John Filson
Meet People
Outside Your World
I’m John. I visit communities most of us never get to know, ask the questions we're usually too awkward to ask, and bring you along through my videos.
I believe the walls between our worlds are mostly artificial. When we get a real glimpse of someone else’s life, we find out how close we actually are.
Latest
Playlists
How I started: Supporting Iraqis
Videos that went viral in Iraq in 2019, telling Americans about Iraqi protesters.
Seeing Color
TikTok playlist. Trying to find my blind spots on race and Whiteness
Refugees in America
Seven-part YouTube series: One special family is writing a new story in the US...
if they can stay together.
About me
I’ve worked on social conflicts for 20 years. I did relief work in Iraq, where I learned Arabic in the kitchen of a Chaldean seminary. I’ve supported communities in Central America trying to feed their families, mentored homeless teenagers in Hollywood, run advocacy programs in Washington, and taught peacebuilding to college students. I speak Spanish and Iraqi Arabic.
These years taught me how to earn trust with people who have every reason to be guarded, and how to listen before I judge. I bring that to every conversation you see on camera.
