To all my wonderful reader(s?), I’d like to thank you for coming with me on this YouTuber journey! I wish I had started this series earlier, so I could talk more about some of my favorite video essayists but alas, how time flies. In order to make up for seven semesters without content, I’m doing a YouTube speed round. I’m disregarding my limit of subscribers in order to make sure you get a complete, Basil Hand-approved list of people whose content you should watch. Without further ado, here are my picks for Youtubers that are critical for you to check out.
Politics
Hbomberguy: The gold standard of video essayists. A founding father of ‘BreadTube.’ If you are into politics at all, watch his stuff. Even if you aren’t, he covers plenty of other topics too. He has a unique, manic energy in all of his videos that is incredibly endearing and makes every video a blast.
My recommendation: “Climate Denial: A Measured Response”
ContraPoints: If Hbomberguy is the founding father, ContraPoints is the founding mother. (She is so mother.) Her master’s degree in philosophy alongside her aesthetic cinematography, set and outfits makes each of her videos a complete experience. She covers conceptual topics like justice or envy, and concrete topics, like J.K. Rowling or Jordan Peterson.
My recommendation: “Incels | ContraPoints”
F.D Signifier: F.D Signifier fills a significant gap in the YouTuber sphere, being a Black leftist. His content focuses primarily on Blackness or issues within the Black community. He also covers politics generally, with one notable video of his being the analysis of the manosphere and its components.
My recommendation: “Obama and the Myth of Black Excellence” (Parts 1 and 2)
Big Joel: A lot of Joel’s content revolves around weird political media. Coverage of the “God’s Not Dead” series? You’ve got it. But he also does more than that, and his interests are so diverse that you’re bound to vibe with one of his videos.
My recommendation: “The Vacant Politics of New Black Mirror” and “God Is Weird: A Close Look at Adam and Eve”
Matt Bernstein: You’re probably familiar with Instagram graphics with tie-dye pastel backgrounds dunking on queer-phobic rhetoric or general conservative talking points. Those posts were made by Matt Bernstein. Never one to be limited, he made a YouTube channel, where he talks with a variety of cool people (and YouTubers) about relevant political and LGBTQ+ topics in a podcast style. He’s a great watch and a great way to learn more about other YouTubers — you may see some overlap in his guests and this list!
My recommendation: “Transvestigating (with Contrapoints)”
Pop culture
Alexander Avila: Formerly known as AreTheyGay, Avila’s rebrand signals a more formal channel (while still very queer) that is free to explore various cultural areas.
My recommendation: “TikTok Gave Me Autism: The Politics of Self Diagnosis”
Lindsay Ellis: I invoked her name in my previous article, and while she no longer makes videos on Youtube (you can watch her new stuff on Nebula), her backlog is worth going through. Her attention to detail and commitment to a bit makes her a powerful force in the YouTube sphere. She covers musicals, furry politics and, most recently, the Beatles.
My recommendation: “Why is Cats?”
Fundie Fridays: This husband-wife duo makes me happy to be from Missouri. The two of them, “Reverend Jen” and “King James” cover the religious fundamentalism multiverse and American politics.
My recommendation: “‘Legitimate R***’| The Story of Todd Akin vs Claire McCaskill”
Gaming
Hbomberguy: Not to be pigeon-holed, Mr. BomberGuy has covered video games with thoughtful analysis.
My recommendation: “Fallout: New Vegas is Genius, And Here’s Why”
Joseph Anderson: He has two personas; his very thoughtful video game critic and his chaotic Twitch streamer persona. Both are equally enjoyable. In both spheres, he tackles AAA games as well as indie masterpieces. He has a penchant for both puzzle games as well as popular Japanese role-playing games.
My recommendation: Zero Escape stream highlights and “The Villain of Edith Finch”
Ludiscere: While he only has a handful of videos, there is a deep love for the genre of video games to be found in each one. Long and comprehensive, they delve into mythological inspiration for games as well as picking apart narrative elements.
My recommendation: “The Mythology Behind Pentiment”
Any Austin: Have you ever wondered about the unemployment rate of various Skyrim cities? Where do the birds in Red Dead Redemption go? Any Austin thinks about these small, world-building details and makes content about them. Short and simple answers to questions you probably didn’t think of.
My recommendation: “What Does Skyrim (Literally) Feel Like?”
Miscellaneous
Jenny Nicholson: You’ve probably heard of her 4-hour-long Star Wars hotel video that dropped this past summer, but did you know she has an extensive catalog of videos on a plethora of topics? Her videos always enthrall me, her costumes are always top tier and she educates me on things I didn’t know existed.
My recommendation is: “The Church Play Cinematic Universe”
Defunctland: His channel holds my favorite video of all time, “Disney’s FastPass: A Complicated History.” His documentary-level content is definitely worth the watch. Although most of it is focused on theme parks, some of his newer content branches out into theme songs and animatronics.
My recommendation: “Disney’s FastPass: A Complicated History”
Todd in the Shadows: Todd’s ‘the’ music guy who reviews songs throughout the year as well as one-hit wonders. It’s a fun walk down memory lane, as he’s been doing the top ten hits of the year since 2010. What does he look like? Who knows.
My recommendation: “The Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2024”
I’d like to thank you all for reading these articles, and I hope that at least one among this multitude of YouTubers appeals to your sensibilities. It’s been an honor.
