I spend a lot of my time tumbling down rabbit holes on YouTube and I thought it was a good idea to share some of the videos and channels I’ve been watching in lockdown for you to enjoy them too.
So here’s a LOAD of things to watch on YouTube over the next month:
Entertainment
Citation Needed (Playlist) – A very funny game show devised by YouTuber Tom Scott where he gets his friends to guess stories published on Wikipedia. There are 52 episodes to watch which should keep you busy for a little bit!
Hidden in Plain Sight (Playlist) – My absolute favourite series on YouTube featuring a battle between boss and employee. The employee hides somewhere on company property and it’s up to the boss to find him and put him back to work.
Father of the Bride part 3 -ish – A kind of sequel, featuring the entire original cast. If you enjoyed the two films, you’ll love this.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (Channel) – It’s a little old now but just as fun to watch. If you like Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice, see what happens if Lizzie Bennet was a YouTuber
Foil, Arms and Hog (Channel) – Here’s a whole channel for you to enjoy. Foil, Arms and Hog are an Irish trio who put out hilarious skits each week.
Simone Giertz (Channel) – Simone is an inventor and her inventions are one of a kind. These include a coffee table made from matchsticks, a ‘proud parent’ machine, strange robots (that are mostly useless) and a paper shredder that looks like a brain.
Learn something new
Tom Scott (Channel) – Tom Scott is one of the best at exploring complicated topics, highlighting quirky subjects and explaining science in a way that everyone can understand. He also shows us some of the weirdest and most wonderful places in the world.
The Nerdwriter (Channel) – If you like video essays, here’s a good place to start. The Nerdwriter’s videos covert art and culture, touching on it in so many different ways. From Caravaggio and Ian McKellen to Fleetwood Mac and Mr Bean.
Great Big Story (Channel) – Whilst the channel has recently stopped producing new content, there’s still plenty of really interesting stories to discover here, all delivered in bitesize chunks. There’s not a single uninteresting story told on this channel.
Abandoned from Bright Sun Films (Playlist) – One series that Bright Sun Films produces is a fascinating look at how companies, theme parks, shopping malls and more go from humble beginnings, to peak success to being left abandoned.
Vox (Channel) – Vox pretty much covers every topic you can think of in short well-produced, engaging videos. Every subject is explained clearly and there are always new things to learn.
Food
Pass it on Challenge from SortedFood (Playlist) – All of SortedFood’s videos are entertaing, by their ‘pass it on’ relay challenge is my favourite. 2 chefs and 3 ‘normals’ take it in turn to complete a dish, without knowing what the person before them has done – always with mixed results!
Alex ‘French cooking guy’ (Channel) – You’ll never witness someone more passionate about food than this guy. His videos are funny, interesting and very entertaining as he tries to make the best food possible.
Almost every way to cook a… (Playlist) – This series from Bon Appetit looks at all the usual and not so usual ways to cook food items including eggs, potatoes, pizza and more. Whilst that sounds pretty dull, trust me when I say it’s anything but.
Film and TV
The Take (Channel) – A new favourite channel which explores particular tropes, characters and storylines in film and tv.
Lessons from the Screenplay (Channel) – If you’re interested in storytelling and examining the techniques screenwriters use in their storytelling, this is the series for you. There’s also a great podcast that runs alongside it.
Sideways (Channel) – A deep dive into music, movie soundtracks, scores and musicals. You’ll learn about music theory, why some songs and scores work so well and how music evokes emotion.
Technique Critique (Playlist) – What happens when you get experts in particular fields and ask them to critique film and tv shows? Doctors, hackers, accent coaches and a former CIA Chief of Disguise reveals all.
Now You See It (Channel) – Yes its another film and tv video essay channel, but there are some really interesting, well produced videos here. If you liked the others above, you’ll also enjoy this one.
Reverse film school from Vanity Fair (Playlist) – A short but fascinating playlist of videos which explain some of the most important roles on a film set.
Music
Choir! Choir! Choir! – Discover what happens if you bring a load of people together in one room (those were the days), teach them a song and then film it. The results are better than you might think. Their collaborations with Rufus Wainwright are pretty special, as was their performance of ‘With a little help from my friends’ sung on both sides of the Mexico/USA border.
Playing for Change (Channel) – An organisation who brings together musicians from all over the world to inspire and bring people together.
Postmodern Jukebox (Channel) – A massive collection of covers of modern songs given a vintage twist.
The Newfangled Four (Playlist) – You might be wondering why I’m putting a barbershop quartet on my list, but not only are they really talented, they’re also hilarious.
and finally, for my last recommendation, I give you Leo P at the 2017 BBC Proms. A must watch that’ll most likely leave your jaw on the floor:
If you enjoyed this list, you may also enjoy my top 5 podcast lists one and two.
Got some other YouTube channels you think are great and missing from my list? Let me know in the comments.