Crash Course (YouTube)

Production

The science series (and Philosophy) are filmed in Missoula, Montana, in a studio building that also houses SciShow. The Biology and Ecology series were filmed in front of green screen. From the Chemistry season onward, these series were filmed on a new custom-built set. These series are produced and edited by Nicholas Jenkins, with sound design by Michael Aranda, while Blake de Pastino serves as script editor.

The humanities series (except Philosophy and Economics) are filmed in a studio in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is also home to The Art Assignment and Healthcare Triage. They are produced and edited by Stan Muller, Mark Olsen, and Brandon Brungard.

Crash Course Kids is filmed in a studio in Toronto, Ontario. The series is directed by Michael Aranda, and produced by the Missoula Crash Course team.

Crash Course Economics is filmed in the YouTube Space in Los Angeles, California, and produced by the Indianapolis Crash Course team.

Graphic design for all of the series except Biology and Ecology is provided by Thought Café (formerly Thought Bubble).

Funding

The Crash Course YouTube channel was teased in December 2011, and launched in January 2012 as one of the initial original, YouTube-funded channels. In April 2013, John Green detailed that Crash Course was going through financial hardships. In July 2013, Hank Green expressed his frustration with the ways YouTube had been changing and controlling its website.

Funds from Google eventually ran out, and shortly after Green's A Chat with YouTube video, the VlogBrothers decided to launch Subbable, a crowdfunding website where viewers can donate, monthly, to channels in return for perks. Donating is optional, as Hank Green stated, "We ascribe to the idealistic notion that audiences don't pay for things because they have to but because they care about the stuff that they love and want it to continue to grow". Crash Course was the first series and channel to be offered on Subbable, and from this point onward, would be funded by the website. In March 2015, Subbable was acquired by Patreon, and Crash Course's crowdfunding was moved over to Patreon.

In 2014, Crash Course announced a partnership with PBS Digital Studios. The partnership will introduce Benzine and Plait, who will host U.S. Government and Politics, and Astronomy, respectively. Hank Green also announced he will be hosting an Anatomy & Physiology series, and that another host will host an Economics series, as John takes a year-long break from the series.

Humanities courses

John Green, one half of the VlogBrothers, began his Crash Course series on January 26, 2012, with World History. As a collective, John has referred to the courses he teaches as "Humanities."

As a result of a partnership with PBS Digital Studios, as well as John's decision to take a break from Crash Course in 2015, new hosts have been introduced to host the humanities courses: Craig Benzine (Government), Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford (Economics), and Andre Meadows (Games).

Hank's sixth series, Philosophy, is also a humanities course, although it is produced by the team in Missoula who have traditionally produced the science series.

World History

Crash Course World History was the first series launched on the Crash Course channel, running from January 26 to November 5, 2012.

On January 26, 2012, the series launched with "The Agricultural Revolution", and a new episode aired on YouTube every Thursday. Throughout an episode, Green, the show's host and executive producer, elaborates on the topic presented at the beginning of the video. Raoul Meyer, an AP World History teacher and Green's former teacher at Indian Springs School, writes the show, with revisions and additions by Green.

Crash Course World History features recurring segments such as "The Open Letter," where Green reads an open letter to a historical figure, period, item, or concept. Occasionally Green converses with a naïve, younger version of himself whom he calls "Me from the past"; this character usually has naïve or obvious questions or statements about the topic. A running joke is that the Mongols are a major exception to most sweeping generalisations in world history. Mentions of this fact cue the "Mongoltage" (a portmanteau of "Mongol" and "montage"), which shows a drawing of Mongols shouting "We're an Exception!" followed by a three-second clip of a scene from the 1963 film Hercules Against the Mongols depicting a village raid.

In Crash Course World History, Green frequently encourages his viewers to avoid looking at history through Eurocentrism or "Great Man" History, but to be conscious of a broader historical context. Crash Course World History, filmed in Indianapolis, has a broad following, having attracted millions of viewers. It has a particular appeal to American students taking the AP World History class and exam; many students and teachers use the videos to supplement their courses. Various episodes were featured in online news publications.

