I am, admittedly, something of a YouTube video essay fanboy. I usually have one playing in the background while I’m working, cooking, doing chores, etc. I’ll watch 2hr+ videos in 5 or 6 chunks like a podcast if I have to. For years now, one of my favorite video essayists on YouTube has been Dan Olson, the Alberta, Canada-based creator behind the channel Folding Ideas. .stk-acf589e{height:22px !important} Olson first caught my attention with his video “The Art of Editing and Suicide Squad.” Released December 31, 2016, this essay does a brilliant job explaining what made Suicide Squad (2016) so difficult to watch. In doing so, he presages a lot of issues that have plagued action movies since – namely, shoddy work done by artists under duress at the whims of bean counter studio execs. What are the best videos on Folding Ideas’ channel? Olson has released 174 videos, but recently has slowed down his prolific (and YouTube algorithm-friendly) “one video a week” pace and the results of this patience really show. He now makes lengthy videos that tackle complex ideas in tech, gaming, or culture and refine them to all the bits you need to know to become fluent in the topic. I’m going to highlight three standout essays, but I’d encourage you to subscribe to Folding Ideas and dig in anywhere that interests you. .stk-02ac3bd .stk-block-heading__bottom-line{width:41px !important;background-color:var(–stk-global-color-56583,#911d9c) !important}The documentary that killed NFTs On January 21, 2022, Olson released his most comprehensive documentary to date, Line Goes Up — The…Folding Ideas is a must-subscribe YouTube account – here’s why