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BobbyBroccoli: The YouTuber Exploring Scientific Controversies

BobbyBroccoli didn’t start his YouTube journey intending to become the go-to source for scientific controversies. In fact, his early videos focused on something entirely different: video game design. Like many YouTubers, his channel evolved over time as his interests changed, eventually leading him to where he is today—a content creator with a passion for unpacking the most bizarre and shocking stories in the world of science.

The Early Days: From Comics to Video Games

BobbyBroccoli’s channel began in his early teenage years, serving as a platform to promote his comic strip. It wasn’t until high school that he shifted his focus to video game design content, inspired by the types of videos he consumed at the time. “I gave that a shot for a few years,” he recalls, but the audience engagement didn’t quite match the effort he was putting in.

Everything changed when BobbyBroccoli started his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics. Gradually, he began integrating scientific topics into his content. His early science-related videos, covering topics like Bill Nye the Science Guy and the technology behind the Nintendo 3DS screen, were just the beginning of a more focused approach. It wasn’t until his time in graduate school, however, that BobbyBroccoli found his true niche: scientific controversies.

Discovering the Power of Controversy

The shift toward covering controversies was sparked by a lecture where he heard the story of Jan Hendrik Schön, a physicist whose work had been widely celebrated before he was exposed as a fraud. “I looked around and realized no one had done a video on him,” BobbyBroccoli says. That realization led him to create his first series on a scientific controversy—an academic true-crime story that would lay the foundation for his future success. The series was well-received (the first video currently has 3 million views), and BobbyBroccoli’s channel gained momentum, eventually attracting a large following.

But the real breakthrough came when BobbyBroccoli tackled the story of the Bogdanoff twins and their questionable PhD theses. Part 2 was released just months before the twins passed away, BobbyBroccoli’s video went viral, propelling his channel past 100,000 subscribers in the summer of 2022. “In a morbid way, I owe my current success to them,” he reflects.

Blending Science and Storytelling

BobbyBroccoli’s videos, whether it’s Schön’s fraudulent research or the rise and fall of the Canadian tech giant Nortel, focus on the human element of science.

“A three-hour science documentary has to reel people in,” he explains. “In between those salacious ‘true crime’ elements, you can teach an audience about the mundane parts of physics.” For example, while covering Victor Ninov, who faked a discovery related to the periodic table, BobbyBroccoli had to frame the story within the larger context of Cold War-era lab rivalries to make it compelling.

The Role of Innovation in YouTube Content Creation

BobbyBroccoli credits much of his style to Jon Bois, a sports writer and filmmaker who inspired him to use tools like Google Earth to create engaging animations. For BobbyBroccoli, the challenge was turning a subject with limited visual material—such as Jan Hendrik Schön’s research—into something dynamic. “If Jon Bois can make me interested in sports, surely I could do the same for academic true crime,” he jokes.

BobbyBroccoli has since developed his own style, incorporating the 3D modeling software Blender and experimenting with new animation techniques for each project. He has also made tutorials to help others dive into the technical side of animation, though his advice to aspiring creators is simple: “Get a cheap microphone, a free video editor, and write something. Your first project won’t be amazing, but you need to do it at least once to figure out what you’re doing.”

Tackling Big Topics and Keeping It Engaging

For BobbyBroccoli, selecting topics is one of the most time-consuming parts of the creative process. Every topic represents months of research and production, so it has to be something that not only interests him but also captivates his audience. Some stories, like that of Jan Hendrik Schön, are obvious winners. Others, like Victor Ninov’s, require more creative framing to hook viewers. But BobbyBroccoli believes the investment is worth it because, at the end of the day, people love stories about interesting characters in science.

The Dark Side of Science

One of the things that continually surprises BobbyBroccoli is how far people will go to cover up scientific misconduct. His series on Hwang Woo Suk, a South Korean scientist who fabricated stem cell research data, highlighted just how deeply political and ethical issues can become intertwined in the world of science. “The breach of bioethics was appalling,” BobbyBroccoli recalls, particularly noting how authority figures defended Hwang even after the truth came to light.

BobbyBroccoli also reflects on how quickly misinformation can spread and how science can capture public imagination—whether for good or bad. His recent documentary on Cold Fusion revealed the massive scale of media attention it received, with headlines and TV segments covering it almost daily. “I expect we will never see anything quite like it again,” he says, noting how rapidly the internet now debunks shaky science.

Looking Forward

As his channel continues to grow, BobbyBroccoli remains committed to tackling new scientific controversies and finding creative ways to make them accessible to his audience. “It’s ultimately about people doing science,” he says, emphasizing that the human stories are what keep viewers coming back. With each new project, BobbyBroccoli continues to explore the boundary between science and storytelling, and there’s no doubt his audience will be along for the ride.

