weird: A Song 00:03:37
  • video's point: Hank sings that the universe is weird, from inseparable quarks and timeless photons to known mass and energy being only 4% of the universe and life arising to know itself, then makes six quick announcements.
• 2012-07-27 · update · Hank: Hank repeats that he is going on a brief tour with Harry and the Potters, with Oregon and Washington dates in the description. — Tumblr: The Musical 00:02:52
  • video's point: Hank performs a comic song, made with the YouTube musical channel AVbyte, about getting lost scrolling Tumblr, then explains the collaboration, lists his tour, LeakyCon and Mars-landing plans, and advises viewers not to spend their whole lives on Tumblr.
• 2012-08-04 · told · Hank: Hank tells his tour, backwards from Seattle's Vera Project to Olympia, Portland and his flight from Missoula. — EXTRA! Thoughts from Tour 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank's reverse-chronological diary of a very quick tour with Harry and the Potters and Potter Puppet Pals (Missoula, Portland, Olympia, Seattle), closing with his thoughts: get out and live life, happiness has little to do with money, and the awesome per person is high.

Hank's quiet exercise regimen makes him fit and 'kind of buff' (2012)

2 videos, told 2012 · thread page

• 2012-07-24 · told · John: John says Hank has quietly been on an exercise regimen for months and become kind of buff, as commenters noticed on Hank's last video. — The Treadmill Desk! Fitness for Nerds 00:00:56
  • video's point: John explains why he got a treadmill desk: nerd cred, jealousy of Hank's new fitness after their Memorial Day noodle war, and evidence that sitting too much raises the risk of death.
• 2012-07-27 · update · Hank: Hank thanks John for talking about his buffness; now everybody wants to see him shirtless, which he says would be unimpressive. (playful) — Tumblr: The Musical 00:03:17
  • video's point: Hank performs a comic song, made with the YouTube musical channel AVbyte, about getting lost scrolling Tumblr, then explains the collaboration, lists his tour, LeakyCon and Mars-landing plans, and advises viewers not to spend their whole lives on Tumblr.

Hank attends YouTube's Education Summit for educational video makers and gives a talk (2012)

2 videos, told 2012 · thread page

• 2012-10-19 · told · Hank: Hank tells John he is at an event for makers of educational online video near YouTube's offices, staying in a smoky hotel, and was allowed to give a short talk. — Revolutionizing Education...With Weirdos 00:00:00
  • video's point: At an event for educational online video near YouTube's offices, Hank argues that educational video is a different value proposition from entertainment and could change the world, and introduces fellow educational creators he urges viewers to subscribe to.
• 2012-10-26 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls attending YouTube's Education Summit recently and meeting many educational YouTubers, including CGP Grey. — Apples! CGP Grey Style 00:00:02
  • video's point: Taking up CGP Grey's claim that his style of video is hard to make, Hank tells the history and biology of apples: their Kazakh origin, Johnny Appleseed's seedling orchards grown for cider, grafting, and the McIntosh apple behind the Apple Macintosh.

Hank tours the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum with volunteer guide Emily (2012)

3 videos, told 2012–2016 · thread page

• 2012-12-07 · told · Hank: Hank and Michael visit the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum in Missoula, where Emily gives them a tour. — Thoughts from Dead Animals 00:00:37
  • video's point: Hank argues that weird places can be found where you live and, with guide Emily, tours Missoula's Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum; he reflects that such places exist to satisfy human curiosity, are under-supported and little known, and that he is glad it exists.
• 2012-12-21 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls his recent visit to the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum, where he met Emily and saw her enthusiasm, ease on camera and knowledge. — Meet the Team: The Missoula Office (And P4A and TheBrainScoop) 00:03:01
  • point made: Hank says he is grateful to have worked with so many amazing people on projects like the P4A, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, SciShow, Crash Course, DFTBA Records and VidCon, and that he just loves to create and to help people create. (00:03:01)
• 2016-10-07 · retold · Hank: Hank says a video with someone he met at a tiny Missoula research museum led to The Brain Scoop, and their French Revolution and circulatory-system videos led to Crash Course. — Changing Our Business a Bit 00:00:42
  • opinion drawn: Hank says these public attempts were judged by views, audiences, their own enjoyment, friends and family, and comments; many were duds, some amazing. (00:00:21)

Hank's UK trip with Katherine: the Natural History Museum and the Harry Potter Studio Tour (2013)

2 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-08-16 · told · Hank: Hank tells of his UK trip: a fantastic time in London, and the two must-dos that blew his mind, the Natural History Museum (first in line with Katherine) and the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford. — Harry Potter vs. Science! 00:00:32
  • video's point: On a night bench in London, Hank pits the Natural History Museum against the Harry Potter Studio Tour in superlatives, declares a tie, and says science's drive toward truth and Harry Potter's drive toward goodness are guiding principles of his life.
• 2013-08-20 · update · John: John welcomes Hank back to the United States from his UK trip. (playful) — Why Are American Health Care Costs So High? 00:07:35
  • video's point: John argues US health care costs so much because everything costs more and the US does not negotiate prices centrally (save Medicare), not because of overuse, obesity or malpractice alone; the problem is complex, with no simple fix.

Hank gives John an original Aero Fighters ('Nerd Fighters') arcade game for his birthday (2013)

3 videos, told 2013–2020 · thread page

• 2013-09-10 · told · John: John tells Hank that, despite their agreement on no birthday presents, the original 'Nerd Fighters' arcade game arrived at their office as Hank's present. — Secrets of the Movies: Thoughts from The Fault in Our Stars Set 00:00:00
  • video's point: John thanks Hank for an original Aero Fighters ('Nerd Fighters') arcade game as a birthday present, then shows light behind-the-scenes moments with cast and crew on the Pittsburgh set of The Fault in Our Stars movie.
• 2014-05-06 · update · John: For Hank's birthday yesterday, John says that unlike last year (2013) he remembered a present, from himself and Nerdfighteria: the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game. — TFIOS Movie Madness, Incongruent, and Headless Hotel People 00:00:36
  • video's point: A five-part update from John: fans 'johning' after a Hollywood Reporter photo, Hank's birthday presents, the last day to pre-order Hank's album Incongruent, his hotel's headless art, and the start of the free TFIOS film tour after a fan screening went well.
• 2020-01-21 · retold · John: John tells Hank that the Aero Fighters video game machine Hank gave him meant much more to him than a check for its cost would have. — Gifts That Changed My Life 00:00:29
  • point made: John argues that cold calculations of economic efficiency ignore much of the value of gifts. (00:00:29)

Hank at the YouTube Education Summit in San Francisco (2013)

2 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-10-11 · told · Hank: Hank says he is going to San Francisco for an EDU conference at YouTube. — TFiOS Movie, Emma Approved, Subbable Update, etc 00:01:14
  • video's point: Hank gives a nine-part update: TFiOS shooting is wrapping up, Subbable is paying creators about $100,000 a month, he is off to a YouTube education conference, DFTBA Records is busy, Pemberley Digital follows The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with Emma Approved, and he and John are giving perks to the HPA's Equality for the Win campaign.
• 2013-10-18 · update · Hank: Hank reports on the education event at YouTube headquarters last week (October 2013), which ended with a visit to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. — Curiosity is the Greatest Human Quality 00:00:00
  • video's point: After a YouTube education event and a visit to the Exploratorium with fellow educational creators, Hank argues that inspiring curiosity is the heart of education and that curiosity may be the finest human quality, the opposite of judgment.

Hank's trip to New York City for the TFiOS film premiere (2014)

3 videos, told 2014 · thread page

• 2014-05-30 · told · Hank: Hank congratulates John and says he is getting on a plane tomorrow to come to John's premiere. — Nerdfighteria Census 2014 Results! 00:03:39
  • video's point: Hank reports results of the 2014 Nerdfighteria Census (over 100,000 responses), plugs the brothers' lesser-known shows and Subbable, tells viewers not to spend money they can't afford, and promotes The Night Before Our Stars.
• 2014-06-03 · update · John: The day after, John says the premiere was amazing, laughing and crying with 1,200 people, and he was glad Hank sat two seats away. — The Fault in Our Stars Movie Premiere 00:02:15
  • opinion drawn: John says he loves the movie and finds it amazingly faithful to the book, powerful, funny and moving; its makers cared about the story and each other. (00:02:41)
• 2014-06-06 · told · Hank: Hank tells of his trip to New York City for the TFiOS premiere: weird and fancy sights, the red carpet with his wife, and first seeing the film. — Thoughts from the TFiOS Premiere! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, back from the TFiOS premiere in New York, argues that while the trend is to hide complexity behind effortless perfection, Vlogbrothers shows how things are made, and says the film is great and adds to understanding of life, love and hurt.

Hank in SciShow ads for YouTube's channel promotion (2014)

2 videos, told 2014 · thread page

• 2014-10-14 · told · John: John tells Hank he saw him on TV in an advertisement during The Walking Dead, the scariest and most exciting part of the hour. — A Minor Crisis 00:03:38
  • video's point: John's seven-part roundup: he admits his Batman video was wrong, reports Bank of Nerdfighteria totals, celebrates AFC Wimbledon's sponsorship and win, marks ten years since finishing Looking for Alaska with a 10th-anniversary edition, and congratulates Hank on his TV ad.
• 2014-10-17 · update · Hank: Hank reveals his secret LA trip was a shoot for YouTube's promotion of channels: SciShow print and TV ads, now in Chicago, LA, New York and on TV. — MY FACE ON A BUS 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: Hank hopes the ad subconsciously persuaded viewers that science is still cool and that they are still curious about the world. (00:01:35)

Hank writes An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, his first novel (2014)

14 videos, told 2015–2024 · thread page

• 2015-01-13 · told · John: John says he heard on Tumblr that Hank is also writing a story. (playful) — On Writing, Looking for Alaska Turning 10, and Winning the Project for Awesome 00:03:39
  • video's point: John marks ten years since Looking for Alaska with a new anniversary edition and thanks readers, then announces the twenty Nerdfighteria-chosen charities receiving 2014 Project for Awesome grants.
• 2015-02-13 · update · Hank: Asked about his book, Hank says he is thinking about writing a fiction-y thing, for now about a girl, a robot and what it means to be human. (hedged) — Draw My Life + 16 Other Suggestions 00:01:05
  • video's point: Hank turns his video over to Nerdfighters' social-media suggestions and performs them in quick succession, from Valentine's puns and a parody song to a serious case against the Keystone XL pipeline and a cosmic-scale 'Draw My Life'.
• 2015-06-26 · update · Hank: Hank confirms he has been writing a novel-like book since NaNoWriMo in November, has passed 50,000 words as of June 26th, expects at least another year with revisions, and says he will keep going. — How to Get Good at Everything 00:00:01
  • opinion drawn: The description says everyone is bad at first, so people shouldn't judge themselves against those who have been developing skills their whole lives. (video description)
• 2017-09-19 · update · John: John is thrilled that Hank is publishing a book next year (2018), An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, with a New York Times article linked below. — Why Cities? 00:03:42
  • opinion drawn: John says he is continually awed by Hank's ability to do so many things so well. (00:03:49)
• 2017-09-29 · update · Hank: Hank has been thinking a lot about stories because he has been working on his own and has just read John's. — What's This Video About? 00:01:04
  • opinion drawn: Hank calls TNG the most formative piece of media in his life. (00:01:13)
• 2017-12-01 · update · Hank: Hank is working on his book and, stuck in book land, hasn't been thinking about Vlogbrothers, so he asked everybody what he should talk about. — Let's Talk About Stress! 00:00:04
  • opinion drawn: In the description Hank adds that 'stressing out', focusing on the worry rather than the work, is a kind of flight and the easiest, most monkey-brain thing to do. (video description)
• 2018-01-16 · update · John: John has just read an amazing, properly brilliant book by first novelist Hank Green, but won't say more until it is available for pre-order. — My Hollywood Star, Brexit Pears, and Hank's Book: It's QUESTION TUESDAY 00:00:06
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday, John praises Hank's first novel and his song This Isn't Hogwarts, likens Brexit to regretted pears, defends Daisy's claim that Attack of the Clones is the most underrated Star Wars film, announces his HankGames series John Green Solves Your Problem, reports 25 P4A grant charities, ranks disease first among likely causes of human extinction and argues, with Eudora Welty, that a quiet life can be as daring as a full one.
• 2018-01-26 · update · Hank: That, plus knowing agents and publishers would read the book because he is John Green's brother (thanks, John), is how he wrote it over and over until it was done. (playful) (hedged) — I Wrote a Book. I WROTE A BOOK. How did I do that? 00:02:56
  • opinion drawn: And having power makes you want to use your power to get more power. (00:02:53)
• 2018-01-30 · update · John: John congratulates Hank on his book: so brilliant, the best book he has read about what now feels like, and a rip-roaring adventure story. — Hank, I Have Some Advice 00:00:03
  • video's point: John congratulates Hank on An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, which he calls brilliant, and teasingly advises him to improve his self-promotion: always give the title, publication date and pre-order status, share the premise, and sign some pre-orders; he then announces the first episode of his podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed.
• 2018-02-02 · update · Hank: Asked how book editing is going, Hank says not great: a busy week, a deadline he may miss, and a lot of stress. (hedged) — What is That Plane Rainbow? (It's Question Tuesday) 00:01:01
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday held on a Friday, Hank answers Twitter questions: he recommends Octavia Butler's Dawn, reports stressful editing of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (out September 25th), explains glories and Brocken spectres, sings a text message and picks an Elton John outfit.
• 2018-02-02 · retold · Hank: After finishing his first book, Hank watched a French man play accordion in an airport while his children played, thinking that weird things happen both in his book and in the real world, then flew home. — What is That Plane Rainbow? (It's Question Tuesday) 00:01:35
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday held on a Friday, Hank answers Twitter questions: he recommends Octavia Butler's Dawn, reports stressful editing of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (out September 25th), explains glories and Brocken spectres, sings a text message and picks an Elton John outfit.
• 2018-09-21 · retold · Hank: Nothing prepared Hank for half a decade with the same lump of clay: making it a pot, hating it, punching it back into clay, and again. — The Parable of the Perfect Pot 00:02:09
  • opinion drawn: Hank says his hundreds of Vlogbrothers videos were a good writing apprenticeship, much of it creative nonfiction. (00:02:09)
• 2018-09-25 · update · John: Hank worked on the book for more than five years but dreamt of this moment far longer; John congratulates him and is excited for everyone to read it. — You Did It! 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: Hank worked on the book for more than five years but dreamt of this moment far longer; John congratulates him and is excited for everyone to read it. (00:02:55)
• 2019-06-07 · retold · Hank: Hank says his book will have a sequel he is working on, which led him to list, with Twitter questions, what he wishes he had known writing his first book. — 8 Things I Wish I Knew When I was Writing my First Novel 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says the second book has been easier for Hank than the first, unusually, partly because its characters already existed. (video description)
• 2024-08-07 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls early feedback asking whether April should use a fictional platform instead of YouTube; he answered that if YouTube stopped mattering, none of the book would. — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:14:38
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he would not include that line if he did it over: it was not mission critical, and other things could have done its job. (00:13:03)

Hank's YouTube interview with President Obama (January 2015)

7 videos, told 2015–2024 · thread page

• 2015-01-16 · told · Hank: Hank announces President Obama will have a conversation with him, livestreamed on the White House's YouTube channel on January 22. — Is School Broken? (Also...ANNOUNCEMENTS OF IMPORT) 00:02:48
  • opinion drawn: Hank approves of Obama's free community college plan as broadening the toolkit of Americans. (00:02:55)
• 2015-01-20 · update · Hank: Before his interview with President Obama, Hank says he is nervous about it. (playful) — REUNION MINIGOLF 00:00:13
  • video's point: John and Hank answer Nerdfighters' Question Tuesday questions together while playing a competitive round of minigolf in Florida, which Hank wins on the final hole.
• 2015-01-23 · update · Hank: Hank reports that yesterday he interviewed President Obama at the White House and shows his day, from rehearsals to the interview and the press afterwards. — Interviewing the President 00:00:01
  • video's point: Hank shows behind-the-scenes footage of his day travelling to Washington and interviewing President Obama at the White House, and his return to his family in Florida.
• 2015-01-30 · update · Hank: Hank says he could never regret interviewing President Obama, but the public attention has brought nasty comments about him that he is not used to. — Thoughts from the Edge 00:00:11
  • video's point: Hank uses the ecology of ecotones, where biomes blend, to argue that the boundary between political ideologies is productive only as a gradient, and that ideological diversity marks a thoughtful, not divided, nation.
• 2015-02-06 · mentioned · Hank: Among his successes Hank mentions that he recently interviewed the President. — You Will Be Forgotten ...And That's OK 00:01:27
  • point made: 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)
• 2021-02-19 · retold · Hank: Recalling his Barack Obama interview, Hank says he didn't cut his hair, was told to dress as usual, and on arrival was told they would take him to a store. (playful) — Bean Meme Review 00:07:52
  • video's point: In his first meme review, Hank goes through fan memes and art from the 2021 Project for Awesome, mostly about Beanie Sanfurbs, his bean-covered Furby, then says such contributions make him feel part of a community, and that what everyone creates together is worth far more than the work put in.
• 2024-05-10 · mentioned · Hank: In a channel comment Hank jokes that nine years ago he was interviewing Obama, so interviewing the Secretary could be a step down. (playful) — Three Whole Onions with Secretary Pete Buttigieg creator comment
  • opinion drawn: The description says Hank quite liked Pete: a big nerd focused on understanding people's problems and systems to help them, not on rhetoric. (video description)

Hank's new haircut, which reminds John of FIFA left-back Kennedy's (2015)

3 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-03-31 · told · John: John takes up Hank's new haircut, seen in Hank's video before the Batman song: Nerdfighter reviews were positive, and it upsets John by resembling Kennedy's. (playful) — Hank's Haircut and Related Existential Crises 00:00:12
  • video's point: John says Hank's new haircut, which resembles that of a pixel footballer in his FIFA team, shows that virtual and real life are connected and that realness is a continuum; imagination and work can make ideas real.
• 2015-04-10 (said on 2015-04-11, implied) · update · Hank: Hank answers John's mockery of his new haircut: he thinks his hair looks good, and he mocks the composition of John's blank background in return. (playful) — This Video Makes No Sense 00:00:01
  • video's point: A deliberately disjointed Hank video: he hits back at John's mockery of his haircut by attacking John's blank background, then strings together an improv song game, caterpillar memory, an office tour, presidents who killed people and a Snapchat recipe.
• 2015-08-18 · update · John: John says he won't run a negative campaign, then jabs at Hank's hair: a haircut Tyler Oakley discarded in 2011, a young Republican's haircut, a de-mustachioed Leon Trotsky's face. (joke) — The Cold War of Nerdfighteria 00:02:57
  • opinion drawn: John says one of the weirdest and most beautiful things about Nerdfighteria is that in eight years it has never let the brothers have a proper sibling rivalry: always Team Hank and John. (00:02:18)

Hank plays Wil Wheaton's Titansgrave tabletop RPG show for Geek & Sundry (2015)

2 videos, told 2015–2025 · thread page

• 2015-04-03 (said on 2015-03-31, implied) · told · Hank: Hank reports from the set of Wil Wheaton's tabletop RPG show, playing Titansgrave with Yuri Lowenthal, Laura Bailey and Alison Haislip; the show comes out in June. — Snap Questions: On the Set of Titansgrave! 00:00:01
  • video's point: On the set of Wil Wheaton's tabletop RPG show Titansgrave, Hank answers viewer questions sent by Snapchat, from his songwriting process and Snapchat use to dog eye boogers.
• 2025-12-09 · retold · John: John says Titansgrave was a wildly popular RPG show hosted by Wil Wheaton and co-starring Hank. — Hank Green, from A to Z 00:03:53
  • video's point: John runs through an A-to-Z of things Hank has created or co-created, from An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Crabulous and Dear Hank and John to VidCon, We're Here and 2D Glasses, praising hits and teasing abandoned ventures; finding nothing that starts with Z, he says Hank's next project had better.

