Matt Beat

Berlin and Munich Compared

I was very impressed by both of these cities as I researched them. Despite its dark
20th century past, Germany is an inspirational country today. This is also a collaboration with Willie from KHanubis. It was a pleasure to join forces with him again. He lives in Berlin, and made a "foreigners guide" to the city where he ...

A Brief History of Voting by Mail

If you couldn't tell, I've been on a voting kick lately. This one was another collaboration with the Cynical Historian. He and I have a long history, and I now consider him a good friend. I'm still bummed we didn't get to meet up in the spring due to COVID. Regardless, it's always a treat to collaborate with him, and be sure ...

A Relevant Supreme Court Case

I had one of the busiest weeks of my life, so I am sorry I did not get this out to you early this week. 

This case was suggested by my Patreon supporters Cal, Kate, and Marley. It was a great suggestion!

I appreciate your continued support. It's a big reason why I still make these Supreme Court Briefs videos ...

Does History Really Repeat Itself?

This video was suggested by Patreon supporter Andrew B. Glad I finally got around to making it! I'm still working through that suggestions list. I appreciate your patience as I try to balance making videos about stuff I know will do well for the channel, stuff needed for my curriculum at school, stuff I just plain like, and s...

Cleveland and Detroit Compared

These two cities have always fascinated me, so I went down several rabbit holes researching this one, which is why it took me so darn long to make. Any of you from one of the two cities?

Be sure to check out Scott and Xyla's channels!

I hope you're all staying safe out there. It's been a little chaotic back teachi...

How Much Wealth Every President Had (Has)

I'm still working on the title, but yes, I insanely decided to included EVERY President for this video. What was I thinking? 

I have a lot of fun videos planned for the fall. Thank you for your continued support!

Supreme Court Briefs - Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

Supreme Court Briefs returns to school as many of us head "back to school." I always go over this case with my Government students, so I figure it was about darn time I made a video about it. It's short, but packed with First Amendment nuance. :)

Thank you all for your continued support. Many of you get a shout out at t...

My two home states Compared

I really enjoyed making this one, perhaps for obvious reasons- Kansas and Nebraska are the only two states I have ever actually lived in. I went down so many walks down memory lane while making this video, which is part of the reason why it took so darn long to make. 

Simply put, it's a very personal video with a l...

Why Men (and Women) Didn't Let Women Vote

My wife is a female. My daughters are females. My dog is a female. My cat is a female. I am a male. It still completely blows my mind that just 100 years ago women could not vote in the United States, and only five years ago were women granted suffrage in Saudi Arabia. What a world we live in. 

This video is one of...

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo Compared

Making this video was quite the journey. First of all, I learned a lot. Second, it just took a really long time, and footage was scarce. I didn't want to make these two countries look negative, but even just stating objective facts can spin it that way. The bottom line is, I meant what I said at the end of the video about the...

Worst 5 Vice Presidents in American history

I got a little salty at the end of this one. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it! There are probably no surprises on this list if you've been following my channel for awhile. Remember- these are just my opinions! :)

I hope you're all staying safe out there. Thanks for your continued support!

Kentucky and Tennessee Compared

I tried a slightly different format for this one. I put the history of the two states at the beginning, and didn't get into the similarities until the second half of the video. What do you think of the change? Is it even noticeable? If it is noticeable, should I return to the old format?

Your feedback is much appreciate...

Supreme Court Briefs - Terry v. Ohio

I am glad to finally make this. It's been on my radar for such a long time, but the time finally felt right, especially given the latest series of events involving police brutality and the rise of protests. I honestly had no idea Terry was an African American until earlier this year, even though I've taught this case to my Go...

Croatia and Serbia Compared

I learned A LOT making this one, and I hope you do, too.

I'm bracing myself for all the Serbian nationalist comments...

For all of my American patrons, I wish you a happy Independence Day!

I hope you all are doing well, and thank you for your continued support. :)

Why did gold and silver back up our currency?

I finally dive back into economics. I teach Econ in real life, so it's nice to finally make another video I can use with my students. 

This is also a collaboration with the Casual Historian. I've known Grant for a few years, and it was great to collaborate with him again. It seems that when the two of us collaborat...

Illinois and Indiana Compared

I've been to Illinois probably around ten times since we have family there, and I've been to Indiana three times, so I can say that I already knew more about these two states than I do about most of the rest. Regardless, it was a lot of fun to dig deeper with the history and geography of both, and I hope you enjoy the video a...

