CGP Grey: the videos Hacker News recommends
Not the channel's most viewed videos: the ones HN commenters kept linking with real commentary. The top pick, "Try to Rule Fairly and You'll Be Overthrown", hN treats it as the standard short summary of how power and political incentives work, applied to governments, companies and workplaces.
- explainer recommended in 15 different months by 15 HN users, 2016–2025HN treats it as the standard short summary of how power and political incentives work, applied to governments, companies and workplaces.
- explainer recommended in 11 different months by 11 HN users, 2014–2026HN has recommended it for a decade as the standard explainer on automation and unemployment, though skeptics later cite it as an example of overconfident predictions.
- explainer recommended in 11 different months by 12 HN users, 2018–2025HN commenters repeatedly recommend it in longevity and aging threads as a concise, fun case for fighting aging.
- explainer recommended in 11 different months by 12 HN users, 2012–2024HN's go-to short explainer for the City of London versus London, cited in many finance and UK threads.
- explainer recommended in 8 different months by 10 HN users, 2020–2025A staple recommendation in new year and goal-setting threads, with many commenters adopting yearly themes.
- explainer recommended in 10 different months by 10 HN users, 2015–2025HN's go-to explainer for why FPTP leads to a two-party system, linked in countless voting-reform and US politics threads.
- explainer recommended in 9 different months by 11 HN users, 2015–2024HN commenters point to it as a clear, short explanation of one-directional disease spread and the core argument of Guns, Germs, and Steel.
- explainer recommended in 8 different months by 6 HN users, 2015–2023HN recommends it as the standard short answer whenever someone confuses Britain, the UK and England.
- explainer recommended in 8 different months by 17 HN users, 2020–2022HN recommends it constantly in work-from-home, burnout and procrastination threads as practical advice for separating work from life at home.
- explainer recommended in 9 different months by 14 HN users, 2017–2024HN reaches for it in every identity theft and data breach thread as the clearest, most enjoyable short explainer of why SSNs make bad identifiers.
- explainer recommended in 8 different months by 11 HN users, 2017–2026HN recommends it widely in advice threads on depression, habits, and goal setting as a funny, memorable way to see what to do by seeing what not to do.
- explainer recommended in 7 different months by 7 HN users, 2012–2021HN's go-to link whenever ranked-choice voting or voting reform comes up, because it explains the mechanics quickly and entertainingly.
- explainer recommended in 8 different months by 7 HN users, 2019–2023HN recommends it as the quickest clear overview of the Brexit options, though later commenters note it predates the final outcome.
- explainer recommended in 7 different months by 6 HN users, 2015–2023A favorite entry point to the weird history and privileges of the City of London.
- explainer recommended in 7 different months by 7 HN users, 2015–2021HN's default link for explaining STV in any thread on voting reform, ranked choice or gerrymandering.
- explainer recommended in 7 different months by 7 HN users, 2016–2025HN returns to it constantly in consciousness and decision-making threads as a clear, entertaining explanation of split-brain.
- explainer recommended in 6 different months by 9 HN users, 2020–2023It is the default link in any thread about boarding or deplaning order, praised as an excellent, clear treatment.
- explainer recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2015–2025HN links it constantly in threads on social media, polarization and outrage as the canonical explanation of why angry content wins.
- explainer recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2016–2026HN cites it as a concise, well-illustrated explanation of traffic flow, in threads on congestion, self-driving cars and driving habits.
- explainer recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2021–2025HN commenters point to it as a masterpiece of humorous archival detective work and a great watch about books and libraries.
- explainer recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2017–2025HN longevity fans point to it as a concise, fun statement of the case for fighting aging, and some say it changed their minds.
- explainer recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2012–2026It is the go-to short explainer HN links when voting system alternatives, MMP or German-style elections come up.
- explainer recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2025HN recommends it whenever zip codes, addresses or geospatial data come up, as a clear explanation of the hidden pattern in post codes.
- explainer recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2020–2026Cited again and again in terminology debates as a convincing source that many American Indians prefer the term Indian.
- explainer recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2012–2020HN shares it as a short summary of why copyright length matters and the history of Disney-driven term extensions.
- explainer recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2016–2025HN commenters use it as a short, persuasive primer to send to non-technical people in debates over encryption backdoors and decryption legislation.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2017–2023HN recommends it as a 101-level crash course on the keys to power, and says it changed how some viewers see political discourse.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2015–2024HN links it as the clearest short explainer of jury nullification and how the jury system works, often in threads on prosecutors and trials.
- commentary recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2013–2024Brought up in nearly every discussion of AI tutors and the future of schooling as the original Digital Aristotle idea.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2015–2020Linked in electoral-system discussions as a quick, clear argument against the electoral college.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2018–2020Offered as the quick, clear explainer on US federal land ownership whenever land use in the West comes up.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2024–2026Loved for its zoom-out tour of physical scales and recommended alongside other paper-size and scale-of-the-universe discussions.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2016–2020HN recommends it as an entertaining overview in any thread about border oddities.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2015–2022HN recommends it as a short, clear illustration of how first-past-the-post misrepresents voters.
- explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2018–2023HN recommends it as a classic on why some animals are suited to farming and domestication and others are not.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2012–2023Pointed to as the canonical concise case against pennies whenever coin abolition comes up.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2013–2017HN links it in caffeine threads as a quick, clear explanation of caffeine's effects.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2022–2025HN people point to it as a fun summary of how messy airport codes are, especially in threads on aviation falsehoods and code collisions.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2016–2020Pointed to in threads about mind uploading and teleportation as a good, accessible look at personal identity.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2020–2022Recommended in hexagon-grid threads as a fun but informative overview, and sometimes dropped as a light joke.
- explainer recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2011–2019HN people link it as the simple go-to explanation of DST and of how irregular time zone rules complicate scheduling.
- commentary recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2023–2026Linked whenever flag redesigns come up, and credited as hugely influential on how people think about flag design.
- explainer recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2016–2020Cited in threads on borders, Taiwan's status and how many countries exist, as a quick explanation of why recognition is political.
- explainer recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2022–2023Referenced as a fun side tangent whenever the name Tiffany comes up in a thread.
- explainer recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2020–2024Brought up in four-day-week and work-schedule threads as the 'Weekend Wednesday' idea.
- explainer recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2013–2022HN commenters cite it in monarchy debates as the explainer claiming the royals make money for the UK, with some disputing it.
- explainer cited on HN 3 times, 2016–2022Cited as a short explainer when Antarctic governance comes up, including as an analogy for governing Mars.
- explainer cited on HN 3 times, 2014–2022Cited as a fast, entertaining explanation of EU membership tiers when EU politics comes up.
- explainer cited on HN 3 times, 2016–2026HN uses it as the go-to link whenever someone conflates Holland and the Netherlands.
- explainer cited on HN 3 times, 2012–2017Cited as the standard example of algorithmic redistricting when gerrymandering and electoral reform come up.
Questions
Which CGP Grey video does Hacker News recommend most?
Try to Rule Fairly and You'll Be Overthrown: recommended in 15 different months by 15 HN users between 2016 and 2025.
Is this every CGP Grey video?
No. Only videos that at least three different HN users linked, in at least three different months, with at least a sentence of their own commentary. That filter is what makes the list useful.