Haeny Yoon:
When school is out, I come straight home, make a bowl of ramen and turn on the TV to watch the, wait for it, Bad News Bears on Nickelodeon. My jam was a kids show about a team of little leaguers coached by a cranky old white dude.

Nathan Holbert:
That tracks. For me after school, it was all about Duck Tails. Something about Scrooge McDuck doing the backstroke through a money vault full of coins really spoke to me.

Haeny Yoon:
Money, money, money.

Nathan Holbert:
Oh, I'd also watch Tailspin.

Haeny Yoon:
Punky Brewster.

Nathan Holbert:
Sesame Street.

Haeny Yoon:
Electric Company.

Nathan Holbert:
He-Man, and the Masters of the universe.

Haeny Yoon:
He-Man? The buff guy with the blonde bob?

Nathan Holbert:
Yeah, and the Loincloth.

Haeny Yoon:
This season we're talking about children's media if you hadn't noticed. And look, television raised me. I say it facetiously, but it's true. I was home alone a lot. My parents aren't native English speakers, so television gave me a sense of the cultural landscape.

Nathan Holbert:
For me, it was a way to play with other forms of things I already loved, right? TV shows about games, cartoon characters, et cetera. It also introduced me to new ideas, genres, and experiences that I'm still into today.

Haeny Yoon:
It gave me possibilities and a sense of how people were thinking out there. When my parents didn't have the cultural insider knowledge to tell me how to navigate American life, I had TV, not as an accurate portrayal, but a way to look in.

Nathan Holbert:
This season, we're talking children's media. TV, movies, games, puppets. Join us for the conversations with media scholars, game designers, performers, artists, and of course-

Haeny Yoon:
Kids.

Nathan Holbert:
It's Pop and Play. You know we're going to talk to kids.

Haeny Yoon:
We're going to dig into what it takes to create children's media and the special relationships kids build with these characters.

Nathan Holbert:
And the reasons why we keep coming back long after we're supposed to grow out of it.

Haeny Yoon:
Hey, some of us are still kids.

Nathan Holbert:
Oh, Haeny, this is so Gen Z.

Haeny Yoon:
Thank you. Season five of Pop and Play starts March 11th, and a new episode releases each week. So be sure to subscribe with your favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode.

Nathan Holbert:
And tell your friends, especially if your friends love counting.

Haeny Yoon:
Season four. Ah, ah, ah.

Nathan Holbert:
Season five. Ah, ah, ah.

Haeny Yoon:
Ah, ah. That's five.