Subscribe to BobbyBroccoli’s channel here. Recommend to us other science communicators you’d be interested in learning about at jiaps@iaps.info

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IAPS 2022-2023

Happy 35th anniversary of IAPS

12th September 2022 is the 35th Anniversary of IAPS! Join us to continue building a larger and more inclusive community.

In 1986, four Hungarian physics students, Levai, Horváth, Budai and Van had the idea of creating an international association of physics students and in 1987, their proposal was formally accepted at the 2nd International Conference of Students of Physics (ICSP, or as it is now renamed, ICPS).

35th Anniversary Competition

How will you celebrate IAPS’ 35th Anniversary?

Will you host a party with your local Physics society or LC? Could you bake a cake or sample traditional dishes from around the world? You could do something related to the number 35 – anything from making a list of 35 Physicists to doing 35 press-ups… in this competition, any entries are accepted, whether they are simple or creative or extraordinary. You can think out-of-the-box or just say ‘happy birthday’ in your native language. Whatever you do, we would love to hear from you. Just email your entry (in any format) to jiaps@iaps.info . The winning entries will be featured in jIAPS 2023 (prizes and deadline TBC).

Read more about the History of IAPS in ‘Made In Hungary’ and look out for future events over the next year, to celebrate this special anniversary.

Feliz cumpleaños Gabriel

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jIAPS Opportunities

jIAPS Article Contest – Call for applications

Along with the Worldwide Grant, there is another opportunity for attending the ICPS for free while developing your scientific work skills: the jIAPS Article Contest.

The contest is a great opportunity to write about any Physics-related topic you like and have your article published in jIAPS, the IAPS journal!

To apply for the contest, send your article to jiaps@iaps.info and grants@iaps.info.

You can apply until 23:59 GMT, 16th of February, so start writing as soon as possible!

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jIAPS Opportunities

jIAPS 2019 Edition Article Topics Call

The Editorial Team of jIAPS is looking for article ideas for this year’s edition!
So, they have opened a call for article topics until this sunday, April 14th for IAPS members and alumni!

If you want to have your work, thoughts or experiences in jIAPS 2019, come up with up to two themes, write your motivation for them and fill in this form with that information! You free to choose various topics and approaches, from the difference of working experience in academia and industry to Science outreach and communication or the importance of diversity and equality in Physics.

You have until around the end of May to send the 500-700 word article itself. For now, you just need focus on selecting your topic of choice and submit the form!

Answer the call of jIAPS!

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jIAPS Opportunities

jIAPS Article Contest – Call for applications

Along with the Worldwide Grant, there is another opportunity for attending the ICPS for free while developing your scientific work skills: the jIAPS Article Contest.

The contest is a great opportunity to write about any Physics-related topic you like and have your article published in jIAPS, the IAPS journal!

To apply for the contest, send your article to jiaps@iaps.info and grants@iaps.info.

You can apply until 23:59 GMT, 28th February, so start writing as soon as possible!

Follow jIAPS on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with jIAPS news!

Categories
News

jIAPS Article Contest 2014 Winner

We would like to congratulate Anna Fava for winning the jIAPS article contest 2014 with her article – “The quest for a unified theory: why quantum gravity still proves to be elusive to modern day physicists”

http://jiaps.org/quest-unified-theory-quantum-gravity-still-proves-elusive-modern-day-physicists/

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News

jIAPS Article Contest Deadline

Write a physics related article to be published in jIAPS, and be eligible to win the full registration fee for ICPS!

Go to http://jiaps.org/jiaps-article-contest/ for more information and submit your articles by the 30th June 2014 12:00 CEST.

Good luck!

Categories
News

Jiaps: A new issue is coming

Jiaps, the journal of IAPS will have a new issue soon.
It is nearly two years since the last issue of Jiaps was produced. But now is a new issue, prepared by a team of 3 motivated editors and half a dozen authors, finished. We should be able to present it here within the next weeks.

Categories
News

jIAPS 3-2008 call for articles

The journal of the International Association of Physics Students (jIAPS) is looking for articles for its new issue.

The subject could be on any aspect of physics: anything from a straightforward report on a recent breakthrough in research, to recent advances in computer game physics engines, and everything in-between.

Email us an article pitch. Chances are if it’s interesting and even tangentially connected to physics we would be happy to commission it. The deadline for suggesting a topic is the 1st of October, after which you would have a month to write the thing.

For inspiration check out some of the back issues here or here.

Euan – jIAPS ed. (jiaps@iaps.info)