How do you like it so far?

1 hour 16 minutes

Mitch Resnik on “Lifelong Kindergarten”

MIT Media Lab’s Mitchel Resnick speaks with us about the development of his Lifelong Kindergarten research group and their efforts to affect the educational landscape through creative technological activities. Throughout the conversation, we describe the shifts in academic environments, starting from the free-form, highly imaginative kindergarten rooms to the stricter halls of higher learning. Mitch relates these changes to different uses of technology within the classroom setting and the differences in learning methods. He emphasizes that participatory uses of technology, such as remixing media or sharing projects, invite creativity and community for students. We compare Mitch’s practices to those used by fandom and liken them to building LEGO masterpieces without instructions; both emphasize the sharing of information and building communities. This conversation with Mitch is filled with the hope that curiosity and creativity will keep people as lifelong learners.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

People & Places:

Media:

LEGO
LEGO Mindstorm Kits [history, shop link]
The Hundred Languages of Children (poem)
The Sims [videogame franchise]
SimCity

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

27 May 2026, 5:08 pm

1 hour 18 minutes

Baseball and Reality TV: Karen Tongson and Adrian De Leon

USC professor of English, gender & sexuality studies, and American studies & ethnicity, and chair of the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies Karen Tongson and NYU Assistant Professor of History Adrian De Leon join us to talk about their adoration of baseball and reality TV. Using their piece “Both Sides Now: On the 2025 World Series,” we discuss the affective and cultural dialogues sports media creates. Karen and Adrian draw from their own Filipino upbringings and fandom of the MLB to showcase the complexities between corporate actions, fan desires, and the influence of imperialism in athletics. We then relate the creation of narratives and societal reflections in sports to reality TV shows like The Amazing Race and Traitors. The conversation culminates in a description of how sports fandom and reality TV watchers are more strongly alike than others think. Karen and Adrian suggest that people both enjoy and be critical of sports and reality TV because they can assist with understanding the world around us. Or, they can help us laugh at social rules within romantic relationships or sports rituals.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Both Sides Now: On the 2025 World Series
The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race
Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries
Journal of Popular Music Studies
The Filipino National Anthem
Tender Labour Migrant Care Work, Filipina/o Young People, and Family Life across Borders
Glenn Burke, 1st openly gay MLB player, is shunned no more — 40 years after coming out
Henry writes extensively about reality television in his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

People & Places:

Media:

2025 MLB World Series
MLB
NFL
NBA
Traitors (US)
- The Traitors Official Podcast
American League Division Series
The Real Housewives franchise
Bravo TV
Joey Bautista's bat flip
Kawhi Leonard’s Iconic Buzzer-Beater vs 76ers
All-Star Baseball (Video game)
Strat-O-Matic
Top Chef
Iron Chef (Japan) [YouTube, Wikipedia]
Survivor
The Amazing Race
The Gaymazing Race (podcast)
2026 Olympics
- Alysa Liu Gold Medal
- CAN vs USA Women’s Hockey
US vs CAN women’s hockey rivalry
WWE
- Smackdown (TV show)
AEW
Pope and Chicago Bears memes [Instagram, TikTok]
Heated Rivalry

See even more links for this episode on our website!

For another perspective on reality television, check out our earlier episode with Diane Winston on Religion and Reality Television

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

16 April 2026, 8:33 pm

1 hour 29 minutes

AE Stevenson and Brooklyne Gipson on Digital Black Feminism, Sinners, and One Battle After Another

University of Chicago Assistant Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies,

AE Stevenson and Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Brooklyne Gipson join us to talk about digital Black feminism online. We start our discussion with America’s relations with the platform TikTok, and how it is a large social media site for Black creators. We then explore how to define community and culture, especially for Black people online, in a world resistant to progress. Building from this, AE and Brooklyne discuss how certain communicative practices in the Black community focus on storytelling as a vehicle for critical thought rather than a lack of media literacy education. This leads to the larger topic of online discourse around the films Sinners and One Battle After Another. We end with dissecting how the recognition of, or lack thereof, Black culture affects people’s views of these films. Although they both feature Black actors, they interact with culture very differently. Ultimately, we push for an awareness of the multilayered discussions of media seen as progressive or discursive. They should think about what cultures and communities are being featured and how.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code
Algorithms of Oppression
Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness
Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok
Digital Pleasure and Danger: A Roundtable Discussion
Niggas on the Internet: Scenes of a Black Social Life (Dissertation)
Sites of Chaos: Scenes of a Black Social Life (book in progress)
he Black Mirror World: Racialized Disinformation and Misogynoir Online (book in progress)
The Comet (1920) [short story, article]
The Souls of Black Folk
Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans

