Pop and Play Teachers College

There’s no denying it (looking at you, Haeny), on this week’s episode we’re diving into “role playing.” It’s right in the acronym “Live Action Role Playing” or LARPing, the topic of this week’s episode. Haeny and Nathan are joined by Judson Packard, Program Director of the Wayfinder Experience camp in the Hudson Valley that runs LARPing programs for kids. They talk about their experiences as a camper at Wayfinder and now as a staff member, and what LARPing offers people that can make it a special and transformative experience. And they discuss the central importance of foam swords. Also: beware of spoilers for the movie Role Models! (It came out in 2008, so… you had time.) 

For transcripts of this episode and more, visit our website. 

Our music is selections from Leafeaters by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.
Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. 
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University. 

This week Haeny and Nathan talk with Amy Parks, and Maika and Maritza Moulite. They are all navigating the world of academia and busy being young adult fiction authors. They talk about why they’re drawn to writing for middle school aged readers, what it’s like to be a YA author in academia, and where they get inspiration. Also, Haeny makes everyone share their most embarrassing memories. Just kidding. Sort of. Haeny Yoon! (You’ll get it when you listen.)

For transcripts of this episode and more, visit our website. 

Professor Amy Parks is the author of YA novels ​​Lia and Beckett’s Abracadabra and The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss and the middle grade novel Summer of Brave.

Maika and Maritza Moulite are the authors of several books including the novels Dear Haiti, Love Alaine, One of the Good Ones, and the forthcoming The Summer I Ate the Rich (Correction: Nathan says you can get it now in the episode, but it’s due to come out next year and you can pre-order the Kindle edition now).

Our music is selections from Leafeaters by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.
Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. 
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University. 

Have you ever been curious about dressing up in character? This week, Haeny and Nathan talk with Alexis and Josh about cosplay! They talk about why they dress up as characters they enjoy in community with others and how to put together costumes (having Josh sew them for you helps). They also talk about why dressing in character can feel risky, including dealing with the risk of harassment. And Nathan and Haeny talk about their own experiences with costumes and debate how to say “cosplay.”

For transcripts of this episode and more, visit our website. 

Our music is selections from Leafeaters by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.
Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. 
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University. 

This week Haeny and Nathan are back at the table - the tabletop gaming table that is, with Kent Davis, author of the A Riddle in Ruby fantasy series and co-author of Epic RPG, a tabletop role playing game. He talks with Haeny and Nathan about how risk comes into gaming. What makes playing roles feel risky, and how can players be encouraged to take risks in a gaming environment, without pushing too hard? And of course, Haeny pitches Kent on her Kardashian themed role playing game. 

For transcripts of this episode and more, visit our website. 

Our music is selections from Leafeaters by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.
Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. 
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University. 

This episode takes the theme of “playing roles” this season literally! Marah and Chris join Haeny and Nathan on the Pop and Play stage to talk about acting! They are a married couple that acts in community theater productions in San Francisco. They talk about how they got into acting, what has kept them coming back to it, and how it feels to be on stage as a lead character and a person of color in front of younger generations. Also Nathan and Haeny put them on the spot for an unrehearsed acting challenge (without even giving them to the count of ten), and the results are impressive and maybe a little terrifying.

For transcripts of this episode and more, visit our website. 

Our music is selections from Leafeaters by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.
Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. 
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University. 

Nathan and Haeny are joined by Lil Miss Hot Mess (LMHM) to talk about playing with roles through drag, Drag Queen Story Hour, and what it’s like doing drag events for kids. LMHM talks with Haeny and Nathan about her journey in drag, and how drag can be part of modeling possibilities for adulthood with kids. They tackle questions like, how can we defend drag from its critics and uplift its possibilities without sanitizing discussions of drag as an art form? And LMHM demonstrate her skills in coining drag names on the fly. 

Lil Miss Hot Mess is on the board of Drag Queen Story Hour, and is the author of two children’s books centered on drag, The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish (Running Press Kids, 2020) and If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It (Running Press Kids, 2022). Check out their website to learn more about her and her work!

For transcripts of this episode and more, visit our website. 

Our music is selections from Leafeaters by Podington Bear, Licensed under CC (BY-NC) 3.0.
Pop and Play is produced by the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. 
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.