After 42 seasons, World History concluded on November 9, 2012. On June 27, 2014, in a video preview, John Green announced World History would return for a second season, lasting 30 episodes. Ultimately, the second season ended on Apr 4, 2015. He made a few predictions about the future and also quoted at his last sentence: "Also, thanks for watching this series. It has been amazingly fun to create, and we appreciate all of you."

English Literature

John's second series is Crash Course English Literature, which first aired as an eight-episode miniseries, from November 15, 2012. Works that have been covered include Romeo and Juliet, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Emily Dickinson's poetry.

In February 2014, it was announced John Green would follow his US History series with Crash Course Literature 2. This second season began on February 27, 2014, and ran for 16 episodes, covering ancient works such as The Odyssey and Oedipus and novels like To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse-Five, Frankenstein, and Beloved.

In January 2016, John announced that a third season of Crash Course Literature would air in the summer. This season will cover The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Invisible Man, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Sula, Lord of the Flies as well as some Shakespearean sonnets.

U.S. History

On the January 24, 2013, finale of Crash Course English Literature, John Green announced that it would be followed by Crash Course U.S. History, beginning the following week on January 31, 2013 with "The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards". Following in the tone set by World History, Green puts an emphasis on maintaining an open and non-Western view of American History. A new segment called the "Mystery Document" replaces the "Open Letter"; Green takes a manuscript from the fireplace's secret compartment and reads it aloud, then must guess its author and the source work it is excerpted from. If he is incorrect, he is punished by a shock pen. Whilst the Mongoltage is largely absent, the "Libertage", photos associated with America overtop an American flag with an electric guitar sound effect opening and ending with an explosion, appears whenever America's great national pride is referenced. The series ended on February 6, 2014. As with World History, Crash Course U.S. History is written by Raoul Meyer.

U.S. Government and Politics

As part of the partnership with PBS Digital Studios, Craig Benzine, known on YouTube as WheezyWaiter, was brought in to host the U.S. Government and Politics series. Benzine said that the course will provide an overview of how the government of the United States is supposed to function, and how it actually does function. He also said that the course will teach about "the branches of government, politics, elections, political parties, pizza parties, and much, much more".

The series began on January 23, 2015, and ended on March 4, 2016.

Economics

In Hank's November 2014 announcement of the PBS partnership and the new series of Crash Course in 2015, he mentioned that a Crash Course Economics was in the works, but that it was not yet known who would present it. In February 2015, John announced that Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford will host, and in July 2015, a preview video was released on the Crash Course channel. The series was launched on July 8, 2015, and finished on June 9th, 2016.

Philosophy

On January 18, 2016, Hank Green announced he would be hosting a new series about philosophy in February 2016. On February 8th, the first philosophy episode was released. Philosophy is the first course to have a corporate sponsor; Squarespace will present each episode. The series was launched February 8, 2016. The series is produced by the science-series team in Missoula, Montana, as the series focuses on issues in logic and the philosophy of science. The series ended on February 13, 2017.

Games

On March 25, 2016, the Crash Course YouTube channel uploaded a two-minute preview for Crash Course Games. It will cover several types of games, including board games, video games, card games, role-playing games, sports, and more. The series is hosted by Andre Meadows, and premiered April 1, 2016.

Human Geography

On October 12, 2016, the Crash Course YouTube channel uploaded a 90-second preview for Crash Course Human Geography. The course will talk about what Human Geography isn't, and what it is, and will discuss humans in the context of their world. The series is hosted by Miriam Nielsen.

A premiere episode was posted on October 19, 2016, and a second the following week; however, both were removed on October 27. John Green posted to Twitter that "...we got important things wrong. We'll rework the series... And we'll bring a better series to you in a few months." On October 31, 2016, John Green explained that the videos were removed due to "factual mistakes as well as too strident a tone." Green said it was caused by a rushed production stemming from staff and budgeting issues.

