What are Best/most interesting documentaries on YouTube?
Posted by reggieko13@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 94 comments
Hi.got a short stay in hospital coming up and don’t know if this is best sub to ask for wondering if anyone has any favourites but looking for maybe ones about uk subjects. Could be a well known topic or maybe something a bit more obscure. Apologies if not best place to ask
SilyLavage@reddit
Three Salons at the Seaside – it's 40 minutes of elderly northern ladies nattering at the hairdresser's, absolutely wonderful.
laaguna100@reddit
Thank you for this recommendation! Just watched it and wow! so Beautiful.
Saffidon@reddit
Murder on a Sunday Morning. It’s a documentary about a kid who gets falsely accused of murder and it follows his trial. It sounds a bit dry by my description but trust me, it is absolutely brilliant.
TwinkletheStar@reddit
This sounds like it's right up my street. I'm always excited to get recommendations for true crime related documentaries and podcasts as I can go through periods of struggling to find any good ones.
Saffidon@reddit
Honestly you’ll gasp, you’ll shout, you’ll fall in love with the defence lawyer
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Yes! I love getting too involved....and it sounds like this might be 'an innocent person wrongly charged' kind of deal? Those are always ones that keep you on the edge of your seat hoping for the right outcome.
Saffidon@reddit
Exactly that. Literally a random boy plucked from the street while walking his dog.
TwinkletheStar@reddit
I'm going to get in bed and watch this in a bit. If its as good as I think it's going to be you will get a big thank you 😁
Saffidon@reddit
Haha I’ll await your feedback
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Update: I fell asleep watching it last night so only seen the first half but am enjoying it. He's so young!!! And it's just infuriating how dishonest those cops are being...they must know they've got the wrong person and just don't care. How someone could live with themselves if they convict an innocent person for life I just can't comprehend.
Saffidon@reddit
Right?!!! I don’t want to say too much as I don’t know how far you’ve got, but the actions of the police during his interrogation are beyond shocking
TwinkletheStar@reddit
I've got to the part where the black cop went into the interrogation room, I think that was after he was beaten up by the 'special interrogater', and he was relieved to see a black man. Even without the physical violence its an absolute farce of an investigation. They literally just picked up the first black kid they saw and did NOTHING to look beyond him, even when the evidence didn't fit the narrative. Cops like that should be imprisoned themselves. The power they have to take away another's freedom should come with consequences for falsely charging someone as well. Makes my blood boil.
Saffidon@reddit
I told you you would be shouting at the screen!! Isn’t it absolutely wild that they literally said ‘there’s a black person’ and picked up this totally innocent, studious, sweet kid walking his dog to make a job application?!
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Haha you did!
There's absolutely no way they could have seen a killer in that boy. If they did they should never have become detectives.
Sherlock Holmes would turn in his (fictional) grave!
ProfessionalMottsman@reddit
Those police should be in jail, absolutely worse than criminal what they are doing
Saffidon@reddit
I know! Did you guys see the end? Can we talk spoilers?
QC420_@reddit
JCS criminal psychology. Brilliant yt channel if you like seeing interrogations broken down. Every vid on their is a banger
Ill_Evidence_5608@reddit
https://odysee.com/@JCS-CriminalPsychology:f?view=content
This link shows all historic JCS content removed from YouTube. Enjoy!
QC420_@reddit
Legend👊
I actually have a JCS ‘previous/deleted videos’ link. But that was to a dailymotion playlist, and the one you’ve sent actually has a couple more on it haha so thank you very much!!
bongo-ben@reddit
Lord Hard thrasher (Playlist) “Burma – the forgotten war” or anything from Rex Hanger (If you enjoy aviation history)
Crookfur@reddit
Also Lazerpig if you want your stuff more drunkly physcotic...
SweetMysterious524@reddit
I cant remember if they were any good but me and my mates got on it a few years ago and watched pretty much every video made about andre the giant on youtube for some unknown reason
jacksawild@reddit
Threads is a brilliant documentary about our future.
badgersruse@reddit
Drat. You beat me to it. Threads would be a delightful way to spend a hospital stay. Share with others in your room too.
St0rmStrider@reddit
Ooof
DoctorOctagonapus@reddit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1b2w4GxBU0
An hour of Richard Hammond doing a historically accurate recreation of the gunpowder plot in order to find out what would have happened if Guy Fawkes had been successful.
porspeling@reddit
Century of the Self
sharpecads@reddit
Time team has moved to YouTube and I love it!
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Rain in my Heart. A BBC documentary about chronic alcoholism that follows 4 different people's journeys.
https://youtu.be/lwv7Utcf-gM?si=i3wyWsbrVwKa3t72
It is many years old now, and is really quite sad but very interesting and worth watching.
