“Hello! And welcome to Dear Hank and John.”

“Or as I prefer to think of it, Dear John and Hank.”

The Green brothers welcome their podcast audience at the start of every episode in this manner, causing a smile to tug at the corners of my mouth no matter how many times I listen to the same intro. 

Week after week, the Green brothers deliver audio content that everyone—especially nerds—is bound to enjoy. With news from science, sports, history, and contemplation of everyday life problems, every episode is packed with a simultaneous educational and entertaining conversation. 

Initially, Hank and John Green made their presence in my media consumption through the YouTube channel Crash Course. Their narration through the videos of Crash Course U.S. History, World History, and Chemistry have greatly impacted my high school career, and it’s safe to say that there are few high schoolers that can’t recognize their voices. 

From YouTube to TikTok to published books, it seems that there is no outlet the brothers can’t capture an audience’s attention from; however, their podcast Dear Hank and John might just be my favorite. 

As implied by the podcast title, the content largely revolves around listeners sending in their questions for the brothers to respond to. Choosing from the large selection of questions that they receive, the ones they pick are often complex and open to interpretation, causing the conversation to spiral into a variety of topics. 

From this format, the personalities and skill sets of the brothers come together perfectly, with Hank having a more scientific and analytical approach while John chimes in with a historical and philosophical perspective. Even in their minor disagreements, their enjoyment of each other’s company is contagious, and I’ll never grow tired of hearing them build off of one another’s ideas until they create a hypothetical masterpiece. 

I love feeling productive and educated after listening to the coverage of science and history or the life lessons and epiphanies that come about. A recent episode covered a question regarding ant colonies, and this morphed into a conversation about the largest organism in the world, concluding with the realization that if the world were run by Goldendoodles, there would be a three-day utopia until everyone was starving.

With 359 episodes and counting, there’s something for everyone within the realm of Green life advice. The brothers have also featured a variety of guests, but the two alone are so incredibly entertaining that it’s understandable that guests are rare. 

Close to the conclusion of every episode, the brothers bring comedy into the mix with a “sponsored by” segment, where they recall the funny fixations previously mentioned in the episode to “sponsor” the episode. “Batman,” “potato chip dust,” and “The World’s Largest Organism” have all been deemed as contributors, to name a few. I always look forward to the sponsor section, reminding me of Improv Central and the references made to previous scenes followed by the laughter that erupts from those callbacks. 

As a whole, the podcast contains an abundance of education, laughter, and brotherhood. I walk away from every 45-60 minute episode feeling enriched from just listening to their intelligent and wandering conversations. To anyone who loves the Green brothers on other platforms or looking for a new podcast in general, I strongly recommend Dear Hank and John.