YouTube is a treasure trove of information, but it often spams you with a lot of useless recommendations and it can be quite hard to filter through all the noise. So I thought I’d list down a few channels that can help improve your understanding of the world.

Great Big Story

If you’re someone who likes content about cultures from around the globe and listening to stories of common people, you will love this channel. They come out with some of the most interesting stories you’ll find on the internet, and the best part is that their videos are short, so they don’t bore you with too many details

Recommendations: Why not start with 2 stories from Kerala?! 

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell 

These guys come out with some of the most beautifully crafted videos (about science) you’ll find on the internet. They cover a wide array of topics and explain concepts in the simplest of ways. 

Recommendations: UFO videos took the internet by storm last month, and aliens have become a topic of discussion. So you might want to start with

Or you could check out how the stock exchange works as the news is flooded with talks of COVID-19 is affect the stock market and how there’s going to be a big market crash soon.

TED-Ed

Most of you would’ve heard at least one Ted Talk by now. If TED Talks are about “ideas worth spreading”, TED-Ed is about “lessons worth sharing”. Animators and educators from around the world collaborate to create some really informative videos.

Recommendations: Have you wondered why most stories have the same character arcs? Joseph Campbell called it the Hero’s Journey. Here’s a video that explains what that is.

Or if you’re someone who likes solving puzzles, you should check out their Can You Solve This Riddle? playlist.

Vox

The Vox team picks up topics that are making headlines and creates videos to help us understand what’s driving these events. 

Recommendations: So everyone is blaming China for the COVID outbreak. But do we really know how the wet markets are linked to the outbreak?

Or you could check out this one to understand how COVID is worse than the seasonal flu.

History Buffs

If you’re a movie buff, you’re bound to have watched many movies based on historical events. This channel verifies the historical accuracy of the movies and gives you insight into what really happened. Be warned though, many of your favourite movies might turn out to be historically inaccurate.

Recommendations: Go through the playlist and pick a movie that you’ve seen. I’d recommend Gladiator and Braveheart if you’ve seen the movies.

Binging with Babish

The internet is filled with cooking videos and so I thought I’d share one from that category in the list. But this is not your average cooking channel. This one covers recipes from popular movies and TV shows. Now, isn’t that something interesting?!

Recommendations: If you’re a Rick & Morty fan, you might want to check out

Or drool on this Pasta Aglio e Olio recipe from Chef.

Every Frame A Painting

This channel was active for around 2 years and made 29 video essays about the film form. If you like the art of cinema, you’ll love their videos.

Recommendations:

Or

Nerdwriter1

The Nerdwriter comes out with some brilliant video essays about a variety of interesting topics. His videos will tickle your curious bones, and if you’re a content creator, there’s plenty of inspiration that you can draw from his videos.

Recommendations: If you’re someone who liked Robin Williams, you should check out

Or if you’re someone who was surprised by Bob Dylan winning the Nobel Prize, you should watch

PBS Eons

This channel takes you through the history of life on Earth, basically ‘pre-history’. They cover everything from the origins of life to dinosaurs, from how dogs became our best friends to how we came to conquer the planet.

Recommendations: You must’ve heard of how most of the dinosaurs all died out in one extinction event. But that was just one of many extinction events.

Or

It’s Okay To Be Smart

The host Joe Hanson tries to cover almost everything under the sun and has quite a few great videos.

Recommendation: We humans seem to think that we’re a huge deal. But here’s a video that will show you how we’re nothing but a blip in time.

Wisecrack

This channel explores philosophy and critical thinking through pop culture. Their videos will train you to look at movies and TV series with a different lens. 

Recommendations: If you’re a Tolkien fan, you might like

Or you can start with

Did I mention your favourite channels? If not, share your recommendations in the comments section.