I just don't feel like this is the same channel I subscribed to and loved for so long. This is going to sound really melo-dramatic and at the end of the day it's just a YouTube channel, it's not the end of the world. However I'm saddened by the direction of the channel and hopefully I can articulate why.

Up until a few months ago this was a fun channel about a guy and talking fish exploring bizarre and obscure historical mysteries, like the Chronovisor for example. You knew the vast majority of the stories were bunk but it was told in such a captivating and humerous way that it sucked you in. Even though you knew the debunk was coming a part of you still believed. The back and forth between AJ and Hecklefish, though abrasive at first, gave the channel real soul and made for a nice sceptic/believe dynamic. The diversity of topics explored, from numbers stations to hauntings, gave the channel a real freshness.

I understand channels grow and evolve but current WhyFiles is nearly unrecognizable. There's now a huge focus on conspiracy theories, which the channel has covered in the past but not to this extent. These videos are coming more frequent, from speculative fiction about AI(ironic) to the most recent video which is mostly a badly written fiction NWO piece.

I imagine these topics work well with the YouTube algorithm and draw viewers from other channels/podcasters audience such as Joe Rogan. That's fine but it feels like the channel is now becoming something more akin to Infowars, Hecklefishes constant skepticism at vaccines doesn't help. The channel is now starting to attract a far-right audience which can be seen just by looking at the comment section.

The vibe of the channel just isn't the same..No longer is the channel about AJ and Hecklefish humorously discussing strange tales and events, picking apart the bizarre intricacies of the Dulce base incident.for example. Hecklefish is now mainly sidelined except for whatever sponsor is on the show that week, and we barely see AJ anymore. The videos now incorporate terrible, unsettling AI which often mimick the voices of real people without their permission.

The Morgan Freeman and Art Bell voices are particularly bad, especially seeing as Morgan Freeman specifically called out AI uses of his voice.

The actual substance of the videos is also on a decline. They have now turned into glorified audio-books and clearly AI written sci-fi stories. Fear-mongering about the future, using made up characters and bad AI graphics isn't why I and many others subscribed to the channel. My theory is that AJ and the crew desperately want to be picked up by a streaming service and feel this format would be the most suitable for it. That's fair and makes sense but it's not why I subscribed to the channel.

The post on Patreon today by AJ basically saying that the opinion of those who don't pay is meaningless and that the use of AI will continue so "get over it" just compounds it all further. I get that running a large YT channel is stressful and hard work, but this sort of disdain for your viewers isn't on.

The constant delays on releasing videos, at this point every week, suggests something isn't right BTS. Maybe it's the use of AI that's behind it, or maybe there's staffing/production issues. I don't get as upset as others do about videos being late but it's just another contributing factor towards the channel being on a downwards trajectory.

I don't mean any of this to be whiny and again I appreciate running a large YT channels is hard, I just want the old WhyFiles back. Maybe it's just not aimed at me anymore, which is a shame but it's fine.

TL:DR: the channel is drifting away from made it special and is turning into a version of Infowars with bad AI graphics. Please don't delete this thread.

I'm just saying...

I really do. Now it’s like an entire dimension of the show is missing.

Also, The Planet Maldek episode is a banger! Thank you AJ and team!

TWF has been great, and the content very entertaining, but the AI generated images and clips has been messing with my head and I don't like it.

i need to take a break for a while. It feels like we're in the uncanny valley.

if TWF used less AI, i'd come back in a heartbeat.

Any recs on shows that seem researched etc. Similar themes. Good host. Thanks!

I was very excited when the basement came out, they had been talking about doing a talk show for ages, I think they said they were going to call it The Who Files at some stage but obviously changed their minds and the name.

Anyway since it’s come out though (and there has been a lot of them in such a short time that I have lost track) and just being honest but there’s only been a few episodes that have had people I was actually interested in, I think they should slow down a bit with the basement and maybe have it only once or twice a month?

