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Hey! Patrons! Ask some questions! (Patreon)

Published:
2015-12-30 00:38:35
Imported:
2026-06

Content

In this hiatus from Dear Hank and John, we'd still like to answer a few of your questions, so if you have any, please leave them here and we'll do our best to leave you some answers during the hiatus. Thanks for supporting the podcast, and we're looking forward to being back!

Comments

Haley Franco

Dear Hank and John, Hank said it was likely that the situation from the maze runner (solar flares destroying the earth) is going to destroy the earth. That's how I believe the world will end and it's low key freaking me out. How can we prepare for something like that?

ArtemisMyths

Dear Hank and John, what is your favorite thing to do while at VidCon?

your mom

Dear Hank and John, can you, in the simplest terms that you can, explain what the Iran Deal entails. What are some of the negatives that come with it and what are some of the positives? Do you have an opinion on it? Thanks!

Jamie & Kim Arpin-Ricci

Dear John & Hank. I'd love to hear some advice for aspiring novelists. I have published a few non-fiction titles and have my first fiction releasing in the near future. I want to do it well. Any dubious advice? I would love to hear from John's years of experience and Hank's recent foray into the field. Peace!

Anna Treadwell

Dear Hank & John, why is it as an adult I find life more exhausting than ever?

Anna Platt

What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? Also, you have both achieved so many incredible things and I'm really struggling to motivate myself to do even the simplest university work - how do you keep going with it all? :)

Garrett Robinson

How can I work to advance the cause of Skittles, the oft-maligned candy that is better than M&Ms in every measurable way?

Beth Ann Koustas

Dear Hank & John, do you have any tips or suggestions for college students who choose not to drink and feel socially awkward/lonely because of it. In particular, I'm a Model UNer and conference usually includes every member of my college team but me going out and drinking each night while I stay behind and sleep. Often times I take slack from fellow members for not drinking by choice, to the point where I've started saying I can't have alcohol because of medications I'm on, to avoid being made fun of. Am I the only college student who doesn't drink?

ARTiculations

Dear Hank & John. What are your opinions on New Year Resolutions? Do you make them? Do you find them helpful? Or do you think they are ineffective?

Cody

Dear Hank and John, what did you guys fight over as kids being the competitive brothers you are today?

Lizzie Richardson

Dear Hank and John, if you could create one spell in the Harry Potter universe what would it be and why?

Rafaela

Dear Jank and Hohn, lately I've been having a lot of ideas of new projects, but I still cannot deal quite well with my fear of starting them. The background picture in my phone is one of Hank's snaps, that says "think but do too" (btw, Hank, no matter what your brother says, Snapchat is AWESOME). Ironically, those words really make think about all the things I want to accomplish, but feel too stuck to do. My question is: how do you use fear as a fuel to do stuff? Notice that I'm not asking "how do you overcome fear", because I don't feel like that's the right way to use it. I feel like it can be used to do some good. But how?

Chelsea Spence

Dear Hank and John, do you have any advice on how to explain to your parents that you're on medication for a mental illness when they believe you should be able to work though the issues on your own? I really enjoy your podcasts!

Shahab

Dear Hank and John, when do you think it's a good time to date someone and seek a relationship? I've had my own share of struggles in the past and it's quite...not easy for me to date simply because i SUCK at it lol and also because my quarks and geeky side (and my video game nerdy side) are a bit too much to modern ladies these days. I am an engineer who is aspiring to become a businessman and run my own start-up from the ground up! Thank you for the dubious advice and hope you gentlemen have wonderful time off from work, kinda...

Mikkel Ilskov

Dear Hank and John, as of the release of this podcast I should hopefully have finished my final exam to become a chemical engineer and in that case I was wondering if you had some dubious advice about how to find a great job that is related to your education.

Christina

Dear Hank and John (or John and Hank), how you do you keep in touch with friends and family (who you used to see all the time) once they're spread out over large distances? It would be great if I could travel all the time, visiting all the people I've cared about, but I can't really do that at the moment. Can relationships last if there's no face to face time?

Melanie

John, I know you used to be into tumblr. In fact, I got on tumblr because of you, but recently I've heard both of you make negative comments about this platform. I really don't use it now that you're gone, but am curious about what changed your opinion. Melanie 39 year old nerdfighter 🙈

Ali Lawrence

Dear Hank and John, Pancakes or cinnamon rolls? WHY?