Mythology

On February 17, 2017, a preview for Crash Course Mythology was uploaded. Hosted by Mike Rugnetta, the series began on February 24, 2017. It covers creation myths, pantheons, destruction myths, heroes, mythical places, creatures, objects, and myths in the modern world.

Sociology

On February 28, 2017, a preview for Crash Course Sociology was uploaded. It will be hosted by Nicole Sweeney.

Science courses

Hank Green began his Crash Course series with Biology, on January 30, 2012. John referred to Hank's series as "the science stuff" counterpart to his humanities courses. As part of the partnership with PBS Digital Studios, additional hosts have been brought in to host recent series: Phil Plait (Astronomy), and Shini Somara (Physics).

Biology

Hank Green's first series, Crash Course Biology, launched on January 30, 2012 with "That's Why Carbon Is a Tramp", and a new episode aired on YouTube every Monday until October 22, 2012. The series used humor to blend entertainment into its educational content. A recurring segment on the program is titled "Biolo-graphy", in which Green relays a short biography of a person who is usually associated with the topic of the overall episode. For the benefit of uncertain viewers, Hank Green links YouTube annotations to every specific subtopic he explains in the video at the conclusion of the episode (the annotations replay the video starting from the particular annotation the viewer selects). In July 2012, a Crash Course Biology episode discussing Comparative anatomy was featured on a Mashable article.

Ecology

In the final episode of Crash Course Biology, Green revealed that the successor series, Crash Course Ecology, would follow in the spirit of the Biology series. It premiered on November 5, 2012, and ran for 12 episodes.

Chemistry

In January 2013, Hank Green announced that his next series would be Crash Course Chemistry, following a similar style to his previous Biology and Ecology series. He talked about the importance of chemistry to the world, and talked about the series in a brief 2-minute preview video. This series premiered on February 11, 2013.

Psychology

On January 3, 2014, Hank Green teased the launch of a series on psychology, before launching it on February 3.

Anatomy & Physiology

On January 15, 2014, Hank Green announced he would be hosting a new series about anatomy & physiology in 2015. The series began on January 6, 2015.

Astronomy

Phil Plait began teaching a course on astronomy on January 15, 2015. Plait stated that the course, "will cover basic topics in astronomy like motions in the sky, naked-eye observing, the planets, eclipses, stars, galaxies, and the whole Universe."

Physics

On January 29, 2016, the Crash Course Tumblr confirmed that the Physics course will debut in late March, hosted by Shini Somara. A 2-minute preview video for Crash Course Physics was uploaded to YouTube on February 18, 2016. The series premiered March 31, 2016.

Computer Science

On February 15, 2017, a preview episode for the Computer Science course was posted on the channel. It began on February 22 and is hosted by Carrie Anne Philbin.

Big History

In May 2014, John Green mentioned an upcoming 10-episode Crash Course season on Big History, funded by a grant from one of Bill Gates' organizations. The series first aired on the channel of the Big History Project, rather than the Crash Course YouTube channel.

On August 19, 2014, the Big History Project channel began hosting episodes of a new co-hosted series, Crash Course Big History. This outlines the history of existence, from the Big Bang forward into the evolution of life. Both Green brothers host the series, with Emily Graslie participating as a guest host.

On September 17, 2014, the first episode of Crash Course Big History was posted on the Crash Course YouTube channel, one month after its première on the Big History Project.

Intellectual Property

In February 2015, John Green announced that Crash Course producer Stan Muller would host a seven episode miniseries on intellectual property.

Crash Course Kids

On February 23, 2015, a new series, Crash Course Kids was announced through a video preview on its own YouTube channel. This series is hosted by Sabrina Cruz, known on YouTube as NerdyAndQuirky.

Upcoming series

On December 2, 2016, Craig Benzine revealed in a vlog from his WheezyWaiter channel that he will be hosting a series on film history, to be produced in Missoula.

Video release

DVD box sets of the complete run of the Biology series and of season 1 of World History were made available for pre-order on October 31, 2013. In June 2016, the show's official site (http://thecrashcourse.com/) launched, providing free offline downloads of all episodes of every series completed to date.