This Much Is True

Explainers, and Explaining Explainers

Video from Vox which often produces explainer videos and explainer articles. Explore more online.

James Hoffmann explains whether or not coffee is good for you.

Information is Beautiful!

Check out the site Information is Beautiful where data is presented in an artful way. Find information about topics you find interesting.

Also, check out The Pudding where they make “visual essays” that explore the cultural zeitgeist.

Or how about a handy chart which helps you identify fake news? (link to Beyond Fake News chart from EAVI)

Could This be the Best Piece of Information Ever?

If you read an article that has a question in the headline, the answer to that question is no. This rule of thumb is usually called Betteridge’s Law after the journalist Ian Betteridge who said that when journalists use that style of headline, they know the story is “probably bullshit”, but they still want to use it.

Could this be the craziest thing you ever heard? Is this the answer to all your questions? No.

Ask a Mortician – Mortician Caitlin Doughty explains different aspects of her job that you did not know you wanted to know about.

Funeral Industry Reformer. Green Death Advocate. Morbid History Club.

Learn More about the Classics

In the podcast, Writ Large, the focus is on exploring literary classics and their impact on culture, so that the reason why these works are considered classics is made accessible.

Here is a link to the podcast web page. And below is a link to the episode about The Origin of Species.

Classic clip with Carl Sagan explaining how ancient Egyptian Eratosthenes figured out the planet was round. Notice how he structures the explanation and gives visual examples.

(Read Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot”-excerpt in Narrating Truth as an example of popular science being poetic. And, watch the video here.)

YouTubers who Explain Stuff!

Tom Scott’s YouTube Channel is full of interesting explainers about various topics. This one will mess with your head.

The ContraPoints Channel explores, debates, and explains cultural and literary concepts. The inclusion of satire, memes, asides, and more makes the channel very different from usual academic lectures.

Planet Money

Conveying knowledge about Multi-Level Marketing

Learn the techniques and tricks that pyramid schemes use to recruit new members and how to avoid being fooled yourself.

LuLaRoe, a multi-billion dollar company that skyrocketed to success by attracting an army of women to sell their colorful patterned clothes is now facing numerous lawsuits calling the company a “pyramid scheme.”

Multilevel marketing companies claim to be legitimate businesses, but some seem awfully…pyramid shaped. John Oliver and Jaime Camil demonstrate how they work.

WIRED 5 Levels

Example of WIRED’s 5 Levels videos. This one with musician Jacob Collier explaining harmony. Explore more on your own.

Another one from WIRED. In this one a physicist explains the concept of dimensions.

Mary Roach’s TED Talk

Mary Roach talks about “10 Things you didn’t know about orgasm” based on her research from her book Bonk. This is a TED Talk, and TED videos are often explainer lectures. Read and watch more here. The site also contains references, footnotes, transcripts, and more.

Listen to the Longform podcast where Mary Roach talks about her process. In this episode, there are also many references to narrative journalism in general, so you might also want to check out our “Truthfully” chapter.

Most Boring Video Ever Made?

According to the uploader, this Microsoft Word tutorial is not exactly didactic dynamite.

But try watching this video with a partner. Why is it boring? Comment on what is going on and discuss whether the video also has any redeeming features.

Make sure to watch the whole thing 2-3 times in order to fully grasp it (preferably at 0.5x speed). Or, alternatively, find a five minute long passage to focus on.

Artist unknown

Artist unknown