Hi there! Working lecturer in history here who always teaches Freshman level courses, so I can give you some professional perspective.

The videos are a great introduction to not just topics but also some of the subtleties, nuance, and questions historians look at and consider when tackling periods, people, or subjects like slavery, suffrage, class or ideological struggles, and more.

I use them as supplemental videos in all my classes as they are fun, short, and (most importantly) entertaining. So, if you like them, definitely watch them all but don't stop there. If you find a subject or area that strikes your fancy, investigate it further but be like John is; discerning in the sources you use. Unlike what the US president elect's transition team would have you think there ARE such things as facts, expertise matters, and there really is a difference in the value of sources.

Enjoy and keep on History-ing ☺

Being videos intended to be a "crash course" and therefore not all-encompassing, they are phenomenal pieces of content. To say they're not showing the whole picture is unfair for the kind of content he's making. He's rarely presenting an incorrect narrative, with niggling details corrected in the comments. In my opinion, it's a perfect source for a gaining interest in history or that pre-exam refresher.

For other sources, here's a few of my preferred (youtube) channels:

"Extra History," another very well presented, more focused series on different characters in history. I especially enjoyed his narrative of Justinian and Theodora https://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz/playlists

"The School of Life," a well-spoken, calming presentation of philosophies/philosophers from all over the globe https://www.youtube.com/user/schooloflifechannel/playlists

"Historia Civilis," a more Roman-centric channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv_vLHiWVBh_FR9vbeuiY-A

"History Buffs," or critiquing modern movies/TV for historical accuracy. It's a surprisingly fun way to learn more about the past, and his passion for the content is entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggHoXaj8BQHIiPmOxezeWA/videos

Anyway, those are the ones I frequent. Hopefully you find them as useful as I have.

All historians are going to come with some level of bias, and that's okay. It's part of the deal when you're writing or reading history, which is why it's important, if you're interested in getting the full picture, to try to read a bunch of different sources.

John Green's videos are, I think, a little unfair to levy this particular criticism against, because he is intentionally making a "crash course" -- something that is, by its nature, not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive. He is making entertaining videos that are more "palette cleansers" than anything else: they whet the appetite for more history study, and in that sense they're great. They don't contain any inaccuracies that jumped out to me, but like any historian, Green and his writers have their sacred cows and boogeymen, and that comes through in the videos. Which, again, is totally normal and will be true of any historian.

As long as you approach the show with this in mind, I don't think you can say it's a "bad" series for anyone interested in learning about history. I found the videos rather enjoyable to watch, myself, and I would say that I don't necessarily agree with Green's perspective on several historical events, so I'm certainly not a shill for the series.

Those videos are good. I go to a university with a pretty good history program and it's funny how often the source material lines up. That's not a great metric, I know, but you get the point.

John Green's bias against "white" history is a reaction to centuries of history being the study of great white men and their exploits. It's not untrue, George Washington was a pretty swell guy and if you want to read about it there's a lot of material out there for you, but there's always other, sometimes more interesting threads of inquiry to explore.