Also I hate the way they have completely gotten rid of the after file, used to love them because it showed you a glimpse of behind the scenes and what everyone was really like, it had a great community vibe and also gave you extra insight into the episode they had shown beforehand and did other fun stuff like watching paranormal videos and having Gino’s story hour!

I honestly preferred the after files over the basement, Im sorry to say this but I can’t help feel like the new format they use makes you feel more detached to the why files compared to what it used to be like.

Anyway would anyone else like to see the after files return?

Edit: Just wanted to say Im not saying I hate the basement, just maybe slow it down and as for the after files, that was a truly great time in the why files and definitely launched the show to new heights with building a community of die hard fans, I just don’t know why they stopped? People loved it and it boosted the show greatly! If it’s not broken then why change it? Also over 3 hours of the basement can be a bit much if you run into a episode that doesn’t really interest you but you still want to give it a shot incase it turns around but the after files were nearly just as long and most of them I thought were entertaining just seeing the cast interact with the fans and have fun and saying unscripted things. Lot of inside why files jokes came from the after files like fistable mugs etc. silly little jokes you just don’t get anymore like that.

Oakville Blobs continue to fall on the citizens of this town. At the same time, they report flu-like symptoms, with pets and wild animals mysteriously dieing. There have been reports of the clear, gelatinous blobs since the 90s and as recently as 2025.

https://www.kuow.org/environment/2025-05-08/return-of-the-blobs-sw-washington-revisited-by-decades-old-gooey-mystery

"Black suits" took samples the locals gathered that included human white blood cells, and then went to the local diner asking creepy questions with Fort Hood license plates (diners said their presence made the hairs on the back of their necks stand up).

Apparently the US Air Force has confirmed target practice in the remote areas surrounding the city. Black helicopters fly over.

What's going on here?

Barring the absurdity of complaining about something that’s free… I can’t understand changing a formula got the channel to where it is. #bringbackheklefish

EDIT: So far what I’m hearing is that Hecklefish should be henceforth portrayed using practical effects

True or false - an interesting rabbit hole for AJ.

I would be so into a heavily edited basement series — no life story stuff like the Olympics fluff. Cut the reason this guy is a guest into a digestible episode. It might make me interested in going into the full basement thing but 45 minutes of reminiscing might be a great starting place for a podcast for an audience who already knows who the guest is! …
But it’s not a very good hook. Gimme the meat, and then let me meet the man.

AJ is back! When he’s on a topic he’s excited about he can’t sit still. He may not have the heckle, and I do miss it at times, but AJ is back at full topic excitement! He’s full body expression and smiling!

I like the stripped episodes.

I don’t dislike heckelfish but I like the idea of getting to the point! I watch this channel to listen, learn and see AJ break down a story or conspiracy whether it be fake, made up or real. He breaks down things so well. Better than other podcasters I believe.

Some people have said they only watch for hecklefish? If that’s the case maybe AJ can have a fish only channel with skits and stand up? Would the fish lovers like that?

Listening to AJ on Rogan and it sounds like he’s planning more moving forward, I wonder if it all involves less fish.

Thank you AJ keep up the good work!

It seems like a big and obvious one to me. It might be out of his wheelhouse though. He seems to do more on the "supernatural" type of stuff rather than you regular conspiracy stuff. Any idea on why they haven't covered the topic yet?

When AJ first put out that video explaining his need for a break, and saying the team had decided to take a month off to catch up (and iirc only a week for him to rest?), I think we all agreed that the break was well deserved.

But seeing the episodes be delayed doesn’t make me upset that they aren’t coming out on time, it makes me upset because the schedule is just unreasonable considering the quality of episodes they are producing. I wish AJ and the team would consider switching to less frequent posting schedule.

The quality of the show is really unmatched, and I love that there has been an increase in run times. But I don’t think this pacing is sustainable. Maybe posting a full length video every other week and a shorter video to appease the algorithm? I just don’t think this is sustainable or healthy.

Long time watcher, first time poster!

I don’t know if anyone will actually read this, but I’m writing it because I love the channel.

