{"id":818796,"date":"2025-01-10T10:14:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T16:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/10\/how-the-geography-now-youtube-channel-created-a-travel-encyclopedia-of-the-world\/"},"modified":"2025-01-10T10:14:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T16:14:01","slug":"how-the-geography-now-youtube-channel-created-a-travel-encyclopedia-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/10\/how-the-geography-now-youtube-channel-created-a-travel-encyclopedia-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Geography Now YouTube channel created a travel encyclopedia of the world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller <\/i>(UK).<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On 15 October 2014, Paul \u2018Barbs\u2019 Barbato posted a video profiling Afghanistan on his YouTube channel, Geography Now. It was the second upload on the page, posted after a trailer teasing what was to come: an entry on every UN-recognised country in the world, released in alphabetical order \u2014 the first such geographical encyclopaedia on social media, to Paul\u2019s knowledge. A decade on and more than three million subscribers later, he wrapped the project up in October 2024 with a profile on Zimbabwe. We talk to the host about his show, from the subscribers who contributed to its episodes to the power of social media, and what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

Where does your passion for travel come from?<\/h2>\n

I grew up in a diverse neighbourhood in Chicago, around kids who spoke different languages. They\u2019d tell me about their families, show me their home countries on a map. It sparked this intrigue, this awareness of places outside the bubble where I lived. I\u2019m a visual learner, so the atlas became my favourite book. It opened up an entire world.<\/p>\n

What about the inspiration for Geography Now?<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s a fun anecdote: I really wanted to be on Globe Trekker [a TV show in which different hosts travel and experience a destination\u2019s local way of life]. I sent in an audition video and never heard back, so I decided to start my own programme. Since I didn\u2019t have money to travel, I came up with a format I could film from my house.<\/p>\n

Which topics does Geography Now cover?<\/h2>\n

I talk about political geography, a country\u2019s demarcation lines and what\u2019s under their sovereignty; physical geography, the landscape and resources; demographics, the people and culture; and what I call \u2018the friendzone\u2019 \u2014 diplomatic relationships. Within these segments are sections like food, music, sport. But I try not to regurgitate facts. What does it mean to be a person from that country? That\u2019s what I strive to illustrate.<\/p>\n

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\"Paul<\/picture><\/div>
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Paul \u2018Barbs\u2019 Barbato began his YouTube channel, Geography Now, in 2014 and has amassed over three million followers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photograph by Storm Santos<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

What\u2019s your relationship with the show\u2019s subscribers?<\/h2>\n

They play a huge role in the show. They help me with planning and I couldn\u2019t have made some of the episodes without information they shared. They get featured, too. For example, the episode on Tuvalu [an island nation in the Pacific Ocean] was co-hosted by local Keri Ann. She wanted to be in the episode, so I flew her out [to the US]. Through Geography Now, I\u2019ve met thousands of people from all over the world. To me, that\u2019s striking gold.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s exciting about travel content on social media?<\/h2>\n

Social media can be a powerful tool. People go online to be excited all the time; why not do that with education? You can use captions, motion graphics and map animations \u2014 users like to be entertained, and that approach is something education can pursue with social media.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve visited 99 countries. What\u2019s the most memorable travel experience you\u2019ve had?<\/h2>\n

When I pick up a map, I always look for what sticks out. This is how I found the world\u2019s narrowest three-country salient \u2014 the 390ft-wide gap border of Togo in between Burkina Faso and Ghana. I went to Togo for the dedicated Geography Now episode, reached the border and asked the guard there to let me walk this narrow strip of land across three nations. I believe I became the first person to document it.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/h2>\n

I\u2019d visited fewer than 10 countries when I signed up to YouTube, and I started the channel to build a platform that would allow me to travel more. Now, I want to do a travel show my way \u2014 an evolved version of Geography Now with me actually going places. I\u2019ve been teaching for 10 years; it\u2019s time to start experiencing.<\/p>\n

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Published in the December 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller<\/i> (UK).<\/p>\n

To subscribe to\u00a0National Geographic Traveller<\/i>\u00a0(UK) magazine click here<\/a>. (Available in select countries only).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). On 15 October 2014, Paul \u2018Barbs\u2019 Barbato posted a video profiling Afghanistan on his YouTube channel, Geography Now. It was the second upload on the page, posted after a trailer teasing what was to come: an entry on every UN-recognised country in the world, released in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":818797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24807,49,104640],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-818796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geography","category-youtube","category-youtube-videos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}