Vlogbrothers in 2019
John spent the year off social media and reported he was happier without it, while the brothers traded videos on burnout. After visiting Sierra Leone's only psychiatric hospital, which Partners In Health supports, John announced in October that the brothers' families would give $6.5 million over five years to Partners In Health Sierra Leone. John promoted Hulu's Looking for Alaska series and the Netflix film Let It Snow, and launched the poetry channel Ours Poetica. Hank started Journey to the Microcosmos and a Bizarre Beasts pin subscription and finished a draft of his sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor; John said the year's Project for Awesome raised over $1.3 million.
110 videos, 7.8 hours.
Start here: What Game of Thrones is Really About · The Amazon isn't "Burning" - It's Being Burned · Why Are Poor Countries Poor?
Main stories
The stories that moved in the most videos of the year (an announcement, launch, milestone, update or result — not a look back), with how many videos each moved in and where it stands now.
- John: take a year off Facebook, Reddit, Instagram and Twitter, starting when P4A 2018 ends (2018) (9) · now: changed
- A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: Hank's sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) (7) · now: completed
- Looking for Alaska limited series on Hulu (2018) (6) · now: completed
- Life's Library book club: launch and first year (2018) (6) · now: last documented in 2019 (looked back on in 2020)
- Partners In Health maternal health project in Liberia funded by DFTBA profit (2019) (6) · now: completed
- Bizarre Beasts: Hank's weird-animal videos for John (2019) (5) · now: running
- P4A 2019 edition (5) · now: completed
- Let It Snow film adaptation (2011) (4) · now: last documented in 2019
By the numbers
Main speaker: Hank 57, John 53; median length 3:56; formats: letter vlog 47, explainer 26, list 8, story 7, Q&A 6, announcement 5, collab / interview 4, compilation 2, documentary visit 2, review / recommendation 1, challenge / punishment 1, other 1.
All videos of the year
January
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-01-01 | How to Make Goals, Not Resolutions | letter vlog | John | Everyday life (also: Projects, US politics & society) |
| 2019-01-04 | Bid Daddy Likes Pork Rinds - P4A Recap 2018! | compilation | Hank, a guest | Global development |
| 2019-01-08 | I Quit Social Media. Here's How It's Going | letter vlog | John | Internet & YouTube |
| 2019-01-11 | What is Burnout? | letter vlog | Hank | Health |
| 2019-01-15 | On Burning Resentment | letter vlog | John | Books & writing |
| 2019-01-18 | Should You Burn Dirty Fuel? | letter vlog | Hank | Health (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-01-22 | Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle's Let It Snow | letter vlog | John | Internet & YouTube (also: Books & writing) |
| 2019-01-25 | A Floridian's Guide to Living Someplace Very Very Cold | list | Hank | Everyday life (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-01-29 | Do You Believe in Miracles? | letter vlog | John | Sports (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
February
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-02-01 | We Have Destroyed Copyright Law | explainer | Hank | Internet & YouTube |
| 2019-02-05 | Deepfake: A Brief History of Unreliable Images | explainer | John | Internet & YouTube (also: History & curiosities) |
| 2019-02-08 | Screwing Up: Two Stories From When I Worked at a TV Station | story | Hank | Everyday life (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-02-12 | Are Textbooks Obsolete? | letter vlog | John | Everyday life |
| 2019-02-15 | The Most Bizarre Stock Photos I Could Find Brought to Life by Your Captions | list | Hank | Internet & YouTube |
| 2019-02-19 | Battling Apathy and Searching for Meaning on Question Tuesday | Q&A | John | Nerdfighteria (also: Philosophy & meaning, Health) |
| 2019-02-22 | I Don't Want The Same Things Anymore | letter vlog | Hank | Projects (also: Internet & YouTube) |
| 2019-02-26 | The Necessity to Struggle / The Futility of Effort | letter vlog | John | Philosophy & meaning |
March
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-01 | I Get a Robocall While Making a Video About Robocalls | letter vlog | Hank | US politics & society |
| 2019-03-05 | Way, Way Down the Rabbit Hole | story | John | History & curiosities (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-03-08 | Does "The Press" Hate YouTube? | letter vlog | Hank | Internet & YouTube |
| 2019-03-12 | Going Home with Alaska and Miles | letter vlog | John | Books & writing |
| 2019-03-15 | Why We Stopped Making Explainers: EXPLAINED | letter vlog | Hank | Internet & YouTube (also: Nerdfighteria) |
| 2019-03-19 | Writing and Marriage Advice from Michelle Obama | collab / interview | John, Michelle Obama | Books & writing (also: Everyday life) |
