This week we're talking about the ways the titular Wednesday explores her identity throughout the series, from finding other weird kids at Nevermore Academy, to differentiating from the Addams Family ethos.

Further Reading:

Nevermore Academy website

Nevermore filming locations

The All Ghouls School on TV Tropes

Children's author Chris Priestly on the appeal of the special school in fiction

Introduction to Bowen Theory in family therapy

Check our Instagram for images we discuss, extra content, memes, and occasional cat photos

Wednesday is both a piece of Addams Family media and a Tim Burton work, so we're looking at the intersection of those two origins.

We take a trip down memory lane to look at how Wednesday and the rest of her family have been portrayed in various media over the decades, from the original 1930s comics by Charles Addams, all the way up to its current iteration in the Wednesday Netflix series.

Then we talk about Tim Burton's aesthetic influences, distinct style of storytelling, and how he brought those things to Wednesday.

Further Reading:

The Smithsonian Mag's Cultural History of the Addams Family (from 2019, so pre-Wednesday)

More about the Addams Family Musical

Vox piece on Tim Burton's distinct visual style and influences

Hollywood Reporter article on Tim Burton's bringing his vision to Wednesday

Find images we discussed, plus the occasional meme, on Instagram

It's full-on Spooky Season at Pop DNA and we're celebrating with a discussion of our favorite spooky teen, Wednesday Addams!

In part 1 of this series, we talk about some of our initial thoughts on the Netflix show Wednesday, our relationships with the Addams Family franchise, and how we feel Wednesday fits into this 85-year legacy.

We also take the quiz to find out which character we are, which you can take here, and then get into a quick overview of other topics we're planning to deep-dive this month.

We'll look at previous iterations of the Addams characters, from the original comic strips, to the 1960s TV series, to the 1990s movies we Millennials grew up watching. We'll also discuss Wednesday as a Tim Burton work, framing the show as a whole through his signature aesthetic and directorial style. Plus much more!

Follow on Instagram for supplementary content, memes, and cat photos.

We wrap up our series on Abbott Elementary with some thoughts on how the show pays homage and stands out from older network sitcoms, Quinta Brunson's inspirations for the series, and a more lighthearted look at teaching and the veteran teachers who have shaped all of our lives.

Further Reading:

Abbott's "Revitalization" of the network sitcom

Quinta Brunson on Abbott's "cool factor"

The real teachers that inspired Abbott

Report on penalties for teachers who break contracts

Study on why teachers leave, and why they stay

Mr. Reed music video - "Welcome to the 4th Grade"

Come back next week for part 1 of our series on the Netflix show Wednesday!

This week we're digging into some of our favorite characters on Abbott Elementary!

We take a look at our favorite terrible boss Ava, with a psychological analysis of supervisor-employee relationship patterns, and how Ava's management style stacks up to other fictional bosses like Michael Scott or Don Draper.

Then we explore Janine and Barbara's unique found family mother-daughter dynamic, a type of relationship we don't often see in media, despite the many "reluctant father figure/teen girl daughter figure" duos that seem to be everywhere in pop culture.

Further Reading:

10 Terrible Bosses from Movies and TV

Psychologist breaks down boss-employee relationships in media

The dubious Milgram Shock Experiment

The equally sus Stanford Prison Experiment

7 Times Barbara was a Mom to Janine

This week we look at how Abbott Elementary reflects popular opinions on the public education system, and how it portrays the experience of teaching as a profession. We also dip into the hot-button issue of charter schools, looking at a more nuanced discussion of this debate than we see presented on the show.

Further Reading:

Social media creators Honest Teacher Vibes, Mrs. Call's Campers, and Teacher Tales of Miss Smith give firsthand accounts of teaching in public schools

Real Seattle area teachers give their thoughts on Abbott Elementary

The New Yorker article on Abbott's charter school storyline

Last Week Tonight episode on charter schools

Documentary The Lottery

Podcast episode by Dr. Nadia Lopez on the charter school debate

Happy Season 6 to Pop DNA! To kick off September we're going back to school to talk about Abbott Elementary!

To set the stage for this four-part series, and the whole podcast for the foreseeable future, we discuss the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, how they affect Abbott Elementary, and why we should all be aware of the issues involved.

We also take a quiz to find out which characters we are, which you can take here, and give a brief preview of the other topics we plan to explore in this series. We'll look at how the show discusses public education from a few different angles, Abbott's origin story and unique success as a network sitcom in a streaming world, and deep dives into our favorite characters and relationships.

Further Reading:

The latest news we have (as of the time of recording) on negotiations for WGA

Vox article breaking down the issues at stake in the strikes

Interview with writer/producer Brittani Nichols

Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter striking in Philadelphia

Join us on Instagram for sporadic memes and book and cat content.

To celebrate Erin's (slightly belated) birthday we're deep diving into the most perfect television show ever created that also has a character named Bus Rat.

Questions we discuss:

What does the character of the camera represent within the narrative?

What does the final scene of the series tell us about Fleabag's relationships with her loved ones, herself, and whatever the camera represents?

Why don't any of Fleabag's boyfriends have actual names?

Are we in our Fleabag era?

We also tell you about our favorite things we recently watched, including two screenings of Barbie, and take a quiz to find out which Fleabag characters we are. Take the quiz here.

Further reading:

The Female Gaze in Fleabag

Phoebe Waller-Bridge interview

Fleabag and Insecure video essay

We're taking it easy for August and this will be the only episode we release this month. We'll be back in September to go back to school and discuss Abbott Elementary!

ICYMI, we presented at Virtual JaneCon! Here's the audio from our talk, "Jane Austen: Queen of Comedy."

We dive into Austen's influence in modern TV comedy, from parody and satire on shows like Succession and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, to the striking comedic parallels between Sense and Sensibility and Schitt's Creek!

View our slide deck here.

Watch this in video format on our YouTube channel here.

Learn more about Virtual JaneCon here.

Thanks to the organizers of Virtual JaneCon for including us in this year's program!

We're wrapping up our Summer "Camp" series with a loving look at two science fiction/space opera movies that are really historical romances in space!

Topics of discussion include Eddie Redmayne's love of character voices (and also how he auditioned for the role of Kylo Ren!); the fact that Star Wars has always been a little bit stupid, which is part of its charm; and how the lavish costumes in both movies really accentuate the fact that they are both historical romances in space, because if there's one thing about a historical romance, it's gonna have gowns.

Further Reading:

Eddie Redmayne on his weird voice in Jupiter Ascending and his audition for Kylo Ren

Reviews and discussions of Jupiter Ascending from Vogue, RogerEbert.com, and Decider

Reviews and discussions of Attack of the Clones from the LA Times (2002 review), StarWars.com (behind the scenes look at costumes), and Tor.com (discussing the romance)

Follow us on Instagram for more content, including a costume comparison and sci-fi romance book recs!