These videos are perfect for binge-watching during quarantine because they make me feel like I’m learning while being entertained. Why couldn’t grad school be like this? Each video is guaranteed to make you smile, cringe, question, and wonder. Cut has other series besides Lineups ranging from the powerful Black Stories Matter, which is an impactful social issues topic series, to the more light-hearted and taboo-exploring Truth or Drink and Fear Pong.
Let Shayna from The Purple Palace transport you to her art studio in Paris, France. This channel really takes you to another world. She interviews student artists, explains about how to live abroad as an au pair, talks spirituality, showcases street style, and creates beautifully escapist short films. The art and fashion inspiration I get from her videos is out of this world. She even inspired me to buy an acrylic paint set.
This popular music YouTube series has been gaining notoriety for years, but feels especially intimate (and voyeuristic, in a good way) during quarantine, as they have released a Tiny Desk (Home) playlist. Now you can listen to the artistic stylings of Lianne La Havas, Ben Gibbard, and Black Thought (from The Roots) in their own homes. If you consider yourself ahead of the musical curve, the winners of the Tiny Desk Contest, which discovers new musicians every year, are being announced on their channel all Summer, as well.
Joss and Janik are an upbeat Mexican/German couple who post travel vlogs, dance routines, and relationship videos. I discovered Joss when she had the awe-inspiring role of an intern at the United Nations HQ in NYC. She inspires me to study in a foreign country and he inspires me to learn video editing. While watching their channel, you will learn words in both Spanish and German as well as landmarks and cultural information in international cities without making any effort.
Meet: Sailing La Vagabone, an Australian couple with a very alternative lifestyle. Riley and Elayna met in Greece, where Elayna was working as a bard. She quickly moved in with him to live full time on his sailboat, despite having zero previous sailing experience. Since then, they have sailed Time Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year Greta Thunberg across the Atlantic, passed every continent, and had a baby! If their videos inspire you to get on board, you can buy their sailing guide here.
When quarantine first started and I prepared to lose my job, I thought of Plans A, B, C, and D to establish my next move. One of those was to join the military, specifically the Air Force or Coast Guard. As an information-obsessed person and someone with no military background, I had to do my research. My favorite place to research is on YouTube and I was lucky to find Brittany’s channel. You can watch the saga of her whole Air Force experience unfold from deciding to enlist, basic training, getting engaged, and most recently applying to the Space Force.
Damon and Jo are two polyglot friends who live in Paris, France. I discovered Damon first and then got sucked into their whole friend group and lifestyle (including The Purple Palace!). Their escapist travel series takes you to Morocco, Edinburgh, Hawai’i, Mexico City, Greece, London, Miami and more. What differentiates these two from other travel bloggers is that they’re cool and they actually look like they’re having fun, not just working and trying to make adsense. Check out their travel site and buy their official adventure-based card game at Shut Up and Go.
You may have seen Snitchery on TikTok. If that’s the case and you want more, here you go. You’re welcome. If she’s new to you, you’re still in the right place. She is Eleanor Barnes, performing in an alter ego to give practical and useful beauty advice for real people. A regular magazine you pick up in the grocery store is going to show you a beauty tutorial where a skinny white girl does a “No Makeup Look”. It isn’t going to show you how to do your makeup to get Instagram followers/make money on OnlyFans, but Snitchery will.
