Michael Stevens (educator)

Michael David Stevens (born January 23, 1986) is an American educator, public speaker, entertainer, and editor best known for creating and hosting the education YouTube channel Vsauce. His channel initially released video game-related content until the popularity of his educational series DOT saw discussions of general interest become the focus of Vsauce, encompassing explanations of science, philosophy, culture, and illusion. As the host of Vsauce, Stevens has become one of the most successful YouTubers (with over 18 million subscribers and over 2.4 billion views), as well as a leading figure in the internet-driven popularization of science and education. In 2017, he created and starred in the YouTube Premium series Mind Field, and presented the nationwide educational stage tour Brain Candy Live! alongside Adam Savage. Stevens was born on January 23, 1986, in Kansas City, Missouri. His mother worked as a teaching assistant, while his father was a chemical engineer. The family relocated to Stilwell, Kansas, in 1991. Stevens graduated from Blue Valley High School, where he developed a comedic personality, as well as a passion for knowledge, participating in informative speech and drama club programs. He then graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in psychology and English literature. As an undergraduate, Stevens became interested in video editing, having viewed a re-cut trailer of The Shining. Under the username pooplicker888, Stevens edited and produced his first video content on YouTube in 2007, with some of his clips being featured by CollegeHumor and Funny or Die. In the same year, as the user CamPain 2008, he began using superimposition and dubbing to produce short comedic films about candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election. Stevens' online content attracted the interest of Ben Relles, who invited him to become a member of the online comedy group then known as Barely Political.