| 2019-03-22 | How to Get a Colonoscopy | explainer | Hank | Health (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-03-26 | Optimism and Spider People: Question Tuesday from the Looking for Alaska Set | Q&A | John | Nerdfighteria (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-03-29 | The Largest Theft of All Time | explainer | Hank | US politics & society (also: History & curiosities) |
April
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-04-05 | TOO MANY MILKS | letter vlog | Hank | Personal life (also: Global development, Projects, +3) |
| 2019-04-09 | The Only Psychiatric Hospital in Sierra Leone | documentary visit | John | Global development |
| 2019-04-12 | Escalators: We're Not Doing it Wrong (Mostly) | review / recommendation | Hank | Internet & YouTube (also: Everyday life) |
| 2019-04-16 | Doing Somethings | letter vlog | John | Philosophy & meaning (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-04-19 | Making your Nothings into Somethings | letter vlog | Hank, John | Philosophy & meaning (also: Personal life, Books & writing, Internet & YouTube) |
| 2019-04-23 | untitled | letter vlog | John | Books & writing (also: Internet & YouTube) |
| 2019-04-26 | It's Time to Care About "Business" | letter vlog | Hank | Economics (also: Internet & YouTube) |
| 2019-04-30 | The Thing with Feathers | letter vlog | John | Sports |
May
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-03 | What Game of Thrones is Really About | explainer | Hank | Science & nature (also: Pop culture) |
| 2019-05-07 | How I Read and Why | letter vlog | John | Books & writing |
| 2019-05-10 | The Worst Product Ever | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
| 2019-05-14 | An Open Letter to Professional YouTubers | list | John | Internet & YouTube |
| 2019-05-17 | Keanu. | letter vlog | Hank | Pop culture (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-05-21 | Keanu Reeves: A Love Letter | letter vlog | John | Pop culture (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-05-24 | The Monterey Bay Aquarium Has a Secret | documentary visit | Hank | Science & nature |
| 2019-05-28 | 3 Minutes and 58 Seconds of Darkness | letter vlog | John | Philosophy & meaning (also: Internet & YouTube, Personal life) |
| 2019-05-31 | Uncomfortable Nuance: Natural Gas Edition | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
June
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-04 | On Sharing the Walk | story | John | Sports (also: Health) |
| 2019-06-07 | 8 Things I Wish I Knew When I was Writing my First Novel | list | Hank | Books & writing |
| 2019-06-11 | Why I Haven't Written a New Book | letter vlog | John | Books & writing |
| 2019-06-14 | What /Actually/ Happened at Chernobyl | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
| 2019-06-18 | Question Tuesday with Miles and the Colonel: Manolo! | collab / interview | John, Charlie Plummer | Books & writing |
| 2019-06-21 | How to Lie While Telling the Truth | explainer | Hank | Internet & YouTube (also: Science & nature) |
| 2019-06-25 | Seemed Like a Good Idea: Eugene Schieffelin and the European Starlings | explainer | John | History & curiosities (also: Science & nature) |
| 2019-06-28 | My New Obsession | announcement | Hank | Projects (also: Science & nature) |
July
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-07-02 | On Sunlight | letter vlog | John | Philosophy & meaning (also: Science & nature) |
| 2019-07-05 | You Need to Know About This Ridiculous Fish | explainer | Hank | Science & nature (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-07-09 | Life Hacks My Wife Taught Me | list | John | Everyday life (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-07-12 | Why Are We Still Doing This? - Reunion Video! | Q&A | Hank, John | Nerdfighteria |
| 2019-07-16 | star struck | letter vlog | John | Pop culture (also: Nerdfighteria) |
| 2019-07-19 | In Which Hank Consumes the Juice of Over 400 Gushers | challenge / punishment | Hank | Nerdfighteria (also: Projects) |
| 2019-07-23 | What to Love and How | letter vlog | John, Alice Green | Sports (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-07-26 | The Best $10,000 I Ever Spent | letter vlog | Hank | Economics (also: Personal life, Health) |
| 2019-07-30 | The Mexican Repatriation | explainer | John | History & curiosities (also: US politics & society) |
August
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-08-02 | The Cutest Octopus | explainer | Hank | Science & nature (also: Projects) |
| 2019-08-03 | I Love John: Esther Day 2019 | letter vlog | Hank | Nerdfighteria (also: Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-08-06 | Uncertain and Afraid | letter vlog | John | US politics & society (also: Books & writing, Philosophy & meaning) |
| 2019-08-09 | Decluttering the Somewhat Embarrassing Nightstand of a 39 Year-Old Best-Selling Author | list | Hank | Personal life |
| 2019-08-13 | How I (barely) Passed 11th Grade English | story | John | Books & writing |