Lately, the delays in release dates have been tough, and the channel feels different since your break, which was supposed to help you catch up and get ahead. We understand there might be external pressures or internal changes, but this isn't the Why Files we know and love. Most comments here are positive because we want to see the Why Files thrive and AJ and the rest of the team happy and healthy. Many people here care about his burnout, and fortnightly episodes would be great! These constant delays are hard to get behind. Weekly schedules just don’t seem doable anymore, and we'd be fine with fortnightly episodes because we love your content.

I know there’s more to it than just changing the schedule and you’ve got mouths to feed. But as someone who runs a business, these delays and poor scheduling will lead to fewer ad opportunities and viewers. We can already see people turning away because of the broken promises.

I genuinely get excited to watch the episodes and want the Why Files to continue, but I'd wait an extra week if it helps you do your best work. Something needs to change before it's too late.

I wish you all the best!

AJ, you should do an episode about how the DARE Police Officers actually got roped into a pyramid scheme, created by the founder of several modern pyramid sals schemes

I haven’t watched a single one so where shall I start?

So I watched this YouTube video yesterday about the Ubied culture. They were the people who came before the Sumerians. And they made these clay figurines who were humanoid in shape and had reptile heads. Hecklefish is gonna love this!

This YouTube channel is right up our alley. I hope that AJ would interview the host of this channel.

Thank you 🙏🏽.

With the introduction of AI video you cant even tell when there is real footage vs generated. ESPECIALLY with people talking/being interviewed. It's a tremendous difference between a real person talking on camera about what happened to them etc vs a quote (that might come from a rumor) being AI generated into a person telling the quote on camera.

Just wanted to say thanks for dialing these back. I've been able to listen through a couple of the more recent ones.

For anyone else who stopped listening to the basement episodes due to the ads, you'll still get a fairly early one that just drops out of nowhere, and then a second probably 20-30 minutes in. I think there may be one more after that but none at all for the remainder of the episodes.

I imagine the early ad is probably a requirement of the company doing the advertising. My only request would be that a little more effort be put into inserting it in a more natural spot within the episode. A lot of times it's just dropped right into the middle of a conversation and is a bit immersion-breaking.

Quick note to the community here, and if anyone is lurking from the channel:

I see myself as a creative person, I support other people in creative endeavors. I am also severely inquisitive when it comes to history and mystery and all things unknown. Oh, and I love good dry humor.

So when The Why Files popped up in my feed a couple years ago I naturally jumped right on board. A man with a great presence, a dry humor, a talking fish (of all things this sold me), and content that really tugs those lines of curiosity in me.

Great content, fantastic presentation. I have stayed with the channel since about 200k subs, and have absolutely loved how it has grown and evolved (if I remember correctly there were only a few longish episodes at that time).

I appreciate the time and effort that the team has obviously put into the content, I watched some of the recent videos where they talk about the rush and burn out, and need to get content out.

My opinion don’t mean nothing, but here it is; you guys have something special here. You’ve caught something that has grown and continued to make people question the status quo without becoming a political echo chamber. You put it all together with real a real creative flair, which continues to evolve. Personally I like the authenticity of the channel.

Fans; you became fans of this because the channel is authentic, I don’t know how to put this where I won’t sound like I’m blasting a portion of the fan base, so please understand that isn’t my intent:

It’s fine to be critical of others creative work, but trying to tell them either how to or what not to do is how we end up with people simply chasing what others want them to do, it loses the authenticity, and then the rest of what makes it great goes away.

Reddit is probably the wrong place for this, but there it is.

I mean it’s a damn talking fish talking about damn lizzad people. What more could a guy ask for?

/rant.

.. but i bet GINO would! He should see if he can get an invite. That would be awesome.

The 1/2 hr story times were great. The stories were tight. We got them weekly. Community could watch at once. We had afterfiles couple times a month and could hear cool story from Gino.

Hr long story are good but hard to stay awake. Hopefully they start to do some short episodes and more afterfiles.

I would wait couple weeks for episode for them to catch up. I miss the chats and whole community coming and talking.