People & Places:

Media:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

8 April 2026, 1:14 am

1 hour 48 minutes

Hollywood Actresses, the Oscars, and Wuthering Heights with Izzy from Be Kind Rewind

Showing her love of movies, Izzy from Be Kind Rewind chats with us about her process of creating video essays and connection to researching actresses in the Hollywood system. We discuss how her fannish love of TCM films turned into a passion for making videos and navigating complex topics often overlooked or simplified into gossip. Diving deeper into this, Izzy speaks about her recent video on actress Merle Oberon’s race as it relates to William Wyler’s Wuthering Heights (1939) and its latest adaption by Emerald Fennell. There we discuss how the construction of stardom and the text of a piece impact readings of race as a racialized work attempts to become de-racailized by directorial choices. Using her Vanessa Redgrave video, Izzy also talks to us about the Oscars,its relationship to politics, and how it impacts actresses. We end this longer epsiode with a hint of the future for Be Kind Rewind and our 2026 Oscar predictions. Afterwards, Samantha and Henry give their Oscar predictions in every category.

This episode is filled with fun, fandom, and just a touch of Hollywood magic! We get into what passions drive a video essayist and the interesting topics that can happen about the film industry if we are not strictly going by salacious headlines. It is an episode that not only asks viewers to watch more films but, also challenges them to think about the wider implications of the moving image.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Some Suggested BKR Videos:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

People & Places:

Media:

You might also enjoy our previous Oscar Themed episode and the Oscar Watch series Henry is currently running on his blog.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

11 March 2026, 10:41 pm

1 hour 13 minutes

Frames of Fandom with Robert Kozinets

Professor of Journalism at USC Annenberg, Robert Kozinets, and Henry Jenkins speak with us about their ongoing book series Frames of Fandom. Both authors explore how they met, their ever-evolving work in fan studies, and what inspired them to create a 16-book series. Both scholars discuss the complexity of fandom as it intersects with consumer culture and subcultures. They even ask if fandom itself can be considered a subculture or something akin to religion! The conversation ends with a discussion of accessibility to academic texts, their choice of writing personal ethnographies throughout the books, and the future of the book series.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Frames of Fandom book series [Amazon Link]
Netnography Unlimited Understanding Technoculture using Qualitative Social Media Research
Influencers and Creators Business, Culture and Practice
Convergence Culture
Convergence Culture Consortium
Textual Poachers

People & Places:

Media:

2025 MLB World Series
1993 World Series
CFL
MLB
Super Bowl LIX
Labubu
Reddit
Facebook
Star Trek
Aurora monster models [Article on toys]
Dark Shadows
Universal Monster Films
Famous Monsters of Filmland
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
Strange Sports Stories [Article on the comic series]
Space Jam (1996)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Harry Potter
HBO
Magic The Gathering
Monster Hunter
Fortnite
Dragon Ball
Ford Mustang
Disney Bounding [Blog Guide]

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

24 February 2026, 12:50 am

1 hour 14 minutes

Global Streaming Services and Cultural Power Relations: Bertha Chin & Swapnil Rai

In this episode, Bertha Chin— Senior lecturer and the Director of the National University of Singapore’s Communications And New Media program— and Swapnil Rai—Associate Professor Film, Television and Media Associate Professor Communication and Media at the University of Michigan—join us to speak about the global streaming media landscape. From Bollywood to Hollywood, Rai and Chin dissect the complexity of media movements as both parts of cultural imperialism and the widening of fandoms. Both scholars lead us through discussions of the transnational circulations and development of series on streaming platforms, relating them to the wider topic of power relations within globalization. By the end, we are left to examine how we engage with transnational shows, who produces them, and how other countries have interpreted the same show. Is streaming the best way to be exposed to other cultures, or is it trying to mobilize the audiences and resources of other countries?

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Transnational Streaming Television Reshaping Global Flows and Power
Networked Bollywood How Star Power Globalized Hindi Cinema
Crowdfunding the Future Media Industries, Ethics, and Digital Society
Eating Fandom Intersections Between Fans and Food Cultures
Bollywoodizing Netfix or globalizing Hotstar? The cultural-industrial logics of global streaming platforms in India
Modi vs. Wild: Celebritized Politics and the Mediations of a Spiritual Strongman
What Is Arthouse Cinema? A Guide to Movies Off the Mainstream Path [Article Link]
Netflix Subscribers Statistics 2026 [Link]
South Korean Panda discourse [News Link]

People & Places:

Media:

