Complexly

Last updated
Complexly
FormerlyEcoGeek LLC
Industry Video and audio production
Genre Educational entertainment
Founded2012;12 years ago (2012)
Founder Hank Green and John Green
Headquarters
Key people
Brands
Number of employees
Over 70 [1]  (2024)
Website complexly.com

Complexly is an American online video and audio production company, based in Missoula, Montana, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Its founders are brothers John and Hank Green (who acted as CEO until late 2023), who began their Vlogbrothers YouTube channel in 2007. [2] In 2012, the Greens began producing educational video content with the YouTube channels Crash Course and SciShow , and in the years since have created many other channels and podcasts which have been folded into the company. [3] Originally named EcoGeek LLC, it was founded by Hank Green to support his blog on environmental and science issues and was renamed in 2016. [4] Also associated with the Green brothers, but separate from Complexly's operations, are DFTBA Records, the Project for Awesome, VidCon (acquired by Viacom), [5] and Subbable (acquired by Patreon). [6] [7] The company's strengths in educational content has led to production funding from Google, [8] PBS, [9] [10] and the Poetry Foundation [11] among other corporations and charitable foundations. [12]

Contents

Julie Walsh Smith became acting CEO of the company in September 2023. [13] [14]

Video productions

Crash Course

Multiple hosts and courses; see main article

Crash Course is an educational YouTube channel providing many courses of study, often based around the AP curriculum of a given subject. The level of study matches that of high school or early college, but the content is available for all ages. Many courses are co-produced with PBS Digital Studios. The channel launched in 2012, with two subjects, World History and Biology, being taught by John Green and Hank Green, respectively.

SciShow

Multiple hosts and channels; see main article

SciShow is a series of science-related videos, hosted primarily by Hank Green and Michael Aranda. Video topics include breaking scientific news, in-depth analyses of scientific concepts and science history, and science fact compilations. A spin-off channel, SciShow Space, launched in April 2014 to specialize in space exploration, astronomy, and cosmology. [15] A second spin-off, SciShow Kids, launched in March 2015 to specialize in delivering science topics to children. [16] Kids went on hiatus in late 2018, returning in April 2020. [17] [18] A third spinoff channel was announced in February 2017, SciShow Psych, which debuted in March 2017, specializing in psychology and neuroscience. [19] A podcast, SciShow Tangents, was launched in November 2018; it features entertaining exchanges of scientific facts among many of the shows' staffers, and is directed at a mature audience. [20]

SciShow Kids

Host: Jessi Knudsen CastañedaCo-host: Anthony Brown (since end of hiatus)

SciShow Kids is a YouTube channel dedicated to science news and topics of interest to grade-school-aged children. SciShow Kids went on hiatus from January 2019 to August 2020. [21]

The Art Assignment

Host: Sarah Urist Green

The Art Assignment is a PBS Digital Studios co-production focused on contemporary art. Initially oriented around 'assignments' given by noted artists to the audience to complete, it has gradually shifted its emphasis to discuss contemporary art in a broader sense. In 2020, host Sarah Urist Green published a book, You Are an Artist, based on the art assignment concept. [22]

Healthcare Triage

Host: Aaron Carroll

Healthcare Triage is a series about modern healthcare that discusses healthcare policy and medical research, and answers questions about medicine, health, and healthcare.

PBS Eons

Hosts: Blake di Pastino, Kallie Moore, Michelle Barboza-Ramirez (since 2021); formerly Hank Green

Eons is a PBS Digital Studios co-production amd is a channel about the evolutionary history of life on Earth.

Journey to the Microcosmos

Hosts: Hank Green, Deboki Chakravarti (since 2021)

Journey to the Microcosmos presents the living collections of microbiologist James Weiss to give a close-up look of microscopic life. Music by Andrew Huang, narrated by Hank Green.

Ours Poetica

Host: Various

Ours Poetica captures the intimate experience of holding a poem in your hands and listening as it is read by a distinctive voice. A co-production with The Poetry Foundation, and poet Paige Lewis.

