The Youtube channels I would recommend are the following:
Tech/Science
S3 - The stories of people working to change the world.
Modern Day Eratosthenes - A great STEM communicator who provides a moderate level breakdown of STEM topics. Videos are less than 12 minutes long.
Ziroth - This channel focuses on highlighting new science and engineering projects that are helping the world transition to a zero carbon future!
Speculative Science
Isaac Arthur - This channel focuses on exploring concepts in science with an emphasis on futurism and space exploration, along with a healthy dose of science fiction. While we explore many concepts and technologies that are far beyond us now, we try to keep everything inside the bounds of known science or major theories.
Analytical Tech News/Stories
TechAltar - Analytical videos about tech companies [and their products or services].
Tech Business/Economics/History Video Essays
Asianometry - One of my favorite YT channels. He does a great job producing high quality videos about tech history, tech related economics, and sometimes dives into what that latest tech is and how it might play a part in our future.
Humorous Business Journalism
Good Work - “Edge-cutting” business journalism, with a healthy dose of humor mixed in. Actually covers things that you might want to know more about in the realm of business, trading, and why the American economy is so freaking weird.
The Making of a Movie/TV Show
It Was A Sh*t Show - Making stuff is hard, especially in the entertainment world when there are millions of dollars on the line. And we are going to talk about these disastrous, never ending, and sometimes dangerous productions. With video documentaries and a companion conversational podcast, It Was A Sh*t Show is an entertaining look at some of your favorite films and tv shows, and why they were such a nightmare to make.
Frame Voyager - Mini-documentaries on films without the clickbait negativity.
Mini/Full Documentary Makers
Peter Dibble - Obscure history from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. I recommend checking out America’s First Cross-Country Auto Race.
Kirby Ferguson - He’s best known for his documentary series called, Everything is a Remix. He made an updated and extended version of it. I recommend it.
Lost in the Movies - fewer than 10k subscribers, but he deserves so many more.
His work is generally on movies and TV, usually with a more art house feel.
His major piece of work though is his 30-40 part video series (and also podcast/blog) on Twin Peaks.
None of your, “Here’s the explanation of EVERYTHING,” nonsense here though.
Instead he looks at the show, its characters and its arcs with a contemplative eye, picking out interesting visual and narrative parallels, examining the show and film as a piece of art rather than as a puzzle to be ‘solved’.
It’s exceptional and it mystifies me that it’s not more well known. He’s been doing it for about ten years now I think. If you’re a Peaks fan, it’s an absolute must IMO.
Todd in the Shadows Some More News Folding Ideas Thought Slime Atun-Shei Films The Morbid Zoo
Todd in particular deserves a lot more attention/subscribers/success given how long he’s been around, and just how much content he’s released.
Rationality rules - mostly religion debunking
Applied Science - Varying videos about science phenomenons and use cases
LaurieWired - Cyber Security
Veronica Explains - Mostly Linux.
James Lee - animated videos
Awesome open source - videos and tutorials about self hosting and open source software
fly with Greg - paragliding videos
Mary’s Test Kitchen - awesome vegan and keto food
AlphaPhoenix - Science Videos
the hated one - privacy videos
crackermilk - comedy skits
Theramintrees - psychology videos
Weird fruit explorer - exploring fruits and vegetables from all over the world
Earthling ed - videos about veganism and animal welfare and rights
Learn Linux TV. Great educational channel for all things Linux.
The US Chemical Safety Board- does indepth non-politcal analysis of industrial accidents.
The Tim traveller : https://www.youtube.com/@TheTimTraveller/videos
So…so many.
Politics:
Sociopolitical:
Trans Rights/Philosophy/TV Reviews:
Anarchist Philosophy:
Tech:
Animation Reviews:
Philosophy/Pop Culture:
Niche Product Reviews:
Horror Movie Reviews/Synopsis:
Comedy:
Chemistry/Psychedelics:
Worker’s Rights:
SciFi/Fantasy Book Reviews:
Tabletop RPG Reviews:
Star Trek Analysis:
Privacy:
Musicians:
Country:
Synthwave:
JRock:
Alexander the Ok - 101k subscribers, does some great hour long engineering / computer science videos. F-14 central air data computer (first microprocessor), Minuteman missile (led to the first desktop computers), B-29 turret system (networked mechanical computers), and Buran (not really computers, but a really good video anyways).
