For me it was “The Most Controversial Children’s Book in History” by Solar Sands, in which he analyzes The Giving Tree. It led me to think about my relationship with my parents, and about what kind of relationship I might have with my kids if I ever become a parent.
Evan Eddinger’s video on quitting kratom. “This gas station drug nearly ruined my life.” I had no idea what kratom was even though I had met many users. Less recently, Lindsay Ellis made an amazing video discussing the Palestinian genocide and the problems of refusing to talk about it. “The Unforgivable Sin of Ms Rachel” I think it’s fair to say it was the best video essay I saw in 2025.
I also watched Evan’s video on Kratom and while I kinda knew what it was, I was unaware of all the details (and also how fucking rampant it had becoming in stores.) I had worked at a vape shop for a hot minute and we sold some Kratom pills and powders, but it was all clearly labeled as Kratom and put behind a locked case.
I’m so glad I never decided to try it while I was working there. The only thing I knew about it was some people used it to get themselves off opioids, and I just got a weird feeling about that lol
Lindsey’s video is so good and so depressing.