Ill_Evidence_5608@reddit
I watched this for the first time the other day. Harrowing
TwinkletheStar@reddit
It really is. It's a sobering look at the reality of just how much damage alcohol can cause. Even faced with death people can't stop drinking, and even those that do may have done too much damage already. Just incredibly sad.
luala@reddit
I absolutely love Max Miller’s tasting history series on the food on titanic. I think it’s a 4 parter.
interestedperson27@reddit
Grove on YouTube has loads of old UK documentaries at https://youtube.com/@fhjsgy7bm?si=looW7OIknEolR_0o.
Shitelark@reddit
Not on yout'ubé but Feels Good Man, the Pepe the Frog story. Worth a download.
Suzilaura@reddit
https://youtu.be/NDZdsqbcGTU?si=tmSaUapnY0aJpoHZ
I really enjoyed that, about the barkley marathons.
GaryJM@reddit
Lemmino - The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper is a great UK-related one and his ones on the Kennedy assasination and D. B. Cooper are also well worth watching.
Total_Gur8734@reddit
Lemmino is the FUCKING KING.
hotdamn_1988@reddit
Love the Malaysia flight disappearance too
signol_@reddit
I recently found this channel and watched this about the old TV show The Krypton Factor: https://youtu.be/iEn2Y9NwJnw?si=HEkbEnZ6_33XNbWX Also watched the one about The Interceptor
No-Jeweler-7821@reddit
Africa adieu, an old Italian documentary from the 70's i think about decolonisation and it's effects, beat documentary I've ever watched
pertweescobratattoo@reddit
The Spanish Civil War, 6 part ITV series from the early '80s. Very detailed and interviews from dozens of people involved.
durkheim98@reddit
Thanks. I've been looking for a good documentary on the Civil War for ages, only ever read books on the subject.
chillest-@reddit
I watched a channel 4 one the other day about a guy living with his penis attached to his arm. That was quite good. It follows three peoples stories with penis construction surgery. Channel 4 has so many good ones from crime to completely bonkers stuff
Capital-Doughnut-390@reddit
You’re an idiot, play a record
TwinkletheStar@reddit
I saw that. So weird.
The 3 parter about the Liverpool shootings and subsequent investigation was really good.
Channel 4 has something for everyone.
True_Scientist1170@reddit
Random but I don’t know if it was like a giant prank but there was a documentary about a town where all the girls started randomly getting Tourette/ tic type symptoms out of nowhere and was early 2000 so wasn’t like a trend I call bullshit cause not heard or seen anything else ob said town biy was a channel 5 doc on YouTube
True_Scientist1170@reddit
I watched a woman do ent or emo but it was recordings of 5th dimensional beings talking about a war legit she would do videos just asking questions and get a answer back as if she was on the phone
lidlberg@reddit
The Cost of Concordia by The Internet Historian
SixWeekHollyDaze@reddit
Ooo, Ghosts on the Underground is on YouTube! My husband bought it for me on DVD ages ago and I loved it, and now it's on there. Fascinating, if you're interested in that sort of thing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bf_bxfE5gw
Ill_Evidence_5608@reddit
https://youtu.be/tW6N5PssPGw?si=Jq5jCnxQVEAaBMkN
Brain's Story. Former British advertising journalist Brian Davis is homeless and penniless. A published author he now lives on the streets in London, an alcoholic and suffering from mental illness. But, he says, he's determined to turn his life around.
Very dark.
justmoochin@reddit
https://youtu.be/SsKWhcBDVHY?si=nEpjH0D2RXSsIe5z
It’s about a man named Ben who videoed struggle with heroin addiction. Really stuck with me.
Ill_Evidence_5608@reddit
Thanks for recommending.
10642alh@reddit
I really like the ladbible interviews with people with different or challenging experiences. Not documentaries but real life stories!
Shoddy_Reality8985@reddit
Second this, the one with the plane crash survivor will stay with me forever. It'll make you lean forward on your seat.
10642alh@reddit
It was the domestic abuse survivor for me
bqw74@reddit
Free Solo
Jasboh@reddit
For a recent thing, Ed Pratt is walking/traveling down the Thames from source to sea, pretty good watch so far.
biscuittingerg@reddit
His unicycle tour around the world and then more recently across Latvia are really good too. Also his tandem tour of the SW coast.
Only discovered his stuff recently, interesting to see his style and videos form over the course of the world tour.
FireWhiskey5000@reddit
Lemmino. Probably the best documentary on YouTube about Jack the Ripper. He’s also done amazing ones on D. B. Cooper and the actions in the book depository during the JFK Assassination.
InThePast8080@reddit
Earthlings
InThePast8080@reddit
Earthlings
Icy_Reply_7830@reddit
Made in History has some great ones, whether you are interested in ancient/medieval/modern, there is all sorts on there. They’re so soothing but you learn stuff at the same time. I love them.
Kitchen_Owl_8518@reddit
There are two Channels devoted to almost Day by Day accounts of WW1 and WW2 they both have these outstanding commentators who bring the history to life.
GeekyGamer2022@reddit
Time Ghost have done many series.