Hank's greyhound Lemon is dying, then dies (2016)

4 videos, told 2016–2017 · thread page

• 2016-02-12 · told · Hank: The bad news behind Hank's sad times: his dog Lemon has bone cancer that has worsened fast, and she is now in a lot of pain, which is very hard for her and the family. — Doing the Hard(er) Thing (and some very bad news) video description
  • opinion drawn: In the description Hank asks how, if he can't make himself get up an hour earlier, he can do all the things said to be needed to live more morally. (video description)
• 2016-02-16 · mentioned · John: John tells Hank he is really sorry that Lemon is dying: just a dog, but a great dog. — Kindness 00:02:19
  • point made: We often imagine the world as zero-sum, but John believes kindness can change that arithmetic, citing the love Lemon's life brought to Hank and many others. (00:02:40)
• 2016-02-19 · update · Hank: Hank's dog died of osteosarcoma; like many owners, they chose to manage her pain rather than amputate. — Thanks, Lemon 00:00:41
  • video's point: Hank tells John his greyhound Lemon has died of osteosarcoma and, while insisting she was just another dog, argues that she mattered to him and taught him that feeling valued depends more on how you think of others than on how others think of you.
• 2017-01-13 · mentioned · Hank: Hank ranks his dog Lemon, who passed away, tenth, saying the best dog is your own dog and there's nothing wrong with that. — Top 10 Best Dogs Ever 00:03:05
  • video's point: After a Twitter suggestion of puppies, Hank counts down a deliberately nonsensical top 10 of best dogs (Stubby, Lily, a hero dog, a cat, Laika, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Bummer and Lazarus, Tweety Bird, his late dog Lemon), then says that in a tense, manipulative news moment there are still good dogs and good people, and we must care for ourselves and the world.

Hank's two-week Los Angeles trip packed with internet-creator hangouts and collabs (March 2016)

2 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-04-01 · told · Hank: Hank recounts two weeks in LA hanging out with and filming collabs with internet creators, with more still to do. — Loving Loving Things in Los Angeles 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: In the description Hank says one reason he lives in Montana is to stay a little disconnected from this culture, or he stops being a fan and gets competitive. (video description)
• 2016-04-08 · retold · Hank: Hank says he was so glad to see all these people while he was in LA (March 2016), and links the collab videos he was in there. — 47 YouTubers Laugh Without Smiling 00:03:24
  • video's point: Hank shows a montage of YouTubers he met in LA trying to laugh without smiling, then plugs VidCon 2016 and the collab videos he made on the trip.

Hank ruptures both eardrums flying home sick after VidCon (2016)

2 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-07-01 · told · Hank: On the second flight's descent the pain hit both ears; crying beside a stranger, Hank ruptured both eardrums. — So, I Ruptured Both my Eardrums! (Also, NerdCon: Nerdfighteria) 00:01:27
  • video's point: Hank says VidCon 2016 went very well, then tells how, sick afterwards, he ruptured both eardrums flying home and learned common pain relievers are dangerous with his ulcerative colitis. He reveals the promised Boston announcement: NerdCon: Nerdfighteria next February for ten years of Vlogbrothers, with optional scholarships.
• 2016-07-08 · update · Hank: Hank says he is still sick after about two weeks, which is annoying, and has noticed that sick people get advice. — Your Illness is Not Your Fault 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description thanks viewers for supporting Hank, but more for supporting the people in their lives who need it more; he says he has more support than any one human deserves. (video description)

Hank attends his first San Diego Comic-Con (2016)

2 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-07-22 · told · Hank: Hank is going to Comic-Con and, mid-video, is in San Diego after getting on his plane. — Ending the Age of Outrage (at least in ourselves, if not in the world) 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank says the internet has become a less kind place; unpleasant as it is for an internet lover to admit, we seem to have entered an age of outrage. (00:00:06)
• 2016-07-29 · told · Hank: Hank tells John he went to his first San Diego Comic-Con last week (July 2016) for panels and a little performance. — Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: In the description Hank names Kim Stanley Robinson books, Star Trek and The Tick as what he loves, and says community built around loved things beats the content and its makers. (video description)

Hank and Katherine have a baby, Orin (2016)

15 videos, told 2016–2026 · thread page

• 2016-08-03 · told · Hank: Hank says he is going to have a baby, which he has heard is pretty life-changing. — Lives Made of Love - Esther Day 2016 00:01:21
  • video's point: On Esther Day, Hank adds his memories of 8/8/08 (selling his first CDs at Terminus, which led to DFTBA Records), shares that he is going to have a baby, and argues that achievements are not what life is made of: the best lives are made of love.
• 2016-08-26 · update · Hank: Hank says that, having only alluded to it on this channel, he is having a child with Katherine in October, so he is on a travel moratorium. — I'm Just Going to Talk for Four Minutes 00:03:14
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he helps with NerdCon: Stories' content and is jealous at every meeting; he does it for other people and also for himself. (00:03:25)
• 2016-11-01 · update · John: John announces Hank is a dad: Katherine had a baby boy, Orin, over the weekend; he is adorable and John is very happy. — BABY! BABY! BABY! (And the 10th Annual Project for Awesome) 00:00:00
  • video's point: John celebrates the birth of Hank and Katherine's son Orin, notes guest Hanks will cover Hank's paternity leave, and announces how the 10th annual Project for Awesome will work (videos, voting, a 48-hour livestream, matched donations to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck), asking for perk and guest ideas.
• 2016-11-09 · update · John: John says his nephew Orin was born ten days ago; his parents bringing him into the world was an act of hope, which heartens John and was not misguided. — My Post-Election Thoughts 00:02:42
  • point made: John says hope is not idealistic or silly but the founding emotion of our species. (00:03:12)
• 2016-11-18 · update · Lex Croucher: Lex compares a cat owner's lost sleep to that of the parent of a newborn, asking 'how's it going, Hank?'. (playful) — Are Pets Ethical? 00:01:09
  • opinion drawn: Lex says owning a cat is good for her, selfishly: it gives routine and purpose, makes her responsible for someone else and so for herself, and relaxes her. (00:00:37)
• 2016-11-29 · update · Hank: Asked about his son Orin, Hank says he is a good, very cute baby. — Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited 00:00:20
  • video's point: In a reunion Question Tuesday, Hank briefly returns from paternity leave and the brothers answer nerdfighters' questions: baby Orin, why there is no TFIOS sequel, favourite Disney films, baby poop, desert-island books, self-care (you are a good burrito) and five-word autobiographies.
• 2016-12-23 · update · Hank: Hank tells John he is back on the channel and is now officially a dad. — 41 Dad Jokes in 4 Minutes! (with special guest star...) 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back from paternity leave and now officially a dad, Hank tells 41 dad jokes in under four minutes, some as skits with himself and one interrupted by his baby, and ends with his first real dad joke, made while changing his son's diaper.
• 2016-12-27 · update · John: John's third memory: meeting baby Orin in Montana; there is nothing like the pride and happiness of seeing his baby brother be such a committed, loving father. — The Best of My 2016 00:02:01
  • opinion drawn: John tells Hank that, visiting him, Katherine and Orin in Montana, he thought Hank had found the thing he is best at. (00:02:15)
• 2017-03-31 · update · Hank: Hank says there is now a baby: for the rest of his life his child will be his prime obligation, which is new for him. — No Cut Confessional: Priorities 00:03:13
  • point made: Hank concludes his old systems no longer fit his life, which is okay: he must build new ones, difficult and sometimes painful, but he is figuring it out and it is 100% worth it. (00:03:45)
• 2017-05-19 · update · Hank: Hank says that after six months of parenthood his pros and cons list turned out to be wrong. — Should I Have a Baby? 00:00:50
  • point made: Hank says that after six months of parenthood his pros and cons list turned out to be wrong. (00:00:50)
• 2018-11-23 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls being excited, after having a baby a couple of years ago, to officially tell dad jokes; now Orin, barely two, is telling jokes himself. — Four Jokes from a Two year Old 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank shares all four jokes his two-year-old son Orin has ever told, from 'Mama. Dada.' to 'coconut', then runs through Black Friday plugs: a Nerdfighter poetry book for charity, DFTBA's tenth-anniversary free shipping, a PodCon gift pin and DFTBA's new Flair Club.
• 2020-10-30 · retold · Hank: Four years ago today Hank was in the hospital, tired, a little anxious and very happy to have a healthy baby boy and a healthy wife who was now a mom. — Four Years Ago 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank's lesson: the things he worries about most when they are new and he has the least data are often the least worth worrying about. (00:00:58)
• 2022-04-22 · retold · Hank: Hank shows the X-wing he and Katherine built during the long video at whose end they announced they were having a baby. — My Life is on My Walls 00:00:58
  • video's point: Hank gives the first tour of the office where he has made videos for about eight years, showing the mementos he keeps on his walls to remind him of good past moments, from tour posters and the X-wing of his baby-announcement video to Crash Course coin prototypes and the bean Furby.
• 2023-12-24 · retold · Hank: On paternity leave with his son Orin, Hank says the most surprising thing about having a baby is the noise of the poops. — John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 01:06:29
  • video's point: A Christmas Eve supercut of the brothers' reunion videos played backwards from a 2023 Jamaica vacation to their 2007 Dominican Republic reunion: Question Tuesdays, tours, Pizzamas, premieres, P4A and Esther Day; in the description Hank says rewatching made him want to be both sillier and smaller and bigger.
• 2026-10-30 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls Pizzagate, and Donald Trump being elected president just days after Hank's son was born, which he found weird. — The Last Normal Year 00:01:30
  • point made: Hank believes that 2016 felt like the worst year ever, and every later year even worse, because of a switch that flipped in 2016. (00:01:30)

Hank's paternity leave from vlogbrothers, with guest hosts standing in (2016)

16 videos, told 2016 · thread page

• 2016-10-28 · told · Hank: Hank says this is his last video before he goes on paternity leave. — Give Me Your Tweets, I'll Give You My Phone · Last Video Before Leave! 00:00:01
  • video's point: In his last video before paternity leave, Hank covers housekeeping (scheduled VidCon and Pizzamas videos, new Pizza John designs by internet designers, P4A coming up), asks viewers to suggest tweets for his leave, and promises a Google Pixel he was sent to his favourite suggestion.
• 2016-11-01 · update · John: John says Hank is now truly on paternity leave, and several guest Hanks will fill in over the coming weeks, starting Friday with NerdyAndQuirky Sabrina. — BABY! BABY! BABY! (And the 10th Annual Project for Awesome) 00:00:17
  • video's point: John celebrates the birth of Hank and Katherine's son Orin, notes guest Hanks will cover Hank's paternity leave, and announces how the 10th annual Project for Awesome will work (videos, voting, a 48-hour livestream, matched donations to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck), asking for perk and guest ideas.
• 2016-11-04 · update · video description: The description says Sabrina (NerdyAndQuirky) fills in for Hank to talk about stress, joy and being a university student. — Stress and Joy video description
  • video's point: Standing in for Hank during his paternity leave, Sabrina Cruz (NerdyAndQuirky) jokes about her stressful first term at university and argues that stress and happiness are a false dichotomy: good stress from work she loves has made her the happiest she has been.
• 2016-11-07 · update · Hank: Hank says he is still on paternity leave but made this video early because he felt bad about not being able to make a Pizzamas video. — It's Pizzamas!!! (Thoughts From the Place Where they Print Our Shirts) 00:00:02
  • video's point: For Pizzamas, pre-recorded before his paternity leave, Hank visits Zoo City Apparel, the shop that prints nearly every DFTBA shirt, meets its workers, and argues that businesses hide the people who make things, while seeing that complexity and hard work is more rewarding and more real.
• 2016-11-08 · update · John: John jokes that Hank scheduled his child's arrival poorly and is on paternity leave, but managed to upload a video during his leave, with dancing in it. (playful) — A PIZZAMAS MIRACLE 00:00:11
  • video's point: On Election Day 2016, during Pizzamas, John reveals his returning Pizza John mustache, plugs the limited Pizza John merch, visits the Indianapolis factory making Pizza John pajamas, urges eligible Americans to vote, and votes himself, admitting he is nervous.
• 2016-11-11 · update · Hank: The description says Hannah Hart fills in for Hank during his paternity leave, and recommends her newly released book Buffering. — The Trouble with Wishful Thinking video description
  • video's point: Filling in for Hank after Trump's election, Hannah Hart argues that wishful thinking (doing less and still expecting what you want) helped bring the result, including the 46% who didn't vote, and urges viewers to have uncomfortable political conversations with family and non-voting friends now.
• 2016-11-14 · update · video description: The description says Craig Benzine stands in for Hank on the second Monday of Pizzamas. — Who the Eff Is Hank? video description
  • video's point: Guest host Craig Benzine (WheezyWaiter), standing in for Hank on the second Monday of Pizzamas, does comic Hank impressions and a mock 'science of pizza' that drifts into pizza and moustache history.
• 2016-11-16 · update · video description: The description says Allison and Gaby from Just Between Us stand in for Hank on Pizzamas Day 10. — Why We Left Buzzfeed (Some Thoughts on Taking Risks) video description
  • video's point: Guest hosts Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin of Just Between Us explain why they left BuzzFeed to prioritize their own channel and argue that a company is not your friend: take risks and listen to your gut.
• 2016-11-18 · update · video description: The description says Lex Croucher fills in for Hank on the last day of Pizzamas. — Are Pets Ethical? video description
  • video's point: Guest host Lex Croucher, with her adopted cat Felicity, asks whether keeping pets is ethical: a long comfortable life versus a short natural one; she concludes that since domestication cannot be undone, giving an adopted animal a loving home is good.
• 2016-11-25 · update · video description: The description says Nathan Zed fills in for Hank while Hank is on paternity leave. — You're Not Good Enough video description
  • video's point: Guest host Nathan Zed, filling in during Hank's paternity leave, says he always feels not good enough and avoids things he isn't amazing at; he has no answer but tries to just do things he loves, since a person is like a burrito: no single ingredient is the best, but together they make a pretty good one.
• 2016-11-29 · update · John: John says Hank is making a triumphant but temporary return to vlogbrothers for a reunion Question Tuesday; John says he's bad at paternity leave. (playful) — Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited 00:00:09
  • video's point: In a reunion Question Tuesday, Hank briefly returns from paternity leave and the brothers answer nerdfighters' questions: baby Orin, why there is no TFIOS sequel, favourite Disney films, baby poop, desert-island books, self-care (you are a good burrito) and five-word autobiographies.
• 2016-12-01 (said on 2016-12-02, implied) · update · Hank: Hank, on a pre-recorded break from his leave, thanks John and the guest hosts for taking care of the channel while he has been gone. — See you in Amsterdam, Melbourne, or Anaheim!! (also Boston) 00:02:51
  • video's point: Hank, briefly back from paternity leave in a pre-recorded video, announces three VidCons for 2017 (Anaheim, and for the first time Amsterdam and Melbourne), says he will attend all three while John attends only Anaheim, and thanks the guest hosts.
• 2016-12-02 · update · video description: The description says Rosianna fills in for Hank during his paternity leave to talk about logging off and the internet as a work in progress. — Logging Off video description
  • video's point: Guest host Rosianna Halse Rojas, filling in during Hank's paternity leave, describes logging off the social internet and argues that the internet is not intrinsically good or bad but unfinished infrastructure made of people that we keep building; she wonders whether platforms like Twitter were a shortcut that skipped the long hard work, and admits she doesn't know.
• 2016-12-13 · update · Hank: Hank announces he is back from his leave, after six weeks away from the channel that he says changed him. — P4A 2016 Hilarity Reprise - OVER $2M RAISED!! 00:02:23
  • video's point: After a montage of gags from the P4A 2016 livestream, Hank, back from paternity leave, thanks everyone for the 10th Project for Awesome raising over $2 million, says six weeks away from the channel changed him, and thanks larger donors and YouTube's $25,000 Creators for Change match.
• 2016-12-16 · update · video description: The description says Tessa Violet fills in for Hank on the last day of his vlogbrothers paternity leave to talk about fear in art. — Fear in Art video description
  • video's point: Guest host Tessa Violet, filling in on the last day of Hank's paternity leave, says releasing art means grieving its loss and creating means facing your own inadequacy, and that neither fear is a good reason not to try.
• 2016-12-23 · update · Hank: Hank tells John he is back on the channel and is now officially a dad. — 41 Dad Jokes in 4 Minutes! (with special guest star...) 00:00:00
  • video's point: Back from paternity leave and now officially a dad, Hank tells 41 dad jokes in under four minutes, some as skits with himself and one interrupted by his baby, and ends with his first real dad joke, made while changing his son's diaper.

Orin poops with his diaper off on his first day home and Hank tries to catch it (2016)

3 videos, told 2016–2023 · thread page

• 2016-11-29 · told · Hank: Hank tells how, on Orin's first day home, Orin pooped with his diaper off while Hank was changing him, and Hank tried to catch it with his hand. (playful) — Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited 00:01:28
  • video's point: In a reunion Question Tuesday, Hank briefly returns from paternity leave and the brothers answer nerdfighters' questions: baby Orin, why there is no TFIOS sequel, favourite Disney films, baby poop, desert-island books, self-care (you are a good burrito) and five-word autobiographies.
• 2020-10-30 · retold · Hank: Among the useful searches, Hank asked how to know when a baby is done pooping, because he took the diaper off before Orin was done. (playful) — Four Years Ago 00:01:56
  • point made: Like Orin's head size, the laptop story had little data: the story was really our anxiety, and worry about the worry was legitimate, since it could lead people to faulty judgments lived with for years. (00:01:56)
• 2023-12-24 · retold · Hank: On paternity leave with his son Orin, Hank says the most surprising thing about having a baby is the noise of the poops. — John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 01:06:29
  • video's point: A Christmas Eve supercut of the brothers' reunion videos played backwards from a 2023 Jamaica vacation to their 2007 Dominican Republic reunion: Question Tuesdays, tours, Pizzamas, premieres, P4A and Esther Day; in the description Hank says rewatching made him want to be both sillier and smaller and bigger.

Hank's sensory processing disorder and ADHD (2017)

2 videos, told 2017–2021 · thread page

• 2017-03-10 · retold · Hank: Hank says that as a little kid he was diagnosed with a learning disability, a sensory dysfunction. — Do I Have ADHD? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says part of him always wants to believe he is strong and smart enough to handle any curve ball without letting anyone down, which he thinks might be destructive, so he is glad he has let himself get support from friends, family and professionals over the years. (video description)
• 2021-04-16 · update · Hank: Hank, who would have had a very different life without computers, has sensory processing disorder and ADHD and reads slower than the average ninth grader; luck in timing, the right tools and support turned possible liabilities into assets. — Gene Editing and Intelligence: A Bad 00:02:26
  • point made: Most importantly, environment varies not only across a society and across cultures but across time. (00:02:26)

Hank's teenage wish to get a mohawk at 40 (high school)

3 videos, told 2017–2023 · thread page

• 2017-03-14 · told · Hank: Hank says that in college he wanted a job where he could get a mohawk at 40, and now he has one, then plays 'your cool teacher Hank with the 40 year old mohawk'. (playful) — Green Brothers Reunited! 00:02:09
  • video's point: In a reunion Question Tuesday on a desert walk, John and Hank answer viewer questions on topics chosen by John's children, Pokémon and monkey turtles, plus John's silvering hair, Hank's 40-year-old mohawk, the word 'spicy', plates, and whether John would rather live with C-3PO or R2-D2.
• 2023-06-16 · retold · Hank: Hank often thought he wanted a mohawk at 40, to prove he had a job that allowed one: 17-year-old Hank's version of a cool life, which he now calls silly. — So, About This HAIR… 00:02:02
  • video's point: Hank revisits his old line that you have no obligation to your former self: since he is a story he tells himself, he loves his punk 17-year-old self, who wanted a mohawk at 40, and now chooses to honor him, keeping the amount of obligation he wants.
• 2023-06-16 · update · Hank: Hank says this week (week of 12 June 2023) he was given an opportunity to honor his 17-year-old self, and here he is. — So, About This HAIR… 00:03:52
  • point made: Hank concludes he does not have no obligation to his former self: he has the amount of obligation he wants, and he wants some. (00:03:52)
• 2023-09-26 · update · Hank: Hank says he has had looks over the years he does not feel great about, had a mohawk for a while, and is now going to have a mustache, with no way to know how it will go. — THE REVEAL 00:01:22
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the changes have made him very confident: after looking one way for so long, he does not have to look one particular way. (00:01:16)

Hank's lonely first science job in a lab after graduating (told 2017)

2 videos, told 2017–2020 · thread page

• 2017-05-26 · told · Hank: Hank loved science and got a science job after graduating, but it was miserable because he was the only person in the lab; after six months it got lonely. — Some Rough Advice for the "Real World" 00:00:39
  • point made: Hank thinks most graduates, like him at their age, have done what others told them their whole lives and now don't know what to do. (00:00:06)
• 2020-03-06 · retold · Hank: After college Hank worked alone in a fungicide quality-control lab: running the whole lab was exciting, but it was awful, as he saw no living thing all day but mold. — I Did Not Get Leprosy! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Recalling his lonely first job alone in a Florida fungicide lab and the group of armadillos he photographed there in 2003, Hank tells John he did not get leprosy (which jumped from humans to armadillos, not their fault) and shares nine-banded armadillo facts: identical quadruplets, delayed pregnancies, two ways of crossing water and thriving in human landscapes.

