United States
Big Think is a U.S.-based digital media company that has spent nearly two decades turning long-form interviews with leading academics, scientists, and…
Total Followers +0.6%
9.6M
Across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok
Primary Platform
YouTube
8.7M followers · 91% of audience
Engagement
3.7%
vs. 1.5% category median
Sponsorship Tier
Mega
Est. $8.2K–$19K / IG post
| Window | YouTube | TikTok | Combined | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 7 days | +10K +0.1% | +4K +0.7% | +0 +0.0% | +13K |
| Last 30 days | +49K +0.6% | +11K +2.1% | +0 +0.0% | +60K |
| Last 90 days | +184K +2.1% | +45K +8.2% | +0 +0.0% | +229K |
| Last 365 days | +184K +2.1% | +45K +8.2% | +0 +0.0% | +229K |
Daily follower snapshots from CreatorDB's longitudinal index.
| Brand | Type | Platform | Date | Performance vs. baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bigthinkers Sponsorship | Sponsored content | May 2026 | — | |
| Unlikely Collaborators Sponsorship | Sponsored content | YouTube | Oct 2025 | — |
| BetterHelp Sponsorship | Sponsored content | YouTube | Jun 2025 | — |
| Ground News Sponsorship | Sponsored content | YouTube | Apr 2025 | — |
| Storyblocks Sponsorship | Sponsored content | YouTube | Nov 2024 | — |
Big Think is a U.S.-based digital media company that has spent nearly two decades turning long-form interviews with leading academics, scientists, and cultural figures into short, idea-driven video essays. The channel's founding premise — bring the world's most influential thinkers in front of a camera and let them explain a single concept clearly — has remained intact even as the format has evolved from talking-head web video to algorithm-tuned shorts and full-length YouTube documentaries. Contributors over the years have included philosophers like Daniel Dennett, psychologists, neuroscientists, economists, and authors such as Mark Manson and Richard Reeves, with topics ranging across philosophy, neuroscience, productivity, physics, AI, and mental health. The editorial voice sits somewhere between a magazine and a graduate seminar: serious but accessible, and increasingly tuned to self-improvement angles like cognitive decline, toxic productivity, and male loneliness.
Big Think operates as an ideas-and-education media brand, with content spanning science, psychology, philosophy, and self-development sourced from interviews with academics, authors, and public intellectuals. That positioning makes it a natural fit for mental wellness apps, learning platforms, productivity tools, news literacy services, and B2B SaaS targeting knowledge workers. The audience skews male and concentrates in core English-speaking Western markets — US, UK, Canada — with a working-age 25-44 core that aligns with subscription products and considered purchases. Engagement runs well above category median across all three platforms, with steady multi-weekly cadence on YouTube. Sponsor history validates the thesis: BetterHelp and Ground News are repeat-style integrations, alongside Storyblocks and Unlikely Collaborators, signaling proven traction with mental-health, media, and creator-tool advertisers.
Benchmark estimates for a creator at Big Think's tier (Mega, 9.6M combined followers, United States). Pulled from CreatorDB's category benchmarks.
The CreatorDB Agency runs end-to-end influencer campaigns globally — shortlisting, outreach, contracting, and performance reporting. Talk to our team about building a campaign around creators in this niche.
Big Think was founded in 2007 by Peter Hopkins and Victoria Brown, with early backing from figures like Larry Summers and David Frankel. It started as a New York–based digital media platform built around long-form interviews with leading academics, scientists, and authors.
Big Think publishes interview-driven videos with experts in science, philosophy, psychology, and culture, aiming to distill complex ideas into short, actionable insights. The channel covers topics like astronomy, the future of AI, mental health, and how the mind works.
Big Think has featured philosopher Daniel Dennett, author Mark Manson, and policy researcher Richard Reeves, among many others. Over the years the channel has hosted hundreds of academics, scientists, and writers, which is the core of its brand.
Big Think operates as a media and learning company — it categorizes itself as a media/news company and partners with academics, authors, and researchers for its interviews. It also runs Big Think+, a corporate learning platform that licenses expert video lessons to companies and universities.
Big Think+ is Big Think's enterprise learning product, offering on-demand video lessons from experts for employee training and leadership development. It's separate from the free YouTube channel and is sold to companies, schools, and government organizations.
Big Think is headquartered in New York City in the United States. Its audience skews heavily American, with the US making up roughly three-quarters of viewers, followed by the UK, Canada, and India.
Recent sponsored content on Big Think's channels includes BetterHelp, Ground News, Storyblocks, and Unlikely Collaborators. These integrations typically run inside YouTube interviews, with occasional Instagram placements.
Psychology and modern-life topics are a core part of Big Think's editorial mix, alongside science and philosophy. Recent uploads have explored toxic productivity, why people are never content, childhood patterns in adult relationships, and the male mental health crisis with guests like Richard Reeves and Mark Manson.
Yes — while YouTube is by far its biggest platform with millions of subscribers, Big Think also runs sponsored content on Instagram, and its TikTok shows unusually strong engagement well above the category median. That makes short-form a meaningful secondary channel for partnerships.
Big Think sits in the Mega creator tier with several million YouTube subscribers and steady monthly growth. Engagement on the channel runs noticeably above the typical media-company benchmark, which is unusual for a brand of its size.
Stats (followers, engagement, audience demographics, growth) are pulled live from the CreatorDB API covering YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Bio and FAQ content is AI-assisted; news items are sourced from cited public press at generation time. Read the full methodology →
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@bigthink · YouTube
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