Michael Stevens (YouTuber) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Stevens
Stevens at VidCon 2016
Personal information
Born	Michael David Stevens (1986-01-23) January 23, 1986 (age 40) Kansas City, U.S.
Education	University of Chicago (BA)
Occupation	YouTuber
Spouse(s)	Marnie ​ (m. 2016)​
Subscriber and view counts updated as of April 17, 2026.

Michael David Stevens, born on January 23, 1986, is an American educator and entertainer. He is famous for creating and hosting the educational YouTube channel called Vsauce. His channel first showed videos about video games. Later, his educational series became very popular. Vsauce now focuses on interesting topics like science, philosophy, culture, and how illusions work.

Michael Stevens is one of the most successful YouTubers. He has over 24 million subscribers and more than 6 billion views. He helps make science and learning popular online. By October 2014, Vsauce had almost 8 million subscribers. In 2017, he created and starred in the YouTube Premium series Mind Field. He also toured with Adam Savage for Brain Candy Live!. Since 2025, he has co-hosted the podcast The Rest Is Science with Hannah Fry.

Michael Stevens' Early Life and Education

Michael David Stevens was born on January 23, 1986, in Kansas City, U.S. His father was a chemist. His family moved to Stilwell, Kansas, in 1991. Michael graduated from Blue Valley High School. He loved learning new things. He joined speech and drama clubs there.

He then graduated from the University of Chicago. He earned a degree in psychology and English literature. As a student, he got interested in video editing. He saw a re-edited trailer for the movie The Shining.

Michael Stevens' Career Journey

Starting on YouTube: CamPain 2008 and Barely Political (2007–2010)

Michael first joined YouTube as 'CamPain 2008'. He made funny short videos about politicians. He used special effects and voice-overs. These videos were about candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Michael's online content caught the eye of Ben Relles. Ben invited him to join an online comedy group. This group was known as Barely Political. Michael moved to New York City in 2008. He worked for both Barely Political and another YouTube group.

The Beginning of Vsauce (2010–2012)

Michael Stevens launched the Vsauce channel in 2010. At first, many people helped with Vsauce. It focused a lot on video game culture. Michael hosted several shows. These included 'V-LIST' for game lists, 'IMG' for popular pictures, 'D. O. N. G.' for online games, and 'LÜT' for cool products.

But Michael's educational videos became the most popular. He was inspired by Paul Zaloom's science show, Beakman's World. Michael saw that his best videos mixed serious topics. They often combined ideas from different subjects. Some popular questions he answered were: "What is the resolution of the eye?" "What is the speed of dark?" and "How much money is there in the world?"

Later in 2010, Michael started two more channels: Vsauce2 and Vsauce3. Kevin Lieber hosted Vsauce2, and Jake Roper hosted Vsauce3. By 2011-2012, most game and internet videos moved to Vsauce2 and Vsauce3. Michael then focused the main Vsauce channel only on educational topics. His videos often start with a question. Michael then explores the answer, bringing in facts from many different subjects.

I don't want to just create things that are me reading a Wikipedia page, I want them to be a journey – a logic train that makes you go "Oh wow, where are we going today?"

Working with Google, TED Talks, and Science Friends (2012–2016)

In 2012, Google bought Next New Networks. Michael then started working for Google in London. He was a content strategist. He helped other video creators make their YouTube videos better.

In 2013, he gave two TED talks. One was called "How much does a video weigh?" The other was "Why do we ask questions?" He also spoke at many events. These included VidCon and the Edinburgh International Television Festival. He even taught about diabetes for Novo Nordisk. In 2015, he was at the YouTube Fan Fest in Toronto.

Through Vsauce, Michael worked with many famous scientists. He made videos with Bill Nye and Derek Muller. He also talked about dinosaurs with Jack Horner and Chris Pratt. He even interviewed David Attenborough about Planet Earth II.

Mind Field and Brain Candy Live (2016-Present)

In 2016, Adam Savage from MythBusters announced a tour with Michael Stevens for 2017. Michael then made a Vsauce video. He said he and Adam would visit 40 cities in 2017. They would present a show called Brain Candy Live. The show was a live science event. People said it was like a mix of TED Talks and the Blue Man Group.

A second tour was planned for 2018. But it was canceled due to scheduling issues. The tour has not happened since.

Michael teamed up with YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium). He created and hosted Mind Field. This show started in January 2017. It was first on YouTube's paid service. Now, all episodes are free for everyone. Some bonus content still needs a subscription. Each episode explores human behavior. Michael and his guests do experiments. They also share what they learn. Michael said many TV networks rejected his idea for Mind Field.

In 2019, Michael changed the DONG channel name to D!NG. This was to follow YouTube's new rules for ads. In 2025, Michael started a podcast. It is called The Rest Is Science. He co-hosts it with mathematician Hannah Fry.

Michael Stevens' Personal Life

In 2016, Michael married Marnie. She is from New Zealand. They moved to Los Angeles. Their daughter, Maeve, was born in August 2019. As of February 2026, Michael lives in Colorado.

Michael Stevens' TV Shows and Appearances

Awards and Recognitions