The Onion: the videos Hacker News recommends
Not the channel's most viewed videos: the ones HN commenters kept linking with real commentary. The top pick, "Compost-Fueled Cars: Wouldn't That Be Great? - Onion Talks - Ep. 1", hN uses it as shorthand for vague, detail-free visionary pitches and as a satirical jab at TED-style techno-utopian talks.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2013–2026comedy videoHN uses it as shorthand for vague, detail-free visionary pitches and as a satirical jab at TED-style techno-utopian talks.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2018–2024comedy videoHN commenters call it one of the best and funniest Onion News Network videos and a sharp parody of teen girls.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2012–2022comedy videoHN commenters recommend it as the Onion Talks parody most relevant to tech and startup culture.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2012–2025comedy videoHN uses it as a recurring punchline whenever a device removes keys or buttons in favor of touch or novelty controls.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2013–2024comedy videoPosted as a joke or satire whenever a company sells out its users or surveillance comes up.
- cited 5× 0 months 2010–2026comedy videoHN mentions it as a joke or a shared favorite Onion classic when tech frustration or The Onion comes up.
- cited 7× 0 months 2018–2026comedy videoUsed as a joke whenever companies chase tech buzzwords, from cloud to AI.
- cited 5× 0 months 2012–2024comedy videoHN uses it as a recurring joke reference for wasteful spending and pointless money pits.
- cited 3× 0 months 2018–2022comedy videoOnly used as a joke reference when threads feature recursive or nested games and simulations.
- cited 12× 0 months 2013–2024comedy videoPosted as a joke whenever Kafkaesque bureaucracy comes up, and several commenters call it a favorite Onion video.
- cited 8× 0 months 2016–2025comedy videoUsed as a punchline in privacy and opt-out threads, mostly as a joke that reality has caught up to the satire.
- cited 3× 0 months 2018–2024comedy videoCommenters bring it up as a joke when a thread touches on long-term commitment, obscure specialization, or someone devoting a lifetime to something niche.
- cited 10× 0 months 2012–2025comedy videoHN uses it as shorthand for the vapidness of TED talks and for content that says very little in a lot of words.
- cited 7× 0 months 2009–2024comedy videoUsed as a punchline whenever commenters see consensus-driven decisions, politicians chasing public opinion, or metric-driven content.
- cited 5× 0 months 2021–2023comedy videoInvoked as a joke whenever a thread covers neglected infrastructure, failing dams, levees or foreseeable disasters.
- cited 5× 0 months 2018–2025comedy videoHN people bring it up as a joke when a thread is about games or simulators that chase realism and end up tedious.
Questions
Which The Onion video does Hacker News recommend most?
Compost-Fueled Cars: Wouldn't That Be Great? - Onion Talks - Ep. 1: recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users between 2013 and 2026.
Is this every The Onion 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.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.