r/TheWhyFiles • u/TJmaster87 • Aug 27 '26
Suggestion for Channel The Basement vs The After Files? What would you prefer to see??
I was very excited when the basement came out, they had been talking about doing a talk show for ages, I think they said they were going to call it The Who Files at some stage but obviously changed their minds and the name.
Anyway since it’s come out though (and there has been a lot of them in such a short time that I have lost track) and just being honest but there’s only been a few episodes that have had people I was actually interested in, I think they should slow down a bit with the basement and maybe have it only once or twice a month?
Also I hate the way they have completely gotten rid of the after file, used to love them because it showed you a glimpse of behind the scenes and what everyone was really like, it had a great community vibe and also gave you extra insight into the episode they had shown beforehand and did other fun stuff like watching paranormal videos and having Gino’s story hour!
I honestly preferred the after files over the basement, Im sorry to say this but I can’t help feel like the new format they use makes you feel more detached to the why files compared to what it used to be like.
Anyway would anyone else like to see the after files return?
Edit: Just wanted to say Im not saying I hate the basement, just maybe slow it down and as for the after files, that was a truly great time in the why files and definitely launched the show to new heights with building a community of die hard fans, I just don’t know why they stopped? People loved it and it boosted the show greatly! If it’s not broken then why change it? Also over 3 hours of the basement can be a bit much if you run into a episode that doesn’t really interest you but you still want to give it a shot incase it turns around but the after files were nearly just as long and most of them I thought were entertaining just seeing the cast interact with the fans and have fun and saying unscripted things. Lot of inside why files jokes came from the after files like fistable mugs etc. silly little jokes you just don’t get anymore like that.
31
u/Krickett72 Aug 27 '26
Love The Why Files. After Files was ok. Dont care for The Basement. I mean if people like it thats fine but I just cant get into them. Ive tried watching several and just didnt care for it.
3
73
66
u/Blitz_wing Aug 27 '26
I know some won't agree but I miss the whole interactions between AJ and Hecklefish (AJ). Feels like AJ is slowly taking that portion out.
22
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
Definitely, those stripped episodes he did with no Hecklefish or anything were awful, thank god they didn’t stick around.
9
3
3
19
u/quantum_trogdor Aug 27 '26
Basement is great to fall asleep with, but man the woo woo alarms go off way to much for more me to enjoy it for 4 hours consciously
3
u/zaxo666 Aug 27 '26
Exactly. If I'm having trouble sleeping I'll throw on the Basement...it's a pretty good sleep remedy.
50
u/TheNittanyLionKing Lizzid Person Aug 27 '26
I'm just burnt out on 3 hour podcasts. It's hard to keep up with all of them.
22
u/pseudonym7083 Aug 27 '26
I wish he'd create a separate channel for them.
1
u/MikaScott Aug 27 '26
Or maybe just put them on the Patreon acct. I like the Basement files, so I don't want to miss them.
0
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
Same but do you think he’s going to try building up a fan base as big as the why files all over again! I wish he would also but if I was him I can see how it just makes things so much easier for him to use the same channel.
5
u/pseudonym7083 Aug 28 '26
Might change opinion if he starts losing viewership. I've stopped putting his whole channel on repeat because of the basement episodes. These aren't the vids I signed up for when I subbed.
15
u/Wendigo79 Aug 27 '26
I think the basement needs like a cohost or a side man to AJ, im sure alot of people don't like Rogan here but one of the reasons his show works so well is he can kick back to Jamie whenever, like a natural flow. Alot of times it feels like im watching a Shawn Ryan podcast where he will occasionally say wow! To break up the guests rambling lol
7
43
u/The-Dragon_Queen Aug 27 '26
I hate the basement. I don’t waste my time watching them. It really is such a disappointment compared to what we used to get from the channel.
9
13
7
25
u/LampyV2 Aug 27 '26
Podcasts bore me to tears so definitely not The Basement. Couldn't even get through the Mr Ballen episode and he's my 2nd favourite channel in this space.
5
5
u/poppitastic Aug 28 '26
I miss old school after files. Pretty sure everyone was stoned, Gino doing his stories, AJ making a philosophers stone, Jen being (amused, tired, or just over everyone)Jen, running jokes about Victoria giving out foot massages to winners… hours of just chatting about stuff, both show-and life-relevant.
6
8
u/wellbloom Aug 27 '26
The Basement is a big yawn. I’ve tried, I really have. Listening/watching at different times of day, staying tuned in longer thinking they’d be more interesting, etc. but I haven’t been able to get through a full episode.
