ThinkingWest

Subscribers 68.2K

Videos 157

Views 3.6M

Channels Like ThinkingWest

ThinkingWest explores the Great Books, Western civilization, philosophy, and related ideas, reviving the Great Conversation for a digital audience. The channel presents deep-dives and discussions on history, literature, and the ideas that shaped the West, with video topics ranging from empire decline to ancient myths. It publishes content from a largely educational perspective, with a focus on big questions and classical education, and averages about 157 videos since 2019, with an average of roughly 72.7K views per video.

Results last updated 3 months ago.

Similar Channels

We found 47 YouTube channels similar to ThinkingWest

The School of Life YouTube channel thumbnail

#1

The School of Life view on YouTube ▶

82% relevance

Subscribers 9.6M

Videos 1.1K

Views 980.9M

Appearances 18

SERP 100%

Similarity 70%

history of ideas political philosophy democracy and society

Shares high search overlap on ideas-history and political philosophy queries (history of ideas, democracy and society) with ThinkingWest, and while content is more discursive and philosophy-focused (82% match search vs 70% content), they attract a similar audience interested in big-picture ideas.

#2

Memoria Press

67% relevance

Subscribers 38.1K

Videos 569

Views 2.6M

Appearances 14

SERP 59%

Similarity 72%

great books discussion classical education modern education critique

Targets classic texts and education critique with queries like great books discussion, classical education, and modern education critique; aligns with ThinkingWest on seeking foundational ideas and historical perspectives, though content is more traditional and classroom-oriented (59% search, 72% content).

#3

Philosophy Coded

63% relevance

Subscribers 152K

Videos 81

Views 7.9M

Appearances 5

SERP 37%

Similarity 81%

civilization decline political philosophy democracy critique modern

Converges on civilization decline and political philosophy with modern democracy critique, giving ThinkingWest a shared audience around civilizational questions, but its style is more analysis-driven and code/structure-oriented (37% search, 81% content).

#4

After Skool

62% relevance

Subscribers 3.7M

Videos 242

Views 276.2M

Appearances 5

SERP 34%

Similarity 81%

civilization decline historical cycles civilization cycles theory

Overlaps on civilization decline and historical/civilization cycles, appealing to ThinkingWest’s audience interested in big-cycle frameworks, though After Skool emphasizes visual essays with a more narrative delivery (34% search, 81% content).

#5

TED-Ed view on YouTube ▶

58% relevance

Subscribers 22.4M

Videos 2.3K

Views 4.5B

Appearances 13

SERP 39%

Similarity 71%

ancient myths and stories ancient myths stories democracy critique modern

Appeals to the same broad curiosity about myths, stories, and democratic ideas; shares search interest around ancient myths and democracy critique, but TED-Ed uses short educational animations with didactic pacing (39% search, 71% content).

#6

TEDx Talks view on YouTube ▶

57% relevance

Subscribers 44.2M

Videos 255K

Views 8.8B

Appearances 7

SERP 43%

Similarity 67%

classical education modern education critique democracy and society

Similar on classical and modern education critique and democracy topics, attracting viewers interested in political philosophy in a talk-format, though individual talks vary widely in depth (43% search, 67% content).

Content Landscape

Top competitors include The School of Life (82% match) and After Skool (62–63% match) as the most aligned with ThinkingWest’s focus on history of ideas, political philosophy, and civilization-related topics. The School of Life centers on history of ideas, political philosophy, and democracy and society, while After Skool covers civilization decline and historical/civilizational cycles; both intersect with ThinkingWest’s queries like western civilization, great books discussion, and civilization decline. The School of Life has a much larger subscriber base (9.6M) compared to ThinkingWest (68.2K), with After Skool at 3.7M, highlighting size differences even as topics overlap. Other notable overlaps include Memoria Press (67% match) focusing on great books, classical education, and modern education critique, and Philosophy Coded (63% match) touching on civilization decline and democracy-related ideas; TED-Ed (58% match) also overlaps on ancient myths and democracy critique. Overall, competitors share queries around history of ideas, philosophy, and civilization, but differ in audience scale and content style.

