2025 Favorite Things: Vlogs & Pods
Believe it or not, this is not even a complete list. I started watched book reviewers around the beginning of fall to get me in the mood for Halloween, but I haven’t listed all of them here. I’m not going to bold my favorites, because I watch all of these. I’ve been addicted to YouTube this year.
Vlogs/YouTubers:
| Ace of Clay | sculptor |
| Ash Bentley | crafter/maker |
| Ben’s Worx | makers; resin art |
| Bentley House Minis | making miniatures; this years has a lot of focus on the Beetlejuice house. |
| Bill Making Stuff | kitbashing/miniatures |
| Colonel of Truth’s Miniature Issues | The host is slowly building an entire miniature fantasy city with half upright and half in the “under crag” |
| Comic Book Club | I try to catch their Tuesday live streaming episodes. They often have fantastic guests. |
| Dan Does | scratchbuilds of little creatures |
| DIY Tiff | She tackles manageable sized home projects from reorganizing her workshop to yard cleanup. |
| Dress Me Up Scotty | sewing/cosplay; she’s realistic about how projects turn out |
| Evan and Katelyn | makers |
| Greig Johnson Making | prop builder and scratch builder; what’s really nice is that at the end of each episode, he recommends another channel. |
| Grimm Life Collective | travel vlogs about haunted attractions (fake hauntings), real hauntings, celebrity deaths, and film locations |
| Hayley Marie Vintage | sewing; the only person I’ve seen who includes an updated cost of labor + talks about current issues while sewing |
| Hazariel Atelier | sewing/cosplay; often over-the-top with her ideas that come together. |
| Jazza | art and maker technology |
| Lady Anniebelle | sewing/cosplay; charming and ridiculous; come for sewing but stay for the wacky Katy Keene homages. |
| Laura Kampf | crafter/maker |
| Legal Eagle | humorous and short presentations on current events that revolve around the legal system |
| Madame Myriad | crafting/cosplay |
| Miss Twisted | sewing/cosplay; takes on difficult projects and tries to be resourceful on a budget. |
| Much Props | crafting/cosplay |
| North of the Border | dioramas with sculpting and resin |
| Peculiarly Ashley | crafter/maker |
| Pottery to the People | relaxing and informative to watch someone make pottery including all of the many ways things go wrong |
| Prickly Alpaca | crafting/cosplay |
| Rachel Maksy | She kind of does it all in terms of DIY; sewing, cosplay, crafting, home decorating. |
| Simone Gietz | inventor/maker |
| Sinead Hanna | fun book blogger of horror, thrillers, suspense and mysteries; sometimes funny movies |
| Skill Tree | crafting/cosplay/makers |
| SKS Props | cosplay specifically using foam (foamsmithing) |
| Stephanie Canada | sewing mainly vintage style with plus size adjustments; Disney fan and can be quite silly. |
| Tasting History with Max Miller | As the title states, he talks about food history. It’s not an every episode watch, but I always learn something and appreciate what I’ve seen. |
| The Closet Historian | sewing and restoring/renovating an old house in NY state; 100% nerd and Goth vibes; Morticia Addams would hire her for interior design. Her appreciation of Christine McConnell shows. |
| VanOaks Props | maker/cosplay; excellent tutorials for Halloween and Star Wars props |
| Wicked Makers | They’ve moved away from every day crafting and prop making to large animatronics. |
Podcasts & News:
While the above list is more about How To, DIY, etc., there are some podcasts that are on YouTube and/or listening apps like PocketCast. Some might be Spotify Originals, but I avoid using that service. True Crime and Entertainment mostly.
| 10% Happier | Dan Harris | PocketCast | Interviews with people connected to the world of meditation. |
| A Little Bit Culty | Sarah Edmondson and Nippy Ames | PocketCast | Two former cult members who interview others who have escaped cults or experts in the field. |
| Breaking Bread with Tom Papa | Tom Papa | PocketCast | Stand up comedian (actor & author) Tom Papa interviews others in his field. |
| Burden of Guilt | Tracyraquel Berns, host Nancy Glass | iHeartRadio | One of the most horrific nightmares of child abuse cases in one family; also a Paramount+ documentary. |
| FBI Case File Review | Jerri Williams | PocketCast | Retired FBI Agent (and author) Jerri Williams interviews other members from the FBI, sometimes witnesses and formerly incarcerated people to review cases. |
| Fifteen: Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders | Erin Moriarty | PocketCast | Six episodes about a 15-year-old serial killer and how the laws of punishment changed once he was in his 20s. |
| My Favorite Murder | Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff | Exactly Right | Live in Brooklyn; 2 interesting NY stories about the Scarsdale Diet doctor & his women, and the maraschino cherry company whose owner was growing pot. |
| Myths & Legends | Jason Weiser and Carissa Weiser | PocketCast | Folklore stories using modern language, often humorous. |
| Science Vs. | Wendy Zuckerman | PocketCast | Short and digestible FACTS about science that are relevant to current events. |
| Sisters in Crime | also on YouTube | PocketCast | Interviews with authors. |
| Women & Crime | Dr. Meghan Sacks and Dr. Amy Shlosberg | PocketCast | Expert knowledge on violent crimes where women are either victim or perp. |
| Working it Out | Mike Birbiglia | PocketCast | Stand up comedian (actor & writer) Mike Birbiglia interviews others in his field. |
Other 2025 Favorites
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.