Home › Topics › Arts, Comedy, Music & Film
Literature & writing craft: videos Hacker News recommends
Writing and books: authors, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, writing advice, poetry, book discussions, science fiction, storytelling technique, publishing, author interviews. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (11 videos, 9 talks, 6 interviews), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- Stand-up & sketch comedy 244
- Satire & parody 362
- Music performance & songs 239
- Music theory, synthesis & production 103
- Film & TV clips 310
- Film analysis & criticism 39
- Documentaries & storytelling 202
- Visual arts, photography & architecture 42
- Sports & athletics 38
- Magic, puzzles & curiosities 34
- Arts & entertainment (other) 75
- 15 HN recommenders 14 months 2019–2026U UChicago Social Sciences · lectureHN users repeatedly say it changed how they think about writing, calling it a masterclass useful far beyond academia.
- 7 HN recommenders 7 months 2020–2024HN commenters call it a beloved story and link the animation when threads touch on consciousness, empathy or identity.
- 5 HN recommenders 6 months 2014–2025Adams fans repeatedly call it one of his best talks, a funny and moving look at extinction and the environment.
- 7 HN recommenders 7 months 2018–2026W warphotography · talkHN commenters return to it as motivation for creators who feel their work is not good enough yet.
- 4 HN recommenders 6 months 2020–2025U UChicago Social Sciences · lectureHN treats it as the definitive writing lecture and recommends it repeatedly, with several commenters saying it changed how they write.
- 6 HN recommenders 6 months 2019–2024E Eva CollinsAlonso · lectureFrequently recommended as a delightful, influential way to think about story structure.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2012–2022D David Comberg · lectureHN cites it as a charming, funny way to see story structure and a source for the idea that plots have shapes.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2021–2025HN commenters point to it as a masterpiece of humorous archival detective work and a great watch about books and libraries.
- 3 HN recommenders 5 months 2018–2025M Michael McGrath · podcast episodeHN recommends it as a good, condensed way to experience Neuromancer when short on time.
- 3 HN recommenders 4 months 2016–2024Recommended as a favorite talk showing Emacs as a writing environment rather than just a programmer's editor.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2010–2026A Andrea Dorfman · videoHN commenters point lonely people to it as a moving, comforting piece of art about getting comfortable with solitude.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2018–2024HN returns to it whenever corporations as paperclip-maximizer AIs or AI risk come up.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2019–2022T thepostarchive · lectureStrongly recommended as under-appreciated lectures showing Borges' erudition, delivered in a hypnotic voice from memory.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2023–2025K Karol Jałochowski · documentaryIt is one of the few long, candid interviews with the famously reclusive McCarthy, and commenters share it whenever he comes up.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2023–2026M Max Joseph · documentaryHN commenters cite it as a thoughtful mini-doc on reading time and frequency in the age of social media.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024P PyCon AU · talkHN recommends it as the best concise introduction to a practical framework for structuring documentation, the basis of what became Diataxis.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2012–2015G Getoutthebox1 · interviewShared as encouragement for beginners learning design or craft, on persisting through the taste-skill gap.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2025M Mosfilm · videoHN recommends it as a masterpiece of emotional, contemplative science fiction, and draws analogies between its alien ocean and AI.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2013–2025O OpenLearn from The Open University · explainerFrequently linked as a short, accessible demonstration of how Shakespeare actually sounded.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2018–2022I Intelligence Squared · talkHN recommends it as a good long debate for the recurring question of whether Orwell or Huxley was right.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2024–2026F Fallopium Films · commentaryHN recommends it as the best video essay on the film's use of Pale Fire.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2023–2026S Stephen O'Regan · videoHN points to it as the best filmed version of the story whenever aliens or the nature of intelligence come up.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2018–2025A Aegon Targaryen · interviewShared in productivity and writing threads for King's simple daily-quota approach to producing a lot of work.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2011–2014O OpenRightsGroup · interviewHN commenters use it as the standard example of an author who found piracy helped rather than hurt sales.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2018–2020Linked in threads about lobster welfare as an easy way to take in Wallace's essay.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2025J Jacob Geller · commentaryHN points to Geller's essays as accessible companions to literary works and as a good summary of a story.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2019–2025S someoddstuff · interviewRecommended as more thought-provoking than the usual pill-popping take on Huxley.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2024B Bob Nystrom · demoShared in Crafting Interpreters threads because it shows the care behind the book and is satisfying to watch.
- 1 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2025HN points to it for the memorable hand-animated computer graphics, which still hold up, and as the TV rendition of a famous passage.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2014–2023N niccollsdp · videoHN commenters recommend it as a well-made version of the story and quote it jokingly whenever discussions touch on biology versus machine intelligence.
- 2 HN recommenders 1 months 2011–2021HN people link it in threads about creativity, late bloomers and creative burnout as a humble, relatable take on where inspiration comes from.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2026D Danil Krivoruchko · videoShared as a fan-made teaser for Blindsight in threads about the novel or alien intelligence.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2008–2024HN uses it mainly as the place where Stephenson addresses criticism of his novels' endings, plus as a fun author talk with jokes.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2013–2021N Nicholas Horton · commentaryThe standard link whenever someone asks creatives to work unpaid or for publicity.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2018–2025S Shakespeare on Toast · videoHN uses it as the example of how different Shakespeare sounded in original pronunciation.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2008–2026HN refers to it for the moment where Knuth asks a question and addresses the Steve Jobs anecdote, a favorite geek moment.
- cited 3× 0 months 2019–2021M munnimann · videoLinked as a memorable recitation when the poem or themes of fleeting ambition come up.
- cited 7× 0 months 2014–2023Cited as the standard example of a famous writer who prefers an old, distraction-free DOS word processor.
- cited 3× 0 months 2015–2024N Nick Page · comedy videoPosted as a joke when threads discuss unhelpful gadgets and smart devices.
- cited 4× 0 months 2019–2024Used as a source for Wallace quotes on fiction, silence, self and technology rather than recommended outright.
- cited 4× 0 months 2017–2019HN cites it as a look at how a master comedian develops material through slow, iterative writing, and compares it to programming and other craft.
- cited 4× 0 months 2022–2025Quoted to describe fleeting cultural moments that cannot be repeated, such as early tech eras or SimCity 2000.
Questions
What is the most recommended literature & writing craft video on Hacker News?
LEADERSHIP LAB: The Craft of Writing Effectively by UChicago Social Sciences: HN users repeatedly say it changed how they think about writing, calling it a masterclass useful far beyond academia.
How is this literature & writing craft list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.
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.