Evan Puschak is an American video essayist, journalist and creator of the YouTube channel The NerdWriter.[1] Previously he was a multimedia editor at MSNBC and hosted the Discovery Channel show Seeker Daily. In 2017, Forbes named him one of their "30 Under 30 in Media".[2]
The NerdWriter series began in 2011 and has been updated almost every week exploring a range of topics from film to current affairs to sitcoms to philosophy.[4] In a video uploaded to the channel in August 2022, Puschak revealed he originally started the series in order to build an audience for a novel he had written. Though he abandoned the goal, he discovered a passion for the platform and for creating video essays.[5] He explains his approach to the wide range of topics dissected in the NerdWriter essays, "It's in the construction of a video that I understand and learn the most. I just move toward what interests me in that week, or that month."[6]
The popularity of The NerdWriter has attracted attention from industry personnel, media outlets, and film schools.[7] His most popular video essays include How Donald Trump Answers A Question, Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban: Why It's The Best, and Sherlock: How To Film Thought. His popular essay on Trump's speeches elicited an article from Slate, "Trump’s Tower of Babble."[8]