WW1 and WW2 week by week plus lots of specials inbetween.
Now doing the Korean War too.
Kitchen_Owl_8518@reddit
Thanks
I couldn't think of the channel name, I found it by accidentally a few years back, I've been a fan ever since.
ExcitingBox5throw@reddit
Navalny
richk1883@reddit
Outdoor boys on YouTube is excellent
carl84@reddit
If you want some real laidback local history of various places in north West England check out Bimblism, a fella from Warrington pedalling around looking at things that people tend to just pass by and not look at. He loves churches, and it's interesting how many of them share designers, and the relationships between designers and their apprentices who also designed churches. I've watched a few of his videos based around my area and learned loads about Victorian philanthropists who commissioned local parks, libraries and other public buildings
roadsodaa@reddit
There’s a two-part Chris Benoit documentary on itv player which is a (morbidly) good watch. It’s called dark side of the ring, I think his episode is S1 Ep 1 & 2.
Westy2691@reddit
The 'Dark Side of the Ring' Owen Hart episode is another much watch.
I-Am-The-Warlus@reddit
Or just Dark Side Of The Ring in general
Icy_Gap_9067@reddit
Zero hour and seconds from disaster are both good disaster documentaries covering events such as chernobyl, the bhopal disaster and the challenger explosion.
Suburbannightmare@reddit
I hope your hospital stay goes well! These aren't documentaries as such, but I love the channel thoughty2. He does heaps of videos about a whole range of topics. Most recently I watched one about Chris Lemons...highly recommend him!
NegotiationSharp3684@reddit
The Mayfair Set by Adam Curtis. Four parts
GloomyBarracuda206@reddit
Plainly Difficult - disasters, science, transport
Into The Shadows - the darker side of stuff
The Resurrectionists - the sinister truth behind beloved childhood stories and the haunting tales that shaped literature
Well, I Never - tales of true crime, grave disasters and notable people and events from history
Qxir - true stories with a twist
Zee Frank's "True Facts", and Casual Geographic, for funny but accurate wildlife docs.
reggieko13@reddit (OP)
Thank you for all the recommendations and will check these out.especially happy with so many different topics
ZookeepergameOk2759@reddit
If your planning on watching documentaries on you tube I hope you’ve got the paid version,I tried watching one today and there must have been at least 12 adverts during the first forty mins.
BmuthafuckinMagic@reddit
the world's most dangerous arms dealer
An amazing documentary by German broadcaster DW.
The documentary is about "Karl Lee", one of the most elusive arms dealers in the world and also the struggle between America and China. Some seem to think he works for the Chinese government directly. It's such a gripping documentary, the 90 mins went by so quickly.
MrD-88@reddit
Theres one called the Seven Five about corrupt cops in 80s New York. I saw it originally on netflix around 10 years ago and its now been posted to youtube.
SirTimmons@reddit
I like the Tube Driver bloke that sticks a camera in his cab and films his journeys end to end. Brilliant fun.
DizzyChipmunk@reddit
Paper Will has some great stuff on YouTube, including a 5 hour documentary on Entertainment made by North Korea. Amazing level of research.
CwrwCymru@reddit
Commando on the front line.
Chris Terrill follows a troop of Royal Marines recruits through training and then onto the frontline in Afghanistan.
He also earns an honorary green beret along the way.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1124012/
Great insight into the Corps at the time and the conflict out in Afghanistan.
Scooberto45@reddit
https://youtube.com/@britmonkey?si=i1pXpE1GnBmeLzUP Not exactly documentaries, but very informative and nuanced
sillydog80@reddit
Historic England has some good stuff. British Pathe, too. Not necessarily uk but… Great Art Explained in 15mins has been very educational for me. Oh and everyone should watch hbomberguy’s video on vaccines.
Appropriate-Oil8894@reddit
If you are into true crime or morbid stuff, I highly recommend Nick Crowley's channel.
intolauren@reddit
Nick Crowley goes hand in hand with Nexpo and Mr Ballen 🫶🏼
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Ooh yes. I agree...really fascinating stuff.
eggmayonnaise@reddit
The Man With The Seven Second Memory
Very interesting and heartbreaking story of a man who lost his ability to remember anything since a certain point in his life. He constantly journals about how he has just awoken from a long slumber and he is finally conscious and awake and now this is the moment his life can continue.
yeksnyls@reddit
Carts of darkness
TwinkletheStar@reddit
Real Stories channel have a lot of interesting programmes about an array of stuff. It's worth having a look as you're bound to find some that will interest you.
limegreenbunny@reddit
Tickled is a good one. My husband and I watched it a while ago after seeing it recommended on here. Interesting and very weird.
durkheim98@reddit
The Death of Yugoslavia. One of the best documentaries ever made by the BBC. They interview a lot of the political figures involved, long before they were eventually tried for war crimes.
WayneKerr1978@reddit
Some of the true crime channels on there are excellent if that is your bag
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