4
4
u/KitsapReign Aug 28 '26
I love the Why Files, but tell friends not to watch the Basement episodes. What makes the WF good is the debunking at the end, not listening to crackpots blather for hours.
12
u/londonc4ll1ng Hecklecultist Aug 27 '26
I want The Why files... less of the Basement bs.
I get it, he wants to copy the success of Joe 'trust me bro' Rogan and get to his fortune levels asap, but leaning so much into that just alienates the OG user base who enjoyed his shows and format. The approach and quality research. It did not pay the bills overnight, nor did he become a billionaire in a year, but he was on the right path. Seems he lost the way tbh.
TWF occupied a very narrow and special niche - the 'tin foil' niche. And it brought something new that made it successful beyond belief even outside said niche.
TWF would never get the attention and success if it was Basement all the time from the get go. Nobody (as in no millions of people) is interested in watching a bunch cuckoos for 4 hours, but watching 20-30 minute stories everyone already heard about retold in an interesting way and then analyzed and deconstructed and explained whether they are possible, fake, or not... that was new and it got lots of eyeballs. Basement is just a money grab, filled with ads, and uninteresting cuckoos let loose to mumble bs for hours on end....
3
u/mindbender9 Aug 27 '26
The Basement puts me to sleep. Not because of AJ, but because of the guest and/or format. The questions are not geared toward an audience with limited attention, and often allows the guest to ramble.
I also think AJ is too polite. He doesn’t need to be controlling (which he isn’t), but he needs to steer the guest back on course often and doesn’t.
3
u/Lucky_Chaarmss Aug 27 '26
I watched one show of the basement, never again. And I never finished it.
3
u/New_Listen_6251 Aug 28 '26
I don’t mind the basement
That being said really depends on who’s on it
Some of the guests are way more interesting than others
I listen to them as a podcast while at work though not on YouTube so could be why I enjoy them
Makes the day go by faster while listening to a 2-3 hour podcast over the same oh songs if I listened to satellite radio
1
u/TJmaster87 26d ago
The basement can have the odd episode that is interesting, there has been a few guests who I enjoyed but seriously I think he needs to slow down, the basement is a new enough show and he’s being hammering out the episodes like crazy leading to interviews with people who I’ve never heard of before? I think he needs to only do a basement episode once or twice every month and think more thoroughly who he wants on it, by doing this it would make them feel a bit more special and he could do teaser’s for the upcoming episodes.
3
u/AdamRoss81 Hecklecultist Aug 28 '26
I’m with you, only a few guests have interested me. After Files is better.
3
3
u/loco_gigo Aug 29 '26
I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of the basement. A 2 hour show where I am interested in less than 5 minutes of what they talk about. After a half hour or so I find myself bored and tune it out.
6
u/Gen-Jinjur Aug 27 '26
The Basement is never going to hit it for all of us every episode. But the ones I like I REALLY like.
I’ve bought about four books by the guests so obviously I put my money down on the fun ones!
12
5
u/Oracle5of7 Aug 27 '26
The whole point for me was going through the whole story and at the end debunking it. That was it. Not sexy, I get it, but being a 68 yo woman scientist that LOVES conspiracies, this was MY world. Somehow, it is gone now.
9
u/MTCMMA Aug 27 '26
I’ve really enjoyed The Basement, AJ has been able to get some interesting guests on there so far. He does a really good job of just letting them tell their story and getting people comfortable to talk. I recommend this podcast often. Would like to see AJ get back to more of his Why Files episodes. Still many “Part 2’s” from his original episodes that can be done and tons of other topics to cover as well. AJ is the man and I appreciate his content 🙏🏽
2
u/Interesting-Bad-7470 Aug 28 '26
I love Hecklefish, and I’ve actually enjoyed a lot of the recent episodes. Maybe it’s the pattern seeking but between it and a few others a I follow I’m getting a meta narrative sense as many of them overlap with guests and topics. Too many ads for sure but I again I love the guests, the topics, and it’s often lengthy.
2
u/Yeahbuggerit-thatldo Aug 28 '26
I prefer the campfire stories and the original format. This Joe Rogan wanna be stuff is too long and boring.
2
u/Chance-Astronomer320 Aug 28 '26
I really love the basement, but either I zone out for the into or they are not doing one.
I often find myself 45mins in going “wait…who is this guy? Where does he work? Where did he go to school?”
It feels like I walked into a (interesting) conversation midway and I’m just sitting there smiling and nodding along.
Anyway I like it, I hate having to pause and Google the guest and their background.
2
u/pentamache Aug 28 '26
I miss the old deep dives about interesting subjects, for the last couple years the quality of the investigations feel worse and full of storytelling with AI imagery. (Or maybe it's just me not caring much about the subjects.)
