For me it was “The Most Controversial Children’s Book in History” by Solar Sands, in which he analyzes The Giving Tree. It led me to think about my relationship with my parents, and about what kind of relationship I might have with my kids if I ever become a parent.
I can’t say recently, or maybe I can’t think of one. But if I look back two come mind:
BobbyBroccoli and his assay on Jan Hendrik Schön were several hours of: wtf?! Watch it on Nebula if you can.
Several talks from David Kriesel at the CCC. I loved them all but the Xerox talk really surprised me.
Patrick Willems Are Music Biopics Good Now and TENET And A Celebration Of Vibes Movies.
I’m a big movie fan and have only recently discovered this channel but I find it has a nice mix of interesting takes backed up with citations from academia.
Everything by Patrick is great. His video on Speed Racer is so good. I love that movie so much. His Star Wars Christmas Special is what finally swayed me to subscribe to Nebula.
Everything by Contrapoints and Thought Slime.
“who’s afraid of modern art” by Jacob Geller, also all his videos really.
Panspermia, by melodysheep. Part of his “Life Beyond” series. Highly recommended if you like science, biology, astrobiology and existential crisis.
That whole series is great, I rewatch it every so often
Evan Eddinger’s video on quitting kratom. “This gas station drug nearly ruined my life.” I had no idea what kratom was even though I had met many users. Less recently, Lindsay Ellis made an amazing video discussing the Palestinian genocide and the problems of refusing to talk about it. “The Unforgivable Sin of Ms Rachel” I think it’s fair to say it was the best video essay I saw in 2025.
I will second the one about Rachel. It does one of the best jobs explaining the whole mess with Israel and the Palestinians. I knew it all already, but it was well done and thorough.
I also watched Evan’s video on Kratom and while I kinda knew what it was, I was unaware of all the details (and also how fucking rampant it had becoming in stores.) I had worked at a vape shop for a hot minute and we sold some Kratom pills and powders, but it was all clearly labeled as Kratom and put behind a locked case.
I’m so glad I never decided to try it while I was working there. The only thing I knew about it was some people used it to get themselves off opioids, and I just got a weird feeling about that lol
Lindsey’s video is so good and so depressing.
Basically any one of the various NotJustBikes videos highlighting shitty half-assed infrastructure designs in north American cities throughout the US and Canada.
People rarely complain about infrastructure to thier local governments so nothing rarely improves
Great channel. In a similar vein, I recommend Adam Something.
Benn Jordan’s videos on flock cameras is really eye opening non how bad the surveillance state has gotten here in the US. Not just how ubiquitous they are but also how insecure and vulnerable to abuse the whole system is.
He just released a follow up to his first where he showed the cameras are accessible online with no password protection. 30 days of recording plus the live feed…
It’s shocking how we put in laws to prevent the surveillance state, but the laws didn’t restrict corporations. So now corporations have become the new surveillance state.
I recently rewatched “Pathologic is Genius and here’s why” by Hbomberguy.
It reminds me how much video games are/were an art medium in addition to entertainment.
I’ve never played this game, but it’s made me appreciate the art form of a game more I think.
I downloaded that video and every now and then I listen to it again while doing the dishes. I love all of Hbomb’s essays honestly, I’m not sure how to describe it, but his style makes them very entertaining to watch/listen.
OOF.mp3 might actually be my favorite of his videos because of the sheer insanity of Tallerico.
He wasn’t even on Cribs!
Turns out, if something is easy to fact check - nobody does!
The one that I will probably never forget is Metropolis (2001): How Capitalism Produces Fascism by Chumpy.
It demonstrates and explains why authoritarians like Trump try to enrage the populace. That and it shows how capitalism inevitably creates fascism.
I probably won’t forget this till I bite the dust.
oh you’ll keep Erich Fromm - Escape From Freedom on your bedside table forever then
about how authoritarian characters are similar across governing systems and why. also exploring why capitalism brings such characters up as a default
Thanks for the recommendation!
I’ll definitely give that a read once I’ve some free time👍
This one actually just dropped today so obviously it’s on the forefront of my mind, The Thousand Faces of Cassian Andor by AtTorr. Goes in depth on how Tony Gilroy basically dared Disney to blink and they somehow didn’t. AtTorr goes through the entire first season linking our historical revolutions that inspired Gilroy to the shows fictional one.
Even if you aren’t a Star Wars fan and have no interest in watching the show, it is a powerful piece of media and this essay highlights exactly why it’s message is timeless. It does not however answer the question on everyone’s mind, “How did Disney allow this to get made?!”
Looking forward to watching that when I have time.
I think one of the more surprising things about Andor is that Disney somehow didn’t mess up the second season after the first went ‘under the radar’. And Gilroy closed it up so tight there’s no space for a 3rd.
I know people are probably tired of hearing it, but Andor is probably the best Star Wars “thing” that’s been produced. It does it without Jedi or The Force or awkward lingering shots on nostalgia bait. And it has the remove of fantasy/sci-fi so real world factors don’t drag it down into the weeds.
The original movies are classics, the prequels are fun, there’s lots of good books/shows/etc. Andor cuts to the heart of the difficulties of fighting back against fascism. The Empire breaks everyone on the show, on either side. Most of the people making meaningful action are forgotten. Some causes are necessary.
Most of the ones by “Horses”
I watched a video essay that ranked the Big Ten Lacrosse teams. I was impressed with how much effort the two gents put into the review and how thorough it was.
Can you share? I played collegiate lacrosse but am so out of touch of what lacrosse is like these days
Here you go.
That crew also did a really good review of the ACC. I am hoping that they will do a review of the IVY League.
There is a LAX instance/communiy on Lemmy but it doesn’t have a lot of activity. Here is a link to it as well.
Aesthetics of Fascism
cis-men’s bodies have always been fetischized, alienated from, under fascism. metallized men.
Ben Hoerman makes great videos. I really liked them.
