johnnyharris

JULY BTS VLOG

Hi friends. I hope you all are having a great summer. Enjoy the BTS vlog from last month. - Johnny

VIDEO: $25,000 vs $25,000,000

Hi friends! Working on this one was definitely different — and we got to work with green screens, which was a blast. Let us know what you think about videos like these — should we make more of them?

~Johnny

JULY TOM FOX TRACK

This track was created for the recent publish about the Japan military preparing for war on its remote islands. You can hear it in context here!

Patreon Track Code: Tom Fox - Expansion (JHTNR9349)

VIDEO: Kurdistan - the State that Never Existed

Hey friends - new video for you today.

Trying to explain the entire history of the Kurds in one video proved to be a serious challenge. Instead, we tried to select specific case studies from the history of the Kurdish people that shows how they’ve been repeatedly used by global powers trying to get what they want. Sometimes a proxy to gain influence in another country, sometimes a convenient fighting force for the war on terror, but always the Kurds are abandoned, their international ...

VIDEO: The Rise and Rule of Elon Musk

A note from the Story Producer:

Elon’s a pretty polarizing guy, which is why it took us months of research to figure out what we wanted to say about him. We could only put so much into one video, so sadly his memes and Soundcloud are on the cutting room floor.

Let us know your thoughts on the guy — is he a net good, net negative, or neutral?

~Alex

SCRIPT: JAPAN’S ISLAND WARS

Hi all - this month's script is from our Japanese History Mapsplainer. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts, I'll do my best to answer them! Enjoy.

Johnny

VIDEO: I trained with the Japanese Army

From the Field Producer:

We gave you a sneak preview of this story in March’s BTS Patreon vlog - and we’re so excited to share the full video with you now.

This story was a long time in the making, starting early 2023 with outreach to fixers in Japan, building relationships with the Ministry of Defense and SDF, and pushing for access within the military and with the locals. The result you...

2024-06-28 12:02:01 +0000 UTC View Post

JUNE BTS Vlog

Hey everyone - this month's BTS we're bringing you:

• tips on interviewing & transcripts as Trevor researches Kurdistan

• how Sam achieved the computer screen grid effects on our Princess video

• an inside look at our first foray into green screen

Hope you guys enjoy - and keep an eye out for a big video coming tomorrow!

VIDEO: How the US Defeated Japan, Mapped

Note from the Story Producer:

World War 2 is something we all learned about in school, but looking at it through a map lens gave us a really cool opportunity to surface moments and connections that surprised us. We hope this video can also be a helpful complement to Johnny’s/our field reporting from Japan.  - Tamara

JUNE TOM FOX TRACK

This track was commissioned for Johnny's video on the science of lying. My goal was to create something inquisitive and 'Vsauce' like. Don't forget to place the code in the description of your video when using this song. Hope you enjoy!

Track Code: Tom Fox - Lying Is Easy (JHTNR9341)

VIDEO: Why Your Brain Sucks at Detecting Lies

From the Story Producer:

We went deep on this one - reviewing countless studies and talking to expert scientists to get a granular understanding of what we know about what’s happening in our brains when we receive information.

It wasn’t enough to tell you “humans like to gather new information” we wanted to understand what that would literally look like in your brain – and why, as a species, this behavior has stuck with us for so long.

And we ...

2024-06-14 12:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post

SCRIPT: IRAN-IRAQ WAR

Hi all, this month's script is for our video that went live last week on the Iran-Iraq War. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll try to answer them. Thanks as always for your support.

VIDEO: The War that Reshaped the Middle East Forever

A note from Story Producer:

This video had a lot of diplomatic turns that I didn’t expect. Speaking to experts really helped us understand how Israel could end up on the same side as Iran, how the US could end up sending weapons to both sides, and how the US and the Soviet Union ultimately supported the same side of the war, in the middle of their own cold war.

-Trevor

MAY TOM FOX TRACK

This track came from one of the sessions for Johnny's video on the Djibouti choke point. Please include the code below in the description of your video to avoid any copyright claims.

CODE: Tom Fox - Choke Point (JHTNR7647)

I hope you enjoy! - Tom Fox

MAY BTS VLOG

Hey everyone, this past month, we’ve been hard at work on our upcoming video about Elon Musk and finishing up our huge video on the Japanese SDF. Hope you enjoy watching the process.

