youtube
Project Code Name
Why do corporate restructuring plans get code names the way operating systems do? And why are the names often so bizarre?
Jump on that fire horse?
I just watched an obscure youtube video lol, It's a brand new account with one single video posted yesterday (02/10/2026) titled "why and how to jump on a fire horse." The general vibe of the video? really strange, really good, just some baddie ranting and piecing together a string of coincidences occurring on February 17th. Chinese New Year (the year of the fire horse), the date falling on a Tuesday relating to the norse god Tyr, the god of war, law, and justice who sacrificed his hand to the w...
Prosser-Gate
A prominent Apple leaker gets nailed with a wild lawsuit suggesting not-so-journalistic reporting practices.
The New DVD Bargain Bin
A major studio is apparently treating YouTube as a place to drop some of its archive films that have lost their cinematic luster. My mind is admittedly blown.
This Is Definitely A Test
The history of color bars, the most common television test pattern out there, and what they actually do. (Also, Netflix has some weird test programming.)
The Calm Voice Of Chaos
This year’s Tedium awards start off with a shout-out to a prevalent voice that brought protest music back to the masses: The endlessly prolific Jesse Welles.
The Thrill Was Never There
A famous punk-music personality reveals he was in it for the money—a revelation that has upset fans. But to be fair, it was the algorithm that pushed him in that direction.
Sick Of Fake Meat
On meat analogues and the way that lucrative algorithm waves gradually burn us out on our interests. Call it an “interest analogue.”
The Great YouTube Epic
To kick off this year’s year-end Tedium awards, we honor a video that may have done more good for creator culture than anything created before or since.
An Incomplete Picture
A recent scandal around a popular YouTuber’s nonprofit foundation has created a lot of drama, but what it’s missing are voices that understand the nonprofit sector.
Stealing Passages
Plagiarism is often seen as an insignificant problem in online culture, but an epic Hbomberguy video essay proves that regular folks do in fact care about content theft.
Enemies At The Gates
We’re at an era of internet creation where it’s becoming increasingly clear that gatekeepers, too often, just get in the way. We need to build tools and strategies that allow creators to succeed without them.
The Hamster Wheel Scales
A YouTube controversy around one of its largest channels reflects the complexity of maintaining editorial standards, or even integrity, when you’re producing with quantity in mind.
Robot Hand is the Future
What I learned about YouTube’s algorithm from creating an account that only watched videos related to Elliott Smith. I fought hard, but the algorithm won.
Let’s Talk About Stuff
Every once in a while we just need to randomly write about a bunch of different things that have nothing in common. Let’s open the grab bag, internet.
Culture In A Dangerous Time
Finding comfort in a scary cultural moment from the modern digital landscape. Thankfully, we still have the internet to saturate us in offbeat popular culture.
Meet Weird Paul
The musical journey of Weird Paul Petroskey, a guy who's been making albums and vlogs since the ’80s—and on the latter count, you should see his receipts.
Symbiotic Infringement
Pondering the shutdown of a YouTube user who uploaded lots of John Oliver videos over a multi-year period—and probably made John Oliver more popular.
Why “Zombie” Lingers
In the wake of Dolores O’Riordan’s passing, reflecting on why The Cranberries’ “Zombie” is one of the most-watched YouTube videos of all time.
The Great Platform Problem
In an era when every content platform wants to sell you the moon, going your own way is a valid option. For one thing, there’s no risk of “demonetization.”