In which John discusses the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Southwestern Oregon by armed civilians, and what the history of this land can tell us about private and public property in the United States, and how land came to be owned in America.

It's difficult to understate the affect that other people's perceptions have on the kind of person you end up being. Of course, we also have tendencies and traits that are built into us, but mostly I think our selves are constructed out of what we need to become and what we are asked to become. And, in the best cases, our selves are constructed by what we want to become....built with thoughtfulness and care.

In which John discusses the astonishing lack of amputated hands or arms in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the common criticism that the movie is merely a rehash of the original Star Wars. Also discussed: the fact that Marvel's Phase Two films all featured de-arming as a tribute to Star Wars, and some general thoughts on the relationship between creator and audience and the challenges of letting go of things you've made.

Katherine got a sort of recipe book that her grandmother put together in the 1940s and 50s. It was fascinating enough that I decided we should cook some of this REALLY WEIRD STUFF!

In which John stuns the world by answering real questions from real nerdfighters in an airport on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Issues discusses include John's anxiety around the WEF, his excitement about visiting the setting of Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain, how dogs should wear pants, the Looking for Alaska movie, his new story, the still not technically real U.S. Presidential election, and more.

In which Hank delves into the meme of the annoying vegetarian, where it comes from, why it annoys us, and what's really at the root of it all. In researching this video, I found that a lot of the numbers we throw around when talking about how bad meat eating is for the environment are really confusing and occasionally just wrong. The most damning report (which I have quoted before) from WorldWatch turns out to have a bunch of obvious problems. Like, it counts the exhalations of livestock as a carbon emission. This isn't accurate as all carbon exhaled by livestock was recently extracted from the environment by the plants that the animals eat. I was pretty frustrated to find that WorldWatch had made this mistake (or worse, stuck by it intentionally.) It's all further complicated by the fact that making a cow in America is actually far more efficient than making it other places. Often times we'll talk about how the food being eaten by animals could be eaten by people, but that's not always the case. Raising corn for animal consumption is much easier and cheaper and requires less resources and can be done on less-fertile land than raising it for human consumption. So, I came out of this video with a more nuanced view, but nonetheless knowing more than ever that less meat eating means more food for more people with less impact, which is what we need most of all in this world right now. I hope this video isn't too controversial. The number one thing I wanted to say is that I wish I were better, and I will keep working toward that, but that it is also OK to be an imperfect person in an imperfect world. And so it is possible to agree with all arguments in favor of vegetarianism and remain an omnivore.

In which John Green attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he meets billionaires, documentary filmmakers, movie producers, global health advocates, and a lot of businesspeople. It all makes him consider the relationship between people and history.

In which Hank responds to and adds to an article John wrote about Millennials and discusses how uninteresting it has become to discuss generations as homogenous, and also why we seem to talk about what's wrong with one group without discussing the problems they face. I think we're really good at picking out negative attributes...those are the things we notice, and they're the things we write about. Sure, I'm concerned that young people won't vote, but I also understand that it is difficult to be civically engaged in a world that is divorced from your reality. I also feel like people raised in the world of deep partisanship and access to infinite information (all of it sensationalized) find not just politics but life itself overwhelming, as if every decision they make is an opportunity to either save or destroy the world. I myself was born in 1980, the cutoff between Generation X and Millennial, and while I'm fairly old I also spend a lot of time interacting with and thinking about young people, so I guess it's unsurprising that I'm sympathetic. But talking about the behavior of young people without talking about the challenges they face is dumb. And talking about one or two tendencies to behave slightly differently than other generations and then blaming that on one or two new-fangled parenting techniques (helicopter parenting) is just /awful/ sociology.

In which John examines the complex and tangled question of the gender wage gap, and looks at some of the reasons why women who work full time are paid less than men who work full time.

Let's be honest, YouTube is becoming more businesy...more corporate even. I'm a part of this, not only because I run a business in which I work with other people to produce content that I (and not they) own. But also because I run VidCon, a place where we have a track specifically designed for people who are in the business of YouTube to talk about the business of YouTube. I do /some/ things to influence that conversation, but actually try pretty hard not to do too much of that because I recognize that my view of the world is not the only valid one. YouTube is going to keep changing, but there will always be fascinating, interesting, weird, independent stuff happening on this platform. But it will likely never again be the thing at the top of the YouTube Mountain, and I definitely feel weird about that.

In which John eats his Raisin Bran with water, orange juice, black coffee, lemon-lime gatorade, and cow's milk in an attempt to find the perfect way to eat cereal.

Basically the thing that I didn't say in this video was...if I can't make myself get up an hour earlier in the morning even if that would make my life much better, how am I supposed to do all of the things that everyone says we need to do to live more morally. Especially when the number and intensity of those things we should be doing seems to constantly increase (along with the price of many of those things.) Do we have an infinite amount of energy to intentionally make our lives a little less enjoyable for the common good, or is there a limitation there? Is that limitation only in my head? Probably, since I have a very easy life and yet still find it difficult to do relatively easy things. Yes, indeed, despite what I said in the video, there's definitely no "ice cream cake breaking point," but it is still hard to do the hard(er) thing. Maybe there is no limit to the number of difficult things we each can do but, instead, a limit to the number of difficult things we can choose to do. Which is why taking choice out of the matter helps me do hard things much more efficiently. THE BAD NEWS I've talked about this a tiny bit elsewhere, but Lemon (my beautiful and ridiculous dog) is very sick. She has bone cancer and it has gotten worse fast. She's pretty uncomfortable now and every day is harder for her. She's beautiful and loving as ever, but she is in a lot of pain and it's very hard for her and us. Thanks for all of your kind thoughts.