i spend a lot of time watching video essays (whenever i'm cleaning, doing laundry, whatever) so i thought i'd log some of my favorites! this is a running list :)
Last edited by romanticchemist on Sun Sep 27, 2026 5:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
science all of these are video essays that make me incredibly curious and invested in science! (mostly chemistry / physics) the man who tried to fake an element - this is not necessarily about the controversy that the title refers to. it's a chronicle of element discovery and how, all along, people have raced to create new elements. also a great intro into chemistry and atomic structure, very nuanced and interesting. for sure a top video essay of all time. the mother of all science scandals - this is much more scandal-focused. definitely a beast, lol (it's three parts that were later combined into one video) but worth the watch for sure. bobbybroccoli is an amazing creator in general. the jan hendrik schon scandal - possibly my favorite video essay series of all time. the quality is insane, the content is insane, and i love to rewatch it over and over to pick up new stuff. it's also a beast but incredibly worth the watch in my opinion. i think if more people watched video essays like this, scientific illiteracy could dramatically decrease.
Last edited by romanticchemist on Sun Sep 27, 2026 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
current events this is kind of a catch-all for examinations of modern phenomena and events. everything wrong with airbnb - not much to say about this one except that gabi belle is incredibly funny while also imparting a lot of information. (she was my top youtuber last year, shhh) how dropshipping ruined online shopping - really opens your eyes to all of our amazon dropshipped crap...
bookish drama lots of stuff about booktok, events / books gone wrong, etc laura rae's entire world of gardian series - this is about an ambitious author on booktok who made...a lot of mistakes. i like laura rae's "controversy" videos because there is a lot of empathy and nuance extended to the people involved (as opposed to commentators who will continuously bash others) and this is a great example. it's definitely an interesting situation and i personally love how she gives us audio-only folks a lot of the visual information, lol
