About a month ago, the brilliant and educational PBS Idea Channel announced the end of its nearly five year run. Hosted by Mike Rugnetta, the channel delved deep into a myriad of topics while asking insightful questions and diving deep below the surface level appearances.

Things like:

Are Bronies Changing The Idea Of Masculinity?

Is Miku Hatsune A More Authentic Pop Star Than Lana Del Rey

Is Avatar: The Last Airbender Anime

Is Ron Dumbeldore

Why Doesn't Hollywood Cast More Asian Actors

And over a hundred more.

Not only did the show dive headfirst into these philosophical inquiries of pop culture, but it did so while often times providing sources and external materials for someone looking to research on their own. There was also always a portion of the video (later becoming its own video) dedicated to responding to comments on previous episodes.

The channel provided an engaging and interesting way for one to interact and consume the media around them. Fidget spinners, anime, emojis, dubstep, nothing was off limits and the conversations were fun and I always came away learning something new.

PBS Idea Channel was and is one of my favorite channels on YouTube, and with less than a million subscribers, I considered it one of the greatest hidden treasures on the platform. It was wonderfully written, and Mike made for a great host.

All good things eventually come to an end, and I suppose this channel is no different.

Don't get me wrong, I love all sorts of media that YouTube creators have to offer. From fitness gurus to players, daily vloggers to cover artists, even some beauty channels and of course tech tubers.

But when I want to learn something new or gain a new perspective, PBS Idea Channel was one of the first places I looked. However, all is not lost. There are still plenty of amazing channels and creators with amazing content worth checking out.

To name drop a few:

Nerdwriter1

Every Frame A Painting

Vsauce

Kurzgesagt

Tested

Nerdsync

All of these creators offer intriguing, well-organized content for any curious mind to consume. And these are just a small sample of the numerous other channels online offering more than your typical daily vlog or prank video.

PBS Idea Channel will be deeply missed and I wish Mike the best in his future endeavors.

But what about you? What are some of your favorite YouTube channels? Were you a fan of PBS Idea Channel or any of the others I mentioned? Let me know and share your favorites. I'm always looking for more things to fuel my procrastination.