Hank's summer job at Walmart (told 2017)

3 videos, told 2017–2019 · thread page

• 2017-09-15 · told · Hank: Hank recalls working at Walmart, where people took whole toilet paper rolls home; replacing them, he would find someone had filled a backpack with it within two hours. — My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia 00:01:00
  • video's point: Back from VidCon Australia with jet lag, Hank complains that his nice Melbourne hotel had miserable toilet paper, says butt problems such as hemorrhoids, fissures and IBD are common and nothing to be ashamed of, and argues that businesses cut the premium for nicer toilet paper at the cost of people with butt problems.
• 2019-02-08 · mentioned · Hank: Hank says his first college summer he worked at Walmart, a weird experience where he made a lot of friends and cleaned up a lot of poop, a story for another day. (playful) — Screwing Up: Two Stories From When I Worked at a TV Station 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says the story relates to society's conversation about cultural appropriation and may be a frame for people resistant to the idea that it is disrespectful. (video description)
• 2019-03-29 · mentioned · Hank: Hank says he knows wage theft first-hand: he got a wage theft settlement after working at Walmart for a summer. — The Largest Theft of All Time 00:03:26
  • point made: Hank concludes the biggest theft of all time is ongoing and widely known, hits the disadvantaged hardest, has victimized most people, and almost no one has gone to jail for it. (00:03:32)

Hank joins TikTok and posts several TikToks a day (2020)

17 videos, told 2020–2026 · thread page

• 2020-07-17 · told · Hank: When there is a new way stories spread, Hank feels almost obliged to engage with it, and he has been doing so with TikTok. — So Much to See 00:00:31
  • point made: Hank's theory: we now live in a world of functionally infinite content, though not all content that should be made is made, nor all audiences served. (00:00:31)
• 2020-07-21 · update · John: Having a TikTok-famous brother feels mostly good to John, but a little worrying. — Somebody Once Asked . . . 00:03:21
  • opinion drawn: Having a TikTok-famous brother feels mostly good to John, but a little worrying. (00:03:21)
• 2020-08-28 · update · Hank: Hank says he has been spending a lot of time on TikTok because he is addicted to it. (playful) — Break the Mold 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says clear paths exist for good reasons and should be used, but we lose something if we never look aside for another way, especially when paths get clogged or blocked. (video description)
• 2021-03-09 · update · John: In 2010 Hank was a goofball corndog enthusiast; today he is a TikTok sensation among the world's leading science communicators, two phrases John had never heard in 2010. — Hank Rebranded Without Any of Us Noticing 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: In 2010 Hank was a goofball corndog enthusiast; today he is a TikTok sensation among the world's leading science communicators, two phrases John had never heard in 2010. (00:00:58)
• 2021-03-12 · update · Hank: Ordering a pizza right before recording, Hank gave his name and was told 'I love your TikToks'; he asked to record the person. — A Crisis of Branding 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: The description clarifies that by having no authentic self Hank doesn't mean lacking innate tendencies, but that searching for 'the real me' could go on forever and leave him freezer burned. (video description)
• 2021-09-03 · update · Hank: Hank makes about 20 science and 60 non-science TikToks a month, why being a bit of a mystery to him. (playful) — What the Heck am I doing? 00:00:47
  • opinion drawn: Working on Crash Course's partnership with ASU has given Hank insight into how US education really functions and where it lets people down. (00:01:16)
• 2021-10-05 · retold · Hank: Hank says that in May 2020 someone told him TikTok is pretty cool; very soon he was uploading several TikToks a day, and over a year later he still is. — Why the Heck am I on TikTok??? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says Hank doesn't claim a healthy relationship with any of this, but the world changes so fast he wants to stay aware of it, at least for now; ignoring it won't help. (video description)
• 2022-12-23 · mentioned · Hank: Hank says he is very good at becoming whatever a platform wants him to be: he got good at YouTube, Twitter and TikTok, and just had the top toot of the day on Mastodon. — You Cannot Trust Yourself (Hank's End of the Year Worries) 00:01:38
  • point made: Hank asks whether to just follow what interests him, as in the channel's first ten years, or keep wondering if algorithms hack his pro-social biology toward misinformation and loneliness; he needs both. (00:02:16)
• 2023-01-17 · update · John: John adds that Hank is a podcaster and huge on TikTok. — John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: Asked whether the brothers helped popularize this kind of video, John replies they did it way before Wired. (creator comment)
• 2023-04-07 · retold · Hank: Hank says a few years ago he decided to try to get big on TikTok because he missed being part of a new platform's rise, as with YouTube. (hedged) — Getting One Million LinkedIn Followers 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says growing on a platform depends not on its age but on whether it is underused by current users, creatively fulfilling for him, and whether he adds value. (00:00:29)
• 2023-04-07 · update · Hank: Hank says he now has 7 million TikTok followers, more than anywhere else. — Getting One Million LinkedIn Followers 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says growing on a platform depends not on its age but on whether it is underused by current users, creatively fulfilling for him, and whether he adds value. (00:00:29)
• 2023-04-21 · update · Hank: As perhaps the person in Montana with the most TikTok followers, Hank says reporters, local reporters and TikTok's comms people have been calling him for comment. — On TikTok Bans 00:00:21
  • opinion drawn: The description says a national ban would be a significant loss, and rejects both frames heard so far: TikTok is trash so ban it, or a treasure so don't. (video description)
• 2023-10-06 · mentioned · Hank: Hank says he has never been a full-time CEO: in that time he also wrote two novels, made countless TikToks and spent far too much time on Twitter. (playful) — I Quit 00:01:01
  • opinion drawn: Hank credits people who believe in the companies' missions and leadership from others, especially two best friends, Dave at DFTBA and Julie at Complexly, for how far the companies have come. (00:01:31)
• 2024-05-24 · update · Hank: In a channel comment Hank says people who approach him in public mostly know him from Crash Course, with TikTok second. — An Ancient Apocalypse creator comment
  • video's point: After Katherine's birthday trip, Hank reflects on being famous, on co-founding Nerdfighteria and on being a husband and father, then shows a short vlog in which Katherine explains how a glacial erratic was carried by the Lake Missoula floods; he closes that the floods were an apocalypse for any people in their path, now remembered only as roadside curiosities.
• 2024-08-07 · mentioned · Hank: Hank says his TikTok star shone brightly, then he got cancer and Vlogbrothers had its biggest subscriber day in ten years. (playful) — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:08:09
  • opinion drawn: Hank says fame comes in waves, most visibly for big celebrities: Taylor Swift is on top of the world, then collectively hated, then back stronger; now is a hate moment. (00:08:59)
• 2024-08-27 · retold · John: John says Hank bet on TikTok in 2018 and benefited financially when it blew up. — How The Internet Is Rigged 00:03:14
  • point made: John says user-generated content remains tremendously undervalued by the platforms that distribute it. (00:03:45)
• 2024-09-20 · retold · Hank: Hank says almost exactly four years ago he uploaded his first TikTok; his fourth got millions of views, and with a book coming and his fascination with platforms he pushed hard into TikTok. — Do I Regret TikTok? 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank says attention is the stuff a life is made of, we only get so much, and in theory we control what we do with it. (00:00:29)
• 2024-09-20 · update · Hank: As TikTok stopped being fun, buzzy and cool, it changed for Hank from a place of doing things with people and making culture to one where things just happened to him; he enjoys it less. — Do I Regret TikTok? 00:07:45
  • opinion drawn: Hank says that, amazingly, 17 years later YouTube still feels like something he does with people. (00:07:45)
• 2026-02-15 · update · Hank: Hank realised he was putting about 60% of a YouTube video's effort into a TikTok, while a YouTube video is far better for the world; he now makes far fewer TikToks, having once made three a day. — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 03:41:03
  • video's point: In the fifth and last part of the 2026 Project for Awesome livestream, on the morning of February 15, John takes over from Rosianna Halse Rojas, lets Alice do his makeup at $3.3 million and says seven years on his novel taught him writing is also for himself; Hank arrives 45 minutes early, uploads a Vlogbrothers video mid-stream to draw viewers, and the 2026 P4A becomes the biggest ever, passing $3.7 million.

10-year-old Hank writes an essay and timeline predicting life up to 2020 (1990)

2 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-01-01 · told · Hank: Topping John's look back at his 2020 goals, Hank says that at 10, in 1990, he wrote an essay predicting life in 2020, and reads it with his year-by-year timeline. — In 1990 I Made a Bunch of Predictions About 2020...Here they Are 00:00:00
  • video's point: Answering John's review of his 2020 goals, Hank reads the essay he wrote at 10 in 1990 about life in 2020 and his year-by-year timeline to 2020, checking each childhood prediction against what happened, from the first black president to superior fish beings and Garfield turning 80.
• 2021-01-05 · mentioned · John: John recalls Hank's video detailing what 10-year-old Hank thought would happen before 2020. — SUPERIOR FISH BEINGS 00:00:00
  • video's point: Picking up 10-year-old Hank's prediction of superior fish beings for 2012, John riffs on what they might be and say, then argues that humanity, like an adolescent wanting wise parents, already knows much of what they would tell us: war is bad, collaboration works, everyone deserves health care and education.

Hank's family gets a new kitten, Gummy Bear (2021)

3 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-10-15 · told · Hank: Hank introduces his family's new kitten, still unnamed because his four-year-old Orin is choosing the name. — What is Pizzamas? ...and a New Friend 00:02:53
  • video's point: On the last day of Pizzamas 2021, Hank reflects that Pizzamas, Vlogbrothers and Nerdfighteria are off the well-trod paths and don't fit defined boxes, which he loves, says making videos never feels like work, offers a five-cent Nickelback coupon, and introduces his still-unnamed new kitten.
• 2021-10-19 · update · John: John says Hank has just acquired possibly the cutest kitten John has ever seen, and what remains is the fraught work of naming it. — Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide 00:00:00
  • video's point: John offers Hank comic advice on naming his new kitten: praise for his son's names, the vet test, regal and apparel names, puns, writers' cats from Poe to Twain, the first cat in space, and Tesla's cat, ending with 'nature is a gigantic cat'.
• 2021-10-22 · update · Hank: In a P.S., Hank says his cat is named Gummy Bear, Orin's decision, cute for a cute bouncy cat; secretly he likes it because Geberker remains a good nickname he still uses. (playful) — A Tool with No Blood on It 00:03:18
  • point made: Hank says the human experiment is not an attempt to arrive at perfect, but always an attempt to select for a world a little better than before. (00:03:18)

Hank has COVID and a rebound case (2022)

2 videos, told 2022–2023 · thread page

• 2022-07-08 · update · Hank: Hank says that, probably partly because he takes medicine to control an autoimmune disease, he got a kind of COVID that goes away and comes back, which has him looking for the bright side. (hedged) — Sad COVID Boy Hank Green Eats Foods He Hates but Can't Taste 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Agreeing with a viewer that the richness he described in the olives was umami, Hank says this only occurred to him while editing. (creator comment)
• 2023-06-02 (said on 2023-06-01, implied) · mentioned · Hank: Hank compares the fatigue to when he had COVID: it is hard even to move his arm to grab a Gatorade bottle. — Chemo is Weird, Y'all 00:03:39
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he is not putting on a brave face: he feels better because it is the last day before the next dose. (00:03:39)

Hank gets shingles (2022)

5 videos, told 2022–2026 · thread page

• 2022-09-13 · told · John: John says Hank is sick with shingles, which is extremely painful and sucks, and he is sorry. — A Million Things at Once 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John says that when Hank is sick he feels sad and worried because Hank is so great. (00:00:00)
• 2022-09-16 · update · Hank: Hank is getting over shingles: it was very, very bad, but he feels much better and it now only itches. — Here's Why Younger People are Getting Shingles 00:01:56
  • opinion drawn: Hank guesses the shingles vaccine will eventually be available to younger people. (00:03:13)
• 2026-03-13 · update · Hank: The description says that an hour after posting, Hank noticed a mild rash on his chest and found he has shingles. — Pain video description
  • video's point: Filming lying on the floor with an injured shoulder after 22 hours of travel, Hank tells John that pain reminds him, who often feels he lives online, that he has a physical body; he makes the video anyway because Vlogbrothers is two guys being humans, and thanks his body.
• 2026-03-17 · update · John: John says the reason Hank is in so much pain turns out to be that he has shingles again. — Tuberculosis and Hank's Shingles 00:00:58
  • point made: John says the story shows the strange incentives in creating vaccines for poor countries' diseases when they conflict with health problems of wealthy countries, whose governments can spend lots on vaccines. (00:02:26)
• 2026-03-20 · update · Hank: Hank has shingles; when sick he researches his disease until he finds it bizarre and fascinating and lets that distract him, which he has done with shingles before. — I'm Sick Because of the Social Structures of Early Hominins 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank says shingles is even weirder than he thought and, unexpectedly, tells us something about the evolution of early hominins. (00:00:00)

Hank's Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis and chemotherapy (2023)