Netflix
Amazon Video
Disney+ Hotstar
K-pop (music genre)
The X-Files
Doctor Who
BBC
Salaam Namaste
Paranormal
Narcos
Sacred Games [book, Netflix]
Gangs of Wasseypur
Gangs of Wasseypur 2
3%
Game of Thrones
Squid Games
KPop Demon Hunters
- Shin Ramyun Kpop Demon Hunters
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Scooby Doo
Frankenstein (2025)
Winter Sonata
Man vs.Wild
Star Wars
Star Trek
Mortal Kombat
The Acolyte
The Mechanism
Grillo Vs. Grillo
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
Record of Ragnarok [manga, TV show]
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2025
Universal Language
Sukiyaki Western Django

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

13 February 2026, 1:53 am

1 hour 6 minutes

Ethan Zuckerman

In this episode, we chat with Ethan Zuckerman— a Public Policy, Communication and Information professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst— about his views on the present political climate and major movements occurring in reaction to the Trump administration. From the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis to memes on the internet to the Boston Massacre, we discuss the various forms of resistance the public can perform in the face of adversity. Zuckerman also delves into the historization of mass movements and how their retellings, or lack thereof, can shape how we perform and learn about resistance. We end by circling back to a discussion of memes and AI as they influence how America views current events. Zuckerman leaves us wondering what America looks like and how the celebrations will roll out as we hit its 250th birthday in 2026. In particular, we explore what monuments and memorials might look like if they emerged bottom-up from the people rather than top-down from government institutions.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Historical Events or Celebrations:

People & Places:

Media:

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
1776
Hamilton
Mary Tyler Moore Anti-ICE statue [Link]
JD Vance Couch Meme [News Link]
US Tries to Take Greenland [News link]
White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest [News link]
Grok “Woke Bias” [News link]
Trump White House “Walk of Fame” Plaques [News link]

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

4 February 2026, 3:39 am

1 hour 6 minutes

San Diego Comic-Con Histories and Educational Outreach with Mathew Klickstein and Emily Schindler

In this episode, Mathew Klickstein , the host of Comic-Con Begins, and Emily Schindler, Senior Director of Learning and Engagement at the Comic-Con Museum, educate us on the history of and learning opportunities at San Diego Comic-Con. Mathew discusses how Comic-Con formed and why he documents that history in his podcast and his book, See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture. Emily informs us about what is displayed at the Comic-Con Museum and the educational programs she runs. She describes the outreach and collaboration that happens between the museum and institutions around San Diego County.

At the heart of this conversation is the formation and nurturing of communities that occur because of Comic-Con. Mathew tackles this as a SDCC historian and Emily as an SDCC educator. By the end of the episode, we ask how the culture and construction of SDCC have changed since its inception. We also question what being part of the Comic-Con means and how it's preserved.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

People & Places:

Media:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

22 January 2026, 8:35 pm

1 hour 7 minutes

Anime Cons and Comic-Con Activations with Melanie Kohnen & Billy Austin Tringali

In this episode, we welcome Melanie Kohnen, an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies for Lewis & Clark College, and Billy Austin Tringali, an Instruction Librarian at the Indiana University Indianapolis and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS), to discuss the culture and function of pop-culture conventions (“cons”). Melanie shares her research on the encroaching influence of media companies on spaces such as San Diego Comic-Con, especially as they literally extend their promotions to outside of the convention center. Meanwhile, Billy speaks about his work running the annual JAMS@AX Symposium at Anime Expo and his own research regarding animanga content.

This conversation examines the intersection of academia and non-academic spaces, like fan events, and how media businesses build relationships with their audiences. Melanie and Billy explore how both academics and con-goers can experience conventions as fans and build a sense of community at these pop-culture events. They offer various modes of experiencing conventions and ways of accessing fans as part of larger promotional content. From Japan to the US, Billy and Melanie show us that conventions are places of scholarly work, fun, and play!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Readings, Journals, and Resources:

People and Places:

Dr. Suzanne Scott
Jillian Rudes
Maria Bonn
Frenchy Lunning
Maria K. Alberto
Emilie Waggoner
Dr Zoe Crombie
Theodore Gournelos
Dr. Roman Gomez
- Physics of Anime lecture [video]
Janine Sun
Werner Herzog
Benedict Anderson
Ryan Murphy
Anime Expo
San Diego Comic-Con
Wonder Con
Dragon Con
Kingston Public Library
Comiku Girls
Anime Boston
- Boston Cosplay Human Death Match [link, video]
Petco Park
Dashcon
Rose City Comic Con
Gallifrey One
MagicCon

Media:

