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Does anyone have any Nebula recommendations? I've just signed up!
Hey all,
My favourite video essayist, Lindsay Ellis, only posts on Nebula now, so that was the final incentive to get me to sign up.
Now that I'm in I'm finding the breadth of content a bit overwhelming.
Taste wise, I really like Lindsay Ellis/Jenny Nicholson type videos that are funny media analysis. I've never seen Jet Lag (it seems big on Tildes).
I'm pretty averse to all the war and conflict stuff on the splash page. Similarly, I don't really like food channels because it just makes me frustrated and hungry.
Apart from that, I guess the main thing is I don't know what I don't know! Do you have favourite creators you'd recommend?
I love Not Just Bikes and I follow that on YouTube and now also Nebula. I don't use Nebula much cause I haven't found a lot of creators to follow, yet! So I'll be refreshing this thread!
Not Just Bikes released an original for Nebula called Day Pass, where he's taking public transportation across cities for a day and seeing what he can get to. That may be why you're there, but it's probably worth bringing up.
Since I don't want this list to get too long I'm going to try to mention channels/shows that haven't come up yet.
Nebula has some completely in-house shows that might be interesting to you:
In terms of "regular" channels, a few that I have tended to like are:
Also there are video essayists who post infrequently enough to let you forget they're on Nebula, such as:
(This is mostly just a PSA for if you already follow those channels, but there is a nonzero chance someone else you follow is already on Nebula and doesn't mention it/only mentioned in a sponsorship segment that you skipped)
TLDR is a news show on Nebula that’s pretty good. You already mentioned Jet lag - I really enjoy that. Some seasons are way better than others.
Practical construction and practical engineering are quite nice.
Agreed on Jet Lag, I would say I love it but there a few seasons I dipped from fairly quickly.
I feel like they focus more on the “strategy” of the game instead of actually enjoying the locations.
Common complaint, and they're painstakingly adding more touristy shots to their show. Hasn't quite worked out yet in my opinion, but ultimately it's just a light hearted game show with exceedingly low stakes that happens to be in various countries. The fun hinges on them being good friends and editing it well, not necessarily on where they are.
I agree with that. I just want a tiny bit more travel show and a little bit less game show. As an example - in one of the seasons I believe they had to visit an Italian hardware store for a challenge. I enjoyed that brief glimpse of something so basic but in another country.
I like it when the challenges force them to experience something specific in the place they are in.
There are also channels based on these which does like season stuff. One of them is based on DownieLive where he travels throu Europe west to east and in another season north to south. Another such channel is based on Mustard. You may or may not find the same stuff on main channel and on this spin off one, depends on how the creator uploads the videos I guess.
Jet Lag is an all-time favourite for me and my partner. The odd season will dip in quality, for whatever reason, but the average level is very strong, and when it's good, it's really good.
Abolish Everything and Scav are the originals I'm most interested in, but if there are any originals from creators you're already interested in, that might be interesting. For example, Innuendo Studios video on how Lady Eboshi is Wrong is only available on Nebula after it got copystruck.
But if you're looking for essayist recommendations, they're on YouTube, but Sarah Z is similar to Lindsey and Jenny regarding Media interest, and Philosophy Tube is a talent in her own right regarding current events, LGBT interest, philosophy and/or tube. Maybe go through the list of creators, and see if you recognize anyone or anything jumps out at you?
Link to all creators, sorted alphabetically:
https://nebula.tv/explore/channels?sort=title&order=asc
Here are some of the channels I follow. Most of these are probably also on YouTube but no commercials here.
Angela Collier - Science
Downie Live - Travel
Joe Scott
Life where I’m from - Culture
Patrick H Willems - Film & TV
Religion For Breakfast - Culture
Rifftrax - Comedy
I think everybody else has covered the majority of what I would recommend, so I’m going to step outside of those recommendations and recommend the following recommendations (I do recommend these):
Sarah Z
She does primarily pop culture deep dives (and I do mean deep dives) and her mug of tea is always precariously close to being spilled so you might spend more time watching the mug wondering if she’s about to spill piping hot tea on herself (a wonderful metaphor in my opinion.)
For a good introduction to her stuff, I would recommend her video on cheating in chess.
