Destin Sandlin


Destin Wilson Sandlin is an American engineer and science communicator who produces the video series Smarter Every Day on his YouTube channel of the same name, which was launched in 2007. Sandlin also runs the YouTube channels The Sound Traveler, Smarter Every Day 2, and a podcast called No Dumb Questions with his friend Matt Whitman.
In early 2016, Sandlin was one of three YouTube personalities chosen to conduct a one-on-one interview with then-president Barack Obama after his final State of the Union address. The interviews were sponsored by Google and were part of a White House initiative to reach millennial audiences.

Background

Sandlin has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama and an M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. While an undergraduate, he was awarded the University of Alabama's Outstanding Senior Award. He also minored in Business Administration while at the University of Alabama. Destin was, until late 2018, a full-time Missile Flight Test Engineer at Redstone Arsenal. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Alabama Huntsville advised by Kavan Hazeli.

YouTube channels and podcast

Smarter Every Day

Sandlin began posting educational videos in 2007. His first video reached one million views on July 10, 2009. The video was about chicken head tracking using chickens that Destin bought for his father as a demonstration. Because of its popularity that video retroactively had the Smarter Every Day label added to it.
Sandlin formally launched the Smarter Every Day series on April 24, 2011 with a video titled "Detonation vs Deflagration - Smarter Every Day 1," which became the title format for subsequent videos and the sole focus of his YouTube channel. Episodes of Smarter Every Day feature Sandlin as the host and narrator, and revolve around scientific exploration and discovery. Sandlin's primary interest and educational background is in flight and space, which appear frequently in his videos. Other notable topics have included the effects of hypoxia on the human brain, the Prince Rupert's drop, the physics of potato guns, and a nearly-impossible to ride bicycle whose wheel steers in the opposite direction of its handle bars.

The Sound Traveler

In April 2016, Sandlin started a second YouTube channel called The Sound Traveler, in which he employs 3D audio and GoPro footage to capture and convey the experience of visiting the world's most interesting places.

No Dumb Questions

In 2017, Sandlin began a podcast with his best friend from Wyoming, Matt Whitman. Whitman also runs the YouTube channel The Ten Minute Bible Hour.

Personal life

Sandlin lives in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife Tara, two daughters, and two sons. Sandlin's family often appear in his videos. Since 2012 Sandlin has supported and partnered with "Not Forgotten", a charity that cares for orphaned boys in Peru.
Sandlin is a devout Christian. Sandlin spoke at the 2015 Skepticon on his personal reconciliation of the search for scientific truth with his faith.