Then & Now YouTube channel thumbnail
Then & Now
Subscribers 543K
Videos 216
Views 40.0M

Channels Like Then & Now

Then & Now creates video essays about History, Politics and Philosophy, delivering deep-dives and analysis rather than quick tutorials or vlogs. The channel posts long-form content with topics like fascism, authoritarianism, populism, and state power, and averages about 88.8K views per video with 216 videos published since joining in 2016, roughly 0.2 uploads per week.

Similar Channels

We found 44 YouTube channels similar to Then & Now

CrashCourse YouTube channel thumbnail
#1

83% relevance

Subscribers 16.9M
Videos 1.6K
Views 2.2B
Appearances 24
SERP 100%
Similarity 72%
history of authoritarianism ideology and governance bureaucracy and statecraft

Both target broad audiences with concise, structured explanations of complex political themes using history-focused content, aligning on searches like history of authoritarianism and governance, though CrashCourse's presentation is more rapid and classroom-style (83% match: high search overlap; content 72% indicates similar topics but different style).

TED-Ed YouTube channel thumbnail
#2

65% relevance

Subscribers 22.4M
Videos 2.3K
Views 4.5B
Appearances 10
SERP 65%
Similarity 66%
history of authoritarianism rise of populism state power mechanisms

Similar in delivering accessible, idea-driven explanations of political topics such as the rise of populism and state power mechanisms, with substantial search overlap on those queries but slightly differing in narrative depth and length (65% match; search 65%, content 66%).

Korczyk's Class YouTube channel thumbnail
#3
Korczyk's Class

64% relevance

Subscribers 35K
Videos 77
Views 2.9M
Appearances 10
SERP 52%
Similarity 72%
global politics analysis political legitimacy theories nationalism and identity

Shares global politics analysis and theories of legitimacy and nationalism, matching on queries about political legitimacy and identity, yet Korczyk's Class emphasizes a more opinionated or classroom-style critique (64% match; search 52%, content 72%).

The School of Life YouTube channel thumbnail
Subscribers 9.6M
Videos 1.1K
Views 980.9M
Appearances 16
SERP 54%
Similarity 67%
political philosophy bureaucracy and statecraft political theory critique

Similar focus on political philosophy and critique of statecraft, with overlap on queries about bureaucracy and governance, though SoL tends to philosophical and reflective tone rather than data-driven history (62% match; search 54%, content 67%).

The Paint Explainer YouTube channel thumbnail
Subscribers 1.8M
Videos 141
Views 260.9M
Appearances 5
SERP 33%
Similarity 74%
political philosophy ideology and governance power and ideology

Both cover political philosophy and ideologies in governance with attention to power dynamics, yet Paint Explainer blends visual-art style explanations, resulting in high content overlap but lower search alignment for some political terms (58% match; search 33%, content 74%).

Big Think YouTube channel thumbnail
#6

55% relevance

Subscribers 8.6M
Videos 9.9K
Views 1.0B
Appearances 5
SERP 29%
Similarity 73%
political philosophy authoritarian resilience colonial legacy implications

Shares interest in political philosophy and implications of colonial legacy; audiences overlap on these topics, but Big Think features broader expert-led interviews, causing moderate search overlap and strong factual/analysis content similarity (55% match; search 29%, content 73%).

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Content Landscape

Discovered competitors include CrashCourse (83% match) and TED-Ed (65% match) as top rivals, both sharing overlapping queries on history of authoritarianism, ideology and governance, and state power mechanisms. Korczyk's Class (64% match) also competes with global politics analysis and nationalism topics, while The School of Life (62% match) and The Paint Explainer (58% match) contribute to political philosophy and ideology-related searches. Then & Now has 543K subscribers, which is significantly smaller than CrashCourse (16.9M) and TED-Ed (22.4M) but larger than Korczyk's Class (35K) and The Paint Explainer (1.8M). The common threads include history, political philosophy, and governance topics, with overlapping queries like history of authoritarianism, rise of populism, and political theory critique.

