GIFTED VIDEO-JOURNALISM
Explainers
Those With Skills To Show
Last update: 30/09/2024
Where Explainers Have Come From
In February 2005 three PayPal* employees started YouTube for home made videos. One year later Google bought them out for $1.65billion -a life-changing deal for the three. Google wanted to monetise it (I hate that word) so to everyone’s disappointment introduced advertising in August 2007. Possibly in order to offset that in December that year they introduced their Partner Program where content creators could set up Channels and receive a small reward. This still operates and is on a sliding scale so that the more Subscribers to a video there are the more reward given. Having secured sponsorship deals, in order to bolster quality, many people have taken up the method as their primary income and have become successful. Let’s look at just a few that I take an interest in. They will normally inform STEM** subjects. See here..
*PayPal was one of Elon Musk’s Xcom companies -his networth is about $250billion.
**Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
Not Numberphile:
Tom Scott
A
LANGUAGES
Rob Watts
“Word facts and language fun. This is a channel for lovers and learners of English. It'll tell you where the words we use come from and why we say the things we say.
YT Channels: RobWords
Prof Hanna Fry
Specialises in the mathematics of cities but very interestingly so.
Hannah’s website: hannahfry.co.uk
YT Examples
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•The system of planning devised in 1842 is still the best way:
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•Decoding relationships:
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•And even on Have I Got News For You:
Conversations
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•A refreshingly intelligent and mature discussion of Hannah’s view of Maths teaching, monogamy, why dating apps need rewriting, confidence is a spectrum, intellectual humility, communicating about cancer, her hysterectomy and lymphedema, patient vulnerability when faced with only stark choices, medical continuity is proactive, there are no shortcuts to good health, struggles are worth it. What you’ll hear so often is “I could not agree with you more..” With Dr Mike Varshavski:
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•Three remarkable aspects of dating with a humerous twist:
Dr James Grime
Starting at Cambridge James now lectures around the world with specialisms are group theory (the mathematics of symmetry) and combinatorics (the mathematics of networks and solving problems with diagrams and pictures). James also has a keen interest in cryptography (the mathematics of codes and secret messages), probability (games, gambling and predicting the future) and number theory (the properties of numbers).
James’ website: www.singingbanana.com
YT Examples
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Brady Haran has been making videos since 2009. Brought up in Australia he started at the University Of Nottingham with a quest to give an explanation of every book in the Bible and many well-known verses from it. This has been compiled here: Bibledex.com
Brady’s own story is linked by clicking his photo (right).
A little while after starting he was employed by trading risk management company Jane Street to produce mathematically informative videos. He has also produced work under the following: Periodic Videos, Objectivity and Sixty Symbols. In 2021 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and in 2016 the University of Nottingham awarded him an Honorary Doctorate.
Numberfile1 & 2
Videos about numbers and mathematics: www.numberphile.com Click the icon right for all of Numberfile1’s YouTubes.
Or click here for their podcasts: Numberphile2.
Brady’s relaxed informal, yet intelligent, style encourages explainers to get quickly to the nitty gritty of why we would want to understand their chosen subject and then they get down to do it, usually on the trademark brown parcel paper, in a rather affable way. See for yourself..
THE EXPLAINERS (in surname alphabetical order)..
Click photo for his own story
Steve Mould
A
website:
YT Examples
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Matt Parker
A
website:
YT Examples
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Ben Sparks
A
website:
YT Examples
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Disclaimer
Whilst some care has been taken to check externally linked websites no responsibility is offered nor implied for the suitability, legality or reliability of content therein.