Howtown
The "How Do They Know" show from journalists Adam Cole and Joss Fong.
You may have seen our work with Vox, NPR's Skunk Bear, and Netflix "Explained". Now we've left those jobs and work directly for you. These are our principles:
Curiosity-driven: We are not searching for evidence to support a position that we've already chosen. We are here to understand what it takes to answer interesting questions and to help you navigate what we know so far.
Primary sources: We read all of the research that we cover, and we interview those involved in that work (Researchers: please answer our emails!)
Accountability: In the case of any factual errors, we will post corrections directly under the relevant video that explain what we got wrong.
Independence: Outside of shorts, we will not accept offers for spon-con/native advertising, in which the video itself exists to serve the sponsor. The ad read is the only part of the video that sponsors review.
To support this project, find us on Patreon.
Howtown
Brand new full episode comin' atcha on Thursday!
1 week ago | [YT] | 863
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Howtown
Strongest signs yet of ancient life on Mars? Join us on Monday at noon ET for our "Science Paper Book Club" to discuss the interesting splotches that the Perseverance rover discovered on the red planet. Here's the paper - it's not an easy read but we'll figure it out together: www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09413-0
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 329
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Howtown
Help us choose our next Howtown Showdown topic! Just like last time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTbpd...) we'll pick a subject that's debated by experts, flip a coin to choose sides, do a ton of research, and then debate each other. Which of the following questions would you like to see explored in this format? (And please add your suggestions or thoughts in the comments)
1 month ago | [YT] | 492
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Howtown
After our debate on whether social media is driving teen depression and anxiety, 434 viewers shared their takeaway in our poll. 40% said Yes, it's a major cause. (This is the position that Joss was assigned in the episode). 30% said No. and 30% said Not sure. We've also had a ton of really thoughtful comments and and feedback about the format.
The big question is: what should we debate next?
We'll be returning to our regular explainer videos for a bit, but we want to try another showdown in the future and we need ideas for topics! The main constraint is that there should be an evidence-based case to make for both sides.
1 month ago | [YT] | 953
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Howtown
A fun look behind the scenes at some Howtown animation projects: https://youtu.be/FuEnzxbp04U?si=ttNe-...
2 months ago | [YT] | 151
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Howtown
On Monday, we'll meet to talk about the viral MIT preprint paper, "Your Brain on ChatGPT," where they scanned people's brains while they wrote essays with or without ChatGPT. Read it here: www.brainonllm.com/ and join us to analyze their methods!
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 507
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Howtown
We had a fascinating chat about our process (and our struggles in the age of AI) with Jack Conte over on the Digital Spaghetti podcast: https://youtu.be/DlqRtcTCZ9Y?si=OR9oh...
You can watch the whole conversation with us for FREE at patreon.com/digitalspaghetti
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 119
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Howtown
Check out Joss and Adam explaining the cornerstone of ancient geology (an incredible important method called zircon dating) in @besmart 's great new episode. (And of course, don't miss Joe Hanson's trip back in time in our latest video)
6 months ago | [YT] | 140
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Howtown
On Monday at noon ET, we're meeting live to fight about Daylight Saving Time. Here's the paper: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/0961463X2413… see you there!
7 months ago | [YT] | 377
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Howtown
hang on we've got a new video coming on thursday
8 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2,291
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