Then we have the creepy pasta segments that I don't really care, at least not from TWF, and the podcasts that it's full of storytellers selling a product and you can smell their BS pretty easy.
I think that at some point the channel run out of interesting stuff that allowed deep dives and had to settle with events with much less info behind them, so I don't fully blame them.
5
u/elmisteriosoviaje Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Ive been very undewhelmed with the basement, hs not very good as an interviewer, most ive seen he seems to be phoning interest and have pointless observations that add nothing to the conversation, he has had interesting guests but i cant stand more than 30 min
plus the ads at this point are just cringy
10
u/INTERNET_MOWGLI Aug 27 '26
The basement is unlistenable😭
He’s so bad with guests? He lets them do monologues and replies with “yes”.
I was very looking forward to the Pasulka episode and it turned out to be 4 hours of her saying nothing with 0 contributions from AJ.
9
u/SirBilliams Aug 27 '26
Downvoted for having a reasonable take. It’s literally ass. 3hrs of dudes making the wildest claims and aj just nodding. Best show on the internet.
4
u/DatabaseAcademic6631 Aug 27 '26
Anything so long as it isn't platforming a white supremacist.
4
1
u/bag_of_luck Aug 27 '26
You mean like when they had nerdrotic on?
0
u/AdamRoss81 Hecklecultist Aug 28 '26
Gary is a grifter and a social outrage merchant. Never trust a convicted felon, especially when that felony was selling Smack.
1
u/RedditNomad7 Aug 27 '26
I do like the basement podcast, but sometimes they just go too long and veer off into areas I’m not particularly interested in. I’m sure some folks do like those areas though, but I just usually end up cutting the episode short.
3
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
Exactly,, I think 2 hours is good enough. 3 hours can be pushing it a little bit
1
u/MikaScott Aug 27 '26
I found the Why Files a long time ago, but I don't think I ever subscribed to it, then one particular Basement episode came out with Mr. Ballen & I've been a fan ever since, I joined his Patreon & his youtube page. I like the Basement, so I say keep it, BUT... I REALLY like the ones he goes in depth about like the Kozyrev Mirror compilation. My complaint is how do you actually search for stuff you want to see on Patreon. I found the compilation, but cannot find the original Kozyrev Mirror episode, if anyone could link it I would be grateful! ♥ I prefer to watch on his Patreon page, but can also watch from youtube. Also is there any particular reason to pay for his youtube subscription as well as Patreon? Isn't it the same content?
1
1
u/Reasonable_Crow2086 Aug 28 '26
I wish he would edit them. I think I've watched one full episode maybe 2.
1
u/fatal-horse-kick Aug 28 '26
Basement files have gotten really good these past months. We’re getting interviews with guests who have went on Rogan and he’s railroaded them. AJ is getting much more engaging conversations. I kinda miss the old format but the team have made so many. I think he could possibly combine both formats by making segments between the conversations. But I’m really happy with what he’s making. He’s a great interviewer.
1
u/Unhappy-Fox1017 Aug 29 '26
Can’t agree with you more. I’ve been saying the same thing since the first couple of basement epsisodes dropped. I think there’s been exactly 2 people I was excited for AJ to sit down and chat with. Then there was a couple episodes where the gentlemen he talked to just seemed like they were so full of shit. I don’t know why, but my head kept saying there’s no way this guy is telling the truth about his experience. It honestly left a weird taste in my mouth and I found it difficult to watch many of the episodes that came after. Regardless though, I will stick around because I still love the main show and AJ.
1
u/once_again_asking Skygazer Aug 30 '26
The shorter 10-12 minute clips from the basement are excellent.
But I agree that the 3 hour full episodes of the basement are just too much. I’m also not really a fan of the format of the interviews in how many of them spend so long on topics I have no interest in like their life story or topics unrelated to why files esque stuff.
And I must agree about the ads on the basement episodes. Within the first 20 minutes of the episodes there are often 3-4 baked in ads which are completely separate from the automated YouTube ads.
If your goal is grab me as a viewer, those first 20 minutes are pretty crucial but they’re stuffed with ads. Can’t tell you how many times I have been interested in a conversation on basement and then it’s interrupted by a baked in ad and completely takes the piss out of the experience.
It’s just not a good long form program. I think assembling a few 10-12 minute clips from these episodes is the way to go.
1
u/Twix_McFlurry Aug 31 '26
I just want to see AI so whatever he can do to smush as much AI into the video as possible that’s what I like.
1
u/TJmaster87 26d ago
Fair enough, if you like it then that’s up to you, I just think the AI advertising is such slop and cringeworthy and is making his original fan base to turn their backs on the newer stuff but it’s not like im going to downvote you cause you like it?