Video Highlights

Didn't Make the Cut

41 additional channels that were close

Rank	Relevance	Channel	Similarity	Subscribers	SERP	Appearances
#7	56%	Dreamoria	75%	63.2K	28%	5
#8	56%	Jared Henderson ▶	76%	733K	26%	6
#9	55%	Dr. Roy Casagranda	75%	545K	26%	6
#10	55%	James Muldoon	72%	34.4K	30%	6
#11	54%	Michael Sugrue	74%	324K	25%	4
#12	53%	Rob Pirie - The Cause	79%	69.4K	13%	3
#13	53%	Whatifalthist	77%	736K	17%	2
#14	53%	Benedict Beckeld	80%	11.9K	12%	2
#15	52%	YaleCourses ▶	72%	1.7M	22%	3
#16	52%	Unsolicited advice ▶	77%	882K	15%	4
#17	52%	The Art Of Storytelling	71%	146K	23%	4
#18	52%	Then & Now ▶	78%	543K	13%	3
#19	51%	CrashCourse ▶	72%	16.9M	19%	7
#20	51%	Intelligence Squared	76%	795K	14%	3
#21	51%	Ryan Chapman ▶	75%	538K	15%	5
#22	51%	Alex O'Connor ▶	73%	1.9M	17%	4
#23	51%	History Mapped Out	73%	160K	18%	3
#24	51%	Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell ▶	70%	25.1M	22%	2
#25	51%	Jaydone History ▶	76%	193K	13%	4
#26	50%	Fall of Civilizations	76%	1.5M	13%	2
#27	50%	The Abyss of Wisdom	76%	2.0K	12%	1
#28	50%	Redeemed Zoomer ▶	72%	678K	16%	2
#29	49%	Predictive History ▶	71%	1.9M	15%	5
#30	49%	Lakepointe Church	72%	788K	14%	1
#31	49%	TED ▶	69%	27.2M	18%	4
#32	49%	Principles by Ray Dalio	72%	3.1M	13%	4
#33	49%	Rationality Rules	73%	569K	12%	1
#34	48%	Blundera	71%	35.8K	14%	2
#35	48%	exurb1a ▶	71%	3.0M	14%	4
#36	48%	Turning Point USA	72%	6.7M	13%	3
#37	48%	The Royal Institute of Philosophy	71%	27.7K	13%	2
#38	48%	MinuteVideos	70%	1.7M	14%	1
#39	47%	According to Alina	71%	67.6K	12%	1
#40	47%	Just About Earth	71%	54.3K	12%	2
#41	47%	Forgotten Lore	71%	17.8K	12%	2
#42	47%	Hank Green ▶	71%	3M	12%	1
#43	47%	Meeka le Fay	70%	68.5K	12%	1
#44	46%	ChallengingMedia	67%	32.6K	14%	1
#45	44%	teachinghistoryorg	64%	1.5K	13%	2
#46	42%	warikoo	62%	6.9M	12%	4
#47	42%	JCCCvideo	61%	80.7K	15%	3

Search Queries Used

western civilization great books discussion philosophy and history civilization decline empires and power history of ideas classical education cultural criticism political philosophy historical cycles modern education critique ancient myths and stories C.S. Lewis critique democracy and society historical thinking classical education ideas philosophy of history cultural civilization analysis literary classics debate political philosophy overview intellectual history themes civilization cycles theory ancient myths stories democracy critique modern humanities education critique great books syllabus western thought canon moral philosophy questions historical reasoning skills empires and decline study civilizational values debate foundations of western thought renaissance and enlightenment ideas philosophy and civilization

Frequently Asked Questions

Which YouTube channels are most similar to ThinkingWest?

The School of Life — 82% match, 9.6M subscribers; Memoria Press — 67% match, 34.6K subscribers; Philosophy Coded — 63% match, 152K subscribers. They share a focus on philosophy, classics, and education related to Western thought and literature, similar to ThinkingWest's emphasis on great books, philosophy, and classical education.

What type of content does ThinkingWest make?

ThinkingWest creates educational, philosophy- and classics-focused content, discussing Western civilization, great books, and related topics. Videos include titles like The Evolution of Western Civilization, We’re Worshipping the Wrong God, and You Are Inheriting a Falling Empire, with an average around 72.7K views per video and roughly a weekly upload cadence.

How do we determine which channels are similar to ThinkingWest?

We analyze ThinkingWest'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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