If you've spent any amount of time on YouTube, you've probably come across an educational video or two. Many of us watched Hank or John Green, teach us about science or history in high school. But, beyond the Green brothers, there are many other YouTube channels out there (both affiliated with the Green brothers and otherwise) that are producing great educational content.
1. Geography Now
As a self-professed geography lover, when I stumbled across Geography Now, I binged all the episodes over the weekend. Geography Now is working to profile every single country in the world (alphabetically, of course). Host, Paul Barbato (aka Barby or Barbs), keeps things entertaining with light-hearted jokes and nearly every episode has a guest host (sometimes from the country in question)! This channel is perfect for a crash course in geography and world cultures. As of writing, the Morocco episode
2. Sabrina Cruz
Formerly known as NerdyandQuirky, Sabrina Cruz, hosts Crash Course Kids and Snarled. Cruz, however, also posts educational content on her own channel, often about history and economics. From the origins of idioms to the history of Nintendo to using Rick and Morty to teach economics, Cruz uses creativity and comedy to make her educational content nerdy and quirky.
3. Sexplanations
While there's a slew of great sex educators on Youtube nowadays, Sexplanations, hosted by clinical sexologist Dr. Lindsey Doe, was one of the first. Covering everything your high school sex ed teacher decided to gloss over (or straight up lie about), Dr. Doe covers everything from sexualities to sex toys to laws that pertain to sex and sex education. Sexplanations is everything you ever wanted to know about sex in an inclusive and positive environment.
4. CGP Grey
CGP Grey uses animation, his sardonic wit, and his perfect-for-radio voice to educate on various subjects. Most videos pertain to science, technology, or history and even when discussing grim topics such as death, the videos remain interesting and funny. It's not all just science and tech though, CGP Grey has videos such as What are Continents? and Daylight Saving Time Explained. If you're a generally curious person and share a sarcastic sense of humor, you'll probably get lost in CGP Grey's videos.
5. thebrainscoop
thebrainscoop certainly isn't a channel for the faint of heart, but if you have a love for anatomy or fossils thebrainscoop offers an interesting look into the collection at The Field Museum in Chicago. It's hosted by Emily Graslie and many of the videos show her (or others) performing dissections or telling the story of an interesting specimen. It's not all animals and dissections though, there are videos on rare books in the museum collection, gems, and even Graslie's recommended reading. So, even if animal anatomy isn't your thing, there are many other videos on the channel to learn from.
6. The Art Assignment
The Art Assignment is a bi-weekly art and art history show hosted by art museum curator Sarah Urist Green. The show has featured guests including other famous YouTubers like Hannah Hart and Jon Cozart and works to discuss all mediums of art. You'll come out of The Art Assignment feeling more informed on a subject many outside the field are unaware of.
7. Buzzfeed Unsolved
Okay, this one is a stretch, I know. Buzzfeed Unsolved is a show hosted by Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej. The show covers unsolved crimes and supernatural happenings throughout history and today. The show will often tell stories from history and show the two hosts investigating onsite. While some aspects of the show are not educational, the show is perfect for anyone with an interest in true crime, psychology, or conspiracy theories. An off-shoot of Buzzfeed Unsolved is Ruining History, where Unsolved Host, Shane Madej, takes a well-known story or figure from history and tells the real story. Not only is this show hilarious, but it shows a more realistic and unforgiving picture of history.
8. It's Okay To Be Smart
It's Okay To Be Smart is a science education show hosted by Joe Hanson. The channel doesn't focus on just one branch of science but has covered topics such as why humans eat (and enjoy) spicy food, a salamander that can regrow limbs, and why blue is rare in nature. It's possible to spend hours watching videos on It's Okay To Be Smart, simply because the videos are geared towards a normal person's curiosity about the world.
9. Mental Floss
Mental Floss is one of my favorite educational YouTube channels. It takes the format of a listicle article (like this one) to provide a variable amount of facts on a chosen subject. The videos will sometimes even feature the host (usually John Green) trying out different life hacks to see if they work, or will tackle misconceptions about a chosen subject such as misconceptions about the wild west. The formatting of the show makes it easy to digest and learn and fun to watch.
10. AsapScience
AsapScience is a weekly science education show hosted by Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown. Again, this is another science channel that doesn't purely focus on one field of science, but rather posts videos about various topics within science. Animation is often used and all of their videos have an upbeat feel. The duo are an openly gay couple hoping to provide representation for LGBT people interested/ wanting to go into science, providing a wonderful heart to the channel that makes it easy to personally connect.
11. Khan Academy
Khan Academy has been known to save many student's math grades over the years and they use their YouTube channel(s) to help do so. While Khan Academy isn't a purely YouTube endeavor, the YouTube channel supplements the non-profit's mission of providing free education and educational materials. The videos often show equations and how to solve them and occasionally feature stories of teachers and students.
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