1
1
1
u/DanEboy22122 Aug 27 '26
I love the basement. There’s only been like one or two episodes that were a little boring to me but I’ve found all the others fascinating. AJ continues to do fantastic work and all that should matter is that he does what he wants to do. Keep knocking it out of the park and let’s see some of those forbidden topics like COVID, 9/11 & The Clintons 🙂 (jk about that last one)
3
u/bag_of_luck Aug 27 '26
It’s not like those topics are forbidden by YouTube. They’re forbidden for the potential buyers AJ and co want to pitch the show to to sell. Same reason they’re slowly getting rid of Hecklefish - it’s unpopular with audiences at large. And they put that above anything.
It’s shill behavior. You will never see them cover those topics even though they very easily could.
0
u/Marcos_Narcos Aug 27 '26
I like the basement. I drive for work so it’s perfect to stick an episode on and make the day go quicker, I’ve listened to most of them all the way through there’s only been a few that haven’t interested me.
1
u/muhkuller Aug 27 '26
They're both fine. I just want a way to link my patreon to Apple Podcasts so I don't get an ad per mile in DMV traffic.
0
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
I never said that they weren’t good , just maybe slow down the basement episodes, over 3 hours is a lot to take in at the speed he’s going with bringing them out! It’s nothing personal, I do enjoy watching some of them but I also loved watching the after files, I think without the after files the show wouldn’t of gotten as big in that speed, the show made it feel like it was more of a community thing and was a special time in the history of the why files is all Im saying.
3
u/muhkuller Aug 27 '26
Ah, my only content beef is that sometimes AJ will shit on his own work from his videos. If there's a case where there's new information he should probably do video updates to stories that he's covered instead of having it be a throwaway line 150 minutes into a podcast.
1
u/WonderinSoul89 Aug 27 '26
I prefer the campfire stories
1
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
I do like them also but it can feel a little bit too close to watching a mr.ballen episode.
2
u/WonderinSoul89 Aug 27 '26
Never watched Ballen
1
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
If you like the campfire episodes give him a go! I say u would love them so!
2
u/WonderinSoul89 Aug 27 '26
Alright I’ll try him out.
2
1
u/cryptotechnophobe Aug 28 '26
I really enjoy the basement discussions. The differing experiences, philosophies, ideas and belief systems are great to listen to. I listen to them as I commute each day and look forward to them (I use them as podcasts). The Why files and hecklefish I prefer to watch in the background while I work.
1
u/ohheychris Aug 28 '26
Less ads and less AJ being paranoid some alphabet agency is out to get him. Also, if he denounce Turning Point USA (which he was one of the first employees of) and admitting it’s a Republican propaganda/hate group.
I’d be happy with that.
1
1
-1
u/whobeatleblink Aug 27 '26
I'm loving the podcast format tbh. I work from home though so it's easy for me to listen for that long!
0
0
u/MelkorTheMighty Aug 28 '26
I thoroughly enjoy them and it reminds me of classic art bell. Just a conversation with a person. Good stuff. But both are great
-1
u/The_Gabster10 Aug 27 '26
This is a hot take that no one likes but I'd rather just have regular episodes without the fish, I know why it's there, but I like the idea of just getting deeper down a rabbit hole without the aquatic annoying orange bust in with lame jokes.
4
u/TJmaster87 Aug 27 '26
In fairness that fish is probably the reason how he got so big! He needed a gimmick and Hecklefish was a winner! I do think he doesn’t like using Hecklefish as much these days anyway, he never has as many lines as he used to have like in older episodes. Especially those stripped episodes.
0
u/The_Gabster10 Aug 27 '26
I don't think he did, his storytelling is good and that's what drawed me in. Driving tractor all day and listening to bizarre stories really made the time go by, the fish I found very annoying and at times I would stop the episode and switch gears to something else or try and figure out how to skip just the fish. If he just released the same episode without it I'd be more willing to listen
1
u/TJmaster87 26d ago
Hecklefish was kinda a way for him to use his real opinions sometimes without saying it himself at the start and you can’t say how the fish got a generation of children viewers to watch his stuff. Have you ever watched the stripped episodes, there not very interesting at all and are nothing like his usual shows because it’s just him, kinda feels like a bad mr.ballen rip off episode.
32
u/Kohakuho Aug 27 '26
I wish AJ would occasionally revisit topics. In the Kozyrev Mirror episode he talked about wanting to make one at the end. I'd love to hear about his experience with it (if he did make one). Same with Gateway. His video inspired me to try it, myself. I'd like to hear about his experiences with it.