Oh, conspiracies. Everyone knows somebody – be it a buddy, a member of the family, or that loopy man who yells at us on the streets once we park up for a Starbucks – who actually, actually loves a conspiracy idea.
You recognize those. The Royal Household are lizards. The world is run by shadowy figures pulling all of the strings. Males by no means walked on the moon.
And whereas we, outwardly, wish to roll our eyes and faux we’re far too logical for such nonsense… let’s be trustworthy. There may be all the time one thing now we have doubts about. It may not be as excessive as giants constructed the pyramids, however there’s all the time an unsolved thriller or a lofty notion that by no means actually feels settled in our brains.
And that is what’s on the core of The Why Recordsdata – and why, some 4.49 million subscribers and 280+ movies later, individuals maintain coming again for extra.
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A Story In regards to the Why Recordsdata
The Who behind the Why
Who would watch a man and speaking fish exploring weird and obscure historic mysteries? Effectively, because it seems, lots of people.
4.49 million subscribers as of January 2025 – plus an energetic Reddit neighborhood with over 73,00 members, making it one of many web site’s high 2% of subreddits.
That is the neighborhood that Andrew AJ Gentile and his trusty sidekick, the speaking goldfish, HeckleFish have created.
AJ brings his profitable profession as a TV producer and author to the YouTube sequence, having labored on The Naughty Present and Stoned Science – and this might be why The Why Recordsdata stands out.
As a result of, let’s face it, the web is the place to go for wild conspiracies. With a crowded market of conspiracists, the standard AJ brings offers The Why Recordsdata one thing you may not essentially affiliate with one of these content material – credibility.
Why Andrew is the proper host
Even when Andrew himself doesn’t imagine within the subjects, he commits to the bit. Every little thing – from ‘proof’ of life after loss of life to the Giants of Malta – is researched and offered as a slice of high quality investigative storytelling.
He’s not talking all the way down to his viewers or exaggerating something to make himself the main target. It’s the content material that issues, and AJ is aware of forged a spell with artistic video enhancing and charismatic internet hosting.
It’s not so bizarre why it’s so successful
“The reality is on the market… and it’s bizarre” – that’s AJ’s tagline for the present. However what isn’t a thriller is how The Why Recordsdata has remained so in style for years.
Along with professional storytelling, AJ and the crew maintain the content material constant – and constantly assorted.
If it had been aliens each week, it’s very attainable AJ and HeckleFish’s followers would develop bored. A part of the genius is rarely realizing what to anticipate.
However regardless of the subject, the present finds a option to maintain it related to the viewers. From aliens to gods to subliminal warfare, it’s not essentially what the present covers that’s key to its longevity, however how they strategy the subjects.
And in that regard, The Why Recordsdata – for all its AI art work and lofty concepts – is old skool in a single sense. It’s a testomony to the easy artwork of storytelling. From touring bards to hieroglyphs, storytelling has all the time introduced individuals collectively.
The genius behind The Why Recordsdata

- If you happen to inform good tales, you’ll entice loyal audiences: from Jesus Christ’s wandering teachings to daytime cleaning soap operas, historical past has taught us that people wish to be entertained
- Perceive your viewers: The Why Recordsdata doesn’t assume that every one 4+ million subscribers are fleeing in terror from 5G. This isn’t a platform constructed on hateful stereotypes and loopy conspiracies – it’s extra a deep dive into the how and why of all of it. Whether or not you imagine or not is left as much as you.
