He never had a phase where all of his videos were 10:00 for the algorithm, he never jumps on topical shit for clicks, he just talks about genuinely interesting shit, and has gotten to do so on a higher and higher budget.
He has diversified, and has other channels that interface with other YouTubers in gameshow and stuff. But it’s all still legit content.
And a deep cut from 9 years ago. Same kind of content. Slightly lower quality but… Guys been doing this kind of “hey I think this is neat let me tell you about it” for a decade, without becoming a dingbat.