| 2019-08-16 | ...Not My Proudest Moment | story | Hank | US politics & society (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-08-20 | Hank and John's Smooth Airport Reunion | Q&A | John, Hank | Nerdfighteria |
| 2019-08-23 | The Amazon isn't "Burning" - It's Being Burned | explainer | Hank | World affairs (also: Science & nature) |
| 2019-08-27 | Are Viruses Necessary? | explainer | John | Science & nature |
| 2019-08-30 | The Earth Shouldn't Have Oxygen | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
September
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-09-03 | Death, Love, and John's Religion: The Big Questions Take Over Question Tuesday | Q&A | John | Philosophy & meaning (also: US politics & society, Science & nature, Everyday life) |
| 2019-09-06 | Trump is Abnormal, It's His Superpower | explainer | Hank | US politics & society |
| 2019-09-10 | Another Contender in the Room | letter vlog | John | Books & writing (also: Pop culture, Personal life) |
| 2019-09-13 | You Need to Know About This Caterpillar | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
| 2019-09-17 | 'end the stigma' | explainer | John | Health |
| 2019-09-20 | Why Does Australia... (this video is bad, I'm sorry) | explainer | Hank | Pop culture (also: Internet & YouTube, Science & nature) |
| 2019-09-24 | I, Too, Dislike It | letter vlog | John, Julian Randall | Books & writing (also: Projects) |
| 2019-09-27 | Crisis | letter vlog | Hank | Philosophy & meaning (also: Science & nature) |
October
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-10-01 | Why Are Poor Countries Poor? | explainer | John, Bailor Barrie | Global development |
| 2019-10-04 | In Defense of Bad Flags | letter vlog | Hank | History & curiosities |
| 2019-10-08 | Looking for Alaska (...with Alaska) | collab / interview | John, Kristine Froseth | Books & writing |
| 2019-10-11 | Your Life Will be Better After you Know About Frogmouths | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
| 2019-10-15 | I'm Having a Lot of Feelings | letter vlog | John | Health (also: Books & writing, Personal life) |
| 2019-10-18 | They Hacked Me | letter vlog | Hank | Internet & YouTube (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-10-22 | Why We're Donating $6,500,000 | announcement | John | Global development |
| 2019-10-25 | Unscripted and Unhinged | letter vlog | Hank | Global development (also: Projects) |
| 2019-10-28 | PIZZAMAS IS HERE!!!! | announcement | John | Projects (also: Nerdfighteria) |
| 2019-10-29 | The Truth about None Pizza with Left Beef | letter vlog | Hank | Internet & YouTube (also: Personal life) |
| 2019-10-30 | this is a video about pineapples. | explainer | John | History & curiosities (also: Projects) |
| 2019-10-31 | Book News! | Q&A | Hank | Books & writing |
November
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-11-01 | On Looking Up to Your Little Brother | letter vlog | John | Books & writing |
| 2019-11-04 | This Cat Makes No Sense | explainer | Hank | Science & nature |
| 2019-11-05 | Letting It Snow with Kiernan Shipka, Shameik Moore, Anna Akana, and Blogbrother John Green | collab / interview | John, Kiernan Shipka | Books & writing |
| 2019-11-06 | Can You Be a Good Person in 2019? | letter vlog | Hank | Philosophy & meaning (also: Pop culture) |
| 2019-11-07 | I took a year off social media. Here's what happened. | letter vlog | John | Internet & YouTube (also: Books & writing) |
| 2019-11-08 | Trolling Through John's YouTube History...GUESS WHAT I FOUND!? | list | Hank | Internet & YouTube |
| 2019-11-12 | still learning | story | John | Books & writing (also: History & curiosities) |
| 2019-11-15 | Are audiobooks worse? | letter vlog | Hank | Books & writing (also: Projects) |
| 2019-11-19 | Kylie Jenner Shows Me What's Wrong with Reddit | letter vlog | John | Internet & YouTube (also: Economics) |
| 2019-11-22 | I'm Just Really Mad About Heteronyms… | explainer | Hank | History & curiosities |
| 2019-11-26 | old fashioned parts video | announcement | John | Global development (also: Nerdfighteria, Personal life, Internet & YouTube) |
| 2019-11-29 | My Most Controversial Opinion | other | Hank | Internet & YouTube |
December
| date | video | format | by | topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-12-03 | We Are Cats Now, I Guess? | announcement | John | Global development |
| 2019-12-06 | It is Much Easier to Destroy than Create | letter vlog | Hank | Everyday life (also: Global development) |
| 2019-12-10 | On Loneliness | letter vlog | John | Health |
| 2019-12-13 | Is This the Cutest Animal Noise? | explainer | Hank, Jessi Knudsen Castañeda | Science & nature |
| 2019-12-17 | The Best Days of My Decade | list | John | Personal life (also: Books & writing, Sports) |
| 2019-12-20 | Reading the First Chapter of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor | story | Hank | Books & writing |
| 2019-12-27 | Why I'm Worried about 2020 | letter vlog | Hank | Philosophy & meaning (also: US politics & society) |
| 2019-12-31 | Project for Awesome 2019 Recap (BUTT IS LEGS) | compilation | Hank, a guest | Global development |