Holidays – Hugging and Learning : The Podcast

Ep 102: It Was A Disaster (“The Paul Lynde Halloween Special”)

Posted on October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 by Chelsea

Like a mummy, or a vampire, or a ghost, or any number of monsters that rise from the dead at Halloween — WE’RE BACK!!! It’s Chelsea and Andy’s favorite time of year, and we couldn’t resist getting together for an impromptu surprise episode, specially for those of you who forgot to unsubscribe. Join us as we deep-dive into the cursed nonsense that is The Paul Lynde Halloween Special variety show. We’ve got witches, we’ve got truckers, we’ve got disco, we’ve got special guest appearances from everybody from Betty White to KISS. It’s bananapants and we wish it had never happened, but it did. Join us, please, so you can help us prevent this haunting event from ever happening again.

Ep 068: That’s Kickin’ It! (“The KNOTB Animated Christmas Special”)

Posted on December 25, 2019December 28, 2019 by Chelsea

This holiday special has it all: a megafamous boy band, bad Boston accents, insane transitions, a ghost kid, live concert footage, and an almost-impossible-to-comprehend narrative style. It’s KNOTB: The Edge of Reason. Join Chelsea, Andrew, Miles, Miles’s personal friend Joey McIntyre, and the rest of the Bean Town Posse for a cool ride through the Yuletide.

Ep 067: The Fellowship of the Claus (“The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” TV Movie)

Posted on December 18, 2019December 20, 2019 by Chelsea

‘Tis the season to be re-watching our favorite holiday movies. You know, the ones we remember so fondly from childhood about Santa and his pet immortal lioness, his abduction by fairies, his tangles Gandalf, etc. No? Not ringing a (jingle) bell? Join Chelsea and Andrew as we make our merry way through the last (and best!) of the Rankin/Bass stop-motion animation Christmas specials.

Ep 059: Very Special Effects (“Punky Brewster” S02E06&07)

Posted on October 23, 2019October 28, 2019 by Chelsea

How scary is TOO scary for children? It’s a question seemingly no one on the set of this infamous episode ever asked. Join Andrew, Chelsea, Miles, Mr. Pieces, Punky, Brandon (for your Emmy consideration) and the rest of the gang as we literal fight our way out of a demon-haunted cave in definitely somewhere close to Chicago and not the coast of California.

Ep 058: Halloween Hypocrisy (“My So-Called Life” S01E09)

Posted on October 16, 2019October 18, 2019 by Chelsea

Like an angst-seeking missile, Angela Chase has gone from trailing after living phantom Jordan Catalano to actual phantom Nicky Driscoll in this Halloweeniest of episodes. We promise this is not a backdoor pilot for Chelsea’s spinoff MSCL podcast. Probably.

Ep 037: Under-Promising, Over-Delivering (“Hey, Arnold!” S01E11)

Posted on May 2, 2019May 8, 2019 by Chelsea

It’s Christmas in May at Hugging and Learning! We dive deep into the charmingly ambiguous world of Arnold et all as they discover the true spirit of the holidays through a gut-wrenching story of war and family separation. Cartoons are fun! Our Very Special Guest Jonathan House joins us for the maximum twists and and turns and emotional payoff that Nickelodeon ever packed into a 24-minute show about nine-year-olds. Join us, won’t you?

Episode 023: Ho- Ho- Holy Shit: The Christmas Megasode (“He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special”)

Posted on December 27, 2018December 29, 2018 by Chelsea

There are 125 toys in the extant He-Man/She-Ra universe, and dammit if almost every one of them isn’t on some nonsense in this very special Christmas episode. Strap in, folks, it’s going to be a long and delirious ride as Chelsea and Andrew jingle all the way through Christmas in Etheria. How does one explain Santa to a Trollan-Etherian immigrant? Exactly whom are we keeping He-Man’s secret identity secret FROM? Who lives in Castle Greyskull besides 8 action figures? We wish the answers to these questions were simply distilled, but they just aren’t, so let’s hop on our Battlecats and hunt for these holiday answers together.

Episode 022: The 90s Are What’s Wrong With You (“My So-Called Life” S01E15)

Posted on December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 by Chelsea

Is My So-Called Life the definitive voice of its generation, a mopey soap for teens, or something else entirely? Chelsea and Andrew have very different opinions. Join our two intrepid hosts, Miles, the luminous Claire Danes, and The Ghost of Female Pop Vocalists Past as they discover if there’s really no place like home for the holidays. Do the Chases believe in God? Why is Brian Krackow so pissy at the holidays? Won’t someone feed Rickie — he looks so cold! I don’t know, I wasn’t even, like, there, LEAVE ME ALONE I CAN’T TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS, MOM.

Episode 018: Pur-itan And Simple (“The Brady Bunch” S02E04)

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Chelsea

The Brady Bunch are in the (sanitized, Euro-American) Thanksgiving spirit! Join Chelsea and Andrew as they wade through a swamp of insensitivity, problematic nomenclature, revisionist history, and groovy slang to get to the heart of the Thanksgiving holiday itself: sight gags. Ad-libbing abounds on this trip down memory lane to an older, less-inclusive time. Happy Native American Heritage Month! *facepalm*

Episode 014: Turn Snacks for What?! (Family Matters S09E07)

Posted on October 24, 2018October 26, 2018 by Chelsea

Stevil is back, and he’s more off-putting than the last time! And this time, as the title clearly states, he is not alone! Join Chelsea, Andrew, Miles, Steve, Stevil, Carl and Carlsbad (everyone else is out trick-or-treating) as we journey to the center of the uncanny valley to see… if there’s any good reason they made another Stevil episode. Is it spooky? Sure. Funny? You betcha. Over-snacked? 100%. #ClickorTreat, y’all!