Dear Hank and John
>>1137922

I still use Tumblr all the time and love it. John has stopped because there is a group of people on Tumblr who have created a sort of "Hating John Green is Cool" meme that to them seems like a bunch of friends just joking around, but to the butt of their jokes (and his brother) seems really hurtful and unpleasant. I catch a kind of glancing blow off of this from people who have come to see my as also deeply uncool because I am very much like John in the way I see the world, but it's not so drastic that I can't ignore it. You can read more about this whole weird situation here: <a href="http://edwardspoonhands.com/post/121485958015/im-crying-because-its-not-fair-we-finally-get" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://edwardspoonhands.com/post/121485958015/im-crying-because-its-not-fair-we-finally-get</a> It's definitely an example of a small number of people making a communication platform a lot less fun, which is a big part of why John has disengaged from it. Also, though, he's trying to get a book done.

Dear Hank and John
>>1137890

Well, first, have a skill that is in demand, which you seem to have done. Second, find a company that needs people like you and LEARN A LOT ABOUT IT. As much as you can. Do research on the management, on it's history, on it's products...if you can, talk to employees that would be at or around your level about what they do, what problems the solve, what's the culture like, how do people act around each other? All that stuff...that's going to make your cover letter and interview REAL GOOD. Remember, a job is just getting paid to solve someone else's problems...the #1 thing you want to start with is understanding what those problems are.

Daniel Ari

I missed an airplane flight this morning, and have been in despair all day. It was SO CLOSE! There was that rushing with the luggage and the constant toggling of "We're going to make it!" "We're not going to make it!" and then the almost-almost-almost... NO! And all of this under the influence of sleep deprivation. Do you guys ever miss flights, and if so, is there anything you do to get over the stress, frustration, despair--and frankly shame--of having become an airline pariah?

Dear Hank and John
>>1137790

For the last couple years, probably the Perfect Strangers concerts. It's always extremely fun to play shows, but VidCon is bigger and better than what we usually get to do. Bigger crowd, more energy, better sound...all that stuff. In terms of stuff I do as an attendee (not a performer) the concerts are a big draw for me, but the creator keynote sessions were my fav last year.

Dear Hank and John
>>1137801

Because adults have to do more and have more responsibilities and that's cognitively draining. Adulting is hard!

Dear Hank and John
>>1137976

Oh, I've missed tons of flights. Sometimes my fault, sometimes not. You just gotta learn from your mistakes and move on. That feeling of despair is your mind telling you to do better next time, which is good advice I guess. But more than anything, remember that Hank Green is has played like 2000 games of Temple Run, so yes, you're wasting time right now, but we all waste time and there's nothing shameful about that.

Jessica Komarow

Dear John and Hank... I just found out that my husband and I will be having a baby and I know John has a small dog. Any advice for introducing a little dog to a little one? Thanks :D

Kerry Elysia

Hi! I sent this to your email a week or so ago and haven't heard it addressed on the podcast, so I thought I'd give it a shot here because it is SUPER important to me: Dear Hank and John/John and Hank, I have been best friends with the same person since we were both one and a half years old (we're 25 now). We were raised in very different towns, however, and went to different colleges. She met a friend in college who had terminal cancer. Before this friend died, she expressed some deep criticism of John's treatment of cancer in The Fault in Our Stars. My friend has never specified to me what exactly that criticism was, but as a result, she refuses to support anything you do. Hank and John, you guys are my heroes (third and fourth behind only Jesus and various family members). Is there anything I can do to convince my friend that John (and Hank by association) is not a pretentious douchepants? Any dubious advice you have would be appreciated! Thanks and DFTBA, Kerry P.S. "Pretentious douchepants" is not a direct quote. It's just the vibe I get.

Beth Bradley

Dear Hank and John, how do you overcome periods of uncertainty in your lives? I'm in one and it makes me feel very uncomfortable not knowing what lies ahead.

Melissa Banks

Dear Hank and John: My current guide dog will be retiring in January, and I will be receiving a new one. My new guide dog’s training was sponsored by Telus, which, if you don’t know, is a huge telecommunications company here in Canada. And because the people who sponsor the dog get to name it, his name is Telus. I believe this would be equivalent to having a guide dog in The States named Verizon or AT&T. Now I’m obviously very grateful to Telus for sponsoring my dog, but I also don’t want to constantly be calling my dog that in public, and having everyone think I’m such a fan of a phone company that I named my dog for it, especially since I don't even use them as a phone provider. So what are some nicknames I could use instead? All I’ve come up with so far are Tel and Telly. Happy New Year and best wishes.

