Skip to content

Lesser Known YouTube Channels I Love

2021-02-09 · list · John · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Nerdfighteria, Books & writing) · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: civic or action cta, calendar ritual, community lore

After noting he must now sign 250,000 times, John recommends lesser-known YouTube channels he loves (DoctorBenjyFM, Curious Tangents, grantees Soph's Notes and This Glorious Clockwork, Karen Puzzles, Rosianna Halse Rojas, It's Radish Time), reminds viewers to submit P4A videos by Wednesday noon, and ends with a nerdfighter's animated video.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Signing 250,000 times for the book; greeting; the channels John watches rarely trend; DoctorBenjyFM

  • ★★ John now needs to sign 250,000 times so every first-printing copy of The Anthropocene Reviewed book is signed; he will do it, and thanks pre-orderers. — 00:00:00 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★★ Not to sound like a hipster, John says most YouTube channels he watches don't regularly hit the trending page. — 00:00:00 · YouTube
  • ★★★ John's favourite channel is DoctorBenjyFM, where Ben plays Football Manager as fictional AFC Thames rise through English football: a profound window into fandom. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — DoctorBenjyFM, Curious Tangents, and Vlogbrothers grantees Soph's Notes and This Glorious Clockwork

  • ★★ John loves Curious Tangents, where Travis Gilbert models inquiry-based learning, exploring e.g. which kinds of stress are productive or the history of dragons. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ A chunk of Vlogbrothers ad revenue sponsors educational video projects, and John often discovers new favourite channels that way. — 00:00:56 · Vlogbrothers, online advertising
  • ★★ Recent grantee Soph's Notes makes hilarious but deeply informational videos (room for dessert, hangover science, the best planet to party on) that John remembers. — 00:00:56
  • ★★ Recent grantee This Glorious Clockwork makes beautiful biochemistry animations (such as on ATP synthase); John found he is interested, being himself a series of chemical reactions. — 00:01:24

00:01:54 — Karen Puzzles, Rosianna's 15 years on YouTube, It's Radish Time; discovering channels through P4A

  • ★★ John is a massive fan of Karen Puzzles, a beautifully shot, satisfying jigsaw puzzle channel by Karen Kavett, part of Nerdfighteria since 2007. — 00:01:54 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John's producing partner Rosianna Halse Rojas just marked 15 years on YouTube, more than half her life making videos. — 00:01:54 · Rosianna Halse Rojas, YouTube
  • ★★ John loves Rosianna's videos, especially her unhurried travel vlogs, such as bicycling across England. — 00:02:23 · Rosianna Halse Rojas, England
  • ★★ It's Radish Time's 2021 video postcards are stunning, poetic, brilliantly edited and unlike anything John has seen on YouTube. — 00:02:23 · YouTube
  • ★★ Every year during the P4A John discovers new channels to love as people make videos about their favourite charities. — 00:02:23 · Project for Awesome

00:02:52 — P4A video deadline, vision board, Julia's animated video and sign-off

  • ★★★ There is still time to make a Project for Awesome video; submit it by Wednesday (10 February 2021) at noon Eastern. — 00:02:52 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ As his 2021 vision board says, John wants a beautifully foolish Project for Awesome this year (2021). — 00:02:52 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ Even after 14 years on YouTube, John is still astonished by the community's creativity. — 00:02:52 · Nerdfighteria, YouTube
  • ★★ Last week (week of 1 February 2021) nerdfighter Julia, inspired by one of John's signing livestreams, made an animated video, Lo-Fi Lang Syne Beats to Sign Your Name 250,000 Times To; John closes with part of it. — 00:02:52 · Nerdfighteria

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: DoctorBenjyFM

Also: People: Rosianna Halse Rojas

Projects: Project for Awesome

Works: Football Manager · Lo Fi Lang Syne Beats to Sign Your Name 250000 Times To · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)

Organizations: Curious Tangents · It's Radish Time · Karen Puzzles · Soph's Notes · This Glorious Clockwork · YouTube

Concepts: ATP synthase · biochemistry · Fandom · inquiry-based learning · jigsaw puzzle · online advertising · vision board

Places: England

Characters: AFC Thames

Only in the description or credits: Julia (nerdfighter, mentioned from 2021) · Karen Kavett · Travis Gilbert

← Previous: The Project for Awesome will be Different This Year! · Next → Doing Better