Business, Cows, Critters & Doctors: What I Watch On YouTube

YouTube. Instagram. TikTok. We’re alternately fascinated with and afraid of digital content creators. Granted, there’s a lot of hideous stuff out there, but there’s also stuff that’s surprisingly sweet and fun and educational and entertaining.

Really.

Along with journalism, I also do social media for a day job, so I’m up to my eyebrows in this stuff. And now that I can watch YouTube easily on my TV (a real game-changer for YouTube, as I discussed with media critic Christian Toto), I watch it all the time. Every day, in fact.

It’s my first stop in the morning and half of my primetime viewing.

So, What’s Kate Watching?

Now, I do watch a lot of Reels on Facebook and Instagram (not TikTok, but content crosses over), but everything I’m going to talk about here is either primarily on YouTube or also on YouTube (and, shameless plug, so am I)

Before you ask, no, none of the folks I’m going to talk about is a Catholic YouTuber, or even a religious one.

For that, check out this post from the company blog I edit, which focuses on Catholics on YouTube – and I do watch a lot of Catholic YouTubers. But I’m more interested here in talking about YouTubers who a bit more off the beaten path.

And, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I like them.

However, while these creators aren’t making stuff necessarily for the whole family, it’s all content with value. They come from different backgrounds, different parts of the world, and tell very different stories.

So, let’s get into it.

Laura Whaley

This newlywed Canadian content creator started out working in corporate IT. I think she still works in business, but as @loewhaley on social media — a k a your WorkBestie — she’s all about surviving in the corporate world, especially as a remote worker.

There’s Toodaloo…

In many of her videos (which, on occasion, can be PG-13 for language), she’s playing both sides of a video meeting, demonstrating ways to deal with things like co-workers who don’t respect boundaries, work deadlines, coping with tough managers, or modeling what makes a good manager.

Then she signs off with her signature “Toodaloo!”. There’s a whole Toodaloo playlist.

But Whaley often holds a mug whose meaning I didn’t get, until a commenter pointed it out. Whaley keeps her hand over part of the lettering on it because, let’s just say, it’s not a mug you should take to work.

And the video captions do make use of the “wtf” abbreviation.

But, since this content is about working a corporate job, it’s not really something kids would want to watch anyway.

And #ProjectPoodles

My favorite part of Whaley’s content is an ongoing scripted series called #ProjectPoodles. She writes them, and, again, plays all the parts (with different clothes, wigs and accents) of a remote team toiling on a corporate project.

There’s folksy but super-savvy Donna Sue and her ever-present teacup; uptight, work-obsessed Brenda; slacker Bethanie (who does say a mild profanity every now and then); and Haley, who’s the most like Whaley herself (they even both got married).

Together, the teammates support each other through the ups and downs of work, relationships, loss, good bosses (Tracy) and terrible ones (Linda).

Honestly, I’m as invested in the #ProjectPoodles storyline as anything else I’m watching right now — and judging by the comments, I’m not alone.

Again, there’s a playlist, but here’s a taste.

The Hoof GP

Let me say up front that, while I grew up in an area with many dairy farms, I am not a farm person myself. And I have never gotten closer to a cow than seeing one in a field or at the county fair.

However, I’ve recently become enamored of this channel focusing on Graeme Parker, a husband, father and bovine hoof-trimmer in southwest Scotland. In most of the episodes, he and his crew head to a farm and tend to the feet of the various kinds of cattle.

Parker’s not a vet (but he does work in concert with them, and the farmers), and there are limits to what he can do with the animals. But, he uses his skills to treat a variety (a wider one than I ever imagined) of issues with the hooves of domestic cattle, both those kept indoors and in the field.

I’ve asked myself why I watch this, and here’s what I’ve come up with. Parker is articulate and charming (and easily understood, even with the accent, which is more than I can for his crew). He’s knowledgeable and explains what he’s doing well and clearly, and it’s obvious that he cares a lot for the animals.

The music for the videos is excellent, they’re entertaining and professionally edited, and they showcase the beauty of the Scottish countryside. They open a window into a reality that few, other than dairy farmers, experience.

And, it’s edifying to see a hardworking young family man who’s not only competent at his job but loves it.

Parker also has a complicated family history and his own battles with mental illness, which he outlined in a book called Bruised Sole.

While The Hoof GP is not for the squeamish, its appeal is similar to that of Dr. Pimple Popper — a caring, talented professional solves physical problems in a way that is oddly satisfying, while offering a peek into his or her world.

He also has merch.

And, of course, while Parker does show the more routine aspects of his job, he focuses on the most spectacular cases for YouTube.

You’ve been warned (and thank goodness we don’t have Smell-O-Vision):

Casual Geographic

Mamadou Ndiaye graduated with a degree in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) in May 2019. He worked in his field until finding himself jobless during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, he started doing videos on TikTok, focusing on different topics. After a few months, this self-described “animal nerd” — who’s also worked in an animal shelter — began doing videos that shared facts about critters.

Now, these aren’t the cuddly facts one often finds in cute animal videos — they’re unvarnished and a little raw, albeit presented with a good deal of humor.

I wouldn’t necessarily let little children watch Ndiaye’s videos, but teenagers and up with a curiosity about how nature really works would enjoy them.

You may never see Finding Nemo the same way again (or dolphins, but you can hunt down that video on your own). Science doesn’t care about your Disney feelings:

Dr. Glaucomflecken:

Known in real life as Oregon ophthalmologist Dr. Will Flanary, he did stand-up comedy along with his medical career. Telling jokes helped Flanary get through a bout of cancer in his 20s (among other health scares).

Since 2016, he’s been uploading comedy bits satirizing the medical profession (with love) and health insurance companies (without love).

Flanary plays all the characters in his skits — aside from an occasional appearance by his wife Kristin, a k a Lady Glaucomflecken — which have fun with the peculiarities and foibles of different medical specialties.

I now know that — in Glaucomflecken’s world, at least — nephrologists and cardiologists are mortal enemies; radiologists never see the sun; pediatricians wear unicorn horns; ophthalmologists have loyal scribes named Jonathan; anesthesiologists hate to come out from behind their surgical drapes; and surgeons have huge egos (that one is actually true in the real world).

While clever, well-acted and very funny, these videos are helpful for anyone who has to deal with doctors — which is to say, anyone.

The Flanarys now have a podcast and do speaking engagements; more here (also, of course, merch).

BONUS!

After corporate humor, cows’ hooves, a ruined Disney movie, and battling medicos, here’s a bit of Catholic humor that can also be found on YouTube (and there’s more clean laughs at DryBar Comedy):