75 videos, told 2023–2026 · thread page

• 2023-05-19 · update · Hank: The description reports that a PET/CT scan showed the cancer has not spread from its original location in Hank's left armpit/chest area. — So, I've got cancer video description
  • video's point: Hank tells John he has Hodgkin's lymphoma, a very treatable cancer he will treat with at least four months of chemotherapy, explains why its spread matters less than in solid tumors, says he does not know what he will make while sick, and asks viewers for no health advice, newsletter sign-ups and light media recommendations.
• 2023-05-19 · told · Hank: Hank tells John he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a very treatable cancer, and will soon start at least four months of chemotherapy. — So, I've got cancer 00:01:53
  • video's point: Hank tells John he has Hodgkin's lymphoma, a very treatable cancer he will treat with at least four months of chemotherapy, explains why its spread matters less than in solid tumors, says he does not know what he will make while sick, and asks viewers for no health advice, newsletter sign-ups and light media recommendations.
• 2023-05-23 · update · John: As Hank starts chemo, John has become temporary CEO of DFTBA and Complexly in his place. (playful) — Rough Week 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: John says the world still needs Crash Course, SciShow and everything else Complexly makes. (00:03:14)
• 2023-05-26 · update · Hank: A week after his first chemo, Hank feels much better than a few days ago; chemo has been pretty miserable, but he is getting amazing care and much support. — My Cancer Press Tier List 00:04:31
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the support has pushed him through hard times, and feeling not alone in such a moment is a fantastic privilege. (00:05:01)
• 2023-05-30 · update · John: John has been helping out with some of Hank's jobs because of Hank's chemotherapy and can hardly believe Hank does all of it. — How Does He Do It? 00:00:00
  • video's point: Standing in for Hank during his chemotherapy, John marvels at Hank's many jobs, says his own idea for Crash Course made nothing happen without Hank and thousands of collaborators, announces the four 2023 Crash Course coins (JWST-inspired design) that largely fund Crash Course, and concludes that Hank, like almost everything worth doing, does it together.
• 2023-06-02 (said on 2023-06-01, implied) · update · Hank: Two weeks into chemotherapy, Hank feels nearly normal on the eve of his next dose, after side effects whose hardest has been fatigue. — Chemo is Weird, Y'all 00:00:29
  • video's point: On the eve of his second chemotherapy dose, Hank explains his every-other-Friday regimen, lists his five weirdest side effects (hiccups, red urine and sweat, salivary gland pain, urethra pain, sore mouth), names fatigue as the hardest, and stresses that chemo experiences differ.
• 2023-06-13 · retold · John: John says Hank's swollen lymph nodes turned out to be lymphoma, but almost always swollen lymph nodes are no big deal, just the body dealing with an infection. — touched by a king 00:01:43
  • video's point: Touring the Indiana Medical History Museum while filming a deep-dive Crash Course on tuberculosis, John explains that lymphoma was once thought to be TB, describes scrofula and the old European belief that the king's touch cured it, and argues that history is also an encouragement: he is angry Hank has cancer but grateful for the accumulated knowledge behind better treatment.
• 2023-06-16 · update · Hank: Hank writes it is too early to tell how well treatment is going, but early signs indicate his cancer cells are responding well, meaning dying a bunch. (hedged) — So, About This HAIR… video description
  • point made: With ten more years of wisdom Hank adds nuance: he is also just a story he tells himself about himself, which makes having no obligation to his former self tricky. (00:00:26)
• 2023-06-20 · update · John: John says Hank pre-made a Vlogbrothers video because he knew he would be too sick to make one this week (week of 19 June 2023). — Reflections from a Terrible CEO 00:04:45
  • point made: John says they are working, in small and insufficient ways, on the injustices of high US college costs and high global maternal mortality. (00:04:08)
• 2023-06-23 · update · Hank: Hank says his Hodgkin lymphoma is stage 2A with no bulky disease (no X), which is great. — Understanding Cancer Survival Rates 00:06:50
  • point made: Hank says the survival rate is only one piece of a prognosis, alongside treatment, response to it, living through it and the support needed. (00:06:50)
• 2023-06-27 · update · Hank: Hank reports a new chemo symptom: for the first time in his life, two ocular migraines, with auras and no pain while they were happening; it felt like hallucinating, in both eyes, so a brain problem. — Alone on the Cancer Boat: A Vlogbrothers Reunion 00:09:05
  • video's point: In a reunion at the DFTBA warehouse, John says that beneath the jokes Hank's chemotherapy simply sucks; Hank likens it to being alone and seasick on a boat; they discuss why cancer is hard to cure, unequal access to treatment, Carole Mitnick's idea of treating illness to extend lives rather than maximize value, and Hank's new ocular migraines, and John closes that many people are trying to right Hank's ship.
• 2023-06-30 · update · Hank: The description marks the last chemo day of Hank's current treatment plan; he expects a terrible week, then radiation, plus an important scan next week (week of 3 July 2023) whose results will take a scary while. — Bon Your Vivant video description
  • opinion drawn: Hank writes he would be very happy if this is the last chemo he ever has to do, but is also just grateful to have these tools. (video description)
• 2023-07-07 · update · Hank: Hank says he wants to hear advice from people who have had Hodgkin's lymphoma and ABVD, his chemo regimen; talking with people who have been through cancer has been very helpful. — What to Get for a Cancer Patient 00:06:05
  • opinion drawn: Hank says friendships do not happen unless they are invested in, so support for a sick friend should go on the calendar. (00:06:05)
• 2023-07-14 · update · Hank: Hank says his lymphoma responded well and he has had the last chemo of his treatment plan, needing only four sessions. — The Good News Video 00:04:14
  • opinion drawn: Hank calls chemo the least fun thing he has ever done and hates it, but finds it amazing and powerful, and feels lucky to have access, a nearby hospital, and decades of refined treatment plans. (00:06:11)
• 2023-07-28 · update · Hank: Hank tells John that today was his very first radiation therapy appointment, which was weird. — Let's Try Radiation Therapy! 00:00:29
  • video's point: Hank tells John about his first radiation therapy appointment after chemotherapy: how the beams target where his lymph nodes were swollen, why it feels like nothing, and why cancer treatment is about trade-offs between cure and deadly side effects.
• 2023-08-03 · update · John: John says this Esther Day hits different: Hank's cancer diagnosis reminded them life is fragile and that they are fortunate in the people they share life with. — I love you, Hank. Happy Esther Day. 00:01:27
  • point made: John says this Esther Day hits different: Hank's cancer diagnosis reminded them life is fragile and that they are fortunate in the people they share life with. (00:01:27)
• 2023-08-04 · update · Hank: Hank says it has been quite a year, though he is happy with the current trajectory. — The Biggest Science Story of the Week 00:00:29
  • point made: Hank defines geoengineering as the controversial idea of intentionally changing the planet's climate, unlike the accidental change of the last hundred years. (00:00:29)
• 2023-08-08 · mentioned · John: John lists what took 2023 up a notch: Hank got cancer and had to have chemotherapy and radiation. (playful) — TAKE IT UP A NOTCH 00:00:00
  • video's point: John replays his January goal to take it down a notch and lists how 2023 instead took it up a notch (Hank's cancer, his temporary CEO jobs, a fight with drug companies); he argues we do not control our fate and that blaming people for their illness breeds stigma, then asks viewers to vote in a poll on whether to keep the four-minute rule.
• 2023-08-08 · update · John: John stresses that such comments have been very rare for Hank and that almost everyone has been extraordinarily supportive. — TAKE IT UP A NOTCH 00:02:26
  • opinion drawn: John says Hank's experience is not typical: with HIV, cancer, tuberculosis or another highly stigmatized disease, the social response is part of what makes the illness so difficult. (00:02:26)
• 2023-08-11 · update · Hank: The description says Hank is off to get the final radiation of his current treatment plan. — It's About a YouTuber with Cancer video description
  • opinion drawn: Hank reads Puss as a beloved entertainer who over-invests in how strangers perceive him, under-invests in deeper relationships, and is driven deep down by fear. (00:00:20)
• 2023-08-22 · update · John: The description says John made the video before the news was public that Hank is in remission; John is grateful and relieved and hopes Hank will talk about it on Friday. — The Panera Phenomenon video description
  • point made: John says the MCOE is not a symbol of hope but an activation of hope; English lacks a word for hope realized, which is telling, but that is how he feels. (00:00:29)
• 2023-08-25 · update · Hank: Hank announces that this week (week of 21 August 2023) his doctor told him he is in complete remission from his cancer. — Remission 00:01:14
  • point made: In Dungeons & Dragons a constitution saving throw decides once whether you are affected by a disease or poison; Hank says life is not like that. (00:01:05)
• 2023-09-01 · update · Hank: Hank reports side effects of finishing chemo: no longer allowed to donate blood, less regrown head hair and a possible beard, ocular migraines, health anxiety and survivor guilt. — The Weirdest Post-Chemo Symptoms 00:00:26
  • video's point: Hank lists the unexpected side effects of finishing chemotherapy (no more blood donation, re-rolled hair and a possible beard, ocular migraines, health anxiety, survivor guilt, learning he was not needed for everything) and, prompted by a dead TikToker whose videos keep posting, reflects that we all keep posting through culture and that what we make may not be about us.
• 2023-09-05 · update · John: John praises Hank's new beard: Hank looks different because he is different, moving through a profound, difficult experience and looking good; he might go full Tom Selleck. — I Ain't Even Here, Sergeant. I'm in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 00:03:38
  • point made: John concludes that Cheyenne, Wyoming is a metaphor, not a real place: go there whenever you can, but don't stay forever. (00:03:31)
• 2023-09-22 · update · Hank: Hank says having cancer has brought a whole bunch of new sensations, ways of feeling he had never felt before. — A Feeling I've Never Felt Before 00:01:08
  • video's point: Hank reflects that new sensations grow rarer with age, yet cancer brought many (a tingling beard, chemo pain, painless hair loss) and the community's recent campaign was a new, good creator sensation he credits partly to John's work; he then plugs the Pizzamas app and its daily pizza dad jokes.
• 2023-09-26 · update · Hank: Hank says going bald, then having his hair grow back and suddenly getting facial hair, has shown him his face in many different ways, as if he were a different person. — THE REVEAL 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the changes have made him very confident: after looking one way for so long, he does not have to look one particular way. (00:01:16)
• 2023-09-29 · update · John: John tells Hank he is extremely grateful, relieved and happy that Hank is, at least for the foreseeable future, through chemo and doing so well. — Like Apocalyptic Horsemen 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: John tells Hank he is extremely grateful, relieved and happy that Hank is, at least for the foreseeable future, through chemo and doing so well. (00:00:58)
• 2023-10-06 · update · Hank: Hank says he has not been working at full capacity while transitioning out of cancer treatment into recovery; he doesn't always feel as well as he looks, and recovery takes time. — I Quit 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says Hank stopped talking publicly about his businesses' inner workings because that always shares other people's stories without permission; a 'DON'T TWEET ABOUT WORK' sign reminds him. (video description)
• 2023-10-06 · retold · Hank: Hank says the CEO interviews ran alongside finding a lymph node, a biopsy and his diagnosis on May 4, the day before his birthday; on his birthday he went to work for a long meeting about recruiting the CEO. — I Quit 00:02:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank credits people who believe in the companies' missions and leadership from others, especially two best friends, Dave at DFTBA and Julie at Complexly, for how far the companies have come. (00:01:31)
• 2023-10-13 · retold · Hank: During chemotherapy Hank expected to want long-form content, but he was so physically unwell and foggy that he couldn't enjoy things and had no attention span. — Cancer Made me Do It. 00:00:16
  • opinion drawn: The description says Hank is very sad that the world is otherwise terrible right now, and those affected have been in his thoughts. (video description)
• 2023-10-13 · update · Hank: Hank's doctor said he should avoid stress if possible because it can increase the chance of relapse, a big deal to him; comedy is fun on stage but not relaxing. — Cancer Made me Do It. 00:02:58
  • opinion drawn: Hank thinks the show is pretty good: about 70 minutes of cohesive stand-up storytelling that audiences seem to enjoy, and he thinks he would sell a fair number of tickets. (00:02:41)
• 2023-10-20 · update · Hank: Hank says this morning, watching an old Vlogbrothers video with him, his son Orin said that was Dada before his injury, and Hank did not know what to say. — My 'Injury' 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says the overarching thing those books all knew but rarely said is that 'cancer' is a dumb word. (video description)
• 2023-10-20 · retold · Hank: Hank says that to Orin it made sense: while Hank was ill Daddy couldn't do much, parts of him hurt badly and he couldn't pick him up or wrestle; they called it cancer without explaining what cancer was. — My 'Injury' 00:00:13
  • opinion drawn: The description says the overarching thing those books all knew but rarely said is that 'cancer' is a dumb word. (video description)
• 2023-10-24 · retold · John: John recalls that for about a week they knew Hank had some cancer but not which one: another lymphoma, or a metastatic cancer spread to his lymph nodes. — A Tale of Two Cancers 00:00:13
  • opinion drawn: John agrees with Hank's point that cancer is not really a disease but a category of diseases. (00:00:08)
• 2023-10-27 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that when he first got sick and was losing his hair, people sent him lots of hats, which seemed pointless in summer; he still has them now that it is cold. (playful) — I Keep Thinking About Taylor Swift 00:00:12
  • opinion drawn: The description says the company is called Complexly because imagining the world and each other complexly is better for the world and for individuals. (video description)
• 2023-11-03 · update · Hank: Hank says keeping something for himself was forced on him by others rather than chosen, but that has changed some since he got sick, which he thinks is probably healthy. — We Need to talk about Sarapocial Relationships 00:05:07
  • opinion drawn: Hank says sharing a great deal of yourself is an absolute good, and a shared self is richer, but it is also good to keep some self for the self. (00:05:07)
• 2023-11-10 · retold · Hank: Hank says going through chemotherapy was the worst thing that has ever happened to his body: it sucks immediately, gets a little better, then always a little worse. — My Final Chemo Secret 00:00:03
  • opinion drawn: The description thanks viewers for coming along: treatment sucked very badly at times, but Hank is grateful for the support and for outlets for creation. (video description)
• 2023-11-17 · update · Hank: Hank says some days he doesn't know what his job is; after finishing cancer treatment he has stepped back asking what he is doing and whether this is his life. — WHAT AM I DOING 00:00:00
  • video's point: Unsure what his job is after cancer treatment, Hank reveals that during chemo he bought 10% of the mobile word game Gubbins, with his share going to charity, asks viewers to download it, share postcards and suggest override words, and calls such projects his job; he also plugs holiday shipping deadlines and his cancer socks.
• 2023-11-17 · retold · Hank: Hank says that also happens at 43, and he turned 43 the day before he was diagnosed with cancer; this is new and he doesn't love it. — WHAT AM I DOING 00:00:16
  • video's point: Unsure what his job is after cancer treatment, Hank reveals that during chemo he bought 10% of the mobile word game Gubbins, with his share going to charity, asks viewers to download it, share postcards and suggest override words, and calls such projects his job; he also plugs holiday shipping deadlines and his cancer socks.
• 2023-12-08 · retold · Hank: Hank tells John that he got cancer, by far the worst thing that has ever happened to his body; untreated, he would be on his way to dying. (playful) — Did Natural Cancer Treatments Save My Life? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: In a comment Hank says his treatment was partly discovered through traditional medicine, and studying what worked in the past or works for indigenous groups is worthwhile. (creator comment)
• 2023-12-08 · update · Hank: The description says Hank is so happy to be cancer free, at the moment anyway, because chemotherapy exploded the cancer cells. (hedged) — Did Natural Cancer Treatments Save My Life? video description
  • opinion drawn: In a comment Hank says his treatment was partly discovered through traditional medicine, and studying what worked in the past or works for indigenous groups is worthwhile. (creator comment)
• 2023-12-19 · retold · John: John tells Hank this has surely been the hardest year of Hank's life, brutal, and one of the hardest of John's own. — End of a Rough Year 00:04:25
  • point made: John says he ends the year feeling that two human capacities carried both brothers and the broader us this far: collaboration and hope. (00:04:35)
• 2023-12-22 · update · Hank: Before getting sick Hank thought he had a good grasp on what life was for, but once close to the edge he was amazed how quickly he lost it. — Let's Talk About Death 00:00:54
  • point made: Before getting sick Hank thought he had a good grasp on what life was for, but once close to the edge he was amazed how quickly he lost it. (00:00:54)
• 2024-03-01 · retold · Hank: Hank jokes that when he got sick and might die, he thought Jesus only got 33 years. (playful) — Flyana Boss Asks Hank Anything 00:01:07
  • video's point: Hip-hop duo Flyana Boss (Bobbi and Folayan) ask Hank a string of questions (car heating and hacking, how many things a person knows, mixing starches, the Sun's future, water on icy moons, ginger ale and colds, molding babies' heads, parenting, going viral) and Hank answers with short explanations and jokes.
• 2024-03-15 · update · Hank: Hank says it has been more than four months since his last scan declared him in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma; that beats the alternative, but some things about it he doesn't like. — The Worst Things About Not Having Cancer 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank says the transition out of cancer treatment is not discussed as much as it should be, and grows more relevant as treatments get more powerful. (00:00:29)
• 2024-03-15 · retold · Hank: Hank says in Missoula he was extremely well taken care of during treatment: he saw his doctor at least twice a month and was getting scans, chemo and radiation. — The Worst Things About Not Having Cancer 00:00:58
  • point made: Hank's first and worst point: during treatment, hard-working, high-status people fretting over you makes you feel valued; after remission, being plopped back into normality feels like being ignored. (00:00:58)
• 2024-04-23 · retold · John: John notes that Hank found out he had cancer almost exactly one year ago. — Full Hank 00:00:00
  • video's point: Nearly a year after Hank's cancer diagnosis, John says that taking on some of Hank's jobs made him go 'full Hank': he overworks out of 'dread-drenaline' and because making things makes him feel alive; he plugs the Turtles All the Way Down film, the new Crash Course Pods: The Universe podcast with Katie Mack and the coming Crash Course Religions, and jokes that he needs work-life balance, but not yet.
• 2024-04-26 · retold · Hank: Hank says Missoula holds a yearly parade where children and adults dress as animals; last year (2023) it fell the day after he learned he probably had cancer, before it was certain. — One Year Out. 00:00:00
  • video's point: Nearly a year after his cancer diagnosis, Hank compares Missoula's animal parade last year, the day after he learned he probably had cancer, with this year's, and says that as the anniversaries arrive things are different enough not to crash down on him (his son's class went from bugs to fish); a sock plugs the Awesome Socks Club and Hank notes John's film is coming out.
• 2024-04-26 · update · Hank: Hank says that as the anniversaries arrive, many things will remind him of the last year; that is scary and makes him wonder how he would deal with a relapse, online and in his body. — One Year Out. 00:01:13
  • point made: Hank says that as the anniversaries arrive, many things will remind him of the last year; that is scary and makes him wonder how he would deal with a relapse, online and in his body. (00:01:13)
• 2024-05-10 · retold · Hank: Hank says he had a 'cheap cancer', scans being the costliest part, plus flexible work, support systems and money, so he didn't have to worry. — Three Whole Onions with Secretary Pete Buttigieg 00:11:44
  • opinion drawn: Hank says Pete's 'Medicare for all who want it' plan from his presidential run sounds great, since private insurance seems unlikely to go away in the US. (00:11:44)
• 2024-05-24 · retold · Hank: Hank says they had not done much big birthday celebrating in recent years, but last year (2023) on Katherine's birthday he got his chemo port placed, so celebrating felt right. — An Ancient Apocalypse 00:00:00
  • video's point: After Katherine's birthday trip, Hank reflects on being famous, on co-founding Nerdfighteria and on being a husband and father, then shows a short vlog in which Katherine explains how a glacial erratic was carried by the Lake Missoula floods; he closes that the floods were an apocalypse for any people in their path, now remembered only as roadside curiosities.
• 2024-05-28 · retold · John: John says his little brother getting cancer made him consider his life and work in an appropriately finite context. — A Midlife Crisis 00:00:29
  • point made: John says that for the last year or so, being statistically more than halfway home, he has had not a smidge of a midlife crisis but a smidge of an early-late life crisis. (00:00:29)
• 2024-06-14 · update · Hank: Hank says he is coming out of a few weeks of brain fog, fatigue and discomfort, maybe post-chemo, maybe normal depression; in survivorship you don't know what your body is telling you. (hedged) — Some Reasons why People Suck 00:07:24
  • point made: Hank wants to think about the billions before him who built an imperfect but better world, all of whom made mistakes, laughed and grieved, and that things only got better when people believed they could. (00:07:46)
• 2024-06-21 · retold · Hank: Hank tells an unshared moment: after an ultrasound suggested cancer, he asked his normal doctor before biopsy results whether he would be dead in a month; she could not say for sure. — I Was So Sad that I Did Comedy 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank recalls how cancer treatment and brain fog left him unable to enjoy or want anything until stand-up comedy restored his interest, how that became a comedy special Sam Reich offered to produce, and announces it is out on Dropout today.
• 2024-06-21 · update · Hank: The description says Hank's head still isn't entirely on straight, but he learned how lucky he is in opportunities, support and a brain almost always interested in stuff. — I Was So Sad that I Did Comedy video description
  • video's point: Hank recalls how cancer treatment and brain fog left him unable to enjoy or want anything until stand-up comedy restored his interest, how that became a comedy special Sam Reich offered to produce, and announces it is out on Dropout today.
• 2024-08-03 · retold · John: John says saying 'I love you' has become easier since Hank got cancer: they are more aware it is silly not to tell people you love that you love them. — I Love Hank. (Also I'm back.) 00:00:58
  • point made: Esther wanted a holiday celebrating love, especially the non-romantic kinds often left out of our conversations about love. (00:00:29)
• 2024-08-07 · mentioned · Hank: Hank says his TikTok star shone brightly, then he got cancer and Vlogbrothers had its biggest subscriber day in ten years. (playful) — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:08:09
  • opinion drawn: Hank says fame comes in waves, most visibly for big celebrities: Taylor Swift is on top of the world, then collectively hated, then back stronger; now is a hate moment. (00:08:59)
• 2024-10-08 · update · Hank: Hank says his cancer is neither past nor present: he is in remission, and nobody can know for sure whether cancer cells remain in his body. — Hank Steals John's Cells 00:01:30
  • video's point: Together in San Diego, Hank explains how bone marrow makes blood and how blood cancers and donor transplants work, talks with John about being in remission from lymphoma, and the brothers ask viewers to join the DKMS bone marrow donor registry with a free cheek-swab kit, as John does on camera.
• 2024-10-30 · update · Hank: Asked about his curls, Hank says they seem to be going; after he wore a hat recently, his straightened hair looked like pre-cancer Hank. — Sipping the Tea with Hank 00:07:46
  • video's point: In an hour-long livestream from John's kitchen, John and Hank kick off Good Store's 2024 holiday season, launching its new undies, brewing and tasting Keats & Co. teas, reading out orders and stressing that all profit funds maternal health in Sierra Leone and TB care in Lesotho; at the end Hank says he is struggling and asks John to make a video with him.
• 2024-11-01 · update · John: John reminds Hank that he just got better from cancer, and that intense anxiety is really common afterwards. — Working Through a Crisis with My Brother 00:01:52
  • opinion drawn: John says that, beyond a stressful moment, Hank is experiencing intense, pathological, clinical anxiety for the first time in his life. (00:01:52)
• 2024-11-01 · retold · Hank: Hank says he found when he was sick that if he could be interested he was doing okay; curiosity isn't about identity or status. — Working Through a Crisis with My Brother 00:06:49
  • video's point: Together on camera days before the 2024 US election, Hank tells John he feels anxious and lost as generative AI reshapes media; John says this is also Hank grappling with mortality after cancer, urges building self-worth from within rather than from outside validation, and says going deep on one cause like tuberculosis helps; they also plug P4A art, creator grants and John's book signing.
• 2024-11-03 · retold · Hank: After cancer treatment Hank felt bad but much better by comparison, with lots of energy, and more aware that his life is finite than before cancer. — Hank's very messy post-cancer year of mistakes, meaning… 00:00:58
  • video's point: Talking without a script, Hank reviews his post-cancer year (a cancer biology book, a stand-up special, stepping back as CEO) and traces his anxiety to balancing Complexly, DFTBA and Good Store against what he can ask of Nerdfighteria; he argues creators keep going because of identity and tools, and that his companies should run without him.
• 2024-11-03 · update · Hank: Hank wants to feel less anxious; cancer didn't help: he has more anxiety now, as if the muscle grew stronger during diagnosis and treatment. — Hank's very messy post-cancer year of mistakes, meaning… 00:05:46
  • video's point: Talking without a script, Hank reviews his post-cancer year (a cancer biology book, a stand-up special, stepping back as CEO) and traces his anxiety to balancing Complexly, DFTBA and Good Store against what he can ask of Nerdfighteria; he argues creators keep going because of identity and tools, and that his companies should run without him.
• 2024-11-26 · mentioned · John: John recalls that Hank had Hodgkin lymphoma, using it to explain rates per 100,000 people. — Good News 00:00:08
  • video's point: John explains how disease and maternal deaths are measured per 100,000, then shares good news from Vicky Reed of Partners In Health Sierra Leone: maternal mortality in Sierra Leone is down about 60% since 2017 and close to 80% at Koidu Government Hospital since 2019, which he credits to the government's partnership and long-term attention.
• 2024-11-29 · retold · Hank: Hank says he also won the 'got cancer' lottery, but only after winning the lottery of being born when and where chemo was available, so it balances. (playful) — I am Grateful for My Worry 00:00:00
  • point made: The description says recognizing that worry is trying to do something helps: it is not to be cast out but accepted, especially to do interesting and hard things. (video description)
• 2024-12-13 · update · Hank: Hank says that now whenever he tells people he is not doing well he has to add that he does not have cancer. (playful) — TIL Some People Have an 'Inner Monologue' 00:05:20
  • point made: Hank says that, like much of life, he might just be a collection of whatever works, and sometimes whatever works does not work that well. (00:05:06)
• 2025-01-07 · mentioned · John: John recalls that one year his carefully set goals were overtaken when Hank got cancer. — The Format but it hurts to stand up 00:02:59
  • opinion drawn: John says he used to set specific, measurable goals, but the year Hank got cancer showed him that telling a year what will happen is a fool's errand; now he has only hopes, prayers and intentions. (00:02:59)
• 2025-01-24 · update · Hank: Hank says he finished chemo about 18 months ago and is probably about as recovered as he will get, which is pretty good. (hedged) — Am I OK? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he is not afraid but ashamed to be weak, feeling he lacks good enough reasons since he has it very good. (00:00:00)
• 2025-03-25 · retold · John: John recalls that when Hank got Hodgkin lymphoma he said it has a 93% cure rate for those who can access treatment and a 20-70% cure rate in low- and middle-income countries. — Taylor, Dr Pepper, and My Anxiety Strats: It's Question Tuesday 00:03:24
  • point made: John says these diseases are cured not only by biomedical interventions but by reforming systems to include more people and reflect that all human lives have equal value. (00:03:53)
• 2025-04-18 · update · Hank: Hank's empathetic oncologist checked his lymph nodes, now the only monitoring he needs given his cancer, stage and scans, and found them all perfectly normal: no current signs of cancer. — I Still Don't Have Cancer (and I'm Still Scared) 00:01:27
  • opinion drawn: Hank says that 10 or 20 years from now, when leukemia would be most likely for him, maybe there will be better treatment or monitoring, if science continues, which he never used to worry about. (00:02:31)
• 2025-05-09 · retold · Hank: After Hank got cancer and finished treatment, most of 2024 was his 'I'm not dead, I must do everything' year, and he pushed to get the book out. (playful) — OK, I MESSED UP. 00:01:31
  • video's point: Hank breaks the fiction of the Book of Good Times, which he and John wrote by 2021 and released in 2024 after delays and his cancer, and confesses two mistakes: the printer fixed a deliberate typo, and a lapsed bill gave the book's phone number to a trucking company, so second-edition copies get a sticker with the right number. He says the immersion still works on him and plugs the second printing.
• 2025-05-16 · retold · Hank: Hank says he got a cancer, a disease often fatal, got medicine for it, and now seems likely to die of something else, so he knows he didn't die. (hedged) — No One Knows When They Don't Die 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank says it has occurred to him that people mostly never know it when they don't die. (00:00:00)
• 2025-05-23 · update · Hank: Hank was recently at his dermatologist for a skin check, because after his cancer treatment he has a higher than normal risk of melanoma. — I Can’t Believe How Few People it Takes. 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank feels he must explain that it wasn't really him: dozens of people designed curriculum, wrote scripts, found context, added jokes, made animations and sets, and edited. (00:00:29)
• 2025-08-01 · update · Hank: Hank says he has a much higher risk of someday needing a bone marrow transplant himself, but many people need one right now. — We Stole a Man's Blood 00:03:10
  • point made: Hank says bigger registries give a better chance of a really good match, since matching is a sliding scale rather than match or no match. (00:03:10)
• 2025-08-05 · retold · Hank: Hank says his oncologist was younger than him; Hank thinks the doctor regarded him as young. — ONE TAKE JOHNNY 00:11:36
  • point made: Answering John's tease that he wants to live to a thousand, Hank says at that age you would see there is no one continuous you, only a series of selves. (00:12:05)
• 2025-09-26 · update · Hank: Following his oncologist's advice to come in if anything feels weird, Hank had tests and blood work and was relieved to find he is still normal and in remission. — I've Not Been Doing Well 00:04:25
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he loves his work and sometimes cannot believe he has such a cool job. (00:04:54)
• 2025-10-03 · mentioned · John: John notes that Hank didn't take any time off even when he had cancer, so this may not be an issue for him. (playful) — Is It Time to Retire? 00:02:22
  • opinion drawn: 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)
• 2025-10-07 · mentioned · John: John tells Hank he didn't deserve to have cancer. — Luck vs. Work vs. Skill vs. Privilege 00:05:16
  • point made: John argues deserving is the wrong framework for life: he doesn't deserve his merch sales or his OCD; Hank didn't deserve cancer or the number one app. (00:05:16)
• 2025-11-04 · mentioned · John: John notes that his brother could receive cutting-edge curative cancer care. — The Real Question 00:03:53
  • point made: John asks how he could tell the 20-year-old man that we are making progress, just not for him. (00:03:53)
• 2025-11-10 · update · Hank: Hank is pretty sure he will turn out to have been cured all along: the odds of it going the other way are like rolling a one on a 20-sided die. (playful) — My Cancer Treatment was Not Cutting Edge 00:00:58
  • point made: Hank says his treatment was probably curative but definitely not cutting edge. (00:00:58)
• 2025-11-10 · retold · Hank: Had he gotten sick maybe 20 years earlier, Hank would probably have had about six months of treatment; he had two months of chemo then targeted radiation, cutting his long-term risks. (hedged) — My Cancer Treatment was Not Cutting Edge 00:03:53
  • point made: Hank sums up: the drugs are old, but treatment kept improving, with cheap anti-nausea meds added and doses scaled back after research showed less chemo similarly curative for his stage. (00:04:21)
• 2025-11-24 · retold · John: John says Good Store donated more in 2023 because Hank had cancer and people were very supportive; Hank adds the cancer socks were a very big product. — Good Store Holiday Gift Guide LIVE with Hank and John 00:12:20
  • video's point: In a Good Store holiday livestream, John and Hank present the store's holiday gifts and discount codes, launch cancer compression socks, note that Good Store has donated over $11 million to charity, read reviews and buyers' names, and banter about Paul Newman, their colleges, a planned reunion video and Henry's wisdom teeth.
• 2025-11-28 · retold · Hank: After being told he could do QI, Hank got cancer and cancelled, actually ghosting them; once better he asked to do it again. — Three Things! (Wait, no, actually four...) 00:04:21
  • point made: Hank says the QI experience was much more complex than that first dream: it did not feel exactly the way he thought it would. (00:06:09)
• 2026-02-13 · retold · John: John offers 20 prints of the Good News Bridge, which his mother painted after learning Hank's cancer was treatable rather than the worst case; John and his parents were on a walk there when they heard. — Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! 01:00:55
  • video's point: Opening the 19th Project for Awesome livestream, John and Hank joke that it is 2027 and every 2026 problem is solved while pitching perks and a $1.5 million matching fund; John, hosting with his son Henry and Partners In Health's Joia Mukherjee, says the P4A funds real change and organized advocacy cut TB drug prices, as the total passes $1.1 million in two and a half hours.
• 2026-02-15 · mentioned · Hank: Calling a single-digit percentage small, Hank jokes that it is what his doctor said his chance of not getting cancer again was. (joke) — Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! 03:25:23
  • video's point: In the fifth and last part of the 2026 Project for Awesome livestream, on the morning of February 15, John takes over from Rosianna Halse Rojas, lets Alice do his makeup at $3.3 million and says seven years on his novel taught him writing is also for himself; Hank arrives 45 minutes early, uploads a Vlogbrothers video mid-stream to draw viewers, and the 2026 P4A becomes the biggest ever, passing $3.7 million.
• 2026-03-13 · retold · Hank: Hank says he has missed plenty of Vlogbrothers videos, but during chemo he never missed one, partly because he was not feeling too bad to make them. — Pain 00:01:47
  • point made: Hank says he doesn't mind showing that his physical body and its difficulties, which everyone has, are part of his experience, and would not want to hide that. (00:02:15)
• 2026-05-08 · retold · Hank: Hank once thought it would be fun to party on the day he would have died without cancer treatment: had he been born 100 years ago, lived where Hodgkin's is mistaken for TB, or refused treatment. — My Deathday 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank doesn't think a death day party is weird, though others seem to: it is fun, a celebration about being grateful. (00:00:29)
• 2026-05-08 · update · Hank: Hank says Hodgkin cells usually die under treatment but sometimes survive, which is why he is technically still in remission rather than cured. — My Deathday 00:02:26
  • video's point: Hank tells John he planned a party for the day he would have died of untreated Hodgkin lymphoma, finds it already passed (about June 2025), and notes that five-year survival is about 95% in the US and 89% worldwide where it was once near zero; we rarely notice the death days in our past.
• 2026-10-09 · retold · Hank: When Hank was sick and thought he might be nearer the end of his life, one of his few big regrets was not having done more of that supporting work. — The Productivity Lie 00:06:25
  • point made: Hank says increasing opportunity is harder: it means building skills, which is hard when things don't matter, which is why a video game is easier to get good at than an instrument. (00:04:56)