Sarah Manuel

Dear Hank and John/John and Hank: I have a job that I really love doing and which takes up a lot of my time, but which doesn't do a lot of good for the world. It doesn't do a lot of bad for the world (I'm a consulting actuary, which essentially means I work with accountants at insurance companies) but it doesn't leave me with lots of time to do much in the way of making the world suck less. So I guess my question has two parts: first, how can I decrease world suck when I have little free time and a varying schedule; and second, how do you deal with the guilt that comes with knowing you're not doing as much as you probably could to make the world suck less? Thanks! :) Edit: John has said that actuaries do have social utility, and I guess in general we kind of do, so I guess mostly the question is about combating the feeling that you're not reducing world suck (in addition to actually reducing world suck.)

Danielle E Edelman

Dear Hank and John, I'm a pretty anxious person, especially when it comes to completing tasks that carry a lot of weight. I often find myself stuck in an anxiety-procrastination feedback loop, and while I've become better at recognizing and dealing with these feelings, it's still very difficult sometimes to overcome them to get things done. Do you have any dubious advice for overcoming task-related anxiety? PS: Hank already gave some advice I have been repeating to myself ever since he tweeted it: "just do the thing you have to do and don't. freak. out."

Simon V
>>1137976

I was late to my flight home last month from Sydney (to Perth) and was in such a massive rush since traffic into the airport was terrible. Security took ages and I was stopped for a manual search (as always) which I really did not have time for. Cue me running to the wrong end of the terminal, realising, then running back the other way (of course my gate is at the very end). So I get there and... the gate is full of people. My flight hadn't even boarded yet. Turns out my flight was delayed. It was then delayed further every couple hours. Eventually they had to cancel that night's flight and delay it to the next morning. We were put in a hotel (unfortunately I was the in last lot to get one so I didn't get to sleep till about 1am; the flight was scheduled for 7pm). I fly a lot and I am usually pretty prepared. That was the first time I was ever late for a flight but I'm just glad that I actually wasn't! Still super inconvenient though! Just wanted to share that story :)

Simon V

Dear Hank and John/John and Hank, I recently got into the competitive Pokemon scene.. (Just kidding! I've been in it for a while - but mostly as a volunteer helper) and I'm just wondering firstly, if you guys ever got into something similar competitively. Secondly, how much money do you think is a worthwhile investment in these kind of hobbies before it's probably too much? I've spent a decent amount of money on Pokemon cards with the majority of them pretty much useless which makes me think about the money that I've put into it and what I've really gotten out of it - especially now that I don't really play any more and I literally have hundreds of little pieces of cardboard that are indeed useless. How much should money have an effect on hobbies in general? Is it something you've thought about as well for the stuff you like to do? How do you determine if it's worthwhile? Simon.

Simon V
>>1137811

I'm not Hank or John but I was in the same situation. I don't drink, and I made that fact clear to all the friends/co-workers that do. It doesn't change how I socialise with them, and nor them with me. They understand that it's a choice that I've made and respect it. I don't have any advice for not being made fun of but if you stand firm in your choice not to drink and express it, there's nothing anyone else can do - it's your life. Even if they don't get why you don't, it shouldn't matter. It's not up to them :) Nothing is stopping you from going out to drink with them either, if that's something you want to do. You can always stick to soft drinks and water. Who're anyone else to judge?

Michelle Crawford

Dear John and Hank, I never generally take anything stronger than ibuprofen, so I often wonder - are the side effects of medications worth the effects they are supposed to produce? Relatedly, what are your views on natural or "alternative" medicines for treating the much-studied, but also much-misunderstood and much-stigmatized field(s) of mental illnesses? * (*I've noticed in many of the recent podcasts that John mentions the negative side-effects he is experiencing of switching medications for various conditions, and I'm curious on your views on the subject)

Ash Sedillo

How did you get into They Might Be Giants?

Joseph Kemler

Dear John and Hank, How do I overcome a texture eating disorder? I'm 25 and I've been wanting to eat better for most of my life. I find that anytime I try to eat something, like an apple, it feels like I'm eating leather. Any tips on what I could do to improve this very annoying part of my life? Joe

Christine Dönszelmann

Dear Hank and John, how are your kids and pets doing? Just wondering. Oh and if you have to give advice: how do I make the best pizzacrust? Love, Christine

Kathleen Reynolds

Dear Hank and John, I recently had a horrible break up in which the person just stopped acknowledging my existence but the worst part is they still have my beloved copy of Paper Towns, any advice on getting it back?

