Lights, Camera, Analysis

The children's book The Lorax was first published by Dr. Suess in 1971. The Lorax film was released in 2012. Still, in 2025, the warning remains as relevant today as it ever was. Who are the Once-lers of today? Why does the selfishness of Mayor Aloysius O'Hare continue to exist today? Who is our generation's lorax? And what can we do to keep our environment safe, beautiful, and plentiful?

Written by Research Intern Clarina

Why do we still read Animal Farm today? Where did the idea for Animal Farm even come from? What can Animal Farm teach us about the hopes and harms of socialism and communism?

Written and recorded by Troy Ashkinos and Audrey Thorne.

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!

What if your life is really a tv show and everyone you know are paid actors? Amazon's new hit show Jury Duty puts the question to the test.

Written and recorded by Troy Ashkinos and Audrey Thorne

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!

What makes Barbie so controversial? Is Barbie a feminist film? What do most people miss on the first watch? All this and more!

Episode written and recorded by Nathan Lu and Audrey Thorne.

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!

College is expensive, financial aid is limited, and student loans are burdensome, as Nina from In The Heights plainly shows us. How can you afford the college experience you so deserve and the credentials for your dream career? Quinton Lampkin can help!

Written and recorded by Quinton Lampkin and Audrey Thorne.

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!

What is government surveillance? Why is 1984 still so relevant today?

What does Shawshank Redemption warn about prisons? How true are these concerns about our prison system in the United States? Should we look to Scandinavian countries as a model for prison reform?

Sources from this episode can be found here.

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!

What do the lead characters in To Kill a Mockingbird represent? What can they teach us about how we should act in our own lives?

Sources from this episode can be found here.

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!

What does the classic novel and film, Lord of the Flies, teach us about morality? Are people naturally good or bad? What is the role of government in our lives? How can we make the world a better, less chaotic and harmful place?

Written by Troy Ashkinos and Audrey Thorne

Sources from this episode can be found ⁠here⁠.

If you want to help me with a future episode, you can email me at [email protected] and cc a family member if you’re under 18. With their permission, we may even record one together!