About

Howtown is a YouTube channel that explores the path from curiosity to knowledge.

In each episode, we answer a different "how do they know that?" question, diving into

the research methods behind commonly held facts, public claims, and news headlines.

our team

Joss Fong

Joss is a founding member of Vox’s video team, where she helped build their YouTube channel to 11 million subscribers and 3 billion views, and helped launch Vox series on Netflix and YouTube Originals. She won two AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards for her reporting on gene editing and on Covid-19. She holds a master's degree in science reporting from NYU and lives in New York City.

Adam Cole

Adam was born in Oregon and graduated from Stanford with a B.S. and M.S. in biology. He got started in journalism at a small but mighty newspaper in dairy country. During eight years at NPR's science desk, he was heard on the radio and podcasts, and created the YouTube channel Skunk Bear. He wrote and directed 10 episodes of the Netflix series "Explained." He lives in Bogotá with his wife and cat.

guiding principles

Accuracy

We make sure that the information we present is correct and given proper context, rigorously verifying each fact. We approach the claims we encounter and our own assumptions with skepticism, and try to deliver the fullest version of the truth. When the truth is uncertain, we convey that uncertainty.

Transparency

We share as much as we can about how we research and verify the facts in our videos, giving our audience the tools to evaluate our work. We disclose any relationships, whether with collaborators or funders, that might appear to influence our coverage.

Accountability

When we make mistakes, we publish corrections.

Independence

Our responsibility is to our audience. Decisions about how we report and what we cover are made by us, not by our funders and sponsors. We do not accept money for coverage.