Hank steps back from running DFTBA and Complexly after cancer treatment; new CEO LJ Joukovski, Julie acting CEO (2023)

6 videos, told 2023–2026 · thread page

• 2023-08-29 · update · John: They were months into finding a leader when Hank got sick, and found her: LJ Joukovski, a brilliant, experienced leader passionate about DFTBA's mission. — Breaking News: CEO Demoted 00:03:24
  • video's point: John announces that in a week his reluctant, temporary stint as DFTBA.com's CEO ends (Hank will not be CEO either; Laura 'LJ' Joukovski will lead), and promotes Sun Basin Soap through staffer Zoe Ryder's poetic descriptions.
• 2023-10-06 · told · Hank: Hank says he is not going back to his jobs as they were before he got sick; for over ten years he has been CEO of two companies, for a while of three. — I Quit 00:00:29
  • opinion drawn: Hank credits people who believe in the companies' missions and leadership from others, especially two best friends, Dave at DFTBA and Julie at Complexly, for how far the companies have come. (00:01:31)
• 2023-12-01 · retold · Hank: Hank developed a secret goal while sitting on the domain and shared it with LJ while interviewing her for DFTBA CEO; she said yes. — It's OK if you think less of me after this! 00:04:14
  • video's point: Trying to be honest about himself, Hank says that once he no longer needed money he lost motivation for running his companies, and found it instead in giving profit away (John's PIH Sierra Leone goal); he launches Good Store as the landing page for the charity subscriptions, sets a goal of beating Newman's Own, plugs holiday gifts and announces a Founders Club.
• 2024-08-07 · update · Hank: Hank says he cannot figure out a job description for himself at Complexly right now. — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:23:05
  • opinion drawn: Retelling a story of Elton John saying he is 'just Elton John' for a living, Hank says that is what people imagine influencing is: being yourself and getting paid. (00:23:41)
• 2024-11-03 · update · Hank: Hank had stepped down as CEO of DFTBA and Complexly; DFTBA was already hiring his replacement, and he decided not to return to his leadership role at Complexly. — Hank's very messy post-cancer year of mistakes, meaning… 00:02:04
  • video's point: Talking without a script, Hank reviews his post-cancer year (a cancer biology book, a stand-up special, stepping back as CEO) and traces his anxiety to balancing Complexly, DFTBA and Good Store against what he can ask of Nerdfighteria; he argues creators keep going because of identity and tools, and that his companies should run without him.
• 2024-11-03 · retold · Hank: Hank stepped down as CEO for a reason: he prioritizes screwing around online, a new book or a stand-up special, and lacks the self-control not to. — Hank's very messy post-cancer year of mistakes, meaning… 00:14:29
  • opinion drawn: People will see decisions by companies Hank started as his own, though being hands-on would make teams miserable and limit the projects' good. (00:13:59)
• 2026-02-04 · retold · Hank: Hank says he has not been CEO for over two years; the organization of dozens of people is bigger than the brothers, who already do not oversee most decisions. — We Just Sold Our Company for $0 00:03:24
  • point made: Hank argues nonprofits exist because markets do some very important things poorly. (00:04:23)

Pissing Out Cancer: Hank's stand-up comedy show about having cancer (2023)

15 videos, told 2023–2025 · thread page

• 2023-10-06 · told · Hank: Hank says he will fill the time: he had two bizarre but not terrible business ideas during chemotherapy and did cancer stand-up comedy before finishing radiation. — I Quit 00:06:21
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he has received a wildly outsized amount of support and opportunity over the years and is really lucky, odd as that is to say months after getting cancer. (00:06:21)
• 2023-10-13 · told · Hank: Hank says he ended up writing a 70-minute stand-up show about cancer, for a couple of reasons. — Cancer Made me Do It. 00:00:12
  • opinion drawn: The description says Hank is very sad that the world is otherwise terrible right now, and those affected have been in his thoughts. (video description)
• 2023-10-13 · update · Hank: Rather than announcing tour dates as such a video usually would, Hank doesn't think he is going to tour the show, for a couple of reasons. (hedged) — Cancer Made me Do It. 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: Hank thinks the show is pretty good: about 70 minutes of cohesive stand-up storytelling that audiences seem to enjoy, and he thinks he would sell a fair number of tickets. (00:02:41)
• 2023-12-22 · update · Hank: Hank says he is doing his cancer stand-up in Southern California, with more shows to be booked and announced when they go live. — Let's Talk About Death 00:03:57
  • video's point: After eating Buddy the Elf's candy pasta, Hank tells John that getting sick shook his sense of what life is for; in a universe without evident objective meaning he still wanted to live, and concludes that striving and 'wanting to want' in community is the point, then plugs a Christmas Eve video and his cancer stand-up shows.
• 2024-01-05 · update · Hank: Hank announces he will be in Southern California in a couple of weeks performing his one-man stand-up comedy show about cancer in Oxnard, Brea, San Diego and downtown Los Angeles. — I'm Scared of 2024...So Here's 3 Optimistic Thoughts 00:06:38
  • opinion drawn: Hank says what he is instead is forgiving: a lot more forgiving of humanity than most people. (00:06:38)
• 2024-01-12 · update · Hank: Hank will be in Los Angeles next week (week of 15 January 2024); all his shows have sold out and he can't wait to see those coming. — How to Detect AI Images (and why it doesn't matter) 00:05:05
  • video's point: After Magic: The Gathering's Twitter account insisted an AI-generated background was human-made, Hank gives three steps for spotting AI images, the last being that none of it matters: detection tricks will soon fail, and the real question is when and why we choose to scrutinize anything. He then plugs the P4A matching fund.
• 2024-01-26 · update · Hank: Hank was relieved to get the special recorded because he needed the deadline to finish the show; two shows were recorded to be cut together, and he wrote the last words only as he said them on stage. — On YouTuber Retirement 00:01:05
  • point made: 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)
• 2024-02-23 · update · Hank: Hank will perform his show at Comedy Works South on March 18 for people in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder. — The Juiciest Hank in the World 00:05:21
  • video's point: Hank says P4A 2024 was the largest Project for Awesome ever, raising over $3.5 million, and, too busy for a regular video, shares a livestream clip in which Tyler Thrasher asks him would-you-rather questions (juiciest Hank, escaping as an ant, an item for 15th-century Europe, giving birth to a snail, death in space); he closes by plugging a Denver-area stand-up show.
• 2024-06-21 · retold · Hank: Finishing chemo, Hank worked on stand-up with friend Sarah Aswell, booked Missoula's Roxy, and grew from 10 to 30 minutes into the bones of a 60-minute special. — I Was So Sad that I Did Comedy 00:04:22
  • point made: Hank's second reason: after a while he wanted nothing; he wants to want things, and questioning whether wanting is okay drives him back toward a bad place where he did no good. (00:06:00)
• 2024-06-21 · update · Hank: Hank announces his comedy special is out on Dropout today and viewers can watch it now. — I Was So Sad that I Did Comedy 00:06:37
  • video's point: Hank recalls how cancer treatment and brain fog left him unable to enjoy or want anything until stand-up comedy restored his interest, how that became a comedy special Sam Reich offered to produce, and announces it is out on Dropout today.
• 2024-06-25 · update · John: John congratulates Hank on his comedy special: it is so good and John is so proud of him. — taking a break 00:00:00
  • video's point: After congratulating Hank on his comedy special, John says he will take July away from the internet because of depression: finishing his book feels like too much, and like Daniel Biss's clean water dumped into the toxic lake of Twitter he doubts his making stuff helps anyone; he closes by insisting that despair and hopelessness are lies.
• 2024-08-07 · update · Hank: Hank says one man who disliked his comedy special keeps saying so publicly; Hank knows who he is and weighs him more than those who liked it. — Dear Hank and John Livestream! 00:25:44
  • video's point: In a public Dear Hank and John Patreon livestream, John (back at work after his breakdown) and Hank discuss business stress, cycles of fame and hate, the fracturing internet and addictive platforms, and how being an influencer ties self-worth to an internet commodity; they then answer patrons on reading and where to live.
• 2024-11-03 · retold · Hank: In the last year Hank worked on a book about cancer biology and treatment, and wrote, toured, recorded and released a stand-up special, learning to be a comedian. — Hank's very messy post-cancer year of mistakes, meaning… 00:01:35
  • video's point: Talking without a script, Hank reviews his post-cancer year (a cancer biology book, a stand-up special, stepping back as CEO) and traces his anxiety to balancing Complexly, DFTBA and Good Store against what he can ask of Nerdfighteria; he argues creators keep going because of identity and tools, and that his companies should run without him.
• 2025-01-24 · retold · Hank: Hank, a fan of Dropout, says he got to do his comedy special there and is in the next season of Smartypants. — Am I OK? 00:03:30
  • point made: Hank says those projects were incubated in Nerdfighteria and grew from its values; their energy to exist and continue comes from this small community that has done really big things. (00:03:59)
• 2025-11-28 · update · Hank: Hank will do new stand-up material at Grace Helbig's stand-up night Cancer is a Joke, raising money for WeGotThis.org. — Three Things! (Wait, no, actually four...) 00:02:52
  • video's point: Opening with footage from a toilet cubicle at BBC Studioworks before taping QI, Hank tells John four things the day after Thanksgiving: his QI appearance, Good Store's Black Friday sale with new compression cancer socks, his new stand-up material at Grace Helbig's Cancer is a Joke livestream, and Focus Friend's Google App of the Year win; he then reflects that being on QI was a dream come true that felt more complex than he expected.
• 2025-12-09 · retold · John: John calls Pissing Out Cancer Hank's hit stand-up comedy special, which debuted on Dropout.TV. — Hank Green, from A to Z 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: John says Hank's three albums are all phenomenal. (00:02:55)
• 2025-12-12 · update · Hank: With the year passed, Hank uploaded his special Pissing Out Cancer to Hank's channel yesterday. — The Economics of a YouTube White Noise Video 00:05:23
  • video's point: Hank shows John the YouTube analytics of his charity white-noise video (547,000 views, over $10,000 for Partners In Health, mostly from YouTube Premium), asks viewers not to loop such videos just to make money, and launches Zonderia, a charity white-noise and sleep channel, as the Z project John's A-to-Z video called for.

Hank cannot hear poetry ('poetry blindness') (2025)

2 videos, told 2025 · thread page

• 2025-08-29 · told · Hank: Hank says that in the episode John read him a poem and Hank confided that he cannot hear poetry. — Does Anyone Else Have This? 00:00:00
  • point made: Hank guesses, admitting he is talking out of his butt, that his trouble with poetry has to do with the very hard work his brain did early on to understand spoken and written words. (00:00:00)
• 2025-09-09 · mentioned · John: After reciting a line of poetry, John apologizes to Hank because he knows Hank cannot hear poetry. (playful) — Sorry, Hank, but Coffee Is Just Better 00:03:24
  • video's point: Answering Hank's caffeine video, John playfully argues that coffee is better than tea, using coffee's history (15th-century Yemen, Europe, Afro-Eurasia) and Keats & Co. subscriber numbers, tells how Remeron for his OCD led him to coffee and how he is now moving to decaf, and notes Keats & Co. has raised over $1 million for tuberculosis care.

Hank's appearance on the British panel show QI (2025)

3 videos, told 2025 · thread page

• 2025-10-24 · told · Hank: Hank announces he will appear on QI in the UK on Tuesday with Sandi, Alan, Desiree Burch and Aisling Bea; he is terrified. — What Will Books Become? 00:05:47
  • point made: Hank does not think books are going anywhere: he thinks books will outlive every social media platform. (00:05:47)
• 2025-11-28 · told · Hank: Hank tapes QI at BBC Studioworks with Sandi Toksvig, Alan Davies, Desiree Burch and Aisling Bea, and calls it a dream come true that felt more complex than he expected. — Three Things! (Wait, no, actually four...) 00:04:21
  • point made: Hank says the QI experience was much more complex than that first dream: it did not feel exactly the way he thought it would. (00:06:09)
• 2025-12-09 · mentioned · John: John says QI is Hank's favorite TV show, which he recently found a way to be a guest on. — Hank Green, from A to Z 00:03:24
  • video's point: John runs through an A-to-Z of things Hank has created or co-created, from An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Crabulous and Dear Hank and John to VidCon, We're Here and 2D Glasses, praising hits and teasing abandoned ventures; finding nothing that starts with Z, he says Hank's next project had better.

