Pop and Play

Introducing Season 3 of Pop and Play, coming February 28, 2023! Visit tc.edu/popandplay to learn more! Pop and Play is a podcast about play and pop culture with hosts Haeny Yoon and Nathan Holbert. This season explores "intergenerational play" and features a new set of great guests and topics (including kids!). Nathan and Haeny go to a skate shop, watch Babysitters Club, and possibly get Rick-rolled? You won't want to miss it!

Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

The truth is, we care about our young people, dare we say, even worry about them. But staying connected to their world and all the complexity they navigate can be a challenge. Pop and Play hosts Haeny Yoon and Nathan Holbert introduce this new podcast created and hosted by Pop and Play Producer Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Media Producer Jen Lee. "How's School?" looks at education, health, and psychology–but at the core is young people's well-being, and our ability to face things that impact them without losing heart.

Follow "How's School?" wherever you podcast–the series begins Oct 12, 2022.

From The Digital Futures Institute: tc.edu/hows-school

Haeny and Nathan are joined by friend of the show and colleague Lalitha Vasudevan, as well as (Re)Search for Solutions host Sonali Rajan for a special crossover episode. This episode covers a more serious topic as it discusses the troubling implications of the "Block 19" - a gun made to be adorned with LEGOs, along with the complex intersection between play and violence. 

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

Check out (Re)Search for Solutions - hosted by Sonali Rajan

Nathan and Haeny read Choose Your Own Adventure books and discuss them with special guests: kids! (Books: Space and Beyond (Choose Your Own Adventure Series #3) and Choose Your Own Adventure Eighth Grade Witch.) They discuss what the kids thought about the CYOA book, the best reading strategies, and what's poppin' for their four guests.

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

Haeny and Nathan discuss Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a recent follow-up to the '80s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. They're joined by University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign Professor Anne Haas Dyson to talk children's play, pop culture and representation! How does Pop culture inform children's play, and what is the importance of representation to children? And why do shows keep trying to teach Haeny lessons?

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

Haeny and Nathan talk with St. Cloud State University Professor Michael B. Dando about the Marvel series What If...?! They talk about speculative fiction, what playing with remixing the pop culture we love can offer us as people and educators, comics, and how we can learn from Spiderman without translating it into the vocabulary of schooling.

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

Haeny and Nathan talk with fellow Teachers College Professor Ioana Literat about reality TV! Haeny assigns Nathan homework: watching Keeping up with the Kardashians, and Ioana Literat guides us deep into the 90 Day Fiancé subreddit community. They discuss reality TV as a pedagogical resource, a center of community formation, and Haeny makes Nathan play "Kardashian quotes."

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

Haeny and Nathan are back for another season of Pop and Play! They start it out by playing the role playing game "Lady Blackbird" with Matthew Berland from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Antero Garcia from Stanford University. They discuss how role playing games allow for play with identity, what possibilities different kinds of rules and constraints allow - and more!

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

This Star Wars themed live episode (May the 4th be with you) was recorded with a LIVE Zoom audience. Haeny, Nathan, and Lalitha talk with Cassie Brownwell and Chris Moffett about the play during the pandemic, patterns in play, play with pop culture, and what this all might have to do with Star Wars. 

Plus they play "Would you Bloop or Bleep?," quiz Cassie, and share "what's poppin."

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.
Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.

Haeny and Lalitha talk with Ebony Elizabeth Thomas and Oluwaseun (Olu) Animashaun about speculative fiction, Afrofuturism, African Futurism, and much more. They discuss the political dimensions of play in these and other genres, from children's literature to the big screen, and how these artifacts will stand in the 22nd century. 

Plus they play "Would you Rather: Speculative Fiction Edition" and share "What's Poppin'."

Visit the episode page for transcripts and to learn more about what was discussed in this episode.

Our music is selections from “Leafeaters” by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.