Pop and Play

Teachers College

A podcast from the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University about play and pop culture. Professors Haeny Yoon and Nathan Holbert talk with educators, parents and kids about how they play in their work and their lives, and why play and pop culture matter. The views expressed in this podcast 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.

  1. Jun 16

    How Can Play Escape Commodification? (Season Reflection)

    Haeny and Nathan look back on the most epic season of Pop and Play yet. They ask themselves, what are we taking away from this season of play dates and pop culture reflections? They discuss “The Banal Horror of Jimmy Fallon” by Jon Greenaway ( https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-banal-horror-of-jimmy-fallon ) and ask: does play always have to be commodified?  For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Billy Collins with support from Biwen Liu. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Billy Collins. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    22 min

  2. Jun 2

    Digging into Gardening and What Makes Outdoor Play Special

    This week, Haeny and Nathan get into some dirt with John McCann-Doyle, Outdoor Education Specialist and Kindergarten Teacher at Community Roots Charter School. They talk about gardening with kids, why play outdoors is so memorable, and what happens when plants don’t do what we expect.  For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Abu Abdelbagi. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Billy Collins. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    31 min

  3. May 19

    Is Pickleball all about Dinking in the Kitchen?

    Do you know what dinking in the kitchen is? Well this week, Haeny and Nathan tried pickleball and found out. They’re joined by fellow academics and pickleballers Srikala Naraian, Professor of Education and Curriculum and Teaching Department Chair at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Jon M. Wargo, Associate Profess at the University of Michigan’s Marsal Family School of Education. They talk about how pickleball might bring out a different side of them than how colleagues and students know them at work, community, and of course, pickleball pedagogy. For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Billy Collins with support from Biwen Liu. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Billy Collins. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    34 min

  4. Apr 28

    Synchronized Ice Skating and How to Learn Difficult Things

    This week Haeny’s niece Emily comes on the show to teach Haeny and Nathan about synchronized ice skating! Emily travels with her ice skating team, and she has some things to teach Haeny and Nathan about getting better at skating, how to stick with things even when they’re hard and you get frustrated, and of course, ice cream.  For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Billy Collins with support from Biwen Liu. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Billy Collins. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    33 min

  5. Apr 14

    Can Rules in Games Help Us Find Deeper Freedom?

    Can rules give us more freedom? How can games help us make life more process oriented instead of outcome oriented? Can these questions about games help us think about teaching? This week Haeny and Nathan are joined by Professor C. Thi Nguyen from the University of Utah. Haeny and Nathan are big fans of the work in his book Games: Agency As Art and he has a new book out called The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game.  For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Billy Collins with support from Biwen Liu. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo and Billy Collins with support from Joe Riina-Ferrie. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    44 min

  6. Mar 31

    Dungeons and Dragons and… Second Grade?

    This week second-grade teachers Michael DiGregorio and Carly Haber join Haeny and Nathan to talk about how they play role-playing games in their second grade classroom! How do the kids react to what they call “shared story”? And how do you tell a shared story with 26 second-grade players?  For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Valéria Tedesco. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Billy Collins. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    39 min

  7. Mar 10

    What Counts as Reading?

    Is listening to an audiobook reading? What should you do if your kid only wants to read graphic novels, or doesn’t want to transition from picture books to chapter books? Haeny and Nathan settle the big questions in reading and literacy once and for all. Or do they? For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Billy Collins and Valéria Tedesco. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Joe Riina-Ferrie. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    31 min

  8. Feb 24

    In the (After School) Club

    Join Haeny and Nathan in the club! We mean the after school club, of course. Can Haeny still tap dance? What position did Nathan play on the football field? And are clubs for playing around and seeing what’s fun, or creating resume lines for college? Find out in this week’s episode about clubs! For transcripts of this episode, to learn about our guests, and more, visit our website. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search “Pop and Play” wherever you listen to Podcasts and subscribe! Our music is selections from Leaf Eaters 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.  Credits: Video and audio for this episode were recorded by Billy Collins and Valéria Tedesco. This episode was edited by Adrienne Vitullo with support from Joe Riina-Ferrie. Website support by Abu Abdelbagi. Pop and Play is produced by Haeny Yoon, Nathan Holbert, Lalitha Vasudevan, Joe Riina-Ferrie, and Billy Collins and is part of the Digital Futures Institute Podcast Network 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.

    22 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
33 Ratings

About

A podcast from the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University about play and pop culture. Professors Haeny Yoon and Nathan Holbert talk with educators, parents and kids about how they play in their work and their lives, and why play and pop culture matter. The views expressed in this podcast 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.

Information

  • Creator
    Teachers College
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Teachers College
  • Show Website
    Pop and Play

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