Kartoon Kreators!

Mariana Diaz-Wionczek is a researcher, educational consultant, producer, and professor who started her kids' media career on Dora the Explorer! Today, she is a co-executive producer of the PBS Kids' series "Rosie's Rules," and continues growing her teaching and consultancy work. We talk about Mariana's time on Dora, how she bridges the academic and creative sides of herse...

Carol Berke is a color designer who worked at Disney for fifteen years, on projects including Lion King 1 1/2, Mulan 2, and The Princess and the Frog! She has also worked on many beloved TV series, including Curious George and Kim Possible. In this episode, we talk about what a color designer does, how Carol got into the business, and some of her favorite projects to work on. Listen now!

Michael is the co-founder of a Canadian animation company called Nelvana, and has produced some of the most well-known animated series of our time, including Babar, Berenstain Bears, Franklin, The Magic School Bus, and so much more. In his early days, he also produced a Star Wars short for George Lucas that introduced the character of Boba Fett! Michael talks about his initial transition into the...

Ellen Doherty is the Chief Creative Officer of Fred Rogers Productions. But before taking on this role, she began her kids media career as an associate producer on Reading Rainbow, then took on many roles on Cyberchase, from story editor to voice director, and eventually executive producer! We talk about her journey in the industry, her transition from live action to animation (and beyond!), and h...

Kathy Waugh was the head writer on Peep and the Big Wide World and helped develop Arthur for television. She’s also written on Time Warp Trio, Between the Lions, and numerous other WGBH shows we all love. Most recently, Kathy co-created Molly of Denali and Work It Out Wombats - so seriously, what PBS Kids show has she not been behind? We talk about Kathy’s incredible career and her tenets of good...

Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle are the kreators of Kim Possible. We talk about how their partnership began (it may have started in Kindergarten!), what the show's development process was like, and why Kim Possible has had such a long-lasting legacy. Listen now!

Ron Holsey is a prolific writer who has written on legendary shows like Curious George, Martha Speaks, and Sesame Street. Most recently, he created and executive produced the adaptation of Interrupting Chicken for Apple TV+. We talk about how Ron rose in the industry, what storytelling medium he prefers, and who inspires him creatively. Listen now!

Jeff Borkin is the co-kreator of Blaze and the Monster Machines, a Nick Jr. hit that premiered in 2014. Long before that, though, he was the head writer on the first season of Little Einsteins! Jeff shares the story behind the development of Little Einsteins, he talks about his continued love for interactive preschool television, and so much more. Listen now!

Mark Palmer is one of the creative minds behind The Wild Thornberrys. In this episode, we talk about how he helped take a concept initially geared towards adults and turned it into the hit kids adventure series we all know and love! We also talk about how the themes in The Wild Thornberrys were ahead of their time, and about other properties Mark has loved working on throughout his career. Listen...

Jim Coane is the Kreator of Dragon Tales! We talk about the artwork that inspired him to create the show, what the production process was like, and the continued legacy of Dragon Tales to this day. Listen now!

Cheryl Chase is best known as the voice of Angelica on Rugrats! We talk about how she got started in voice acting, how she landed her legendary role (did you know she initially wasn't cast in the Rugrats pilot?), and her journey to owning Angelica and shaping the character in her own way. Listen now!

Adam Peltzman has been the head writer on Blue's Clues and The Backyardigans, and more recently created Wallykazam! and co-created Odd Squad. He's also written on a number of other beloved children's shows, including Maya & Miguel and Wonder Pets. We chat about his start on Blue's Clues, his experience working with the beloved Janice Burgess on Backyardigans, and of course, we...

Adam Beechen is known for writing on legendary action-adventure TV franchises, including Batman, Ben 10, and Transformers. We chat about how he has found success as a freelance writer and how he manages the responsibility of writing for such beloved, storied IP. Listen now!

Scott Gray is known for being a story editor on Rugrats, as well as a writer of many of the show's broadcast episodes, video games, and even comic strips! He's also written and story edited on other beloved shows, including Arthur, The Backyardigans, and LazyTown. We chat about his years on Rugrats and what it entails to be a story editor. Listen now!

Keith Chapman is best known as the creator of Bob the Builder and PAW Patrol. In this episode, we talk about Keith's beginnings in advertising, where the ideas for Bob the Builder and PAW Patrol first originated, and what he's working on now - including an animated feature in partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio! Listen now!

Angela Santomero is known for being the co-creator of Blue's Clues and the creator of Super Why!, as well as countless other beloved properties like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wishenpoof!, and Charlie's Colorforms City. We talk about Blue's Clues and how her research roots helped make that show--and countless others--a success. We also chat about her experience as a female creato...

Andy Yerkes is known for being the head writer on Bear in the Big Blue House, as well as developing Pocoyo, and being the first head writer of the series. In this episode, we chat about his long career in children's media, all the ways in which Pocoyo was novel for kids TV, and how Bear in the Big Blue House became a multimedia phenomenon! Listen now!

Before becoming the executive producer of the biggest preschool hit of the decade, Scott was a writer on Rolie Polie Olie and the co-creator of the Nickelodeon live action musical series, The Fresh Beat Band (for which he won an Emmy in 2013!). We talk about his start in kids media, the gaps he saw in TV content and how he filled them, and of course, how he ended up involved in the mega hit that i...

It is nearly impossible to sum up Susan's career in just a few shows! From Reading Rainbow to Pocoyo, Courage the Cowardly Dog to Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Susan's incredible storytelling has touched every major children's cartoon. We talk about diversity in the industry and how she dealt with being tokenized for her identity, as well as her vision for more kids TV that unifies. Thi...

Jill's career began on incredibly successful shows like Stanley, Maya and Miguel, and Jojo's Circus. She went on to write on Little Einsteins and Wow Wow Wubbzy, and today, Jill's most recent credits include being head writer on Blues Clues & You and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood! We talk about her experiences growing as a writer, and what it was like to be a woman in kids TV in...

In this week's episode, we chat with Peter Hirsch, writer, head writer, story editor on Arthur, Curious George, and more...what show has this guy not written on?! Best known for his work on Arthur (his IMDb says he wrote EIGHTY-SEVEN episodes!), Peter talks about the highlights of his career and his big secret for never running out of stories.

Eric Weiner is one of the co-creators of the original Dora the Explorer! In this episode, he talks about the origins of Dora, the process of crafting each episode, and lessons he learned from the experience. Ready to hear some behind-the-scenes secrets? ¡Vámonos!