When Do You Have a Right to Privacy? | Katz v. United States

Thanks to both Matt Standish and Kit Walker for suggesting that I cover this case! It was an important one that I can't believe I hadn't gotten to yet. 

Despite the poor performance of Supreme Court Briefs videos, I plan on making more of them for the rest of the year. The next case I cover will be particularly rel...

Colorado and Wyoming Compared

Which is better? Colorado or Wyoming? That's right folks. Compared returns. I'll probably do a premiere for this one again since that was fun last time. 

I know it's been a tense week in the United States, but I am optimistic major reforms will be made, and most of us here are unified. One silver lining is that I'm...

Did Warren Harding Invent the Word "Normalcy?"

Spoiler alert: he did not.

Still, it's a fascinating story about a word that probably fascinates me too much.

My brother makes an appearance, and I felt obliged to finally give his business a shout out. He has helped out my channel so much over the years, I feel it was the least I could do. 

I hope we r...

Supreme Court Briefs - Jacobson v. Massachusetts

A timely video, I would say, as this one is about forced vaccinations. Can the government really do that to us? Well, the short answer is "yes." Check out the video for more. I got a lot of requests for this one, and I'm so glad I did. 

Warning: I put a few pictures of folks with smallpox in the video. They are int...

Best Senators in U.S. history

So this video kind of got out of control. It's almost 20 minutes, but I guess I was just really passionate about these Senators. hee hee

I hope you enjoy. It's the long-awaited sequel to my worst Senators video.

I also hope you're all staying safe and well during the crazy historical times we are living in. One da...

Texas and California Compared

The two states that straight up dominate the United States of America. And believe me, there were A LOT of requests for this one. Plus, it was ridiculously fun to make. 

This video was also a collaboration with the terrific YouTuber Briggs and his channel, The World According to Briggs. Be sure to check out his cha...

Why do we not eat dogs, cats, and horses?

And when I say "we," I mean us Americans (North AND South America) and most of Europe. Although, it is quickly changing in most of Asia and Africa as well. 

But we sure as heck eat pigs and cows, even though they are just as smart. 

This was one of my favorite videos to make, and it was a collaboration w...

Why do we shake hands?

I have been planning on releasing this video for literally years, but I pushed it up due to COVID-19. When my brother and I filmed our portions, I had no idea this video would be so relevant.

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy.

Thanks for your continued support! 

A Brief History of Fountains of Wayne

Here's a video I made for my other channel, The Beat Goes On. 

Since I've had some more free time lately, I made a video about one of my favorite bands, Fountains of Wayne. One of the songwriters for the band, Adam Schlesinger, died from COVID-19 a couple weeks ago. They are known as a "one-hit wonder" w...

The Oklahoma City Bombing Explained

This video was requested by Patreon supporter David Kostman, an Oklahoma native. It worked out since I had planned a video about the topic anyway after I went to the memorial 3 and a half years ago. The 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing is this Sunday.

I hope you are all staying safe and sane during this cra...

Paraguay and Uruguay Compared

I think I got a little carried away with Paraguay and Uruguay, ok? No way. Yes way.

Anyway, my next few videos won't probably be as long as the past two now that I'm online teaching, but regardless it's been nice to have extra time to make videos due to the lockdown. Speaking of the pandemic, I hope all of you are stayi...

All of the Presidents' Pets

This video was suggested by Patreon supporter Zachary F. Parker. Zachary, I finally had enough time to make it! Why? Well, because of the lockdown, frankly. This was a more ambitious video than I normally make, and according to my calculations, yes...this is the most comprehensive video about American presidential pets on the...

New Jersey and New York Compared

It's been awhile, but Compared returns!

Last summer, I got to hang out with Tim Betts from MrBettsClass, and I finally got to use his cameo for this one. :)

So this pandemic has made it so that I can return to a weekly schedule, so expect lots of videos in the coming weeks. I hope you're all staying safe out there...

YouTube in the Classroom

Hello everyone, 

I hope you are staying safe and healthy during this turbulent time. I am continuing to make videos as I normally did. However, I did find out my school is shut down for the remainder of the semester, and we are shifting to teaching exclusively online. Over the next few days, I expect to assist my c...