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ITS ALL HAPPENING

2025-03-18 · letter vlog · John, Elyse Marshall · 4:51 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Global development) · mode: Personal update · tags: timely hook, self promotion, on location, civic or action cta, heavy topic

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.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Release day: backstage at CBS Mornings and Morning Joe with Elise; the tour so far

  • ★★★ John says his book Everything Is Tuberculosis comes out today and that he is backstage at CBS Mornings, appropriately nervous. — 00:00:00 · Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★ After his CBS Mornings appearance John thinks he did all right, but says only Elyse really knows, and that she always says he nailed it. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★ Elyse Marshall: Elise tells John he nailed it and denies that she always says that. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John next goes on Morning Joe, a different television program, and gets to be anxious again. — 00:00:24
  • ★★ John says the book tour has been going for a couple of days and is very fun; it is sold out except near Philadelphia, where tickets remain. — 00:00:24
  • ★★ John says being with Nerdfighters in community makes him happy and brings him a lot of consolation. — 00:00:24 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:54 — Grateful to be tired, unlike Looking for Alaska's quiet publication day; four years of work

  • ★ John says live morning TV is the most stressful part, and now he goes back to the hotel to make a Vlogbrothers video. — 00:00:54 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ John admits he is tired after days of travelling around the country, and only getting started, but says he is grateful to be tired. (playful) — 00:00:54
  • ★★★ John recalls that nothing happened when Looking for Alaska came out: no TV, he went to work, came home and had a glass of wine with Sarah. (hedged) — 00:01:23 · Looking for Alaska (novel), Sarah Urist Green
  • ★★ John calls his release-day media tour an incredibly privileged way to publish, especially for a nonfiction book about tuberculosis. — 00:01:23 · Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★ John says the book is close to his heart, he has worked hard on it for four years, and he is excited to share it with the world. — 00:01:23 · Everything Is Tuberculosis

00:01:52 — Order a signed copy; Kirkus review; wishing the book were less timely; books as collaboration

  • ★★ Correcting himself from pre-order, John says viewers can now order a signed copy, or one of the rare unsigned copies where signed ones are gone. (playful) — 00:01:52 · Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★ John says the reviews have been good, with Kirkus calling the book a highly readable call to action that could not be more timely. — 00:01:52 · Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★★ John wishes the book were less timely: he never imagined publishing it while we suddenly and chaotically do so much to worsen the global TB crisis. — 00:01:52 · tuberculosis, Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★ John hopes someday to publish a version called Everything Was Tuberculosis, but confesses that day seems rather distant. (playful) — 00:02:21 · Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★★ John says every book is a collaboration with one name on the cover, and nonfiction like this one is deeply collaborative, impossible without many partners. — 00:02:21 · Everything Is Tuberculosis
  • ★★ John credits the book's partners, from tuberculosis researchers like Dr. Carole Mitnick and tuberculosis doctors like Dr. Girum Tefera to survivors like his friend Henry. — 00:02:51

00:02:58 — Follow Henry and Isatu's story: subscribe to Henry's YouTube channel

  • ★★★ John says readers will want to follow Henry and his mother Isatu in Sierra Leone, and asks viewers to subscribe to Henry's YouTube channel, linked in the description. — 00:02:58 · Sierra Leone, YouTube
  • ★★ John says Henry told him yesterday (17 March 2025) that his dream is 100,000 subscribers and the silver plaque, and asks viewers to help make it come true. — 00:02:58

00:03:20 — US spending cuts and a projected rise in drug-resistant tuberculosis

  • ★★★ John says US government spending cuts mean, by one estimate, a probable 30% increase in drug-resistant tuberculosis in the next couple of years. (hedged) — 00:03:20
  • ★★ John calls this devastating: drug-resistant TB is harder to cure for individuals, and more of it circulating gives it more chances to develop further resistance. — 00:03:20

00:03:49 — Tour gifts, Nerdfighteria, rejecting cynicism: the middle of the story; gratitude; sign-off

  • ★ John shows a bracelet someone gave him that says TB sucks and an amazing hand-knit sweater, as part of the magic of tour. (playful) — 00:03:49
  • ★★★ John says Nerdfighteria is the best and touring constantly reminds him he cannot afford to be hopeless; cynicism is not the right response now. — 00:03:49 · Nerdfighteria, hope
  • ★★★ John says it feels like we live at the end of the story, but this is the middle of the story, and together we have to fight for a better end. — 00:04:18 · hope
  • ★★ John is grateful to publish a book that follows his passion: it is rare and fortunate when an audience follows an author from young adult fiction to nonfiction about TB. — 00:04:18 · Everything Is Tuberculosis

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Everything Is Tuberculosis · Henry Reider · multidrug-resistant tuberculosis · tuberculosis

Also: People: Elyse Marshall · Isatu · Sarah Urist Green

Works: CBS Mornings · Looking for Alaska (novel) · Morning Joe

Organizations: Federal government of the United States · Kirkus Reviews · YouTube

Concepts: cynicism · hope · nonfiction · young adult literature

Places: Philadelphia · Sierra Leone

Products: YouTube Creator Awards

Only in the description or credits: Carole Mitnick · Girum Tefera

Also centred on Henry Reider: Henry · Poverty Is Expensive

Also centred on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: Barely Contained Rage: An Open Letter to Johnson & Johnson · Talking Tuberculosis, GeneXpert, J&J, and more with MY HEROES · MASSIVE Tuberculosis News · End of a Rough Year · Real Reasons for Hope

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