Hugging and Learning : The Podcast – with Chelsea & Andrew

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 101: The Most Special Episode: Part 2 (“Diff’rent Strokes” S05E17)

Posted on December 4, 2020December 4, 2020 by Chelsea

We’ve come to the end of the rainbow, friends and colleagues. It’s been a fantastic 101-episode-long ride, and we’re so happy that you came along. Before we ride off into the sunset (jk, it’s a pandemic, we never leave our apartments), we’d like to wrassle one last VSE with you — part two of the accurséd BICYCLE MAN. It’s got all the icky feelings and inappropriate jokes of part one, with 200% more police detectives. Come along.

Ep 100: The Most Special Episode, Part 1 (“Diff’rent Strokes” S5E16)

Posted on November 26, 2020December 4, 2020 by Chelsea

The time has finally come. In this most cursed year of this darkest timeline, we must re-watch and re-evaluate one of the most cursed VSEs of all time. The one that started it all — which is apt, because after 100 episodes, we have nearly come to the end of the Hugging & Learning rainbow. Join Chelsea, Andrew, and Miles for the penultimate episode of our podcast, as we evaluate what, if anything, we have to learn from this bone-chilling tv artifact today.

Ep 099: Emotional Rollycoaster: Part 2 (“Desperate Lives”)

Posted on November 4, 2020November 7, 2020 by Chelsea

“Welcome to Hamilton High, where all the students major in drugs!” H&L is back with a real classic of the “Just Say No” genre. We’ve got an earnest protagonist, we’ve got grade-A freakouts, we’ve got future Oscar winners judo-kicking out of second-story windows. Will CARING SO MUCH triumph over indifference, drugs, and swimming? Or will yet another suburban teen succumb to his poorly-defined life pressures and terrible taste in friends? Join us to find out!

Ep 098: Emotional Rollycoaster: Part 1 (“Desperate Lives”)

Posted on October 31, 2020October 31, 2020 by Chelsea

“Welcome to Hamilton High, where all the students major in drugs!” H&L is back with a real classic of the “Just Say No” genre. We’ve got an earnest protagonist, we’ve got grade-A freakouts, we’ve got future Oscar winners judo-kicking out of second-story windows. Will CARING SO MUCH triumph over indifference, drugs, and swimming? Or will yet another suburban teen succumb to his poorly-defined life pressures and terrible taste in friends? Join us to find out!

Ep 097: Momchiatrist and the Conference of Secrets (“The Day My Kid Went Punk”)

Posted on August 19, 2020August 21, 2020 by Chelsea

Won’t someone please hug Terry? The boy moves like a ghost through his own life; in the words of his own sister, “he’s just kinda there.” When Terry goes punk, it’s not so much a rebellion as an inevitability. But, wait! What does this mean for Mom’s big anti-punker conference?! Is this actually an afterschool special FOR MOMS?? Join Chelsea, Andrew, long-suffering Terry, some of The Weirz, and the psychiatrist from Space Jam as we try to decipher what, if anything, we can learn from an afterschool special about the waning days of punk.

Ep 096: Murder, She Twote (“Whodunnit?” S01E01)

Posted on August 12, 2020August 14, 2020 by Chelsea

What’s the only thing more fun that a lighthearted came of Clue with friends? Only a high-stakes reality TV version of the game that strangers take way too seriously! Come with us on a journey back to 2013, when ABC turned a half-built mansion into CSI: Beverly Hills, at almost unfathomable cost and with mediocre results. The game… is murder! But somehow, as always, it all comes back to Melora Hardin.

Ep 095: Saved By the Cowbell (“Hey Dude” S3E11)

Posted on August 5, 2020August 7, 2020 by Chelsea

It’s a little wild and a little strange that this is our first HEY DUDE episode. And it’s a doozy of a debut — this is the LOST episode of the beloved Nickelodeon show. “Lost,” you say? Imagine if Sam Shepard wrote most of an episode of this light teen comedy, and you’ll soon figure out why. Join us for a deep dive into the fraught interpersonal relationships of the adult children of alcoholics, and also stinky feet jokes.

Ep 094: Jesus Koala (“The Gospel Bill Show” S01E21)

Posted on July 29, 2020July 31, 2020 by Chelsea

Have you ever heard of Gospel Bill? If not, let’s close that #blessed chapter of your life. Join Andrew, Chelsea, and the rest of the Dry Gulch Gang as we attempt to keep the devil out of our thoughts from way down deep inside God’s pouch. Confused? Don’t worry. We are, too.

Ep 093: Golden Wonka (“The Golden Girls” S2E24)

Posted on July 22, 2020July 28, 2020 by Chelsea

What could be better than an episode of THE GOLDEN GIRLS in These Troubling Times™? How about an episode TGG that’s also THE WIRE, a rom/com, and a George Clooney vehicle all at once?! This week, we explore the twists and turns of a singular episode of sitcom television, and also launch our GoFundMe campaign to raise the $3MIL we need to purchase the Golden Girls house, which has just come on the LA real estate market. We’re doing important work over here. Join us.