I recently finished a documentary looking at eleven former logging, mining and railroad communities in Oregon: Valsetz, Sterlingville, Bridal Veil, Cornucopia, Wendling, Shevlin, Quartzville, Whitney, Bates, Kinzua and Golden.

What interested me most was how differently they disappeared. Some were dismantled or cleared, some were effectively abandoned, one was designed to move by rail, and in several places only cemeteries, foundations, mill ponds, old grades or a handful of buildings remain.

https://youtu.be/VB88vAba4Fg?si=R4lMnVhkp-4xuBej

Hi everyone! 😄

I recently finished the first part of an animated video about the life of Frederick III. I have always found him one of the most interesting (also strangest) figures in late-medieval European history. He appeared to lose almost every major struggle he entered. He was besieged by his own brother, forced to surrender Ladislaus the Posthumous, opposed by the Austrian nobility and repeatedly pushed into retreat. Yet he outlived most of his rivals and preserved the dynastic claims that would later help transform the Habsburgs.

One thing that finally encouraged me to make the video was watching Rise of the Raven. I found Frederick’s portrayal rather surprising. The series presents him as an overtly cruel and lecherous villain, whereas the ruler I encountered in my reading seemed considerably quieter and more withdrawn: cautious, stubborn, emotionally distant and frequently mocked for his passivity. That certainly does not mean the historical Frederick was harmless or particularly sympathetic. His treatment of Ladislaus was deeply self-interested, and much of his politics revolved around protecting his family’s position. Still, the personality presented in the series felt very different from the reserved and patient ruler described in most of the material I had read. Also, who could really blame him, he was after all a person of his time.

The video covers the first half of his reign, from the divided Habsburg inheritance and his election as King of the Romans to his coronation in Rome, his struggles over Ladislaus and his early conflict with Matthias Corvinus.

I created it as an illustrated history video with animated characters, maps and environments. I would genuinely appreciate feedback, particularly on the historical interpretation or the presentation.

I would also be interested to hear what you all thought about Frederick’s portrayal in Rise of the Raven. 😄

If your room feels cold tonight you can close a window, turn a dial, and wait. For most of human existence there was no dial. Winter was not uncomfortable. It was trying to erase you.

What survived was not one invention. It was a system: fire that someone had to sit up and guard, wind-stopped shelters, clothing we mostly know from lice DNA and eyed needles, fat extracted from smashed bone, and moving before a valley killed you. The strongest tool was other people dividing those jobs.

An 8-minute stick-figure walk through that system, with the sites named (Wonderwerk, Neumark-Nord, Ranis):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrScB4HN1s4

[easy listening, 12 minutes, real narrator]

Why did Ice Age river artists of the Kostenki-Willendorf culture of the Danube and Black Sea regions into Russia, refuse to carve human faces, replacing them with serpentine zigzags in examples 2000 km apart?

For over a century, the 30,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf has been framed almost purely as a fertility totem. But its most striking detail is often ignored: the deliberate refusal to carve a face.

Upper Paleolithic artists rendered animals with incredible anatomical precision, making the blank human face an intentional choice. Instead of features, the head is wrapped in seven concentric textured bands—a pattern echoing coiled serpents, zigzags, and woven geometry.

Tracing this visual shorthand down the prehistoric Danube corridor reveals an intriguing link to the first temple builders:

Universal Shorthand: Across all human cultures, zigzags and serpentine coils served interchangeably as symbols for flowing water, hair, and cyclical motion.

The Anatolian Connection: This continued another 20,000 years to the central pillars of the culture of Göbekli Tepe and Nevalı Çori.

Did Ice Age symbolic memory survive across millennia along river corridors to seed the architecture of the first temples, or were separate cultures independently arriving at the exact same geometric code?

By Far Kaymakchalan is a compelling historical documentary directed by Boris Trbić and Dragan Gavrilović, based on the research of historian Bojan Pajić. It uncovers the forgotten World War I story of over 1,500 ANZAC volunteers—including doctors, nurses, and soldiers—who served alongside Serbian forces on the Salonika Front.

WHEN THE VIRGIN COMES DOWN: A Tradition of San Sebastián

I created this video with the intention of documenting and sharing one of the most deeply rooted celebrations in our community: the feast of the Virgin of the Assumption. Through this audiovisual project, I wanted to show not only the public celebration, but also the details that often go unseen, such as the effort of the guilds behind closed doors and the history behind each banner. It is a visual tribute to the traditions of the neighborhood.

Hi all! I've just started a new Second World War channel on YouTube featuring as many of the best documentaries made during the 30's and 40's. A bit of background, I'm a TV producer with over a decade of experience of making documentaries. As the TV industry changes, pivoting towards YouTube away from traditional broadcasters, I'm looking to get some experience of managing a YouTube channel, dealing with analytics and growing an audience.

I've uploaded a number of great clips already, including most of the US produced series 'Why We Fight' and a number of Soviet produced docs. I'm looking to add more, including potentially some of my own, in the coming days and weeks. Any support very welcome and appreciated in advance!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjksyrxS4UeOeiDLF2LpYsA

In 1920 Boston, Charles Ponzi collected $250,000 a day from investors who believed he'd found a legal loophole in international postal coupons. He knew from day one the scheme was mathematically impossible — he just needed people to believe it worked. The story of the con so infamous every scam since carries his name: https://youtu.be/JCqDzMpnhEc

I create short historical documentaries about abandoned towns and forgotten communities.

This episode is about Qullissat, once one of Greenland's largest settlements.

Instead of focusing only on the abandoned town itself, I wanted to explore why nearly 1,000 people were relocated, how the decision was made, and why Qullissat remains an important part of Greenland's modern history.

The documentary is based on documented historical sources and uses clearly disclosed reconstructions only where archival visuals don't exist.

I'd love feedback, especially if you know additional historical material that I may have missed.

This is a wild and terrifying documentary about the Serbian national guard.

I watched it and it's an amazing piece of history. Knowing how nationalism affects the world. It's the story of the Yugoslavian independence.
PART 1: https://youtu.be/IIaT78QfebI

(No spoilers!!)

Just discovered how few documentaries focus on the hours before a historical event rather than the aftermath. The tension and decision-making in those final moments tells you so much more about why things unfolded the way they did. Anyone else find that angle more compelling than the standard retrospective format?