Bizarre Beasts

Host: Hank Green, Sarah Suta

Bizarre Beasts spun off from a monthly Vlogbrothers segment hosted by Hank Green centred on animal species displaying unusual anatomy or behaviour. After a one-year pilot, it was made into its own monthly series on the Bizarre Beasts YouTube channel. Subscribers to the Bizarre Beasts Pin Club receive a pin of each animal featured.

Complexly

Host: various

Complexly launched a self-named channel in May 2018, to share themed playlists, post one-off videos and miniseries, and pilot new channels.

Audio productions

In November 2018, Complexly fully launched a co-production arrangement with WNYC Studios for three regular podcasts; two had been produced independently before, one was new (but adapted from an old format). Two years later the co-production was ended, and Complexly now produces the shows on its own.

Dear Hank & John

Hosts: Hank Green and John Green

Originally launched in 2015, this weekly podcast features Hank and John Green answering questions e-mailed by listeners, giving "dubious" advice and providing weekly news for the planet Mars and the 4th-tier English football club AFC Wimbledon.

SciShow Tangents

Panel: Hank Green, Sam Schultz, Ceri Riley; formerly Stefan Chin

Adapted from their previous show, Holy Fucking Science, Tangents is a weekly science-based show where SciShow staffers puzzle and entertain each other with fascinating facts. Starting from the May 17, 2022, episode, video recordings of each episode are also posted to YouTube.

Eons: Mysteries of Deep Time

Host: Blake de Pastino, Kallie Moore, Michelle Barboza-Ramirez

Launched in March 2022, Eons: Mysteries of Deep Time is adapted from the Youtube series PBS Eons, and explores some of the greatest mysteries in natural history.

Productions no longer affiliated with Complexly

The Brain Scoop

Host: Emily Graslie

The Brain Scoop was first created by Hank Green when he visited the zoological museum at the University of Montana and met one of its collections volunteers, Emily Graslie. Her on-camera presence was exceptional, and he launched a channel soon afterward based in that museum with Graslie as host, in January 2013. The channel enjoyed remarkable success and in a matter of months had caught the attention of staffers at the Field Museum in Chicago; Graslie and the program moved there in August 2013. After a period where the Field licensed the program from Green, they eventually purchased all its rights and trademarks; they produced the show in-house until it was wrapped up in 2020.

Mental Floss Video

Hosts: John Green, Elliott Morgan, others

Mental Floss is the video arm of Mental Floss, providing interesting facts centered on one particular subject matter. Complexly produced the channel's content from 2013 to 2018; from 2019 on, Mental Floss brought its production in-house.

The Financial Diet

Host: Chelsea Fagan

The Financial Diet is a personal finance advice channel, directed toward young adults and particularly young women.

Sexplanations

Host: Lindsey Doe

Sexplanations is a video series explaining sexual topics, hosted by clinical sexologist Dr. Lindsey Doe.

Animal Wonders

Host: Jessi Knudsen Castañeda

Animal Wonders is a video series from the namesake wildlife animal center outside of Missoula. It focuses on the center's 80+ exotic animals, including their care and habitat.

Ceased productions

100 Days

Hosts: John Green, Chris Waters

100 Days was a video series that acted as a personal initiative of John Green, exploring how to 'have a healthy midlife crisis'. He is joined in physical exercises and other feats by his best friend Chris. It ran through the early months of 2017.

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Host: John Green

A podcast originally launched in January 2018, each episode of The Anthropocene Reviewed features Green reviewing "facets of the human condition on a five-star scale". [23] The name comes from the Anthropocene, the proposed epoch that includes significant human impact on the environment. [24] Episodes typically contain Green reviewing two topics, accompanied by stories on how they have affected his life. The final episode was released in August 2021.

Crash Course Kids

Host: Sabrina Cruz

Crash Course Kids was a bi-weekly show from the producers of Crash Course about grade school science.

