philedwardsinc

The rise and fall of kitschy 90s restaurants

How did restaurants become so chaotically wonderful? And why did it all disappear?

You can watch the full video here.

How this video happened

I got the suggestion on Instagram. High five to Alex. I think he may have anticipated a less cultural evolution story — this video gets into some "why do we have nostalgia" territory and is a bit more touchy-feely/historical than most of my recent tech and bi...

Why Minecraft Won

Minecraft is culturally dominant. How did a blocky game from nowhere take over the world?

Here's the video on YouTube.

How this video happened

Listen, I'll be honest. I thought my video about frozen orange juice would be a huge flop (it wasn't!), so I was like, I have to do something in the news. And the Minecraft mov...

Frozen orange juice is actually super weird

It's FCOJ's world. We just live in it.

Frozen orange juice is a strange, incredibly creative solution to a bunch of different problems. What does it do, and how did it change the 20th century?

Here's the video.

How this video happened

I stumbled on this topic when I was researching "Why the Soviet Union was obsessed with...

The Secret Economics of D&D

What happens when a company tries a huge experiment with their most famous game? And what happens when they change their mind?

Here's the video.

How this video happened

I knew for a while that massive innovative businesses were being built around D&D. But the deeper I got, the more I realized this was one of the first "secret economics" videos I've done to truly have an economic angle, ...

The United States of Pizza, mapsplained

How did we get so much — and so many types — of pizza? It's a complicated story with some cheesy digressions.

How this video happened

This has long been the most requested mapsplained video (after I did my videos on BBQ and beer). I didn't know how to do it, because I didn't want to publish a laundry...

The loophole that made Temu — and could kill it

How did Temu take over the world? And can it keep it?

How this video happened

It really is like I say in the video: I got a Temu drone for Christmas and wondered — how did this happen? How did we get to this place? I didn't expect the answer would take me to customs, but it did.

The video is here.

Check out more

Here's a link to 2025-01-19 15:03:09 +0000 UTC View Post

2024, in 6 weird minutes

It was a weird year. What year isn't? Watch the video here.

How this video happened

It's no secret that Vox does a great end of year video. I'm sure they'll have one out soon. But I always found myself thinking — isn't it really all the weird stuff that everybody likes?

So this is my terminal...

The State of the Phil Edwards Channel: 2024

Is this navel gazing? You bet! But I feel that for a channel made for curious people, it's only natural to provide a bit of behind-the-scenes info.

Long and short, things are going...fine...as I make the adjustment from employee to jack-of-all-trades entrepreneur. I know it might even be a bit disorienting to think of me as anything but a writer/video guy, but running a YouTube channel is a business as well as an editorial endeavor, and it's a long, glorious, bumpy ride.

Feel free...

Why the Soviet Union was obsessed with corn

Original video here: https://youtu.be/9w7WrXsHkIQ

How this video happened

I think I saw Khrushchev's corn-adoring picture on the cover of Life and said: I have to do a video about this now. I'll admit that a combination of logistical delays and worries about the commercial viability of corn content (corntent?) meant that this idea cooked for a while.

But that time delay also led to lots of g...

Sam Altman, the CEO behind Chat GPT, unpacked

He controls ChatGPT. But what controls him? Here's the video.

How this video happened

In Spring of 2023, I did a series about AI for Vox (touching on bad hands, special effects, 2024-12-01 14:01:08 +0000 UTC View Post

The secret economics of Escape Rooms

The only way out is through (spending a ton of money). Here's the video link.

How this video happened

Once I put a callout on Reddit, it became clear I was going to be able to report it out (not always the case — I've been trying to nail down a few other stories that I can't ...

The real reason we drove on the moon

The Lunar Rover was an incredible feat of engineering. But it was a feat of political engineering, too.

At the end - a question for you!

How this video happened

I think when I was researching my Earthrise video I stumbled on footage of the LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle, a NASA-ism I don't actually use in the video). I thought it was captivating and planned on doing an explainer of...

The United States of Beer, mapsplained

Here's the real question: how did beer get to the United States, then get bad, then get good again? Here's the video.

How this video happened

I've long wanted to do a sequel to the US of BBQ, Mapsplained, but I hadn’t found the right story (I'm getting closer with pizza, but not there yet). When I realized how u...

The secret economics of Google Street View

There's a whole world of Street View economics. You just have to know where to look. Here's the video.

How this video happened

I'll be transparent — my video about Migrant Mother was a burnout cure, but it was also a flop. I wanted to find something zeitgeisty and considered a few ideas — but then I completely fell...

The geography behind Migrant Mother

How did these two people meet and, in a few minutes, make history? Here's the video.