Abbott Elementary
- SDCC 2025 Abbott Elementary Block Party
Pokémon [website, anime]
Yu-Gi-Oh [card game, anime]
Dragon Ball
Television Without Pity
Howl’s Moving Castle
Demon Slayer
Walking with Dinosaurs
Peacemaker
- Peacefest SDCC 2025 [link, video]
HBO Max
Tubi
Pluto TV
Psych
Glee
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Playstation
Mortal Kombat 1
The Good Place
- SDCC Panel 2018 [video]
Superstore
- SDCC Panel 2019 [video list]
Magic the Gathering
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Crunchyroll
Toho Animation
Delicious in Dungeon
Dungeons and Dragons
Kimba the White Lion
Yu Yu Hakusho
House of the Dragon
Dr. Who

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

21 November 2025, 11:21 pm

1 hour 11 minutes

Global Asian Cinema, Asian American Movies, and Film Festivals with Brian Hu

In this episode, Professor Brian Hu from SDSU helps us tackle the world of Asian and Asian American cinema as they travel throughout various locales. Hu’s position as a film scholar and Artistic Director of the San Diego Asian Film Festival leads us through conversations about how people connect with and discover Asian culture. We touch on how regionality and heritage influence people’s interactions with Asian and Asian American media. We also discuss the shifting definitions of Asian American and how that plays out in AAPI/AANHPI film festival creation. Hu guides us through the process of film curation and circulation at AAPI/AANHPI film festivals. In the end, we ask Hu what to look forward to for the upcoming 2025 SDAFF on November 6-15. Our discussion with Hu leaves us wondering what the future holds for Asian and Asian American media as global industries become more invested in Asian works like K-pop, anime, and Labubus.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Readings:

Names and Locations:

Film Festivals:

Movies, Shows, and Media:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

24 October 2025, 8:18 pm

1 hour 23 minutes

Latina Girlhoods, Baby Boomer Boyhoods, and Children's Media with Diana Leon-Boys

In this episode, we chat with Diana Leon-Boys— Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Communication Arts—about her lifelong work examining the navigation of girlhood through a Latinx lens. Her book Elena, Princesa of the Periphery: Disney’s Flexible Latina Girl extends conversations about minority representation and the complex relationship it has with child development. We host a dialogue between Diana’s research and Henry’s observations about boyhood in his book Where the Wild Things Were: Boyhood and Permissive Parenting in Postwar America. We discuss how both scholars pull from their own personal experiences growing up in America and how they interacted with their childhood media.

We explore how the proliferation and production of children's and family media shape ideas of adolescence. Diana and Henry relate this back to their roles as parents within an ever-evolving media landscape where funding for educational children’s content is dwindling. They further discuss how representation within media has changed over time and minority groups’ relation to it. This is where Diana brings in her newer projects about depictions of Quinceañeras and Día de los Muertos in TV and films. We are left to ask what the politics of childhood are and what reforms can be done with current children’s media.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Texts

Diana Leon-Boys:

Elena, Princesa of the Periphery: Disney’s Flexible Latina Girl

Quinceañeras: Latinidades and Girlhood in Popular Culture

Henry Jenkins:

Where the Wild Things Were: Boyhood and Permissive Parenting in Postwar America

The Children’s Culture Reader

“Just a Spoonful of Sugar: Permissive Child-Rearing and Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins”

“‘You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught’: The Whiteness of Permissive Culture”

MIT Salute to Doctor Seuss

Interview about the book

Others:

Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life

Kids in the Middle: How Children of Immigrants Negotiate Community Interactions for Their Families

Latina Teenhood: Intersectionalizing subjectivities in the post-network era.

Crafting Public Opinion: The Effectiveness of China’s Media Control Policies under Xi Jinping

Made to Play House: Dolls and the Commercialization of American Girlhood, 1830-1930

Advice Books:

The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care

Dare to Discipline

People, Places, Toys, and Holidays

Raquel Reyes [American Girl Doll]

Samantha Parkington [Doll]

Julie Andrews

Walt Disney

Disneyland and Disney World

Paper Dolls

FDR

Sigmund Freud

Shows, Films, and Other Media

Pee-wee’s PlayHouse

Dennis the Menace [59-63’ show, Comics]

Leave It To Beaver

The Cosby Show

One Piece [Anime, Manga, Live Action]

Disney+

Encanto

Coco

Snow White [Animated, Live Action]

Little Mermaid [Animated, Live Action]

Chinese State Media sounded like Fox Media

Descendants film franchise

Harry Potter film series

Dora The Explorer

The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T.

Mad Magazine

Classic Illustrated

Gabby’s Dollhouse

Quinceañeras episodes

News

Defunding of PBS

Quinceañeras in Protest

One Piece Flags in Indonesia

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

3 October 2025, 9:19 pm