How to Adult

Hosts: Hank Green, Rachel Calderon Navarro

How to Adult was a general advice channel directed toward young adults entering the broader world of adulthood for the first time. The channel was originated in 2014 by T. Michael Martin and Emma Mills who hosted it until August 2016; Complexly revived it with their blessing in March 2017, and the channel aired its final episode in April 2018. [25]

Holy Fucking Science

Host: various

Holy Fucking Science was a science-based entertainment show where four people (typically SciShow staffers, and guests) get together to try to astound and amaze each other with scientific facts and discoveries; it was directed at adults only. Though each episode was filmed and posted to YouTube, it was intended to be enjoyed as a podcast. Their regular sponsor was Montana brewery Big Sky Brewing Company. The show ceased in March 2018 after 58 episodes, with the promise of a similar production to soon replace it; [26] SciShow Tangents took its place in November 2018.

Nature League

Host: Brit Garner

Nature League was an internet show exploring nature; each month had a new theme, and each week a different format.

The Origin of Everything

Host: Danielle Bainbridge

The Origin of Everything was a show about under-told history and culture that challenges our everyday assumptions. Having first launched as a PBS Digital Studios production in 2018, with its second season in 2019 it became a Complexly co-production; following its third season in 2020, PBS cancelled the show.

How to Vote in Every State

Host: Hank Green (2016, 2018, 2022), Nicole Sweeney (2020), Evelyn Ngugi (Voter Guide)

How to Vote in Every State was an initiative based around the 2016 United States elections to help voters determine how to properly register and submit their vote. Videos were posted for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as for those in the military, overseas, and in unincorporated territories. The series was re-done two years later for the 2018 United States elections; a further version for the 2020 United States elections was also made, with the assistance of the Poynter Institute's MediaWise project, which also allowed them to augment the channel with an 8-episode Voter Guide series. Complexly chose not to renew the series for 2024, as resources from organizations such as Vote.org were considered to be suitable alternatives.

Crash Course Pods: The Universe

Crash Course Pods: The Universe was a podcast series spinoff of Crash Course with 11 episodes hosted by John Green and Katie Mack from April 23 to September 11, 2024. [27]

Related Research Articles

<i>Science Friday</i> American radio program

Science Friday is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 470 public radio stations. SciFri is hosted by science journalist Ira Flatow and was created and is produced by the Science Friday Initiative. The program is divided into two one-hour programs, with each hour ending with a complete sign-off. The focus of each program is news and information on science, nature, medicine, and technology. The show originated as the Friday episode of the daily call-in talk show Talk of the Nation, but was spun off as a series in its own right when Talk of the Nation was canceled in June 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Green</span> American author and YouTuber (born 1977)

John Michael Green is an American author, YouTuber, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including The Fault in Our Stars (2012), which is one of the best-selling books of all time. Green's rapid rise to fame and idiosyncratic voice are credited with creating a major shift in the young adult fiction market. Green is also well known for his work in online video, most notably his YouTube ventures with his brother Hank Green.

<i>Radiolab</i> American radio program

Radiolab is a radio program and podcast produced by WNYC, a public radio station based in New York City, and broadcast on more than 570 public radio stations in the United States. The show has earned many industry awards for its "imaginative use of radio" including a National Academies Communication Award and two Peabody Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Green</span> American vlogger and entrepreneur (born 1980)

William Henry Green II is an American YouTuber, science communicator, novelist, stand-up comedian, and entrepreneur. He produces the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers with his older brother, author John Green, and hosts the educational YouTube channels Crash Course and SciShow. He has advocated for and organized social activism, created and hosted a number of other YouTube channels and podcasts, released music albums, and amassed a large following on TikTok.