Video Highlights

Recent content from similar channels

Didn't Make the Cut

38 additional channels that were close

Rank Relevance Channel Similarity Subscribers SERP Appearances
#7 55% Academy of Ideas 79% 2.0M 18% 5
#8 54% Vox 71% 12.7M 29% 7
#9 54% Hoover Institution 76% 1.1M 21% 6
#10 53% Kraut 76% 604K 19% 3
#11 53% TEDx Talks 67% 44.2M 32% 13
#12 53% Ryan Chapman 74% 538K 21% 6
#13 52% Red Pen 78% 43.2K 13% 4
#14 52% Sociologylearners 72% 11.7K 21% 4
#15 51% YaleCourses 70% 1.7M 23% 5
#16 51% Heimler's History 67% 1.2M 27% 6
#17 51% Fredda 75% 138K 15% 1
#18 51% True Sage 77% 37.6K 12% 1
#19 51% Robert Reich 76% 1.5M 12% 3
#20 51% Pursuit of Wonder 75% 3.4M 14% 2
#21 50% Money & Macro 74% 647K 15% 1
#22 50% Centre for Geopolitics 73% 10.4K 15% 2
#23 50% Wendigoon 73% 4.6M 15% 3
#24 50% ENDEVR 73% 1.4M 15% 2
#25 49% The Institute of World Politics 72% 26.3K 14% 2
#26 49% Al Jazeera English 59% 17.5M 33% 5
#27 49% TED 70% 27.2M 17% 6
#28 48% Belfer Center 72% 36.8K 12% 1
#29 48% Trends Journal 72% 67.7K 12% 1
#30 48% In the Kimdom 68% 57.3K 17% 2
#31 48% Jaydone History 71% 193K 13% 5
#32 47% Prof. Dr. Zia Ahmed 71% 7.0K 12% 2
#33 47% The Federalist Society 70% 108K 12% 1
#34 47% GLOBAL GENIUS 68% 43.1K 15% 1
#35 47% Eduta 63% 1.4K 22% 6
#36 46% Brookings Institution 68% 163K 13% 2
#37 45% HISTORY 66% 15.2M 14% 2
#38 45% The New School 66% 196K 15% 1
#39 45% DMRU Academy 66% 1.3K 12% 1
#40 44% The New York Times 66% 5.1M 12% 1
#41 44% DW News 63% 6.2M 16% 5
#42 44% Redeemed Zoomer 63% 678K 15% 1
#43 43% Penn Medical Ethics & Health Policy Online 63% 1.2K 12% 1
#44 42% FRANCE 24 English 62% 3.5M 11% 2

Search Queries Used

historical philosophy political philosophy history of authoritarianism rise of populism global politics analysis 20th century history ideology and governance cultural nationalism economic oligarchy state power mechanisms bureaucracy and statecraft democracy and decline power and ideology political theory critique historical ethics philosophy of power democratic decline patterns authoritarian resilience populist rhetoric analysis state surveillance history economic inequality roots bureaucratic control mechanisms ideology critique methods political legitimacy theories constitutional erosion trends economic imperialism history colonial legacy implications nationalism and identity civic virtue and decay soft power history political realism overview revolutions and reforms statecraft in history philosophy of governance

Frequently Asked Questions

Which YouTube channels are most similar to Then & Now?

Then & Now's biggest competitors on YouTube are CrashCourse (83% match, 16.9M subscribers) and TED-Ed (65% match, 22.4M subscribers), with Korczyk's Class (64% match, 35K subscribers) also listed. They share a focus on educational or explanatory content and storytelling around complex topics.

What type of content does Then & Now make?

Then & Now creates informational content exploring historical and political themes, as suggested by video titles like The Fascist Ideal, The Rise of the Authoritarian-Curious, and How to Make a Fascist. The channel uploads roughly 0.2 videos per week and averages about 88.8K views per video.

How do we determine which channels are similar to Then & Now?

We analyze Then & Now's recent videos, generate topic-relevant search queries, check YouTube search results, and compare the meaning of each channel's content to measure similarity. The result is a ranked list sorted by SERP overlap, semantic similarity, and search appearances.

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