Philipp Dettmer

About

German YouTube star famous for his Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell channel, which releases animated educational videos explaining a large variety of topics such as black holes, aliens, addiction, and the meaning of life. His video, "The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should Do", covers the origin of Covid, how it spreads, and how it affects the body. This video has been viewed by over 86 million people. He is the CEO of, Kurzgesagt, the company that produces these videos. He describes his content as having a sense of optimistic nihilism. He was nominated for a European Civis Online Media Prize in 2016. 

Before Fame

At the age of 15, he had no interest in school and his grades suffered to the point of him dropping out of school. His parents then enrolled him into a specialized school where he was inspired by a teacher to study history and information design. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in history. Initially a passion project, he founded Kurzgesagt in 2013, with the goal of educating the masses about complicated ideas. He dedicated himself full-time to the project after the channel gained popularity.

Trivia

At the age of 32, he was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing firsthand through his treatments how the immune system can be wiped out, recovered, and strengthened, led to an interest in immunology and the writing of his first book. He released Immune - A Journey Into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive, on November 2nd, 2021. Two of his highly popular videos, "European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained" and a video about addiction, were removed from his channel due to controversy. 

Family Life

His parents' intervention in making sure he continued his education after dropping out of school led to his career as an educator. 

Associated With

Author, John Green, described Immune as a "truly brilliant introduction to the human body's vast system for fighting infections and other threats."