I feel like I’m well connected with the internet and see some pretty interesting things. Here are a few of my favorite media platforms and the creators/podcasts/shows that I love the most and would recommend to everyone (though quite a lot of them are self-admittedly niche and maybe odd).
YouTube
If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’m a die-hard YouTube fan (and have been since middle school). Very few of my friends watch YouTube consistently, but let me tell you it is a great platform. Yes, the ads can be quite annoying, but the videos on there are high quality and entertaining enough for being free! There are a bunch of channels I really enjoy watching so I’m going to list them out and direct you toward some of my favorite videos.
Hot Ones
Hot Ones (from First We Feast) is quite the revolutionary and exciting interview show/format. Host Sean Evans fights through 10 hot wings each episode with a new guest. Sean and the interviewee move their way down a board of wings increasing in Scoville level, with the suffering and sweating increasing with every bite. While it’s fun to see celebrities crying and reeling from the heat, the interview questions are truly what makes the show. Sean and his team come up with profound and meaningful questions to really hit each guest when they are suffering at their worst. You can watch as each guest warms up to Sean and opens up their true insights into their work and industry.
The Chateau Diaries
This YouTube channel is definitely one of my niche interests but I love watching Chatelaine Stephanie along with her friends and family working to restore Chateau de Lalande. I’m definitely on the (very) young side of the viewer demographic, but this channel has been a safe place for me since the pandemic started. I found them shortly into lockdown and binge-watched 100 videos in order to catch up. I get to watch multiple videos a week diving into the work it takes to take care of such a building, the history and artwork that Stephanie is able to encounter, and just the energy of the people in the videos.
Korean Englishman
This channel is good for people looking to learn more about Korean culture. Even if you aren’t necessarily interested, the videos that Josh and Ollie make are top-tier with some great guests. I don’t know what originally drew me to their channel but I love learning a little bit about Korean culture with each video. It’s also somehow so satisfying to watch other people learn about and experience Korean culture. A lot of Korean Englishman’s videos are my comfort videos, but recently they have knocked it out with their Highschoolers videos.
Podcasts
I’m not really an avid listener of podcasts but I am oddly a watcher of podcasts. I think I prefer watching people recording their podcasts because I can better listen when I can see the hosts talking. I don’t religiously listen to any one podcast but I do have some favorites that I try to keep up with when they upload their podcasts to YouTube. Technically these could also go under YouTube videos but I feel like they are in a genre of their own.
Screaming Meals
Another super niche recommendation from me! I’ve been into Forumla 1 and stumbled across Formula 2 as well. Originally starting as a fun food account, Screaming Meals is now a podcast hosted by now IndyCar driver Marcus Armstrong, his friend James Blair, and new (basically) permanent co-co-host Clement Novalak. They chat about their experiences as drivers but also just what goes on in their life in general. Most episodes feature fellow drivers and it’s so entertaining to see what they are up to.
Podcast But Outside
The only podcast to ethically pay its guests! As the podcast name suggests, this is a podcast (but outside). Hosted by Andrew and Cole (with camera work done by Intern), they set up a table outside in random places and interview people for a dollar. I find the concept to be refreshing, especially because you never really know what to expect when a stranger starts to talk. The most interesting people from all walks of life end up speaking and there are always humourous quips and odd graphics.
Game Shows
British game shows truly are superior to American ones. At some point in my life, I stumbled across these British game shows and became obsessed. They provide the lighthearted comedic relief that you sometimes just need, and better yet most everyone is British. Since they are mainly broadcast in England, sometimes you have to find other sources in order to stream …
Taskmaster
British comedy panel game show created by comedian and musician Alex Horne and presented by both Horne and Greg Davies. Each season, five celebrities (usually comedians) attempt to complete a series of silly and oftentimes sly/tricky challenges to win points. Horne acts as the umpire in each challenge and Davies, the eponymous “Taskmaster”, awards points based on contestants’ performances.
Big Fat Quiz
An approximately annual British comedy panel game show in the style of a pub quiz. Three teams, of two celebrities each, are asked questions relating to the events of the past year, which they write down answers to. At the end of each round, they then display their answers, scoring a point for each correct one. It’s fun to play along but generally, a lot of tomfoolery occurs over the course of the show.
Would I Lie To You?
The show is hosted by Rob Brydon with comedians David Mitchell and Lee Mack acting as permanent team captains. For each show, two celebrity guests join each of the teams. The teams compete as each player reveals unusual facts and embarrassing personal tales for the evaluation of the opposing team. Some of these are true, some are not, and it is the panelists’ task to decide if it us the truth or a lie.