The Imagine Neighborhood

Latest Episodes:

The Big Wave: Shkarf Attack! Nov 21, 2021

Show notes

Have you ever felt two things at the same time? Like, maybe you were excited for the first day of school, but also felt nervous about being in a new classroom. Or have you ever felt angry at a friend who you also really, really liked? When we have a bunch of feelings that seem to be the opposite of each other, it can be confusing—or even upsetting.

Cap’n Marion sure knows how that feels. In this week’s episode, she and Scotty are sailing the Burn Voyage to her annual family reunion when she discovers her original birth certificate . . . and her original name. Cap’n Marion is very proud of being adopted, but she’s never thought about her birth family before, and now she’s feeling. . . well, a whole lot of things!

Should she keep her birth certificate, or shoot it out of the Recyclocannon?

Is it okay to love her Fire Pirate family but still want to know more about her birth parents?

Is Scotty about to barf up his lunch all over the poop deck if she doesn’t stop turning the ship around in circles?

For the answers to these very important questions, plus pirate love letters, being confappy, and learning how we are all a little bit like a shkarf sometimes, hoist the mizzenmast and climb aboard for this week’s installment of The Imagine Neighborhood™!

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The Sound Machine Nov 14, 2021

Show notes

Is Tantrumus Maximus the most evil billionaire hamster in the whole wide world? Yes. Yes he is.

Does Tantrumus Maximus concoct the most evil billionaire hamster capers conceivable? Yes. Yes he does.

And does this week’s episode have THE most evil billionaire hamster heinousness we’ve ever heard of (or, rather . . . NOT heard of)?! Yes. Yes it has!

This week, evil billionaire hamster Tantrumus Maximus pulls off an auditory atrocity, a musical malefaction, a phonic felony SO diabolical you’ll have to hear it to believe it (or, rather . . . NOT hear it to believe it)!

See, since we’re a podcast, we need sounds to tell our stories. And all of the sounds in the Neighborhood are created by our beloved Mister Music Man Lindsay Jones on his magical Sound Machine. But Tantrumus thinks that if he can take over the Sound Machine, he can take over the Neighborhood—and he just might be right!

One thing’s for sure: When cats moo and ducks bark and Tantrumus starts talking about his feelings (gasp!), you know things are getting pretty bananapants around here.

You can get discussion prompts and activity suggestions for “Tantrumus Maximus and the Sound Machine” by joining our mailing list. In the meantime, enjoy accidental bagpipes, runaway rhinos, disco duets, and learning ways to use sound to express ourselves on this week’s episode of The Imagine Neighborhood™!

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Re-run: Macho's Shot Nov 07, 2021

Show notes

Scotty is headed to get his Merman Measles shot, to help keep him from getting sick. But before he can even get to the doctor’s office, Macho Supreme yoinks him away in his spaceship, the Mach Billion! Macho’s heard some scary stories from his friends about Scotty’s new doctor, and he’s determined to keep Scotty safe. But Scotty is . . . NOT throwin’ away his shot!

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No Filter with Tig Notaro Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

This week, my guest is comedian, movie star, writer, podcaster, and cat-lover Tig Notaro! She’s best known for doing stand-up, which is a kind of comedy show where a person gets up on stage and tells stories about themselves and shares what they think about things. It’s kind of like making friends with a whole room full of people all at the same time!

Trying to get better at making friends is something that Tig and I have in common—and we also both like animals, and making things out of cardboard boxes! Tig told me some great stories, shared a tasty ‘Tater Time’ recipe with me, and taught me that even when people aren’t being kind to you, you can still be kind to them—and that’s one of the kindest things you can do!

I really enjoyed meeting Tig, and I hope you’ll enjoy meeting her too.

