secondthought

America's Patriotism to Fascism Pipeline

Hey everyone! Sorry I wasn't able to upload this sooner. My wife and I were on a little anniversary trip so I started working on this one pretty late. There have been plenty of videos examining the YouTube far-right radicalization machine, but far fewer looking at the effect of Fox News and conservative talk radio hosts on older generations. This video is an attempt to explain why so many peopl...

Is Universal Basic Income The Future?

Howdy, friends! This week's video is all about UBI. It's a brief look at the arguments for and against implementing a universal basic income, as well as a rare bit of optimism from me ;)  Just finished writing the script for next week's video, which isn't sponsored so it'll be nice and spicy. Hope you enjoy this one!

Capitalism And Monopolies: How Five Companies Control All US Media

Howdy, friends! Here's this week's video. I hope you enjoy it! You'll probably get next week's video super early too, so stay tuned later this week :)

This week's video script!

Howdy, comrades! Here's this week's script. It's about how just five companies control all US media. You probably know about Disney owning a bunch of other companies like Marvel and Lucasfilm, but the reality of the US media landscape is actually much more dystopian. The video will be up soon!

The US Postal Service And Voting By Mail

Howdy, friends! In this week's episode we take a look at some of the false claims and fear mongering surrounding the USPS and voting by mail. Hope you enjoy!

Script for this week's video!

Howdy, friends! I recently had a patron request early access to scripts, which I thought was a great idea. Without further ado, here's this week's script! It's about the United States Postal Service and voting by mail. 

No video this week :(

Hey friends! Just wanted to give you all a heads up. I’m in Alaska shooting a documentary, so there won’t be a video this week. Here’s a behind the scenes peak at the production process!

America's Overwork Obsession

Howdy, friends! This week's episode is all about the American obsession with work. The desire to accumulate more wealth is so ingrained in the American psyche that we're not even aware that our work/life balance is one of the worst in the entire world. Hope you enjoy!

Let's Talk About Human Influence On Climate Change

Hello, friends! Sorry this week's preview is a little later than usual. I had a hardware failure that set me back quite a ways. This one is sponsored, so I had to pick a topic that's slightly safer than my recent content. In this episode, I briefly discuss the findings of a new climate study and explain why everyone -- even human-made climate change skeptics -- should care that our planet is un...

Reopening Schools is a Terrible Idea

Howdy, friends! In this week's video I take a look at the push to reopen schools for the fall semester, and why that's a terrible idea. You won't be surprised to learn that the people behind the push don't actually care about the safety of the children. Hope you enjoy!

America's Looming Eviction Crisis

Hello, friends! This week's video is about the huge wave of evictions barreling towards the United States. Without a federal eviction moratorium, and with both unemployment benefits and state-level moratoriums about to expire, we could see 28 million Americans lose their homes. In this episode, I compare the coming wave of evictions to the housing crash of 2008, and offer a few solutions. Hope ...

Welcome, new patrons!

Hello and welcome to all you wonderful people! Thank you all so much for deciding to help support my channel. For those who are interested, here’s how you get access to the Second Thought Discord server: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-Get-my-Discord-role...

A Discord server, just for you :)

Howdy, friends! I went ahead and made a patrons-only Discord server for everyone who has generously decided to support my channel. I'm not very experienced with Discord, so let me know if you haven't received an invite link. I used the built-in Patreon/Discord integration, so it should have automatically added you all, but if not, I'm sure I can send individual invite links. 

If you'...

How This Drug Company Monetized The Pandemic

Howdy, friends! This week's video is about the unconscionable actions of the pharmaceutical company Gilead. Instead of making their COVID treatment affordable for everyone, they've priced it so that the majority of people around the world can't even afford a single day's worth of the drug. To make matters worse, the US has shoved aside the rest of the world and bought up 100% of the doses for t...

Why Facial Recognition Technology Is So Dangerous

Hello, friends! This week I decided to tackle the topic of facial recognition and the state of mass surveillance in the US and China. I hope you enjoy! Also, I've recently gotten a couple of requests to start a Discord. Is that something that you all would enjoy? Let me know!

Should America Be Considered A Democracy?

Hello, friends! This week I tackle the question of whether the US should be considered a democratic nation. Not in the Democracy vs Republic sense, but whether or not the US lives up to the standards it sets for the rest of the world. I hope you enjoy! As always, feel free to leave video topic requests if you have any. 

Racist Statues And Revisionist History

Hello, friends! This week's video is about the problem with statues honoring the Confederacy and problematic historical figures. I hope you find it insightful!

The Privatization of Space and the Celestial Commons

Hello, friends! Here's this week's video. Too often the Left dismisses space exploration as a waste of time and money. Whatever you feel about space travel, the capitalist class will push ahead with their goal of turning outer space into a new tool of production. If we don't speak up now, we'll enter a period of inequality we cannot yet begin to fathom. Outer space should benefit all humankind,...

America's Police Problem

Hello, friends! This one was a challenge to make. Trying to keep up with the most current information and weave it into a coherent structure was quite an ordeal. Obviously YouTube will demonetize this video and not recommend it to viewers, so please share with your friends when it goes live tomorrow! I hope you find it informative.

Astroturfing: How To Spot A Fake Movement

Hello, friends! This week's video is about astroturfing, the process of manufacturing movements to make them appear organic. It's a very sneaky practice, and one that can have serious consequences for any democracy. I hope you enjoy!

The Resurgence of Popular Left Media

Hello, friends! Sorry this week's video is a little late. It's a bit longer than usual. Hope you enjoy! As always, feel free to request future video topics or make suggestions!

Can Global Food Production Keep Up With Population Growth?

Hello, friends! Here's this week's video. This one is sponsored by the sponsor that bailed last time, so I had to pick a fairly tame subject. Hopefully this is the last time I have to work with them. I still tried to include some small amount of leftist thought, like mutual aid and pushing back on the "overpopulation" narrative pushed by eugenicists. Next week I'll be doing an unsponsored episo...

Should I review Tonight We Riot?

Hey friends! The games division of Means TV just released an anti-capitalist retro side scroller called Tonight We Riot. Would it be interesting for me to review the game and talk about the cultural significance of overtly anti-capitalist media? You can see the game's Steam page here: https://store.st...

How Does Coronavirus Compare To Past Pandemics?

Howdy, friends! This week's episode is all about the coronavirus and how it compares to other pandemics like the 1918 flu. I hope you like it!

Why Does The US Spend So Much On The Military?

Hello, friends! Here's this week's video. I was hoping to be a bit more critical of the US military industrial complex in this episode, but the sponsor will only put up with so much. Still, I think it's decent. Hope you guys like it!

America's Stunted Political Spectrum

Hello, friends! Sorry this week's video preview is a little late. My desktop decided it was time to malfunction so I had to rely on my laptop for this one. I hope you enjoy the episode! As always, if there's ever a topic you'd like to see covered, shoot me an email or message me on Patreon and I'll do my best to make a video of it. Cheers!

Why American Healthcare Is The Worst In The Developed World

Hello, friends! I'm going to try to upload each week's video early for you guys as a little thank you for supporting me. Here's this week's episode. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to message me or send me an email if there are other topics you'd like to see covered in future videos.