<i>Crash Course</i> (web series) Educational YouTube channel

Crash Course is an educational YouTube channel started by John Green and Hank Green, who became known on YouTube through their Vlogbrothers channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Graslie</span> American science communicator and YouTube educator

Emily Graslie is an American science communicator and YouTube educator. She started volunteering at the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum at the University of Montana in 2011. After appearing in a VlogBrothers video by Hank Green in 2012, she was asked to join the Nerdfighter network. She presented the educational YouTube channel called "The Brain Scoop" until 2021 and also hosted portions of the Big History series featured on the Crash Course YouTube channel. Graslie was employed by the Field Museum as their first-ever Chief Curiosity Correspondent.

<i>SciShow</i> Science-related YouTube channel

SciShow is a collection of YouTube channels that focuses on science news. The program is hosted by Hank Green along with a rotating cast of co-hosts. SciShow was launched as an original channel. The series has been consistently releasing new material since it was created in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Urist Green</span> American art curator and web series host (born 1979)

Sarah Urist Green is an American art museum curator, author, and creator and host of PBS Digital Studios program The Art Assignment and Ours Poetica. Green spent seven years curating exhibitions at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and has freelanced as a curator for other institutions. She now serves as the artistic direct for Monumental Gestures, an Indianapolis-based art initiative. She is married to author John Green, who serves as an executive producer for The Art Assignment and Ours Poetica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Bennett (journalist)</span> British-American broadcaster, filmmaker, author

Roger James Bennett is a British-American broadcaster, podcaster, and filmmaker. He hosts multiple podcasts and founded the Men in Blazers Media Network. In June 2021, Bennett released a memoir entitled Reborn in the USA: An Englishman's Love Letter to his Chosen Home which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium content YouTube channel, a news division, and a television version of the original podcast produced by and aired on BBC America.

PBS Digital Studios is a non-profit organization through which PBS distributes original educational web video content. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it comprises both original series and partnerships with existing YouTube channels. Most of the series are about science, popular culture, art, food, news, and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green brothers</span> Partnership between brothers Hank and John Green

The Green brothers, John and Hank, are two American entrepreneurs, social activists, authors, and YouTube vloggers. The two have collaborated extensively throughout their public careers, beginning with a daily vlog project in 2007 titled "Brotherhood 2.0", in which they only communicated in vlogs posted to YouTube for a year. The Greens' portfolio of online work now includes their main Vlogbrothers channel, Crash Course, SciShow, their podcast Dear Hank & John, and several other projects spanning several forms of media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosianna Halse Rojas</span> British YouTuber and writer (born 1991)

Rosianna Halse Rojas is a British writer, video blogger, social media manager, and online personality. She is best known for working with vlogger and novelist John Green, initially as his personal assistant, later producing partner.

BrainCraft is an educational video series on YouTube created by Australian science communicator Vanessa Hill. Hill's videos use stop motion and paper craft animation to explain neuroscience, psychology and human behavior. BrainCraft is part of the PBS Digital Studios network.

WNYC Studios is a producer and distributor of podcasts and on-demand and broadcast audio. WNYC Studios is a subsidiary of New York Public Radio and is headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Film Detective</span> Television channel

The Film Detective is an American classic film restoration, distribution, and streaming company based in Rockport, Massachusetts, and is a division of the American entertainment company, Cineverse. Launched in 2013, The Film Detective offers an extensive library of over 3,000+ hours of classic films and television series, with a focus on both renowned classics and B-movies across genres including comedy, drama, film noir, horror, musical, mystery, science fiction, and silent. Services offered by The Film Detective include a classic film and television app on web, iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV; a 24/7 linear channel offered across multiple leading OTT platforms including Sling TV, Plex, STIRR, DistroTV, Local Now, and Rakuten TV; and exclusive, limited-run Blu-ray and DVD releases.