Ghostcharm. Casual video game analysis
Jeremy Parish has less than 100k, and constantly puts out great retrospectives on the nooks and crannies of retro game history.
While the Retronauts podcast he’s involved with is well known, I feel like his YouTube kinda flies under the radar.
I’m a big fan of his series covering the entire NES and GB libraries on YouTube as well as retronauts!
Luetin09 apparently only has 901k subscribers.
SomeMoreNews is at 884k.
DoshDoshington is at an unacceptably low 309k.
Atrioc is up near 706k.
And everyone should be subscribed to YoungScrolls but sadly only 269k people are.
Adam Conover - the guy who shattered my reality back in the days with some college humor videos https://m.youtube.com/@TheAdamConover
Windette - Gaming with insults https://m.youtube.com/@Windette
Adam Millard - game mechanics and fundamentals https://m.youtube.com/@ArchitectofGames
Daryl talks games - games dissected by a psychology guy (I forgot what he did) https://m.youtube.com/@DarylTalksGames
Conover is on Mastodon as well at @adamconover@mastodon.social
Drue Langlois - animator/filmmaker who makes absurd and fun videos. One of my favorites
Wigglewood - another animator who’s in the process of making their own little shared world of silliness.
Oboeshoesgames - streamer who has a decent sense of humor and is actually pretty creative with coming up with little parody songs for the games he plays. He also knows a SHITTON about Bionicle and will throw in references sometimes, which is always nice to see.
RudeJackArt - artist/animator behind this masterpiece
SplinterChalk - very small YouTuber who does challenge runs in games, similar to MittenSquad (RIP Paul), but mostly focusing on the Batman: Arkham games. He does play others though.
ChadCat - he condenses other long-form YouTube videos (i.e. videos over 10 minutes) down to their most important details, usually taking up to about 20 seconds to a minute each time, calling them the “ADHD Versions.”
Venjent - DJ/producer who makes badass beats using sounds he finds out in the world, such as a squeaky door
2 Guys and A Cooler - family-run cooking channel where they make different cool things. Their video on pemmican got me interested in them.
CharlieBo313 - basically a modern anthropologist who goes to the 'hoods and ghettos of America and talks to the people who live there, and showcases what life is like.
Poe’s Sketchbook - stop-motion animator behind this badass fight
Luka Big Pants - strange guy who makes videos in that weird stuttery FMV game style. It’s all weird and absurd but it’s all really good.
Crazy Korean Cooking - a Korean family eating food, pretty much. They try different foods they never have, like Mexican and Jamaican foods, then they’ll experiment and try mixing the new stuff with their Korean food and it gets pretty fun. The parents are honestly super fun to watch because they just enjoy it all.
BM Cartoons - an animator who just makes silly little cartoons.
Edit: oh there’s more.
Fearnley Fitzroy - the animator behind this absolute masterpiece and other fun souls-like dance videos.
GilGamesHello - gamer who plays a lot of physics-based games like Exanima and Half Sword.
Spine_apples - Saruman the Stupid
TRYBALS - a very cool channel that shows western media and such to tribal villagers from Pakistan.
Bill McClintock - someone who mashes up songs from wildly different genres and somehow makes them sound fuckin awesome. Stuparena (a mashup of The Macarena and Stupefied)
Bushy - another challenge gamer, but he focuses on Elden Ring and other Souls-likes.
Bax Taylor - a musician who makes his own original songs, but also does silly covers of others like Toto doing Apple Bottom Jeans, or Frank Sinatra’s Balls In Yo Jaws.
Media Zealot - he breaks down different civilizations/organizations/other groups from different popular IPs and says why they wouldn’t be able to work in reality. Like “villains too stupid to win” and so on.
Corey Laddo - an SFM animator who makes funny shorts, based around G-man and Gordon interacting and playing out a meme or something.
Perun does some excellent defense economics and analysis. Probably one of the channels I have learned the most from.
Jake Broe does regular updates on the Russo Ukraine war which I always find helpful.
And finally, Zeihan on Geopolitics, does, well, what the name says. I find he brings ideas I hadn’t thought of, or that are not well explained, into clarity.
The New Enlightenment does awesome theory heavy videos on economics, politics, game theory, etc. It’s like a free economics course and it sparked an interest in the subject for me. . https://youtube.com/@thenewenlightenmentwithash8465