š¬ Say Cheese
We're back to work on videos, hiring, and need your help!
š¤ Rapid Round Up
š„ Taha hit 60 secret vlogs. If you want to get to know the more British third of AIP, you can find Taha building his off-camera and on-camera skills in public on his personal channel: KhanStopMe.
š¢ Answer in Progress is hiring a creative producer. If you enjoy shaping stories, asking questions, and keeping things on schedule, consider applying here.
š§ Treat yourself to a cool treat. Sabrinaās latest website coolthingswefound.com has a new issue featuring interesting games on the internet. Have you found something cool recently? Consider suggesting it for the next issue!
š Postcard by Answer in Progress
Welcome to 2026
Taha, Melissa, and I kicked off 2026 with a week of meetings in The Big Appleā¢ for a project we canāt announce just yetā¦ but that doesnāt matter for this newsletter, only the postcard does.
Yāsee, the week was packed to the point that this was the only photo we took ā and Iām not even in it!
Look at it.
It looks like weāre about to collapse. And, in the past, we would have.
But this time is different.
Long time newsletter subscribers know our relationship with burnout. We crash, rest up, then throw ourselves back into the chaos. Rinse and repeat. That worked in the early days when busy periods were temporary. But as this passion project transformed into our careers, we never fully appreciated how busy became the new normal ā one we werenāt built for.
So we spent 2025 rebuilding our foundation to be more sustainable.
We culled what we couldāclosing the merch store and cancelling videos that catered more to algorithms than our mission.
We built what we neededāoperating procedures and financial forecasts.
While things arenāt perfectly smooth yet (we still have some hiring to do), 2026 already feels different. We look wiped in that photo because we were. But hereās the difference: we didnāt crash afterward. We didnāt need a week to recover. We just... kept going. Thatās what a sustainable foundation looks likeānot avoiding exhaustion, but building something that can handle it without falling apart.
So hereās to 2026 ā may we have more videos and fewer crash outs!
- Sabrina
š§ Mixtape by Joe the Editor
Throwback for 2026
In 2026 Iām giving myself a musical education by listening to songs from a different year every week. Weāve had 1974, 2001 and 1989, and this is just a few of my favourites so far. Hope you enjoy my eclectic throwback mix!
- Joe the Editor
P.S. Yes I know Down By The Lazy River is 1971 - I found it over Christmas when I was getting ready for this challenge, and I love it so much I couldnāt resist putting it in here.
š¢ Announcement
We are hiring!
In the spirit of building out a more sustainable foundation, we are looking for a Creative Producer to lead projects from early idea development through post-production. This role is responsible, among other things, for developing and pitching story ideas, shaping them into clear script outlines, booking and preparing interviews, managing editors through the cut, and coordinating production logisticsā including hiring freelance production support when needed ā to ensure each project moves into production with strong narrative focus and executional clarity.
If you are interested, you can learn more & apply at the link below.
š Patreon Unlocked
The 2026 Theme
A theme is sort of like a new years resolution but instead of a target, a theme just offers direction ā a way to orient yourself when you are at a crossroad.
In this Patreon-exclusive podcast, we reckon with the shortcomings of past themes and take a new route this year.
If you want to support our work and get access to even more bonus content and aftershows, consider subscribing to our Patreon :)
š¢ Community Call Out
What toothpaste do you use?
Sabrina is working on a video about toothpaste and wants to brush up on what other folks are putting on their pearly whites.
You can help by filling out this brief survey ā we promise it wonāt be like pulling teeth.
š¦ Creator Spotlight
Shloop
This channel was submitted through coolthingswefound.com and was pitched as a crossover between Answer in Progress and VSauce. After binging all of Alexās videos, I consider it an honour that AIP can be considered comparable.
Alex draws attention to the ambience of everyday life ā pulling at seemingly mundane threads to discover mysteries and patterns in our shared humanity.
His storytelling brings you on the journey to the answer but also gives delightful peeks into the meta of actually making the video about the journey to the answer.
All his work is enviably well-executed. Enjoy!
š Thank You
Thank you for subscribing and following our chaotic little journey!
from ur neighbourhood nerds,
Sabrina, Melissa, and Taha <3