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Teen Force Trailer Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

This summer, thanks to a generous grant from The Allstate Foundation, the team at The Imagine Neighborhood launched Teen Force!, a virtual summer fellowship that brought together high school students from across the country. Together with expert consultants and a team of our mentors, 15 teens with interests in storytelling, podcasting, and social-emotional learning crafted these five Teen Force! segments for listeners of The Imagine Neighborhood. These stories show that no matter how old you are, whether you're an alien in a spaceship, a curious panda, or a princess-in-training, you can practice seeing the world from others’ perspectives and make your neighborhood a kinder place.

https://www.imagineneighborhood.org/teenforce

Missing Doc Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

This week, Scotty is heading to the Spooky-Ooky Fall Festival, the spooktacular and spine-chilling party that Princess Donnasaurus and Doctor Apocalypso throw every year. But when Doc’s music tour gets extended and she has to miss out, Princess Donnasaurus isn’t happy at all. In fact, she’s really upset! Who’s going to make the Spooky Juice? Or light the lanterns? Or carve the pumpkins? And what’s with the huge hole that just opened up in the floor?!

Join us for glowing goblin pops, flamethrowers, and the coolest (and creepiest!) new dance this side of the cemetery on today’s episode of The Imagine Neighborhood™. See you out there on the dance floor, everybody! Shake those bones!

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No Filter with Dr. Jennie Warmouth Oct 18, 2021

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I’m so excited to introduce you to this week’s guest, Dr. Jennie Warmouth! She’s a second-grade teacher, a college professor, and the co-author of a terrific book called Teacher Trade! AND she’s also a research scientist who works with animals and kids to study empathy—which is when we use our kindness, our experiences, and our imaginations to understand how others are feeling.

She’s been to almost every continent on earth, and she’s met all kinds of animals—from dogs and cats to walruses and even elephants! Dr. Jennie and I talked about very intellectual, highly scientific topics such as why our dogs’ toes smell like corn chips, and whether walruses smell worse than black bears, and . . . okay, okay, maybe we talked about smells a lot, but we covered bunches of other fun things, too!

Dr. Jennie taught me a lot about kindness, and doing research, and how animal feelings aren’t so different from human (or even vampire robot vacuum cleaner) feelings. Most of all, I learned that whether it’s a new friend or a new animal, when we take the time to get to know each other we’ll always discover that we have lots of things in common! I’m really glad I got to meet Dr. Jennie, and I think you’ll like meeting her too.

Your friend,

Count Vacula

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The Disappointment of Mannrick Allen Oct 10, 2021

Show notes

A MACHO SUPREME™ episode.

Today, Macho Supreme and Count Vacula are headed to Photon Fair - the amazingly awesome annual Nebula Trek convention! They can't wait to meet their second-favorite actor, Mannrick Allen, and get his autograph and ask him some questions . . . that is, until they get there and see how rude he's being to everybody!

Join us for Nirshese pepper-crabs, amazing burritos, and an udderly ridiculous amount of cow-themed puns in this moo-ving MACHO SUPREME™ episode!

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No Filter with Janet Varney Sep 27, 2021

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It’s me again—your pal, C.V.—bringing you a new No Filter!

This week’s guest is the very kind and friendly J.V. (known to her acquaintances as “Janet Varney”)!

J.V. is a comedian and actor, which is something we don’t have in common . . . but something we do have in common is that we both have podcasts! You might have heard J.V. on her Nickelodeon podcast Avatar: Braving the Elements, and your grown-ups might have heard her on her other podcast The JV Club.

J.V. and I talked about nicknames (betcha can’t guess what my new nickname is!), armadillos, dreams, cactus plants, time travel, otters, fanny packs, thunderstorms, and how sometimes you think you won’t like somebody because they’re different from you—but once you get to know them, you find out that they can be a really good influence on your life!

I’m really glad I got to know J.V., and I think you’ll be excited to know her, too!

Have a great week, keep an eye out for hummingbird messages, and I’ll see you soon in The Imagine Neighborhood™!

Love,

C.V. (aka Vaxxie, aka your friend Count Vacula)

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No Filter with Peter Sagal Sep 19, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is Peter Sagal, the very fun and funny host of the NPR show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Peter’s been hosting this show for more than 20 years, which is a really long time . . . even to me, and I’m 1,000 years old! His show is on the radio, and mine is a podcast, but we both use our shows to meet new people and learn about them, as well as to do some hard-hitting journalism.

For this No Filter, Peter and I did some hard-hitting journalism on the important topics of farts, fart jokes, and finding out who farted, as well as exploring the deeper issues of cookie-reaching, Frankenstein-fearing, and doghair-eating. We had a great time and learned a lot from each other. I bet you’ll have a great time and learn something too!

Love,

Vac

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