Becky

Dear Hank and John, I recently noticed that when my cat, Tonks, stood up from her favorite fuzzy blanket there were flashes of what I assume to be static electricity. If so, could my fluffy cat and fluffy blanket end up starting a fire? Tonks is walking the line between Hufflepuff like her name sake, or mischievous Slytherin, and I'm worried that being able to start a fire from her fluffiness would put her solidly in Slytherin. Sincerely, A Ravenclaw named Becky

Toea

Dear Hank and John if you should create the school system from the bottom up what classes would you add, remove, extend or shorten and what other things would you charge?

Phoebe Lambdon

Dear John, I figured seeing as there's been a lot of sciencey questions lately I'd ask a literature based one. I'm currently studying an American Literature unit at university and one of the 'poems' we have been set is Ezra Pound's "In A Station of the Metro". I was horrified to discover there was only two lines. Anyway what I was wondering is what do you think actually makes a poem? And can you really call something that is two lines long a poem. Phoebe P.s you should totally read Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" to Hank

Melina Morton Delgado

Dear Hank and John, (or if John is reading Dear John and Hank) (hello to Rosianna) This is a science question, saw this on twitter: Because the earth is slowing down, today is about 0.00000002 seconds longer than yesterday. Is it true? And if so, are we in our way to a day where the earth won't move at all????????? Hope to get an answer. Blessings, happy new year and DFTBA

Jessi B

Dear Hank and John, I am a nanny and Sunday school teacher in Seattle. As a nanny, I have 24 kids that I watch through out the month consistently- ranging from infant through 8 years old. Recently, some of them have overheard the news or conversations I have had with their parents about current events and they, being curious by nature, have asked a lot of questions about war and violence. My question to you is, at what age do you think it is appropriate to start talking with children about world suck? Do you have any advice on how to gently and appropriately answer their questions without making them scared of the world they live in?

Amy

Dear Hank and John, like many of my favourite authors I have found writing to be a great help in alleviating my anxiety and depression. But recently I've been finding the subject matter and scenarios in the book I am trying to write are making me sadder instead of happier. I would really like to be a author someday, but I'm afraid as I am about so many things in life that I'm too weak to survive. Am I just torturing myself unnecessarily or is there a way round/through it?

Dear Hank and John
>>1139790

This is indeed true, but I don't think we'd ever stop rotating because the thing that's slowing us down is tidal forces from the moon, and the moon is moving away from us every year. As the moon moves away, our spin will slow less and less. In any case though, even if we continued to slow at the rate we are slowing at today, it would take trillions of years for us to stop completely....by which time the earth will not exist because, as we say, oblivion is inevitable --Hank

Dear Hank and John
>>1139185

In order to add a class, I feel like you'd have to remove one, and I just can't imagine doing that. We actually answered this on Dear Hank and John once and we got so screwed up about it that we had to cut it from the episode because we basically ended up saying "WE HAVE NO IDEA" but it took us a really long time to get there.

Dear Hank and John
>>1139156

Your fluffy cat on your fluffy blanket could indeed start a fire if your house was filled with gasoline fumes or natural gas or something. But in the absence of an extremely volatile chemical those little static shocks do not have enough energy to ignite anything in your home.

Dear Hank and John
>>1138130

Yeah, that's dumb and a little horrible that they would do that. I think Telly is a lovely dog name...I also think, as long as it isn't a problem with the dog's (I assume significant) training, you should call the dog whatever you want.

Sel

Dear Hank and John, I've just moved in with my s/o and its really wonderful and amazing and I'm super happy. But our other housemate acts in ways that are very racist, transphobic and misogynistic. I try not to say anything to keep the peace but it's very hard. What makes it worse is that he's a childhood friend of my partner, so my partner is very reluctant to hear criticism of his old friend's behaviour. How do I maintain peace in the household without compromising my values?

Amy
>>1140332

Also not to sound like a total stereotype but a bit of Sylvia Plath please? :-) Happy New Year DFTBA

Quill

Dear Hank and John, I work full-time and get along with all but one of my co-workers. She's painfully slow, can be abrupt with patrons, unwilling to adapt to the integration of more technology in the workplace, and barges into personal conversations and patron interactions regularly. The collective consensus is that she's bad at her job, but not bad enough to get fired due to her 20 yrs of seniority and our excellent union. Most days I ignore her not-quite to the point of rudeness but am sometimes left grinding my teeth in frustration. I try to imagine her complexly-- married, has grown kids, caring for an ailing mother, not everybody can be fast/comfortable with new tech-- but often silence my inner complaints with "You aren't perfect at your job, therefore you can't complain about her." Please please please do you have any tips on imaging people more complexly/kindly or at least dealing with difficult co-workers? Thanks!

