Storytelling Saga

Are you ready? Ali and returning guest, Stacey, discuss the Zoey 101 sequel movie, Zoey 102, written by Monica Sherer and Madeline Whitby and directed by Nancy Hower. They discuss initial reactions, favorite laugh-out-loud and heartfelt moments, thoughts on the glow-ups of all the original characters, and much more, including gushing over Todd (even despite the big reveal at the end), reminiscing about some classic moments from Zoey 101, parallels with the iCarly revival, and still holding out hope for a Ned's Declassified reboot.

Ali discusses all things Creddie from season 3 of the iCarly revival.

Ali discusses the Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig.

Ali discusses Judy Blume's pivotal coming-of-age novel and its wonderful film adaptation written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Ali interviews writer, illustrator, and storyboard artist, Heather Martinez, who shares about her work on SpongeBob SquarePants, My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Fairly OddParents, The Replacements, and more!

Ali discusses the latest Pixar movie, Elemental, written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh and directed by Peter Sohn.

Ali interviews storyboard artist, writer, and director, Jay Lender, who shares about working on Hey Arnold! and SpongeBob SquarePants, making his movie, They're Watching, illustrating the children's book, Poopy McPooFace In: The Perilous Journey, and much more!

Ali discusses the portrayal of writers on screen, citing shows such as 30 Rock, Hacks, BoJack Horseman, New Girl, Seinfeld, Party Down, and the short-lived Hulu series, Reboot, all the while sharing advice about the writing process.

Ali interviews comedian and the voice of Chaz on Helluva Boss, Eric Schwartz, who shares about his comedic and musical influences, putting himself out there on stage, his new special, Delivery, the popularity of Chaz, advice for artists, and more. It's Chaz time!

Ali discusses The Super Mario Bros. Movie written by Matthew Fogel and directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. Afterward, she shares a post-movie short story she wrote called “A Heartfelt Quest.” Let's-a go!

Ali celebrates the 200th episode of the podcast by sharing all about her experience attending her first-ever fan convention, LA Comic Con!

Ali discusses the TV movie, CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery, written by Steven Banks, Robert Lamoreaux, and Victor Wilson for the wacky Nicktoon, CatDog, created by Peter Hannan. Hi Ho Diggety!

Ali discusses one of the best episodes of Community, "Remedial Chaos Theory," written by Chris McKenna and directed by Jeff Melman.

Ali interviews animation production designer and painter, Carol Wyatt, who shares her insight from working in the industry on many different projects such as The Simpsons, Duckman, the Rugrats pilot, the Hey Arnold! pilot, Rocko's Modern Life, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Green Eggs and Ham, Amphibia, Rick and Morty and more!

Ali interviews animator and director, Mike Hollingsworth. He shares about his journey starting out as a stand-up comedian, the early days of working on BoJack Horseman, lots of cool stuff about the standout season 3 episode he directed, "Fish Out of Water," his thoughts on where the industry is heading, memorable fan convention experiences and much more!

Ali and special guest, Harry Mackin, discuss the masterpiece series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. You want to hear our thoughts on the show's themes of valuing mentors, embracing the dichotomy of ourselves, finding your destiny and looking inside yourself for the answers? What about the reasons Toph is the ultimate earthbender, hot takes on Kataang vs. Zutara, why Iroh is the absolute best, Katara's subtle yet powerful growth throughout the series, Zuko's redemption arc and how it parallels Aang's journey, the tragic toxicity of Azula, not to mention the comedic awesomeness that is Sokka? You'll get all of that and more with this episode so sit back and enjoy. Yip yip!

Ali interviews Betsy Rosenblatt, Professor of Law and volunteer Legal Committee Chair of the nonprofit Organization for Transformative Works. It's an informative conversation about the value of writing fanfiction and contributing to fandom communities, how gender identity plays into fan culture and marketing, fair use law of what you can and can't copyright, the joy of attending fan conventions and much more!

Ali discusses the 1987 animated movie based on the novel of the same name, The Brave Little Toaster.

Ali opens up about a traumatic event she recently went through and how she's healing. She also shares her 2023 New Year's resolutions and a new short story called "Bailey."

Ali discusses three Nicktoon Christmas specials: “The Santa Experience” (Rugrats), “Christmas Who?” (SpongeBob SquarePants) and “The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever” (Invader ZIM).