Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Saturday, April 26, 2025
The Print Edition
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

Basil Hand

Video Essayists You Should Watch
Columns

Video essayists you should watch: Lola Sebastian

By Basil Hand | April 11

God has dealt me a cruel hand: I am a biology major who yearns for the arts and humanities. Unfortunately, my course schedule has really limited the amount of arts classes I’ve been able to take in my four years at Tufts. Instead of taking classes on classical literature or contemporary plays, I’ve been burdened with biological knowledge, such as the organization of the fly’s nervous system or the way cells repair DNA damage. Fortunately, I’ve found a YouTuber who delivers content worthy of a college English class and with the humor and aesthetic taste of the contemporary world. Enter Lola Sebastian.

DSC_8173.jpg
Arts

The good and evil of Torn Ticket II’s ‘Jekyll & Hyde’

By Basil Hand | April 2

This past weekend, Torn Ticket II dabbled with mad science inside of Cohen Auditorium with their production of “Jekyll & Hyde.” The musical tells the cautionary tale of scientist Dr. Henry Jekyll and his quest to separate good from evil in man — this ultimately creates the monster, Mr. Hyde, inside himself. As he struggles and fails to keep Hyde in check, the pressures of society and love weigh on him until he finally snaps.

Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 5.41.04 PM.png
Arts

Video essayists you should watch: KamSandwich

By Basil Hand | March 28

It’s March, and everyone’s talking about their March Madness brackets. This year, I’ve decided to get in on it as well. Currently, my bracket has “Rap Rat” going all the way with “BreaKey” and “The Campaign for North Africa: The Desert War 1940–43” in second and third place. We’re all talking about “The Worst Board Game of All Time Tournament 2 bracket,” right?

bas2.png
Arts

Video essayists you should watch: Li Speaks

By Basil Hand | March 7

As Generation Z gets older, things from our childhoods start to become nostalgic. However, unlike some of the other generations, a lot of nostalgia for Gen Z exists on an entirely new medium: the internet and mobile devices. Online spaces like Club Penguin or Wizard101 are relics of the past and apps you had on your iPod Touch probably don’t exist anymore. There is a rich trove of defunct apps and games from the late 2000s and 2010s, yet no one talks about them. No one except for today’sYoutuber: Li Speaks. 

for daily.jpg
Arts

Video essayists you should watch: Allie Meowy

By Basil Hand | February 20

I watch too much YouTube. You can ask my housemates about this, but I really watch too much YouTube. It’s always playing on my AirPods, either in the background when I’m doing homework or when I’m going to sleep. Due to my heavy consumption of the medium, I am always on the hunt for new and interesting YouTubers. I’ve managed to find some pretty cool content creators, but no one around me ever seems to know who they are, which I find to be a disservice to the YouTube community. In order to spread visibility to some of my favorite YouTubers, I’ve decided to take this responsibility and start a series in the Daily on some of the best video essay creators with less than 300,000 subscribers. Without further ado, I would like to talk to you about YouTuber Allie Meowy.

1599px-Maggie_Rogers_-_First_Avenue_-_Minneapolis_-_snl_-_(45700706971).jpg
Arts

Maggie Rogers dazzles with power, grace in Boston

By Basil Hand | October 30

At the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch in 2016, Pharrell Williams held a masterclass with students on their music. One student by the name of Maggie Rogers had both her song and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from Williams uploaded to YouTube. The video went viral, now sitting at 8 million views, giving Rogers and her music new levels of recognition and fame. Her first studio album, “Heard It in a Past Life,” was an indie pop album met with high praise and earned Rogers a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Her latest album, “Don’t Forget Me,” was released just this spring and has given Rogers the perfect opportunity to go on tour. Her Boston stop was at TD Garden, the massive downtown Boston arena that houses both the Bruins and the Celtics, on Oct. 17.

bragg screeenshot.jpg
Music

Billy Bragg still inspires hope through his music

By Basil Hand | October 22

British singer and songwriter, Billy Bragg, decided to celebrate his 40 years of music with a year-long tour, only recently hitting the United States. Calling it the Roaring 40s tour, Bragg made his Boston (or Medford) stop at the Chevalier Theatre. My guest for the evening was my father, from St. Louis, Mo., who has attended previous Bragg concerts.

More articles »

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page