Marion Legal

Dear Hank and John (or as John prefers to think of it, dear John and Hank), I was on a plane in the middle of the night the other day (I'm not sure if this piece of information is relevant or not but I felt like you might need a bit of context) and I was wondering: how does one learn absract concepts such as, for example, kindness? I can picture a child pointing at a table, figuring out that the object in front of him is designated by a succession of phonemes, constituting a name. But how does he understand "kindness" if he didn't understand "meanness" first ? It seems like a complex network and the whole process of learning how to manipulate concepts, a true miracle ! Thank you for everything that you're doing, It sucks less to be in this world when you are both in it, Lots of love from France, Marion

Sarah Purdon

Dear Hank and John. Someone i know recently got a part time job after university delivering dominoes. he claims his car now eternally smells like pizza (it is a small and yellow car, for mental imagery) and he claims to now hate pizza. is this a curse or a blessing?

Elise Ansel

Dear Hank and John, Hank, as someone on the cusp between generations, do you identify more with Gen-X'ers or with Millenials? Does having an older brother who is pretty solidly within Gen-X birth dates affect how you think of yourself in this regard? (Or alternatively, if you don't believe in generations theory, why not?) Thanks! <3Elise (AKA Naiadryade in many internet places)

Anna Sab

Ok. Long enough hiatus, come back, please.

Silvia Cercheaza

Dear Hank and John, What is so horrible about dying on Mars? I was watching the latest episode of Star Talk Radio, about the Mars One mission and the discussion focused on the “not returning to Earth and dying on Mars” aspect. So I was wondering: why is everybody talking as if life on Earth would not lead to certain death? In fact, I think there are many more ways you could die on Earth than on Mars (but I didn’t do the math). The only real “death” on Mars would probably be because of the reduced chances of passing on one your genes…

Sophie

Dear Hank and John I am twenty-two years old and i've recently finished working as a live-in nanny with a 60 hour work week after being with the family for almost two years. Those kids were the center of my world for so long that now that they've moved to another country i feel lost and unmotivated. How do i find my voice and interests out in the world again? How do i motivate myself to get out of bed in the morning without knowing that the kids need me to get up and make breakfast? How do you heal from a broken heart as a result of being torn from your loved ones? And more importantly do you think it's responsible or even kind to allow people my age to work in jobs that at their conclusion leave them feeling like grieving mothers with no more purpose and direction? Thank you, Sophie

Charman Price

Dear Hank and John, (Sometimes I think of it as Dear John and Hank) I have a poem request! Will John please read "The Day the Saucers Came" by Neil Gaiman? Pretty pretty please! Thank you, Charman

Runa
>>1139981

Not John or Hank, but I work as a Kindergarten teacher currently, and my teaching team has been discussing this very topic. I can link you to some articles that have great suggestions on best practices as far as approaching this goes, but as a general rule, I've heard that it's best to let the kids guide the conversation. Some of them have had no exposure to worldsuck, others have had brief conversations with parents or siblings, and others know entirely too much for their age. Your primary job is to reassure the kids that they are safe in your care and in their environment. It's really hard to navigate! I've been lucky and my kids haven't really been exposed to violence as much as others have. Anyways, links: <a href="http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/tips_for_parents_media_final.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/tips_for_parents_media_final.pdf</a> <a href="http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/talking-kids-about-fear-and-violence" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/talking-kids-about-fear-and-violence</a>

Becky

This might be more of a John question, but our Constitution says that the President has to be a natural born citizen, who was the first president who was actually born in the United States?

Stephanie Gagnon

Dear Hank and John, My husband and I approach the world very differently. If you're into the Myers-Briggs Personality Types - he is an ENTP and I am an INFJ. Anyway, over the past couple years I have begun to write on my blog about the realities of our struggle with infertility (among other things). I personally always try to be sensitive to the feelings of those around me and because of this - I find that I am constantly trying to educate and encourage people to be more sensitive to the hurts and pains of others. My husband on the other hand tends to believe that our world is far too sensitive and people need to toughen up. So my question is - where do you stand... Should people learn to be more sensitive to the feelings of others or should people learn to be less sensitive to every little thing? DFTBA! Stephanie