<i>The Anthropocene Reviewed</i> Podcast and 2021 book by John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed is the shared name for a podcast and 2021 nonfiction book by John Green. The podcast started in January 2018, with each episode featuring Green reviewing "different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale". The name comes from the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch that includes significant human impact on the environment. Episodes typically contain Green reviewing two topics, accompanied by stories on how they have affected his life. These topics included intangible concepts like humanity's capacity for wonder, artificial products like Diet Dr. Pepper, natural species that have had their fates altered by human influence like the Canada goose, and phenomena that primarily influence humanity such as Halley's Comet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shini Somara</span> British author, producer and media broadcaster

Shini Somara is a British mechanical engineer, media broadcaster, producer and author. She has presented TechKnow on Al Jazeera America and reporting for various BBC shows including The Health Show. She has also hosted two educational series of physics and engineering videos on the Crash Course YouTube channel for PBS Digital Studios. She has been a presenter on BBC America, Sky Atlantic, BBC1, BBC2, and PBS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanessa Hill</span> Director and filmmaker

Vanessa Hill is an Australian television presenter and science communicator who is best known for her YouTube series BrainCraft. Hill has hosted a PBS series of the same name since 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "Breaking News: Complexly Signs Major Tetris Athlete". YouTube . 23 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Pierce, Jennifer Burek (2020). Narratives, Nerdfighters, and New Media. University of Iowa Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv16x2c1r.6. ISBN   978-1-60938-718-1. JSTOR   j.ctv16x2c1r. S2CID   241893288.
  3. ↑ "About Complexly". Complexly. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  4. ↑ Green, Hank (7 October 2016). "Changing Our Business a Bit". Vlogbrothers. YouTube. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. ↑ Spangler, Todd (2018-02-07). "Viacom Announces Acquisition of VidCon Internet-Video Conference". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  6. ↑ Patel, Nilay (2 August 2022). "Why Hank Green can't quit YouTube for TikTok". The Verge. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  7. ↑ Pham, Alex. "Patreon Acquires Subbable, Aligning the YouTube Stars". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  8. ↑ "YouTube Reveals Original Channels". Tubefilter. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  9. ↑ "PBS Digital Studios and Complexly Announce New Paleontology Series EONS". About PBS – Main. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  10. ↑ Erickson, David (December 18, 2018). "'A show about life': Missoula science communicators produce PBS show 'Eons'". Missoulian . Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Steve (September 11, 2019). "How to reach people with poetry? 'Fault in Our Stars' author John Green, Chicago Poetry Foundation are trying YouTube". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Partner with Us – Complexly". complexly.com/. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  13. ↑ Spangler, Todd (17 October 2023). "Hank and John Green's YouTube Studio Complexly Taps Julie Walsh Smith as Acting CEO, Gabriel Blanco as First Content Chief". Variety. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "About Us". Complexly. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Green, Hank (March 26, 2014). SciShow Space Launch. SciShow. YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ Knudsen Castañeda, Jessi (February 23, 2015). SciShow Kids. SciShow. YouTube. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Our Favorites, Compilation". SciShow Kids. YouTube. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  18. ↑ "Explore the Fort! | SciShow Kids Compilation". YouTube. 2020-04-08. Archived from the original on 2020-05-10. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  19. ↑ Green, Hank (February 27, 2017). SciShow Psych Trailer. SciShow. YouTube. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  20. ↑ "SciShow Tangents". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  21. ↑ "SciShow Kids is back on August 17th!". YouTube. SciShow Kids. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-02.
  22. ↑ "You Are An Artist". Penguin Books Limited. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  23. ↑ "The Anthropocene Reviewed : Episodes | WNYC Studios | Podcasts". WNYC Studios. Archived from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  24. ↑ Locker, Melissa (2018-11-08). "Exclusive: John and Hank Green have a slate of podcasts coming to WNYC Studios". Fast Company . Archived from the original on 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  25. ↑ "How to Say Goodbye". How to Adult. YouTube. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "HFS Podcast #58 - It's the End of the Fartball as We Know It". Holy Fucking Science. YouTube. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  27. ↑ How It All Ends | Crash Course Pods: The Universe #11. Crash Course. September 11, 2024 – via YouTube.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.