Johnny Harris
Johnny Harris (born May 28, 1988) is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, and independent journalist based in Washington, D.C. He is known for producing the Borders series for the American news website Vox and for his personal YouTube channel. His work uses a fast-paced, visually-driven style to explain topics in history and international affairs.
Also recorded as Johnny W. Harris
Johnny Harris
- Name
- Johnny Harris
- Born
- 28 May 1988
- Birthplace
- Oregon, U.S.
- Spouse
- Iz Harris
- Education
- * Brigham Young University (BA)
- Occupation
- * YouTuber
- Nationality
- United States.
- Languages
- English and Spanish.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q64447129
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Johnny Harris • Born — 28 May 1988 • Birthplace — Oregon, U.S. • Spouse — Iz Harris • Children — 2 • Education — * Brigham Young University (BA) • American University (MA) • Occupation — * YouTuber • filmmaker • journalist • Youtube Handle — johnnyharris • Youtube Display Name — Johnny Harris • Youtube Years Active — 2011–present • Youtube Genre — * International affairs • history • geography • Youtube Subscribers — 7.59 million • Youtube Views — 1.18 billion • Stats Update — March 20, 2026
Early life
Early life
Harris was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a small town in Oregon. He graduated from Ashland High School, in Ashland, Oregon. He served a two-year mission in Tijuana, Mexico, and identified as a devout Mormon but has since left the church. Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and affairs from Brigham Young University (2013) and a Master of Arts in international peace and conflict resolution from American University (2016).
Vox and The New York Times
Vox and The New York Times
From 2017 to 2019, Harris produced and hosted Borders, a documentary short film series for Vox that profiled sociopolitical issues in various border regions worldwide. The series was twice nominated for an Emmy Award. It was cancelled in 2020 due to budgeting considerations. After leaving Vox, Harris produced several video essays for the Opinion section of The New York Times. In 2021, he was the video producer on an opinion piece titled "Blue States, You're the Problem", which won an Emmy Award.
YouTube channel
YouTube channel
Harris's personal YouTube channel continues the explanatory style of his previous work, covering topics such as international affairs, geography, and history. Borders Series Overview • Season — Episodes — Originally aired — Location(s) • First aired — Last aired — Producer • 1 — 6 — May 22, 2017 — October 14, 2017 — Vox Media Inc. — Various • 2 — 5 — July 11, 2018 — August 15, 2018 — Hong Kong • 3 — 5 — November 22, 2018 — December 18, 2018 — Colombia • 4 — 5 — June 26, 2019 — July 24, 2019 — India • 5 — colspan="3" Release cancelled — United States
Personal life
Personal life
Harris is married to Iz Harris, with whom he has two sons.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the heading Johnny W. His recorded languages were English and Spanish. His recorded confession was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He married Iz Harris.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1988
Johnny Harris born.
Criticism
Science communicator Jonathan Jarry of McGill University's Office for Science and Society criticized Harris for producing a video sponsored by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that was presented in a style indistinguishable from his journalistic content, with the partnership only disclosed at the end. Jarry argued the video's purpose was "neither education nor journalism, but an ad for the WEF's meeting in Davos and its founder’s latest book". Jarry has also criticized Harris's broader body of work, noting that while it was "often-excellent work", it has oversimplified complex scientific and historical topics, misrepresented facts, and omitted key context. On December 15, 2024, a reporter for the Kyiv Independent criticized a video by Harris that attributed the Russo-Ukrainian war largely to NATO expansion. The reporter argued this viewpoint aligns with Kremlin propaganda, omits crucial historical context, and was an example of Harris's tendency toward "prioritizing sensationalism over facts and disregarding history", particularly regarding Russia and NATO.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Johnny Harris (journalist), revision 1375688016 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.#69: Johnny Harris - Himalayan Borders, Making Maps, Traveling with Purpose. Finding Founders. May 7, 2025.
- 2.Johnny Harris. Why Britain is the Center of the World. November 22, 2019.
- 3.#69: Johnny Harris – Himalayan Borders, Making Maps, Traveling with Purpose. Finding Founders.
- 4.Johnny Harris. Vox. July 24, 2019.
- 5.Schmidt, Christine. Explanatory video + How Vox's Borders series is humanizing the map and building local source networks. Nieman Lab. August 27, 2018.
- 6.Scott, Caroline. Why Vox has been crowdsourcing for its latest international documentary series. journalism.co.uk. August 30, 2017.
- 7.#69: Johnny Harris - Himalayan Borders, Making Maps, Traveling with Purpose. Finding Founders.
- 8.Johnny Harris. Why New York City is so Huge. October 20, 2020.
- 9.Johnny Harris. Am I Happy?: Q&A. May 27, 2021.
- 10.Johnny Harris. Why I Left The Mormon Church. June 11, 2021.
- 11.Harris, Johnny. Johnny Harris. LinkedIn.
- 12.Borders. Vox. December 5, 2017.
- 13.Vox Earns 3 News and Documentary Emmy Award Nominations. Vox Media. July 26, 2018.
- 14.Llewellyn, Tom. Vox Borders cancelled: Why has the popular documentary series been axed?. Reality Titbit. September 15, 2020.
- 15.NYT Opinion. How America Bungled the Plague. September 29, 2020.
- 16.Harris, Johnny. Inside the Completely Legal G.O.P. Plot to Destroy American Democracy. The New York Times. September 21, 2022. 0362-4331.
- 17.Harris, Johnny. Blue States, You're the Problem. The New York Times. November 9, 2021. 0362-4331.
- 18.The New York Times Wins 5 Emmy Awards. The New York Times Company. September 30, 2022.
- 19.Schneider, Michael. ABC, Vice Lead 2022 News Emmy Award Winners. Variety. September 29, 2022.
- 20.Jarry, Jonathan. The Many Mistakes of Johnny Harris. McGill University. August 2, 2024.
- 21.Blevins, Jason. YouTuber Johnny Harris' lens on Eastern Europe is distorted and irresponsible. The Kyiv Independent. December 11, 2024.
- 22.Iz Harris. Who Are We?!. February 4, 2018.
References
Citations
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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