SCRIPT: Djibouti

Hi friends, this month's script is from our video on Djibouti from a few weeks ago. Let me know if you have any questions about the script and our process and I'll try to answer them.

VIDEO: How the Houthis Took Over Yemen

Note from the Story Producer:

We create a lot of map explainers as a team, and I think this was the most complicated one we’ve done yet. So many shifting alliances and borders opening up new fronts in the war really drives home how much worse this war was made by Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

Hope you find it as interesting as we did!

~ Trevor

APRIL BTS VLOG

Hi friends, so excited to introduce the newest member of the team in this month's vlog. Hope you enjoy 🐶

VIDEO: The most important country you’ve never heard about

Hi friends -

There’s a lot going down in the Red Sea region right now, and we wanted to untangle this web of geopolitics by looking at how one actor, without a ton of power and influence, navigates this turmoil.

This video was also an opportunity for us to experiment with a hybrid mapsplainer format - we hope you enjoy.

~ Johnny

APRIL TOM FOX TRACK

This track came from a session focused on music for Johnny's video about Bloody Sunday. The track was heavily inspired by the Cyber Punk OST... Use this track in your own videos, but please note that you must include this code in the description of your video to avoid a claim: Tom Fox - Internment (JHTNR5878) Enjoy! - Tom Fox

VIDEO: The Most Hated Woman You’ve Never Heard About

Hi friends —

This is a much different video than anything we’ve ever done, so we’re excited to share this new format with you. We’d love to hear how you liked this new style and what else you think we should cover like this!

~ Johnny

THUMBNAIL POLL: DJIBOUTI

Hi all, we are working on a video on how tons of other countries have bases or want bases in Djibouti. Comment below which thumbnail you like the best. 

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SCRIPT: MLK

Hi friends, here is this month's script. It is our script for our recent video on the assassination of MLK. We had some incredible archival stuff to work with for this one so I hope you gain something from looking at how we incorporated that into the script. As always, thanks so much for all your support.

MARCH BTS VLOG

A note from our studio manager, Nick Tucker:

March was a big month for the Johnny Harris show. After working on getting access for nearly a year, Johnny finally got to go train with the Japanese Military, officially known as the Self Defense Forces. He brought along me, his trusty cameraman and gear mule, Teryn, our production manager and field producer, and Makiko, our fixer and translator. Fun fact: Makiko previously worked with Johnny on an episode for Vox's Borders way bac...

VIDEO: Why People Think the FBI Killed MLK

Hi friends -

This is another episode in a series we’re calling Second Glance, where we critically look into popular conspiracy theories through a journalistic lens. And even though this conspiracy theory centers around the assassination of MLK, we found the most compelling evidence of foul play in the context of events leading up to the assassination as opposed to the murder itself.

We hope you enjoy.

~ Johnny

MARCH TOM FOX TRACK

This track was composed for Johnny's arm trade series. You can here it a the start of Part 1. Enjoy using it in your own videos. Please don't forget to use the code in the description of your video to avoid a claim.

Code: Tom Fox - The Merchants Of Death (JHTNR5072)

Thanks!
- Tom Fox

THUMBNAIL VOTE: UZBEK PRINCESS

Hi friends, we are releasing a video soon titled "The Most Hated Woman You've Never Heard Of." Comment below which thumbnail you would most likely click on.

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SCRIPT: BLOODY SUNDAY

Hi friends, this month's script is from our video that went live just a couple days ago. I hope you enjoy.

VIDEO: How the British Government Used the Army Against Their Own Citizens

A note from the Story Producer:

Visiting Derry last year really inspired me to pitch this story. Going to a place really helps drive home how events like these can leave both mental and physical scars. And I love how the documents can help reveal the motivations of the government in this case -- that immediately after this massacre, they aren’t worried about justice, they aren’t worried about stability, they just want to make it all go away. 

~ Trevor

2024-03-20 12:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post

FEBRUARY BTS VLOG

This BTS vlog is full of fun behind the scenes moments from our latest video, "The Deep State is Real, Here's Why it Matters"  and also "Why Cyber Weapons are WAY Scarier Than you Think." But you have to stay to the end for a Patreon exclusive mapslainer from our Senior Video Producer, Sam Anghelides. Hope you all enjoy.