How this video happened

I wanted to understand a photograph I've seen all my life.

In all honesty, despite being intoxicated by my last video on...uh....gas stations, I wanted to do something slightly more meaningful for this one (tonal wh...

Reaction video for: The geography behind Migrant Mother

Original video here: https://youtu.be/PHJ9GNTwwas

Why gas stations are at war

Gas stations have evolved from random roadside stops into sandwich-slinging, turf-protecting superstores. How? That's what this video is all about.

How this video happened

Sheetz-Wawa polarization may be the thing that splits our country apart. I'd always noticed these gas stations in the news, but it was only when I passed a Buc-ee's in South Carolina that I became curious if something bigger was going on...

The truth about Utopias

Utopias are kingdoms of the imagination. So why bother with them?

How this video happened

What began as "Frank Lloyd Wright's Insane Utopia" became a much more meditative piece once I learned about the aforementioned "Insane Utopia."

I love doing a close read and deep research on a topic, but the more I dug into Wright's Broadacre City, the less it seemed to merit a super literal breakdown. How could this have been a realistic plan? Why was his writing larded with prose th...

Why Taiwan Can't Compete Under Its Own Name

Chinese Taipei is at the Olympics this year. It also doesn't exist.

How this video happened

Initially, this video was an attempt to get more Olympics juice in the system, and it still is that — even though I'm not a sports guy, my last video made me intrigued by the weirdness of the Olympics. And people are intereste...

When America broke the Olympics

The boycott was an existential threat to the Olympics. How did it happen?

How this video happened

I cast about for a few different Olympic topics: the Olympic Village; breakdancing; the alternative games GANEFO (more on that below).

I was drawn to the broader topic of an Olympic boycott because I thought the tick-tock had never been covered well before, and the wealth of available archive ma...

Why the suburbs were built for cars (and the forgotten plan for shopping centers)

The suburbs won't change. Why?

How this video happened

This started with strip malls.

I stumbled on this Masters thesis and was hooked. Though the author was writing it to make the argument that strip malls should be considered a preservationist's subject (which...I dunno about that), I was intrigued by the research and wanted to learn more.

I quickly found ou...

Why he went into space without a rope

Bruce McCandless II made the first untethered spacewalk in history. Why did he do it?

How this video happened

A wise commenter named Beetmonster recommended I check this story out.

I'd love to see your take on the famous Bruce McCandless photo! Subscribing.

After the relative success of my video about the photography behind Earthrise, I knew I wanted to do som...

Reaction video to: Why 295,000 businesses are in this little building

Original video here: https://youtu.be/b4q99EuZF_Q

Why Your Gum Says "Contains Phenylalanine"

For years, I've cultivated an addiction to Trident White, an addiction that has slightly freshened my breath and had no apparent effect on the whiteness of my teeth.

When discarding an old package of the good stuff, I'd always see the following warning under the ingredients:

 Phenyl...

Beautifully Weird Photo

Researching a video about "how TV went from dumb to good." Through my lens, I think it'll be a rambling story about how changes in business and technology, not culture, changed the medium. So I ran into this. 

I am one of those people who is very hesitant to slap the label "Lynchian" on things (since I basically parrot what I read David Foster Wallace say about it). But I think this pic clears the ba...

How I made Steamboat Willie's visual soundtrack

After this, I realized it probably makes as much sense as a text post as a video. Nevertheless, I made a video (above).

As I explain there, I couldn't find a period-appropriate scan of SW (scans available are from later on, using different sound methods). I needed variable density and, happily, found a way to make it.

My steps were:

1) Select a Wav for turning into optical sound.

2) Visit the project: 2024-01-07 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

My Joke Deciphering Promise

By the end of my next video, you WILL understand this joke. OK, by the end of this post (I can't leave you hanging).

As Hollywood began to adopt sound recording, it wasn't just like they synced up a record player with the video (though that was basically what they did in "The Jazz Singer). Two common, and competing, forms of sound recording were optical sound — they coded visual versions of ...

Why have we been denied Aerobic Defense classes?

Imagine a world in which, at one moment, you're slow-exercising to "Lady in Red." The next, attack. How to combine the two?

Aerobic defense is the answer. Finally, leotards and violence can become one.

Moscow McDonald's - old minidoc I found

I ran into this doc when researching an upcoming (90% unrelated) McDonald's topic. It's pretty fascinating — 90s footage, Christopher Plummer, and lots of background music.

Who can guess the map?

Well, I guess some of you have had it spoiled in chat. But I'm pretty excited for this one. I've already had FaceTimes with people from A to B (Atlanta to Boise).