Journey to the Microcosmos (JTTM) launches viewers into the world of microscopic life hosted by Hank Green with stunning, aquatic footage from James Weiss, a microbiologist and self-confessed pond scum enthusiast. The show features unique cultures from his own collection as well as samples collected from soils, ponds, puddles, and seas.
JTTM is the latest YouTube channel produced by the Green brothers’ production company, Complexly Media. Complexly Media has also produced SciShow and CrashCourse, both being wildly popular YouTube channels that offer bite-sized scientific and educational material to the digital masses. By adding a third science-based channel to the mix, it’s natural to think that Complexly Media might be tiring out their niche, but JTTM keeps it fresh by veering in a new direction: the microcosmos.
While one video might feature a simple algae colony harvested from commercial blueberries, JTTM also excites viewers with the promise of exploring what thrives on extracts from an untouched forest in Europe and from the permafrost of Siberia.
Each episode focuses on a microscopic species or a broad question such as “How do tiny things move?” or “What’s up with tardigrades?” JTTM works hard to make its content digestible and fun for anyone to watch by not being overly concerned with the exact science of everything. In a discipline that thrives on precise wording, this is refreshing. The script doesn’t shy away from getting philosophical or poetic either. Organisms, for instance, are endearingly described in one episode as “little balls of chemicals working to get what they need … they are each a little soup that wants.”
The voice-overs do assume that the viewer has a working knowledge of basic cell structures — as I’m sure we all remember, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. However, anything beyond a cell’s organelles is explained in just enough detail to not confuse those not science-inclined. In fact, the information it offers is remarkably close to what’s covered in first year university biology. What’s a prokaryote or eukaryote anyways? How did cells originally develop a mitochondria or chloroplast? Furthermore, a large number of species featured in the show, like diatoms, amoebas, and cyanobacteria, are studied extensively in first-year biology labs.
For the average viewer, having access to expensive microscopes or microbiology textbooks might not be feasible. JTTM does a great job of bridging those gaps to make science more accessible to any demographic in an easy-to-follow and visually appealing package.
The channel is not just educational but also hypnotically relaxing; any episode could easily be ASMR-evoking (ASMR being a relaxed, tingly sensation in the scalp/neck) with its slow-panning camera, Green’s monotone narration, and the calming electronic music. The music of JTTM really “cells” the series as a whole, pun intended, and the genius behind it is Andrew Huang — a Canadian musician who’s been making content for the internet since 2009. The background noise of each episode consists of echoing notes, evoking the image of floating gently through an intergalactic ocean, your ears picking up on alien frequencies. The visuals are also surprisingly soothing. The organisms studied look like tiny extraterrestrials, shaded a non-threatening blue, green, red, or translucent shade. There are no deadlines, interpersonal problems, or job interviews for these little fellas; there’s just the job ahead of trying to make it in an aquatic landscape. It’s easy to get lost in their simple lifestyles when ours as students are so often filled with stress and due dates.
Although JTTM uses cell structure vocabulary offhandedly, it’s still an amazingly accessible production that showcases the beauty of microscopic life. Each episode encapsulates the wonders of microbiology without any of the math associated with the sciences; it helps show that science can be enjoyed by all. While I wouldn’t recommend JTTM to any germaphobes out there, those with a curiosity for the world around them or a passion for relaxing, educational material will love this show featuring little creatures in a big world.
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.