Hank's childhood scarlet fever

3 videos, told 2026 · thread page

• 2026-05-05 · told · John: John marks Hank's 46th birthday: he was born 46 years ago today and survived childhood scarlet fever and other illnesses that a century earlier might have killed him. — Noted Brother Hank Green 00:00:03
  • video's point: On Hank's 46th birthday John hails his accolades, says they only truly connected through their shared work since 2007, and argues Hank's great gift is imagining others complexly, as donors to the Sierra Leone project do; per Hank's wish, he plugs a Sun Basin Soap sale for the MCOE.
• 2026-05-08 · retold · Hank: As John said in his Tuesday video, Hank had scarlet fever as a child: another potential death day behind him that he never thinks about. — My Deathday 00:04:52
  • point made: Hank says many death days sit in people's pasts, and we almost never look at them. (00:04:52)
• 2026-08-25 · retold · John: Hank probably would not exist either: he had scarlet fever as a kid, easily cured, but a common cause of childhood death in the 19th century. (hedged) — The Great Thing about Infectious Disease 00:02:26
  • point made: No one alive remembers 1890, and John worries we are collectively starting to forget life before vaccination, antibiotics and clean water. (00:01:56)

The brothers together (24)

The brothers win Best Video Blogger at the Blogger's Choice Awards (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-04-23 · told · Hank: Hank reports the brothers have 126 votes at the Blogger's Choice Awards. — April 23rd: Celebrity 00:01:50
  • video's point: Hank introduces his former professor, nature writer Robert Michael Pyle, confirms John's carbon math and recasts the vlog's audience as over $30,000 of viewers' time at minimum wage to be used to decrease world suck, answers how long a video takes, and jokes about being on a viewer's free pass list.
• 2007-11-27 · update · Hank: Hank reports the brothers won Best Video Blogger in the Blogger's Choice Awards thanks to Nerdfighters' clicks. — November 27th: Eagle's Nest, Blogger's Choice and Shopping 00:00:39
  • video's point: In a four-part video Hank relays Eagle's Nest Camp's reaction to Nerdfighters' search for Tiffany, announces the brothers' Blogger's Choice award, and attacks a New York Times article on green Christmas for quoting an Exxon-funded scholar, arguing Christmas should be less materialistic.

John and Hank's dad grows up in Indianapolis and leaves it for good weeks after John's birth

3 videos, told 2007–2016 · thread page

• 2007-05-15 · told · Hank: Hank says John grew up in Indianapolis, living there until he was 'like, three', and that he doesn't feel John has mentioned this. (hedged) — May 15th: A Bit More EBO and Wikipedia 00:00:27
  • video's point: Hank congratulates John on his accepted house offer, argues the brothers must develop the Evil Baby Orphanage and formally asks Brooke and the Nerdfighters for permission, then celebrates being on Wikipedia, which he believes in despite vandalism he once fixed himself.
• 2007-05-16 · retold · John: Correcting Hank's last video, John says he was born in Indianapolis but lived there only until he was three weeks old, not three years. — Brotherhood 2.0: May 16: Beating the EBO into the ground 00:02:08
  • video's point: John reports reading the screenplay of the planned Looking for Alaska movie (retitled Famous Last Words), proposes developing the Evil Baby Orphanage through videos in which the brothers read proposed book proposals to each other, and corrects Hank: he left Indianapolis at three weeks, not three years.
• 2016-07-05 · told · John: Their dad worked hard to get out of Indianapolis; he and Mom left for good a few weeks after John was born and never looked back. — The Horizon Line 00:01:27
  • point made: Now the horizon makes John think not of the world's edge but its edgelessness; he cites Terry Pratchett: the farther you sail, the closer to home you are. (00:00:58)

The brothers reunite at a family reunion in the Dominican Republic (2007)

6 videos, told 2007–2023 · thread page

• 2007-06-11 · told · Hank: Hank and John appear together on a beach in the Dominican Republic at a family reunion; Katherine is missing, at work in Montana. — June 11: SURPRISE 00:01:18
  • video's point: For the first time in Brotherhood 2.0 the brothers appear together, on a beach in the Dominican Republic at a family reunion, after a sitcom-style theme-song opening; they miss Katherine, stuck at work in Montana, and close with outtakes.
• 2007-06-12 · update · John: Taking the rare chance of being in the same place as Hank, John films him on holiday by the beach: breakfast, magazines, sunset walks and a lot of sleep. (playful) — June 12th: Hank Green "In the Wild" 00:00:00
  • video's point: Taking the rare chance of being in the same place as Hank, John mock-documents 'Hank Green in the wild' and finds him ordinary except that he loves to sleep; Hank finally catches John filming him.
• 2007-06-13 · update · Hank: Hank describes the family reunion hotel as completely isolated from the country around it. — June 13: Dominican Debacles 00:02:08
  • video's point: Without his FireWire cable or guitar, Hank records on the laptop camera and sings a short GarageBand song about his big family; he says it is disturbing to lounge in an isolated Dominican hotel near deep poverty, reports a village visit their dad arranged, and relays a man's account of migration toward better conditions.
• 2007-06-14 · update · John: John says the reunion is ending, calls it a great week with Hank, and misses the grandparents and Katherine. — Brotherhood 2.0: June 14: Good News/Bad News 00:01:48
  • opinion drawn: John tells Hank it has been a great week and he loved hanging out with him, as fun as the Growing Pains theme promised. (00:01:48)
• 2007-06-15 · update · Hank: Hank, travelling home from the Dominican Republic reunion, says coming to see John was probably worth the trip, 'only just'; he hopes John enjoys his last day in the DR. (playful) (hedged) — June 15: AIRRRRPORRRTS!!! 00:00:03
  • video's point: Vlogging from an airport on his long trip home from the Dominican Republic, Hank says the week together showed how textual, video-blog and face-to-face communication differ, since neither brother is quite himself except face to face, and tells John he is happy to be his brother.
• 2023-12-24 · retold · Hank: At a family reunion in the Dominican Republic, Hank says the most exciting part is the reunion of the brotherhood; Katherine is stuck in Montana at work. — John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 02:44:01
  • video's point: A Christmas Eve supercut of the brothers' reunion videos played backwards from a 2023 Jamaica vacation to their 2007 Dominican Republic reunion: Question Tuesdays, tours, Pizzamas, premieres, P4A and Esther Day; in the description Hank says rewatching made him want to be both sillier and smaller and bigger.

The brothers visit a village in the Dominican Republic, arranged by their dad (2007)

6 videos, told 2007–2013 · thread page

• 2007-06-13 · told · Hank: The brothers, through their dad, visit a Dominican village and people in very bad situations; footage is promised for later. — June 13: Dominican Debacles 00:01:39
  • opinion drawn: Hank finds it disturbing to lie on a Dominican beach drinking piña coladas while people not far away are in very bad situations; the family's hotel is as isolated from the country as the US is. (00:01:39)
• 2007-06-14 · update · John: John says they learned a lot about microfinance and poverty and look forward to making videos about it at home. (hedged) — Brotherhood 2.0: June 14: Good News/Bad News 00:01:48
  • opinion drawn: John tells Hank it has been a great week and he loved hanging out with him, as fun as the Growing Pains theme promised. (00:01:48)
• 2007-06-28 · retold · John: John retells the brothers' day visiting poor neighborhoods in the Dominican Republic and the graduating microfinance borrowers. — June 28: How to Be a Microfinancier 00:00:00
  • point made: John explains a cycle of poverty: without collateral the very poor get no bank loans, so cannot start businesses, so there are no jobs and the economy stays weak. (00:00:45)
• 2007-06-29 · retold · Hank: Hank retells the Dominican Republic visit from his side: feelings, the armed guard, and the women's questions to the brothers. — How to be a Microfinancier Part 2 00:00:11
  • video's point: Following John's video, Hank reflects that meeting the women in the Dominican Republic showed him that poor people are 'just people', not the downtrodden figures of TV commercials, calls microfinance a powerful way for them to improve their own lives, and lends $200 on Kiva.org on camera.
• 2011-03-07 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls that the brothers went to the Dominican Republic long ago and toured with a microfinance organization. — Why is Haiti Poor? 00:00:51
  • point made: Hank says there are three schools of thought on the gap: the environment, colonialism and bad government. (00:01:10)
• 2013-01-15 · retold · Hank: Hank recalls the brothers visiting a microfinance organization in the Dominican Republic in their first year and meeting borrowers and their businesses. — An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall 01:55:30
  • opinion drawn: Asked what most decreased world suck, Hank names P4A but recalls their first-year visit to a microfinance organization in the Dominican Republic; microfinance seems to really work. (01:55:09)

The brothers' accidental instant-message exchange that breaks the no-textual-communication rule (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-07-06 · told · Hank: Trying to reach John on iChat video, Hank instant messages him and John instant messages back, both breaking the no-textual-communication rule. — July 6: Ooooooops 00:02:29
  • video's point: Hank, now on the even days and off to go tubing, shows nerdfighters' giant driveway sign, teases John about declaring email bankruptcy, and then accidentally instant messages John, who messages back; both broke the no-textual-communication rule, so Hank asks Nerdfighters for punishment ideas.
• 2007-07-09 · told · John: John re-enacts the instant-message exchange in which both brothers broke the no-textual-communication rule: Hank wrote first, and John typed 'dude, you are so punished'. — July 9: The Punishment Fiasco 00:00:09
  • video's point: John denies that the brothers broke the no-texting rule on purpose, re-enacts the instant-message exchange in which he gloated in text that Hank was punished, reports that Hank's punishment will involve recreating a picture, and proposes that their wives may veto punishments.

The childhood hammer story: Hank 'tried to kill' John (2008)

2 videos, told 2008–2013 · thread page

• 2008-07-08 (said on 2008-07-07, implied) · told · John: John phones their mom, who confirms that Hank tried to kill John with a hammer when they were little, while John's worst acts were cough syrup on the bedspread and an over-hard hug. (playful) — Hank Tried to Kill Me With a Hammer 00:01:24
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday of a few long answers, John says Brotherhood 2.0 was his idea, lists his pre-author jobs, and phones their mom, who confirms Hank once tried to kill John with a hammer; he closes with Paper Towns giveaways and the Katherines paperback.
• 2013-12-13 · retold · Sydney Green: Sydney retells how small Hank, unable to talk yet, got tired of John yelling at him and took a hammer to him. (playful) — Mom and Dad Green! Extra Special Question Tuesday 00:02:04
  • video's point: Hank puts Nerdfighters' questions to his parents, who explain why he was named William Henry, recall the brothers as small children, and give parenting advice.

The brothers' childhood choreographed dances to Ice Ice Baby and Stand

2 videos, told 2009–2011 · thread page

• 2009-08-11 · told · John: John recalls the brothers' childhood choreographed dance to Ice Ice Baby (Hank about six, John about nine), and maybe one to R.E.M.'s Stand. (playful) (hedged) — The Island of Nerdfighteria? 00:01:01
  • video's point: John marks 100,000 subscribers by answering Nerdfighters' thank-you suggestions: he promises another Tour de Nerdfighting, announces a UK edition of Paper Towns from Bloomsbury, and pledges with Willy $1,000 to a charity viewers choose.
• 2011-06-06 · retold · John: John recalls that he and Hank choreographed a dance to R.E.M.'s 'Stand' in 1989, which their dad videotaped and then lost. (playful) — Men Running on Tanks and the Truth about Book Editors 00:00:23
  • opinion drawn: John calls Allora & Calzadilla's pavilion (overturned tanks, Olympic athletes, an ATM that is also a pipe organ) a total success and is proud of everyone at the IMA. (00:00:31)

Vlogbrothers' rank among YouTube's most-subscribed channels as Toby Turner passes them (2010)

4 videos, told 2010 · thread page

• 2010-07-14 · told · Hank: Hank interrupts to announce that the Vlogbrothers have just broken into the top 100 most-subscribed YouTube channels. (playful) — Top 10 VIDCON MOMENTS 00:03:39
  • video's point: Back from the first VidCon, John counts down his ten favourite moments, from Ze Frank's keynote and the Nerdfighter mass hug to Hank singing about particle physics; Hank cuts in to celebrate the Vlogbrothers entering YouTube's top 100 most-subscribed channels.
• 2010-07-16 · update · Hank: Hank says the Vlogbrothers are in the 300,000-subscriber club and in the top 100 most-subscribed channels of all time on YouTube. — VidCon, Oil Spill, Punishments, Shane Dawson, and my Balls 00:01:01
  • opinion drawn: Hank says that after VidCon nobody seems to hate them; in fact many people seem to like them more. (00:01:01)
• 2010-08-04 · told · Hank: Hank reports the Vlogbrothers are 81st most subscribed on YouTube and about to be made 82nd by Toby Turner. (playful) — Family, Love and BISON ATTACKS! 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank notes the Vlogbrothers are about to be passed by Toby Turner in the subscriber charts, then recounts outings with Katherine's visiting family, from his nephew's first deer and baseball game to the National Bison Range, warning never to approach wildlife.
• 2010-08-10 (said on 2010-08-09, implied) · update · Hank: Hank reports the Vlogbrothers fell from 81st to 83rd, passed by Toby Turner and Freddie Wong. — JOIN THE PEN15 CLUB!! 00:02:50
  • video's point: Prodded by an 'evil Hank' alter ego to make a quick video, Hank comments on a study of earlier puberty and Wyclef Jean's bid for Haiti's presidency, tells his middle-school PEN15 Club story with a mock-inspirational moral, and gives channel updates.

John and Hank at LeakyCon 2011

4 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-07-13 · told · John: John is at LeakyCon 2011 with many nerdfighters, but his social anxiety keeps him from taking pictures and hugging. — ELLEN HARDCASTLE IS HERE! A Reunion Video 00:00:00
  • video's point: From an airport and then LeakyCon 2011, John (after a colonoscopy) extends the Gatsby reading deadline and admits social-anxiety guilt, then is joined by Hank to launch Hank's album Ellen Hardcastle, with Hank promising a video of a ten-word script for every physical-copy buyer.
• 2011-07-15 · update · Hank: Hank is at LeakyCon 2011 and declines to describe it. — Harry Freaking Potter 00:02:55
  • video's point: Continuing his yearly Harry Potter songs, Hank sings a letter to Harry Potter asking whether the final film is the end, thanks the series for his career, and answers that it isn't, because the fans are there for each other; then plugs Harry Potter Alliance contests, a charity book and his album.
• 2011-07-20 (said on 2011-07-21, implied) · update · Hank: Hank says he hurt his neck at LeakyCon. — HARDCASTLED! 00:00:24
  • video's point: Hank recaps a Nerdfighter gathering John missed, models the Ellen Hardcastle shirt, acts out the whole album with toy giraffes, extends the ten-word-script video offer to buyers in the next 14 days, and tearfully reports that Billboard called because the album is charting.
• 2011-07-25 · update · Hank: Hank says that at LeakyCon a young woman asked him how he dealt with bullying and it troubles him that he could not give her a good answer. — I Am Not a P#$$Y - this video contains mild swear words. 00:02:48
  • video's point: Hank answers a truck driver who called him a pussy while he cycled: taunting from inside a truck is cowardice, not bravery. He then admits he had no good answer to a LeakyCon question about bullying and offers two tips: it's not about you, and your job is to survive it.

The brothers' grandfather Papa dies; Hank heads to his funeral in Birmingham (December 2011)

2 videos, told 2011 · thread page

• 2011-12-12 (said on 2011-12-11, implied) · told · Hank: Hank says the brothers' grandfather Papa has died and he is flying to Birmingham for the funeral; Papa was very old and long sick. — Our Grandfather 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, filming before flying to his grandfather Papa's funeral, reflects that a 92-year-old's death is by definition fair yet still feels unfair and makes him angry, then sets out how the Project for Awesome 2011 will work.
• 2011-12-14 · update · John: The description thanks viewers for their messages of sympathy over the loss of the brothers' grandfather. — Greek Phallic Disco Golf Balls: A Free Association Game video description
  • video's point: Together in Mountain Brook and, John says, not in the mood for a proper video, John and Hank play a game of word association from 'lemon' to Silvio Berlusconi and ask Nerdfighters to continue it in the comments.

The brothers' Houston hotel mix-up and luxury room with a Picasso print on the tour (2012)

3 videos, told 2012–2023 · thread page

• 2012-01-24 · told · John: John tells how the brothers' Houston hotel sold their rooms and a different hotel gave them one of its best rooms, with a real Picasso print. — Nicest Hotel Room in the World 00:00:01
  • video's point: John tells how, after a midnight Houston tour signing, the brothers' hotel had sold their rooms, and the replacement hotel gave them a luxurious room with a real Picasso print; he concludes that disasters can turn out 'armoisome'.
• 2020-01-14 · mentioned · John: Since the 2012 hotel room with the Picasso, the brothers have stayed nowhere close to as good; they almost always stay at a Courtyard by Marriott. — Foolish · Beautiful 00:02:56
  • video's point: Together in a hotel room for Question Tuesday, John reads viewer questions on beauty and foolishness (best words, foolish endeavors, whether humanity is worth saving) while Hank fails to spot the theme; they also touch on Hank's nearly finished book, hotels, John's sports Twitter and movies that make them cry.
• 2023-12-24 · retold · John: After a Houston hotel sold their rooms on tour, the brothers got another hotel's best room, bigger than John's house, with a Picasso print and certificate of authenticity. — John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 01:56:36
  • video's point: A Christmas Eve supercut of the brothers' reunion videos played backwards from a 2023 Jamaica vacation to their 2007 Dominican Republic reunion: Question Tuesdays, tours, Pizzamas, premieres, P4A and Esther Day; in the description Hank says rewatching made him want to be both sillier and smaller and bigger.

Hank and John's trip to the UK, starting in London (February 2013)

5 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-02-01 · told · Hank: Hank says he is on a plane to England, having pre-filmed this video; the description adds that he has just arrived in the UK. — Football For Nerds 00:00:00
  • video's point: In a pre-recorded 'Nerd's Guide to Football' for Super Bowl season, Hank uses statistics to argue that American football succeeds because it is a game of anticipation with close results, and that its many breaks make it an advertising and money powerhouse.
• 2013-02-05 · update · John: John reports his first 24 hours in London: BBC interview, Penguin, the Guardian, the British Museum, then a walk with Hank, Katherine and CGP Grey. — Headless Statues and Elton John's Piano: Seeing Sights in London (Thoughts from Places) 00:00:00
  • video's point: John narrates his first 24 hours in London - a BBC interview, Penguin, the British Museum's headless statues and a photograph he mistook for an object, a walk with Hank, Katherine and CGP Grey - and says he cannot decide whether sights need seeing or virtual experience is now enough.
• 2013-02-08 · update · Hank: Hank reports that after London the trip went on to Dublin, where he toured with John and Katherine. — The Space Time Continuum: Thoughts from Dublin 00:00:07
  • point made: Hank adds that a city, like a human life, all life, culture and technology, is a series of events; being where those continuums are obvious makes him feel part of the human endeavor. (video description)
• 2013-02-12 · update · John: John says Hank used all his Dublin footage, and that on tour the brothers met more than 6,000 Nerdfighters in ten days. — Talking to the President 00:02:28
  • point made: John: meeting people you admire, or whose work you like, will never feel normal, because you are hyper-conscious of everything that could go wrong. (00:02:38)
• 2013-02-15 · update · Hank: Hank says he got back from the United Kingdom and is jet-lagged. — Baby, Harlem, Obama, Dance Crazes, Big Week 00:02:34
  • video's point: Hank, admittedly late to the Harlem Shake, wonders why internet dance-craze songs are so often bilingual, then rounds up a big week: John's interview with President Obama (pennies, a baby name declined, 'don't forget to be awesome') and news from the brothers' projects.

