All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 20 of 67 in total
Protest Music and Striking Notes of Resistance
Protest music and acts of protest from musicians are in the news right now. What is the role of music in protest, and how has it taken shape in different times and pla...
Best Pop Culture and Play Moments of 2025
This week Haeny and Nathan are sharing their top moments in play and pop culture from 2025! What is giving them hope? What reframed their perspective? Find out in this...
Woodworking and When Playing Around Becomes a Serious Craft
How do you know when what you started playing around with has become a serious craft? This week Haeny and Nathan talk with Professor Bryan Keller about his passion for...
Should We Stop Saying "Kids These Days"?
Kids these days just don’t know what it was like back in our day. Which makes sense, cause they’re, you know, kids. This week on Pop and Play, Haeny and Nathan talk ab...
A Very Special Holiday Music Pop Off!
Welcome to a very special holiday music pop off! In this festive bonus episode, Haeny, Nathan, and special guests Sonali Rajan and Lalitha Vasudevan talk holiday music...
What is the Purpose of School?
A Pew Center Report from 2024 prompts Haeny and Nathan to ask a big question: “What is the Purpose of School?” And is school the best place for children to learn?For t...
What's Poppin' for Haeny and Nathan?!
This week, Haeny and Nathan finally get to share what’s poppin’ for them! Enough politely making space for guests to share, it’s time for the hosts to show off their p...
The Life of a Showgirl and Being a Swiftie
Welcome to Season 6 and our first “play date”! Listen along with Haeny and Nathan and guest and fellow Swiftie Dr. Cassie Brownell, Associate Professor at the Universi...
It’s Halloween! Is Scary Play Okay?
Nathan and Haeny get all dressed up for Halloween! Well, Nathan does. Can you guess Haeny’s secret costume? They talk about some fun and light Halloween topics, and th...
How is Play Policed and Who Gets to Decide?
What are the implications of controlling play? Haeny and Nathan ask what forms autocratic control can take when it comes to play, when it comes from leaders like those...
What's Poppin': Summer Edition
This week Haeny and Nathan are here to talk about Summer Break! Just in time for it to be over. But we can look back on it fondly! They talk about pools, road trips wi...
The Impacts of Cutting Federal Funding For Research (Pop Off)
Nathan and Haeny are back for another Pop Off about recent cuts to funding for federal research. And they brought in a special guest: Vice Dean for Digital Innovation ...
What’s Poppin’ at the End of the World: A Story Episode
Haeny and Nathan aren’t just here to talk about children’s media - in this season finale, they’re here to MAKE children’s media! Welcome to a fictional tale of what ha...
What Are Kids Watching? (With Kids!)
What kinds of shows and media are kids into these days? Haeny and Nathan go straight to the source to find out: kids, of course! Their guests this week are three pairs...
Centering Play in Children’s Media with Teletubbies Co-creator Andy Davenport
Haeny and Nathan welcome to the show Andy Davenport, one of the creators of the hit children’s show Teletubbies. Find out about the origins of the show, the inspiratio...
Children as Creative Collaborators with Story Pirates
In this episode, Haeny and Nathan talk with two of the creators of the award-winning kids and family podcast Story Pirates! Co-founder and Creative Director Lee Overtr...
How Children’s Media Is Changing
This season is all about exploring children’s media, and this week Haeny and Nathan talk with Emily Reardon, Emmy Award-winning and patents-holding designer specializi...
What if the Games We Play Exclude You?
Haeny and Nathan welcome Aaron Trammell, Associate Professor of Informatics at UC Irvine. He has recently published two books on play: Repairing Play, A Black Phenomen...
Can the Arts Save Education?
Join Haeny and Nathan in talking to Erica Halverson, professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, host of the podcast Arts Educators...
How Does Fandom Shape Our Lives and Politics?
In this episode, Haeny and Nathan go bonkers about fandom with Henry Jenkins, Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts, and Education at the Univ...