Extra History
A channel about history. It is technically often about the violence and whatnot that you mention not being interested in, but it is usually very old violence that informs today’s society.
Extra Credits
A long running series on video games that’s more about the meta of game creation than anything else. Extra History is produced by the same crew, but Extra Credits is the first project.
Extra Mythology
If you like their style and takes on video games and history, you might appreciate their takes on Mythology.
Austin McConnell
He’s an essayist who’s been all over the place with what’s he covers, mostly whatever interests him at the time, which is usually forgotten media. Lately he’s been talking about his heart surgery and his ongoing projects to take forgotten public domain chargers and give them his own spin.
That’s all for now, I’ll come back with more when I’ve got some more time.
I'd recommend the 17 Pages documentary by Bobby Broccoli, I don't want to spoil anything but it's a completely unique viewing experience. Like genuinely, I have never seen a documentary do what this one does on Nebula.
Apart from Bobbi Brocoli I also enjoy Jacob Geller (fair warning his stuff tends to be heavy) and neo has some well produced exclusives too
Adding on support for 17 Pages. It's well worth a watch if you're at all interested in documentaries, research science, or research controversies. Even if you're not, consider it anyway. It's very good.
On mobile so I'll just list some of my faves out:
Breaking Taps
Everyday Astronaut
The Friday Checkout
Tech Altar
Jared Henderson
Wendover
Minute Physics
Not just bikes
Polymatter
Practical Engineering & Practical Construction
Real Engineering
Thomas Flight
TLDR news
And I'll add that I feel more confident that if I lose access to YouTube (seems more and more likely without using the official app) I'll be pretty content with just nebula and maybe it wouldn't be so bad, I rate it highly.
Main thing missing imo is financial creators but I presume it's because their audiences are so easily monetized there is less incentive.
Atlas Pro is good and I watch his long videos to completion.
Lots of good suggestions in the previous comments, so I'll only add two more that I watch:
I like EU made Simple. Other than that there's a bunch of random unexpected stuff coming along, keep an eye on the "new" list and see what you like.
If you're interested in music, check out 12tone and Todd in the Shadows.
For media analysis I bet you will enjoy Big Joel, Innuendo Studios, Maggie Mae Fish, and Jacob Geller.
I've been subscribed for the past 2-3 years and since then the main ones I watch are still those I followed over from YouTube. Now that I say it, could probably take a few of these recommendations and branch out a bit more myself ha. Anyway, these are my go-tos:
Film & Music
Adam Neely
Polyphonic
Tantacrul
Thomas Flight
Patrick H Willems
Science
Real Engineering
Real Science
Culture
Wendover
Lots of people have already mentioned some of my favorites (Practical Engineering, Real Engineering Jet Lag, etc.).
On the movies/tv front, a few of my favorites are "Like Stories of Old" and "The Closer Look", and Thomas Flight.
F.D. Signifier has good long form video essays, but topics may or may not be up your alley.
Lots of great recommendations in the topic already. I'll try to add a few from my follows that I haven't seen made yet.
Laura Crone, Sarah Davis Baker, and Thomas Flight are probably closest to the Lindsay Ellis/Jenny Nicholson aesthetic you mentioned, though often a bit darker. I highly recommend The Persistence of Decay, Why the Movies Will Never Feel the Same Again, and The Harry Potter for Grown Ups Industrial Complex by them.
Jacob Geller leans more into video games, but still top-notch video essays and analysis.
If you're at all interested in the history of bankrupt companies or abandoned buildings, Bright Sun Films is right up your alley. Fun drinking game: watch his Bankrupt series and take a shot every time Private Equity is involved. (Don't actually do this. You'll get alcohol poisoning.)
The same creator produces Bright Sun Travels as well. Similar vibe, but focused on hotel, resort, and cruise ship reviews.
And if you're into programming and/or data visualization, both Sebastian Lague and Not David are instant watches for me whenever they publish a new video.
If I may piggyback a little on the topic, how is the Nebula UI these days? I was subscribed sometime around 2020-2022 but didn't renew because I had issues with the apps both on my phone and Android TV. Nothing major, but it was just more frustration free to watch the same channels on YouTube.
I've been thinking about checking out Nebula again, though. I'm amazed how many of the channels that I follow on YouTube have been mentioned here as now also being on Nebula.