John and Hank's visit to their parents' home, with a surprise reunion video (November 2013)

2 videos, told 2013 · thread page

• 2013-11-26 · told · John: John flies to see his mom and dad and films from the room where he made the first Brotherhood 2.0 video; Hank then appears for a surprise reunion. — The Bank of Nerdfighteria 00:02:15
  • video's point: In the Bank of Nerdfighteria's semiannual report John updates the giving arm (P4A on December 17, the World Cup 2014 support auction, the Foundation to Decrease World Suck becoming a 501(c)(3) with matched donations) and the lending arm (over $3.2 million lent on Kiva), ending in a surprise reunion with Hank at their parents' home.
• 2013-11-29 · update · both: The description says the brothers are in North Carolina visiting their parents for Thanksgiving, and spent some time there answering viewer questions. — REUNION! Arm Wrestling, Drawing, and Questions with Hank and John! video description
  • video's point: Together at their parents' home for Thanksgiving, Hank and John answer viewer questions in a Question Friday: rereading TFIOS, favorite book series, an arm-wrestling match, catchphrases, family photos, pie and the last turkey, drawings of each other, DFTBA.com's Black Friday shipping and how to make a good P4A video.

Hank and John's Florida beach trip together (January 2014)

2 videos, told 2014 · thread page

• 2014-01-24 · told · Hank: Hank thanks John for taking him to the beach in Florida, where he probably got a sunburn within twenty minutes. (playful) (hedged) — The Naughty Professor: Hank and John at the Beach - REUNION! 00:03:14
  • video's point: Hank and John, together on a Florida beach, answer viewer questions: The Art Assignment premiere, the imaginary third brother Dave Green, love, swapped glasses and the upcoming TFIOS trailer.
• 2014-01-28 · update · John: John says Hank gave him his cold while they were together in Florida. (playful) — Question Tuesday! TFIOS Movie Trailer, Penguin Knees, and Backflips 00:00:01
  • video's point: In a Question Tuesday, John reacts to the leaked TFIOS trailer and premieres a ten-second teaser, celebrates the release of Esther Earl's book, and answers rapid-fire questions ending in a failed backflip.

Hank and John's family trip to Florida (January 2015)

2 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-01-20 · told · both: John is at a minigolf course in Florida for Question Tuesday and Hank turns up to play with him. (playful) — REUNION MINIGOLF 00:00:00
  • video's point: John and Hank answer Nerdfighters' Question Tuesday questions together while playing a competitive round of minigolf in Florida, which Hank wins on the final hole.
• 2015-01-23 · update · Hank: Hank returns to Florida after the interview; Dad and Katherine pick him up at the airport and John is there. — Interviewing the President 00:03:24
  • video's point: Hank shows behind-the-scenes footage of his day travelling to Washington and interviewing President Obama at the White House, and his return to his family in Florida.

The brothers' reunion in New York City during Pizzamas (November 2015)

2 videos, told 2015 · thread page

• 2015-11-17 · told · Hank: Hank recounts his New York week: filming The Financial Diet, a reunion with John, Sarah's tour of Chelsea galleries and a Banana Republic shirt for that night. — The Things that People Do (Thoughts from New York City) (Pizzamas Day 7) 00:00:13
  • opinion drawn: Hank, who doesn't think much about art, still appreciates it, but finds it hard to find good art or to feel he belongs in galleries with giant white walls and terrifying price lists. (00:00:25)
• 2015-11-18 · update · John: John says the brothers have just come from the Save the Children gala, where Hank met Jennifer Garner. — SUIT UP! A Very Fancy Reunion Video (Pizzamas Day 8) 00:00:04
  • video's point: Reunited in suits after the Save the Children gala in New York, John and Hank answer quick viewer questions with gags (lamps, chocolate, dinosaur sounds, thankfulness, how Hank met his wife) and briefly note how fast humans are driving species extinct.

John and Hank return to Hank's old high school, Winter Park High School, on the Turtles tour (2017)

2 videos, told 2017 · thread page

• 2017-10-17 · told · John: At Hank's old high school John signs books and thanks the Winter Park High School students who made a paper town and got them t-shirts and green room chairs. — Look at Tiny Baby Hank 00:00:38
  • video's point: From Legoland, Orlando and Nashville, John reports a tour week: a signing at Hank's old high school with his yearbook photo, 10,000 people at the shows, Turtles All the Way Down at number one on Amazon and generous reviews, but also strained mental health; he thanks Hank for his kindness.
• 2017-10-20 · retold · Hank: This week (week of 16 October 2017) Hank went back to Winter Park High School, a place of good times and bad times but mostly just times, an experience that doesn't fit well into his brain. — Places Made of People: Thoughts from My Old High School 00:00:00
  • video's point: Revisiting Winter Park High School after 20 years, Hank describes a broad flood of memories and argues that some places are not their walls but the people who fill them; he wishes he had understood that and been a better steward of the place instead of being jaded.

Hank and John grow up going to Rax restaurants (childhood)

3 videos, told 2020–2024 · thread page

• 2020-10-08 · told · Hank: Hank recalls that he and John grew up going to Rax on days they had been good, when Wendy's wasn't good enough, to split a soft, gooey cookie. — The Commercial that Killed a Fast Food Chain 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says Rax, a roast beef place like Arby's, was in constant identity crisis, and its advertising mostly argued it wasn't like the other major fast food chains. (00:00:00)
• 2020-10-09 · retold · John: John recalls the Rax of their childhood and the Rax Guy, whose conspiracy signs, seen at seven and eight (1985), shaped his particular obsessive fear that others were aliens in human costumes, though they did not cause his OCD; information feeds shape us. — The Rax Guy 00:00:29
  • video's point: Answering Hank's viral Rax video, John recalls the 'Rax Guy' whose conspiracy-theory fence signs they saw from an Orlando Rax as kids, a kind of first Twitter user who shaped his childhood OCD worry that others weren't real; information feeds shape us, so he must be careful what he pays attention to. John also votes and urges viewers to make a voting plan.
• 2024-04-09 · update · John: John says they got four sandwiches: his childhood Rax order, the Big Boy (a big roast beef), and three for Hank: a roast beef, a beef and cheddar, and a hoagie-like roast beef with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. — Hank and John Reunited WITH RAX 00:02:16
  • opinion drawn: John says he went into Rax with low expectations and they were exceeded. (00:02:53)

John and Hank reunite in person for the first time in a long while and make collab videos together (2021)

3 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-06-15 · told · John: Asked if they got emotional on seeing each other, John says yes: during the pandemic he has struggled to feel emotion in the moment and lets himself feel it later. — VLOGBROTHERS REUNITED!!!! 00:03:25
  • video's point: Together in person for the first time in a long while, John and Hank answer Question Tuesday questions: favorite TikTok sound, Hank's favorite Anthropocene Reviewed essay, their past selves, gum, the new Crash Course coins, and their old fight over Hank's trophy money and John's baseball cards.
• 2021-06-15 · update · Hank: Asked by John what they will do on Friday for Hank's video, Hank says he has no plans, then that he does have a plan. (playful) — VLOGBROTHERS REUNITED!!!! 00:03:54
  • video's point: Together in person for the first time in a long while, John and Hank answer Question Tuesday questions: favorite TikTok sound, Hank's favorite Anthropocene Reviewed essay, their past selves, gum, the new Crash Course coins, and their old fight over Hank's trophy money and John's baseball cards.
• 2021-06-18 · update · Hank: Hank says Tuesday's (22 June 2021) will be their last video together of the reunion, the third collab in a row, to make up for lost time. — QUADRAGOCON 2021!! LET THE GAMES CONTINUE!!!! 00:03:23
  • video's point: Together again, about two years late, John and Hank hold Quadragocon 2021, a fourteen-event contest of endurance and skill from push-ups and a LaCroix chug to collage art and cup stacking; it ends in a draw, and they ask viewers what to do for their Tuesday collab.
• 2021-06-22 · update · John: The description calls this Hank and John's final reunion video for now, in which they discuss the facts that blow their minds. — Mindblowers with Hank and John video description
  • video's point: In their last reunion video for now, John and Hank trade mind-blowing facts (pi's needed precision, banana units of radiation, no time before the Big Bang, the white night sky of an infinite universe, the newness of recorded music, the unexplained existence of matter); John says a fact blows his mind when it makes him feel big or small.

Crash Course and Complexly begin from John's 2010 Gchat proposal and $10,000 of Hank's money (2010)

3 videos, told 2021–2025 · thread page

• 2021-06-25 · told · Hank: Hank replied that it was a great idea, John said he would do it, and that, Hank says, is how Crash Course was born. — The Surprising Origin of Crash Course 00:00:29
  • point made: Hank says John's chat already spoke of what they call lowering barriers to learning: making history boring is one needless barrier, costly educational video another they aim to prove unnecessary. (00:01:42)
• 2023-05-30 · retold · John: John says he did come up with the idea for Crash Course: he loved making educational videos on Vlogbrothers but wanted to do it bigger and better, and knew they couldn't do it alone. — How Does He Do It? 00:00:29
  • point made: Borrowing a line from W. H. Auden, John says ideas make nothing happen on their own: for things to happen, logistics and systems must build up and people must collaborate. (00:00:55)
• 2025-05-23 · retold · Hank: Hank reminds everyone that Crash Course was John's idea, and congratulates him. — I Can’t Believe How Few People it Takes. 00:06:14
  • point made: Hank says this needs long-term focus and caring a lot, even when unpleasant, and above all finding the right place to push and then just keeping on pushing. (00:05:39)

John and Hank reunite in person in late 2021 and record several videos together (2021)

4 videos, told 2021 · thread page

• 2021-11-30 · told · John: The description says John and Hank are absolutely delighted to find themselves in the same place at the same time. — Vlogbrothers REUNITED AT LAST video description
  • video's point: Together in person again, John and Hank trade quick questions: renaming Twitter, holiday gifts (John plugs signed Anthropocene Reviewed copies with a charity zine), how differently their minds handle unwanted thoughts, Hank's sales ideas, a pulped Paper Towns, and whether either knows how to write the next book.
• 2021-12-03 · update · Hank: The description says he very much likes making videos with his brother, and while together they recorded two more: more reunions next week (week of 6 December 2021). — John and Hank at the Cemetery video description
  • opinion drawn: Hank says that if you can afford a few extra words on your tombstone, they add a lot. (00:00:00)
• 2021-12-07 · update · John: John notes that he and Hank are still together in person. (playful) — Reading Hank's Decade-Old Tweets 00:00:00
  • video's point: Still together in person, John reads Hank's 2011 tweets aloud (John deleted his own): a 20-t-shirt challenge, the keep-it-or-shave-it goatee tally, the TFIOS cover, a Skrillex plea and an abominable-snowman pun, and the brothers reflect that 2011's communication revolution has turned from a roller-coaster climb into a drop.
• 2021-12-10 · update · Hank: Hank says this is the last reunion video, a Question Tuesday YouTube edition answering real questions from real Nerdfighters. — What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the best change is that the site works now, unlike in 2007; the player is excellent, and its hotkeys, like going back a frame or 10 seconds, are his favourite UX feature. (00:00:56)

John and Hank's planned paired secret videos, Hank's not yet uploaded (2022)

2 videos, told 2022 · thread page

• 2022-04-05 · told · John: Hank was to upload a secret video and John a secret reply so he needn't film on vacation, but Hank didn't upload his, and John's makes no sense without it. (playful) — Celebrities I've Met and Whether I'd Vote for Them??? 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John loved Hank's video last week (week of 28 March 2022): poignant, beautifully written and genuinely one of his all-time favorite vlogbrothers videos. (00:00:00)
• 2022-04-08 · update · Hank: In the description Hank apologizes to John for not uploading this video last week (week of 28 March 2022): he got confused. — Hank and John Discover Chippy Butties video description
  • video's point: Together for their mother's birthday, Hank and John answer viewer questions from Twitter (fan fiction, the Turtles All the Way Down movie, learning after school, podcasts, static shocks), then John explains the British chip butty and they go to make one.

John and Hank reunite in Indianapolis during Pizzamas (2022)

4 videos, told 2022 · thread page

• 2022-10-04 · told · John: John starts his Tuesday video and Hank surprises him on camera: it is a reunion spectacular. — Hank and John Reunited at Last 00:00:00
  • video's point: Reunited in Indianapolis for Pizzamas, John and Hank play the TikTok word-convergence game 'Got It' (picnic and ocean, chemistry, a lightning party), ask viewers for ideas for the last Pizzamas videos, and push pizzamas.com before the shirts disappear.
• 2022-10-05 · update · Hank: Hank, in John's home, notes that they are wearing the same outfit. — Asking an AI Image Generator for Pizza Johns 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says the art at Pizzamas.com is by real human artists and all of it is much better than the AI images. (video description)
• 2022-10-06 · update · John: The description calls this the second-to-last day of Pizzamas and of the reunion spectaculars. — The Pizzamas Magic Is Almost Over… video description
  • video's point: On the second-to-last day of Pizzamas, John and Hank answer viewer questions together: TikTok, laundry, which Pizza John shirt to buy, social media's costs and benefits (we can't turn it off, so we must build norms and laws faster), and Maureen Johnson's question about writing a book.
• 2022-10-07 · update · John: John says that earlier in the day he and Hank saw art at a gallery and a fashion show at the IMA, and now they are in a treehouse. — Planets Don't Exist 00:01:00
  • video's point: On the last day of Pizzamas 2022, Hank and John film in an Indiana treehouse, where Hank argues that planets do not exist as a true category (nor do pizza or fish): language is less rich than reality, which matters more than whether Pluto is a planet.

The brothers' trip to France to celebrate their parents' 50th anniversary (2026)

3 videos, told 2026 · thread page

• 2026-06-23 · told · John: John and Hank, greeting from a French barge, are on vacation for their parents' 50th wedding anniversary. — A Very French Reunion 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: In a comment John says the US women's team is broadly getting worse because the US invests less than western Europe and has no relegation in its pro league. (creator comment)
• 2026-06-26 · told · Hank: The brothers are in France to celebrate their parents' 50th anniversary, a trip planned for about two years. — No Video Today!! 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: Hank has never seen a public mini golf course before and now asks, "why don't we?"; he finds it very cute. (00:00:58)
• 2026-07-17 · retold · Hank: What lands: a favourite artist's 30th anniversary of a breakout album, and their parents' 50th anniversary where they held their 25th, which Hank attended as what he thought was an adult. — The Terrors of Middle Age 00:01:14
  • video's point: At Open Sauce with his nine-year-old son, Hank lists recent signs that he is middle-aged (anniversaries, viewers who grew up with the channel, skills going obsolete) and argues that aging feels uncomfortable partly because 46-year-olds remember how they imagined 46-year-olds at 18, while 18-year-olds cannot know what being 46 is like.

Family, friends and others (12)

Daniel Biss runs for Illinois state representative (2007)

12 videos, told 2007–2018 · thread page

• 2007-04-16 · told · John: John announces that the brothers' resident mathematician Daniel Biss is running for Illinois state representative, on education funding and cutting carbon emissions. — Brotherhood 2.0: April 16: Brotherhood of Traveling Shirts 00:02:27
  • video's point: John missed the Step It Up rallies while flying home, so he starts a week of using only the electricity he really needs; he also praises Hank's EcoGeek podcasts, proposes sharing the one Nerdfighter shirt with Hank, and announces Daniel Biss's run for Illinois state representative.
• 2007-04-16 · told · John: John shares that 'our resident mathematician' Daniel Biss is running for state representative in Illinois, able to pass legislation helpful to brothers, nerds and video blogs. — Brotherhood 2.0: April 16: Brotherhood of Traveling Shirts 00:02:27
  • video's point: John missed the Step It Up rallies while flying home, so he starts a week of using only the electricity he really needs; he also praises Hank's EcoGeek podcasts, proposes sharing the one Nerdfighter shirt with Hank, and announces Daniel Biss's run for Illinois state representative.
• 2007-08-06 · update · John: John announces that this week (week of 6 August 2007) they will collect donations to help Daniel Biss become the first nerdfighter ever elected to state congress. — August 6th: JK Rowling and I Will ... Be Punished 00:01:34
  • point made: John says the key to Biss's grassroots campaign for Illinois state representative is not the size of donations but the number of donors. (00:01:34)
• 2007-08-06 · update · John: John announces that this week (week of 6 August 2007) they will collect donations to help Daniel Biss become the first nerdfighter ever elected to state congress. — August 6th: JK Rowling and I Will ... Be Punished 00:01:34
  • point made: John says the key to Biss's grassroots campaign for Illinois state representative is not the size of donations but the number of donors. (00:01:34)
• 2007-08-07 · update · Hank: Hank says Biss had his biggest traffic day ever yesterday and is now second on ActBlue only to 'a guy called John Edwards'. — August 7th: Curd Fighter Nurt 00:01:41
  • opinion drawn: Hank welcomes 'the age of the Nerdfighter', calling it very cool that Nerdfighters help each other and that Biss's campaign benefits so strongly from them. (00:01:41)
• 2007-08-07 · update · Hank: Hank says Biss had his biggest traffic day ever yesterday and is now second on ActBlue only to 'a guy called John Edwards'. — August 7th: Curd Fighter Nurt 00:01:41
  • opinion drawn: Hank welcomes 'the age of the Nerdfighter', calling it very cool that Nerdfighters help each other and that Biss's campaign benefits so strongly from them. (00:01:41)
• 2007-08-08 · update · John: John jokes that his 'optimism' about American politics might change, most reasonably if people elected Daniel Biss state representative for his Illinois district. (playful) (hedged) — August 8th: The Lawn and the Fury 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: After forum talk on minors and foreigners contributing to Biss's campaign, John tends to agree with Hank that under-18s should be allowed to contribute more to politics. (00:02:17)
• 2007-08-08 · update · John: John jokes that his 'optimism' about American politics might change, most reasonably if people elected Daniel Biss state representative for his Illinois district. (playful) (hedged) — August 8th: The Lawn and the Fury 00:02:55
  • opinion drawn: After forum talk on minors and foreigners contributing to Biss's campaign, John tends to agree with Hank that under-18s should be allowed to contribute more to politics. (00:02:17)
• 2007-09-28 · update · John: Scanning the Wall Street Journal at the Richmond airport, John finds Daniel Biss on it talking about money he raised online, with Brotherhood 2.0 mentioned for helping. — September 28th: Nerdfighting!!! 00:02:38
  • point made: John says Brotherhood 2.0 may be three quarters done, but nerdfighting is just getting started. (00:02:38)
• 2007-09-28 · update · John: Scanning the Wall Street Journal at the Richmond airport, John finds Daniel Biss on it talking about money he raised online, with Brotherhood 2.0 mentioned for helping. — September 28th: Nerdfighting!!! 00:02:38
  • point made: John says Brotherhood 2.0 may be three quarters done, but nerdfighting is just getting started. (00:02:38)
• 2008-02-14 · update · John: John reports that on Super Tuesday Daniel Biss won his primary election 100% to 0%, while admitting he was unopposed. — The Puff Pwns Gravity 00:01:36
  • video's point: John explains he is growing his hair to beat his toddler 'puff level' record, touts Daniel Biss's unopposed primary win and asks Nerdfighters to vote for him in the Golden Dot Awards, celebrates 'Pooh Gets Stuck' as an 'in your pants' find, and proposes Nerdfighters swap Valentine's greetings on the Ning.
• 2008-02-14 · update · John: John reports that Daniel Biss, running for state representative, won his Super Tuesday (5 February 2008) primary unopposed. — The Puff Pwns Gravity 00:01:36
  • video's point: John explains he is growing his hair to beat his toddler 'puff level' record, touts Daniel Biss's unopposed primary win and asks Nerdfighters to vote for him in the Golden Dot Awards, celebrates 'Pooh Gets Stuck' as an 'in your pants' find, and proposes Nerdfighters swap Valentine's greetings on the Ning.
• 2008-06-19 · update · John: John reminds Hank that Daniel Biss is running for state representative and says he really believes in the candidacy. — Memo to the Fourteenth Century (and to the Tobians) 00:01:12
  • opinion drawn: John says this is probably the last time he'll talk about politics on the channel, but he really believes in Daniel's candidacy. (00:01:41)
• 2010-11-15 · update · John: Saying the deficit shows the need for more mathematicians in power, John announces that Brotherhood 2.0 resident mathematician Daniel Biss is now a state representative-elect. — Hey! You! Fix the Budget! 00:02:56
  • video's point: John uses the New York Times's 'you fix the budget' tool to argue that the US deficit has no easy solution: even all Democratic tax increases plus all Republican spending cuts would leave a huge deficit, so balancing it means unwelcome cuts and taxes.
• 2010-11-15 · update · John: John announces that Daniel Biss, the brothers' resident mathematician, is now a state representative-elect. — Hey! You! Fix the Budget! 00:02:56
  • video's point: John uses the New York Times's 'you fix the budget' tool to argue that the US deficit has no easy solution: even all Democratic tax increases plus all Republican spending cuts would leave a huge deficit, so balancing it means unwelcome cuts and taxes.
• 2010-12-22 · update · John: John introduces Daniel Biss as state representative-elect. — I Was on Jeopardy!!!! 00:00:47
  • video's point: John says a miserable week (Henry very sick, fear that P4A would fail) turned around: Henry recovered, P4A 2010 made over 3,000 videos and raised over $135,000, and a Nerdfighter on Jeopardy! got Alex Trebek to say his name, so he does a happy dance.
• 2015-10-20 · retold · John: John retells his surprise when Daniel gave up his tenure-track University of Chicago professorship to run for the Illinois House of Representatives. — Nerdfighteria's Resident Comptroller? 00:00:33
  • video's point: John argues that his friend Daniel Biss, the channel's former resident mathematician and now an effective, non-ideological Illinois state senator, should become Illinois Comptroller, and announces a fundraiser for his campaign.
• 2015-10-20 · retold · John: John says Daniel believed government service was noble; in 2008 Nerdfighteria helped raise money for his campaign and he lost, but he won in 2010 and was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2012. — Nerdfighteria's Resident Comptroller? 00:01:03
  • opinion drawn: John says Daniel is a Democrat but widely respected; a Republican member of the Illinois House once called him one of the smartest people (in cruder words) he had met. (00:01:16)
• 2015-10-20 · update · John: John says Daniel lost in 2008, won in 2010, and was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2012. — Nerdfighteria's Resident Comptroller? 00:01:07
  • opinion drawn: John says Daniel is a Democrat but widely respected; a Republican member of the Illinois House once called him one of the smartest people (in cruder words) he had met. (00:01:16)
• 2017-04-04 · retold · John: John recalls Brotherhood 2.0's resident mathematician Daniel Biss, his friend, a successful University of Chicago math professor who left to run for office and became a successful state senator. — Why I Won't Run for Office 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: John finds this surprising because Daniel is the smartest person he knows and governor of Illinois seems like a terrible job. (00:00:19)
• 2018-02-20 · retold · John: John says Daniel once called with the worst idea he had ever heard: leaving his good University of Chicago job to run for the Illinois State House. (playful) — When Your Friend Runs for Governor 00:01:01
  • opinion drawn: John says that over eight years Daniel has become a brilliant politician and an extraordinarily effective legislator in a state where it is famously hard to get anything done. (00:01:48)
• 2018-02-20 · retold · John: John says Daniel once called with the worst idea he had ever heard: leaving his good University of Chicago job to run for the Illinois State House. (playful) — When Your Friend Runs for Governor 00:01:01
  • opinion drawn: John says that over eight years Daniel has become a brilliant politician and an extraordinarily effective legislator in a state where it is famously hard to get anything done. (00:01:48)

