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Not It’s Corn-y, Guaranteed: ‘Recess Therapy’ Host Shares His Top 5 Other Clips

Before his viral hit, Julian Shapiro-Barnum had already interviewed hundreds of kids across NYC. Here are some of his all-time favorite conversations

Julian Shapiro-Barnum (Photographed by Miles Herman)

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*CRUNCH*

By now, you probably know how it goes.

In an August clip watched over 5 million times on YouTube, Tariq, better known as “Corn Kid,” describes his favorite starchy vegetable: It’s “a big lump with knobs” and “has the juice,” he explained. “I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing.”

Maybe you’ve also heard the song. A remix made by Michael Gregory, a creator behind several other viral mashups like the Double Rainbow song, has been played 73 million times on TikTok and used in over a million other videos.

But before “Corn Kid” took over the internet, the mastermind behind the mega-hit, Julian Shapiro-Barnum, spent more than a year conducting on-the-street interviews with hundreds of other — dare we say, equally adorable — kids across New York City. In the short clips, little ones speak about every topic from the meaning of life to peeing your pants, sharing their authentic, often-hilarious selves.

The 23-year-old Recess Therapy creator launched his internet show in early 2021. The conversations struck a chord with viewers who, during the depths of a global pandemic, were in sore need of uplifting content. 

By the beginning of 2022, the series had already amassed over 1 million followers on Instagram and earned a feature in the New York Times: “In Search of the Meaning of Life? Meet Me at the Monkey Bars.” 

While “It’s Corn” gave a definite boost — the account now has 2.4 million followers — Shapiro-Barnum said there have been many other videos among his favorites. Kids who do especially well in front of the camera, he said, often come back for follow-up conversations and he keeps in touch with many of the families via text.

In an exclusive conversation with The 74, the creator shared his top five all-time favorite Recess Therapy clips — apart from the video that took over the summer.

Check them out:

Outer Space is TOO degreesy

What if you were President?

Money comes from WHERE?

KOMODO DRAGONS

Gas is too ‘spensive

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