Katherine gets a job doing weed research (2007)

2 videos, told 2007 · thread page

• 2007-04-27 · told · Hank: Katherine got a job, doing weed research, without having to move to Indianapolis. — April 27th: Bad Day,,, 00:02:20
  • video's point: Hank has a bad day: strangers are touring his house, a website deal disappointed him, and a web-design client hasn't paid him for months; the good news is a weekend trip to Helena to see Neil Gaiman and new jobs for Katherine and the Yeti.
• 2007-05-03 · update · Hank: Hank clarifies Katherine's weed-research job: plant communities and eliminating invasive species like spotted knapweed, not marijuana; it starts in a couple of weeks. — May 3rd: Yetis, TMBG, Weeds and MoJo 00:01:12
  • video's point: Hank catches up on leftovers: Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things and the meaning of 'yeti', They Might Be Giants scoring the Coraline film, and Katherine's invasive-plant job; he calls the ban of Maureen Johnson's book not cool and thanks viewers for standing up for librarians and Maureen.

YouTube makes the Vlogbrothers YouTube partners (2007)

4 videos, told 2007–2026 · thread page

• 2007-08-15 · told · Hank: Hank announces that YouTube has made the brothers partners and that he and John will sit in on an orientation session. — August 15: Getting Featured on YouTube 00:02:59
  • opinion drawn: Hank says the brothers should be happy with their current fame: being famous to cool people is better than being famous with everybody. (00:03:23)
• 2007-08-16 · update · Hank: Hank says Melissa is also becoming a YouTube partner and will be on the partners' conference call that is coming up. — Re: Vlog 6: Secret Siblinghood! 00:00:03
  • opinion drawn: Hank says he now feels part of the larger YouTube community, a 'big, amazing, crazy thing called YouTube'. (00:00:03)
• 2007-08-31 · update · Hank: Hank reports the brothers' phone call with the YouTube partnership people yesterday (30 August 2007) was a 45-minute lecture on copyright law. (playful) — August 31: Copyright and Airports 00:01:20
  • video's point: Hank, leaving John's house for Montana, asks to see songs John wrote for a high-school band idea, reports that the brothers' YouTube partnership call was a copyright lecture (choreographed dances are copyrighted; their happy dances are Creative Commons), and jokes about Pittsburgh's airport and Labor Day.
• 2026-03-03 · retold · John: In 2007 YouTube told the brothers it would share ad revenue with creators; John wrote down the math on an envelope as they explained it. — The Best Fan Mail I Ever Received 00:01:34
  • opinion drawn: Looking at a childhood photo, John says he hated himself when it was taken, but now finds the boy cute and sweet and cares about him as the child could not. (00:01:25)

Effort to ban Looking for Alaska in Depew, New York schools (2008)

4 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-01-30 · told · John: John tells how Depew High School planned to teach Looking for Alaska with a permission slip, and how a few objectors called it pornographic and want it removed for everyone. — I Am Not A Pornographer 00:00:35
  • video's point: John argues that his novel Looking for Alaska is not pornographic, that teenagers can read critically, and that a few objectors should not decide what other parents' children read at Depew High School; he asks nerdfighters to attend the school board meeting and write letters.
• 2008-02-08 · update · John: John reports the five speakers at the Depew board meeting all opposed Looking for Alaska, several without reading it; another meeting is set for March 4th. — QUESTION TUESDAYS (On Friday) 00:00:36
  • opinion drawn: John quotes one objector's claim that he needn't read the book to judge it, and says the analogy shows why good English literature education is needed. (00:00:36)
• 2008-02-26 · update · John: A meeting on Tuesday, March 4th will discuss whether to keep Looking for Alaska in the Depew High School curriculum. — Best Wishes! 00:01:43
  • video's point: John tells how he ended an important phone call with 'Best wishes!', shows his drastic haircut, postpones the world-record Question Tuesday, and runs through housekeeping: a Spartanburg library event, the Depew meeting on Looking for Alaska, Blurbing Book Club rules and next book, and Nerdfighter romances.
• 2008-04-21 · update · John: John reports the Depew, New York school board voted unanimously to keep Looking for Alaska in the curriculum despite a ban effort. — Belated Book-tacular Questions 00:01:52
  • opinion drawn: The most interesting author John has met is Judy Blume. (00:01:52)

Daniel Biss and his wife have a baby (2008)

2 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-02-08 · told · John: John introduces Daniel Biss as Brotherhood 2.0's resident mathematician and future state congressperson, asks whether his new baby looked awesome on the ultrasound, and concludes babies are born awesome. (playful) — QUESTION TUESDAYS (On Friday) 00:03:12
  • video's point: On a Friday Question Tuesday, John answers viewer questions left on Hank's last video: a Chicago event, the Depew school board meeting on Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns' October 16 release date, and many joke questions, plus a brief sincere answer on questions of faith.
• 2008-06-19 · told · John: John announces that Daniel Biss's wife, known to be pregnant, has had their baby, and does his seated happy dance. (playful) — Memo to the Fourteenth Century (and to the Tobians) 00:01:41
  • opinion drawn: John says this is probably the last time he'll talk about politics on the channel, but he really believes in Daniel's candidacy. (00:01:41)

Willy's cast (2008)

4 videos, told 2008 · thread page

• 2008-05-22 · told · Hank: Hank reports Willy has a broken foot: John spent most of the day at the dog hospital; Willy is okay and shown with his leg in a cast. — Adorable Puppy Injury!!!! 00:01:19
  • video's point: Hank fills in for John, who spent the day at the vet with Willy's broken foot, holding his own 'question day': he drinks an espresso to show what caffeine does to him, then asks viewers a hyperactive string of odd questions.
• 2008-05-30 · update · John: Willy got a new cast after eating the last one; the new cast has a heart on it. (playful) — The Dread Pirate Fireball Roberts! (And Housekeeping) 00:01:49
  • opinion drawn: John says Nerdfighters on Omnictionary are writing a novel wiki-style; the wished-for Nerdfighter encyclopedia is a good idea, but not for Omnictionary. (00:02:19)
• 2008-06-26 · update · John: Willy gets his cast off but still walks with a limp. (playful) — Don't Suck on That Bone 00:00:00
  • video's point: John works through ten things Nerdfighters asked him to do: more Willy and Sarah, Tobian phrases, walking, Ning time, reviving the Blurbing Book Club with The Catcher in the Rye, a charity book auction, a Question Tuesday and secretly signing his own book in a store.
• 2008-10-31 (said on 2008-10-30, implied) · mentioned · John: Nerdfighter-related presents include a Nerdfighter bracelet and, made of a spongy material, a puppy-sized elephant and a little Willy with a cast. — Show 'n Tell Thursday 00:01:06
  • video's point: For 'Show and Tell Thursday' John shows Hank presents Nerdfighters gave him on the Paper Towns tour, book-related and Nerdfighter-related, from a Ning employee's hat to a puppy-sized-elephant costume for Willy, and thanks them.

Ningmaster Tom's coma and recovery (2010)

4 videos, told 2010–2011 · thread page

• 2010-02-26 (said on 2010-02-27, implied) · told · Hank: Hank tells that Tom was hit by a car while cycling and hit his head; his family thinks he will probably be okay but the severity is not yet known. — Ningmaster Tom 00:01:18
  • video's point: Hank says the brothers' videos matter less than the community people build around them, tells Nerdfighters that Tom (NingMasterTom), a key community organizer, was hit by a car while cycling, and asks them to send well wishes to an address his family reads.
• 2010-03-01 · update · John: John reports Tom is conscious and has spoken to his family but has a long way to go in his recovery. — The Marriage Ref SUCKS 00:00:00
  • video's point: John updates Nerdfighters on Ningmaster Tom's recovery, mocks NBC's The Marriage Ref, and answers NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker's dismissal of YouTube by saying Nerdfighteria is in the business of taking care of each other and is more real than reality TV.
• 2010-06-11 · update · John: John reports Ningmaster Tom, comatose when he last appeared in a video, is fine apart from problems with his left eye, and thanks Nerdfighters for their support. — Mmmm....PARTS 00:01:52
  • video's point: In a twelve-part vlog filmed in a Milwaukee hotel while watching the World Cup opener, John says Viacom still owes him for stealing his video, gives VidCon 2010 logistics, reports Ningmaster Tom's recovery and announces his new website and the UK publication of Paper Towns.
• 2011-02-23 · retold · John: On the anniversary, John recalls Ningmaster Tom's near-fatal bicycle accident and coma a year ago (February 2010) and celebrates that he survived and is here. — WE ARE 812 YEARS OLD 00:00:10
  • opinion drawn: John loved Hank's interview with the mayor of Missoula and wishes he could be his mayor without moving there. (00:00:04)

Red Green's poop in the brothers' childhood Nintendo

6 videos, told 2010–2023 · thread page

• 2010-03-05 · told · John: John tells how one summer morning he found Red Green's poop inside the family Nintendo, whose flap he had left open, and lays out the suspects. (playful) — Red Green, the Nintendo, and HANK 00:01:29
  • video's point: From Bellingham, John tells the childhood mystery of how poop got inside his beloved Nintendo, narrows the suspects to Hank or the family dachshund Red Green, and asks Hank to answer honestly by Monday.
• 2010-03-08 · retold · Hank: Hank retells the family story of the poop in the Nintendo from his side, blaming Red Green, a dog that peed hundreds of times in his room. (playful) — GIGANTIC CHICKEN EGG!! 00:00:29
  • video's point: Hank answers John's accusation with a five-point comic case that he did not put poop in the family Nintendo (blaming the dog Red Green), then reports watching the Oscars at egg farmer Heather's house and shows her tiny, gigantic and double-yolk eggs.
• 2010-06-02 (said on 2010-06-01, implied) · retold · John: John retells finding Red Green's poop inside his Nintendo almost 20 years ago and names Hank the prime suspect. (playful) — The Case of the Poopy Nintendo 00:00:00
  • video's point: John reopens the case of Red Green's poop in his childhood Nintendo: a crowdsourced measurement of dachshund height and a mock experiment suggest the dog could not have done it unaided, so he insinuates that Hank did.
• 2010-06-02 (said on 2010-06-01, implied) · update · John: John tests Hank's theory with a Twitter survey and a book-and-ruler experiment, concludes only projectile pooping fits, and gets a denial from Dad. (playful) — The Case of the Poopy Nintendo 00:00:50
  • video's point: John reopens the case of Red Green's poop in his childhood Nintendo: a crowdsourced measurement of dachshund height and a mock experiment suggest the dog could not have done it unaided, so he insinuates that Hank did.
• 2010-06-30 · update · John: John revises his account of the poop in the Nintendo: his vivid memory may be a false flashbulb memory, since no one else saw the poop and he was a lying child. (hedged) — Poopy Nintendo Mystery SOLVED WITH SCIENCE 00:01:58
  • point made: There is very little correlation between how well you remember something and whether it happened: the brain stores narrative memories, not accurate ones. (00:01:58)
• 2011-05-11 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls that John controlled the family Nintendo 'when it wasn't filled with poop', so Hank played DOS simulation games instead. (playful) — 1990's Sim Games. SO GOOD! 00:00:24
  • opinion drawn: Hank says Civilization taught him that peace is orders of magnitude more difficult and less glamorous than war, and tycoon games the value of opportunity and care not to squander the value you have. (video description)
• 2023-11-17 · mentioned · Hank: Hank recalls that the channel spent a long time trying to figure out whether their childhood dachshund pooped in their Nintendo. (playful) — WHAT AM I DOING 00:00:31
  • video's point: Unsure what his job is after cancer treatment, Hank reveals that during chemo he bought 10% of the mobile word game Gubbins, with his share going to charity, asks viewers to download it, share postcards and suggest override words, and calls such projects his job; he also plugs holiday shipping deadlines and his cancer socks.

A bookseller ships over a thousand copies of The Fault in Our Stars three weeks early (December 2011)

2 videos, told 2011–2026 · thread page

• 2011-12-23 · told · John: John tells how a bookseller shipped over a thousand early copies of The Fault in Our Stars, how he reacted, and how Nerdfighters, Amazon and independent bookstores responded. — There Will Be NO SPOILERS!!! 00:00:00
  • video's point: John tells Hank that a bookseller shipped over a thousand copies of The Fault in Our Stars three weeks early, asks everyone not to post spoilers, and thanks Nerdfighters for pledging not to spoil it for others.
• 2026-09-22 · retold · John: John recalls that when The Fault in Our Stars came out 14 years ago, a few hundred people got it a month early, and he was devastated, expecting the plot to leak online. — I Want You to Know Nothing About This 00:03:14
  • point made: John says there is no such thing as reading a book cold: readers are affected by the cover and by what they have heard, and even what they haven't. (00:02:44)

The Green family reunion in Seaside, Florida (2012)

4 videos, told 2012–2023 · thread page

• 2012-05-29 · told · John: John reports that he and Hank are at a family reunion in Seaside, Florida. — Nerds at the Beach: A REUNION VIDEO! 00:00:18
  • video's point: John and Hank, together at a family reunion in Seaside, Florida, make a jokey beach reunion video: the reunion gag, Hank reading Endymion, an inner-tube internet metaphor and a wet-hair 'noodle attack'.
• 2012-06-01 · update · Hank: Hank says he has very much enjoyed the family vacation in Florida, especially hanging out with John. — Adorable Squirrel and Table Topics 00:00:00
  • video's point: Hank, on the Florida family vacation, shares footage of the brothers answering Table Topics question cards: John has his dream job, values mutual generosity in marriage and hopes for Nerdfighteria projects; the rest is banter.
• 2012-07-24 · retold · John: John retells the Memorial Day beach weekend (May 2012) with Hank: the shirts-on swim and the noodle war he says he won before Hank slammed him into the water. (playful) — The Treadmill Desk! Fitness for Nerds 00:00:14
  • video's point: John explains why he got a treadmill desk: nerd cred, jealousy of Hank's new fitness after their Memorial Day noodle war, and evidence that sitting too much raises the risk of death.
• 2023-12-24 · retold · John: John and Hank are at a family reunion in Seaside, Florida, which John calls the world capital of teenagers who don't know who they are. — John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 01:51:34
  • video's point: A Christmas Eve supercut of the brothers' reunion videos played backwards from a 2023 Jamaica vacation to their 2007 Dominican Republic reunion: Question Tuesdays, tours, Pizzamas, premieres, P4A and Esther Day; in the description Hank says rewatching made him want to be both sillier and smaller and bigger.

Looking for Alaska named the most challenged book in the US for 2015 (2016)

5 videos, told 2016–2026 · thread page

• 2016-04-12 · told · John: John reports that the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom has released its list of the ten most challenged books, and Looking for Alaska was the most challenged book of 2015. — On the Banning of Looking for Alaska 00:00:01
  • opinion drawn: John thanks the American Library Association and its Office for Intellectual Freedom, and all the courageous librarians and teachers who stand up for intellectual freedom and banned books. (video description)
• 2022-05-03 · update · John: John says his books, especially Looking for Alaska and Turtles All the Way Down, have lately been removed from US libraries and schools for purported obscenity. — My Religion and My Banned Books 00:00:00
  • opinion drawn: The description says John feels very unsettled about the video, as his relationship with religious institutions, even progressive ones, is increasingly complicated. (video description)
• 2024-12-17 · update · John: John says that according to PEN America, Looking for Alaska, which he wrote, is the second most banned book in the United States. — About THAT Scene in Looking for Alaska 00:00:00
  • point made: John says the novel's teenagers smoke, drink and behave self-destructively because books exist not as moral screeds but as tellers of truths. (00:00:29)
• 2025-12-16 · update · John: John reports that PEN America announced Looking for Alaska, his quiet young adult novel about grief, is the most banned book in the US over the last four years. — John Green's Brother 00:00:58
  • opinion drawn: John finds it very strange that many people assume him to be a pornographer when he thought he was writing a novel about radical hope and how we live with guilt. (00:01:27)
• 2026-03-31 · update · John: John says his first novel, Looking for Alaska, was just banned in every single school in Utah. — I've Been Keeping a Secret… 00:02:26
  • opinion drawn: John doesn't think anything in it is inappropriate for teenagers; the novel is not pornographic. (00:02:26)

Daniel Biss runs for governor of Illinois (2017)

2 videos, told 2017–2018 · thread page

• 2017-04-04 · told · John: John says Daniel Biss is now running for governor of Illinois, complete with fancy campaign ads. — Why I Won't Run for Office 00:00:13
  • opinion drawn: John finds this surprising because Daniel is the smartest person he knows and governor of Illinois seems like a terrible job. (00:00:19)
• 2018-02-20 · update · John: John says Daniel is now running for governor of Illinois. — When Your Friend Runs for Governor 00:02:04
  • opinion drawn: John says Daniel has a very good chance of winning the March 20th Democratic primary, though his opponents are a billionaire who spent tens of millions on ads and a literal Kennedy. (00:02:09)