Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

To coincide with the release of Freakier Friday , we're checking out all things Freaky Friday. Kicking off the discussion is Mary Rodgers' 1972 book, which weirdly doesn't feature the mom's experience in her daughter's body! Then it's onto the 1976 film starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris, which gives the latter much more to do than the former. Finally we tackle the 2003 remake starring Jamie...

We've hit the halfway point of Skins series two with "Chris" and "Tony" and...Brenna is not impressed. Episode five focuses on the burgeoning relationship of Chris and Jal, which we don't entirely believe. Meanwhile Brenna has no time or patience for Tony's episode, which feels like the writers realizing they make a huge mistake giving Tony a traumatic brain injury. Wanna connect with the show? Fo...

Brenna and Joe are back to discuss Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After (2020), our Book Club pick for July. We have one response from listener Miriam on this incredibly rich text, which features a complicated, even occasionally frustrating protagonist that we ultimately come to love. Plus: the messy villains of the text, exploring trans identity beyond the binary, the plethora of Harry Potter refer...

Brenna and Joe head back to Cousins for another swing at Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty series. First up: decent beach read It's Not Summer Without You (aka book 2), which works when it focuses on the loss of Susannah and is *fine* when it does the usual love triangle. The same cannot be said for the Amazon TV show, which pads the runtime and adds a frustrating new character played by Kyra...

We're back for another round of Skins Series 2, but Brenna has mixed feelings. It probably has something to do with the death of Peter Capaldi's character, as well as the fact that one of the two episodes is about Michelle. Plus: Cassie travel logistic questions, hook-ups galore, and continued proof that the only good Skins parent...is a dead one? Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagra...

A quick reminder that your responses to Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After is due Friday, July 18. And also: the announcement of our August 2025 selection, which is Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land (2020). If you wanna read along, the due date for responses is Friday, August 22. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna:...

We're back for our third Judy Blume text with Forever ! The 1975 book was written to candidly discuss a sexual relationship between teens and even if some aspects don't quite hold up, Brenna and Joe find its frankness refreshing. On the flip side, the Netflix series from 2025 falls somewhere between IP cash grab and spiritual adaptation. Creator Mara Brock Akil interprets the text through a celebr...

We're doing a mega mailbag round-up with bits and pieces from listeners Neera, Victoria, and Sophie. First up: an apology to Neera about Inkheart and an observation about 2000s YA and middle grade fiction. Then: More fall-out from Quiet on Set with regard to Drake Bell's sexual misconduct charges, as well as the Pride Month murder of Indigenous gay man Jonathan Joss. Finally, a few recommendations...

Class is back in session as Brenna and Joe kick off Skins Series 2 with a look at the first two episodes. From the bold decision about Tony's traumatic brain injury to the sidelining Cassie to Maxxie's dancing to...Sketch (?) it's a brand new summer of the kids are not alright! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brenn...

Book Club returns as Brenna and Joe discuss Sarah Dessen's 2006 novel Just Listen , along with responses from Miriam, Victoria, and Tea, Books & Chocolate. C/W: sexual assault and disordered eating. We *loved* this book, which feels fresh, accessible and side-steps glamorizing or wallowing in the trauma. Plus: girlhood, placelessness, glass house metaphors and radical honesty. Wanna connect wi...

Brenna and Joe check out coming of age film Uproar (2023), directed by Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett and written by Bennett and Sonia Whiteman. The 80s-set New Zealand movie follows Josh (Julian Dennison), a Maori boy who becomes politically engaged when his small town hosts a South African rugby club during Apartheid. It is an unintentionally timely text considering the recent wave of...

It's easy, breezy time as Brenna and Joe check out our first Jennifer E. Smith text with Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2015) and Michael Lewen's 2022 Netflix adaptation. This feels like a classic first year HKHS combo: a beach-read book and an enjoyably slight romantic film, anchored by likeable leads. We're especially shocked at the negative reviews for the latter! Plus: our fave sto...

A quick reminder that your responses to Sarah Dessen's Just Listen is due Friday, June 20. And also: the announcement of our July 2025 selection, which is Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After (2018). If you wanna read along, the due date for responses for July is Friday, July 18. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brenn...

Thanks to listener requests, Brenna and Joe dig into the fantasy world of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart and its 2008 film adaptation starring Brendan Fraser. It's...not what we expected. In addition to less driving, Joe wanted more fantasy, while Brenna wanted more famous characters. Possible reasons this didn't connect for us: translation issues and the revelation that it may have been meant to be re...

At the request of Miriam, we're re-starting Book Club! Our first pick is Sarah Dessen's Just Listen (2006), which concerns rape and eating disorders (C/W). In order to proceed, we need your thoughts! Send us an email response at hkhspod@gmail.com before June 20th! Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray > Joe: @bstolemyremote (Inst...

Brenna and Joe tackle the buzzy four episode Netflix limited series Adolescence (2025). Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham (with all episodes directed by Philip Barantini), the show has drawn raves for its single long take format and outstanding acting. But what's missing from the discussion? Does it earn the acclaim? And what should a potential S02 look like? Let's disc...

Brenna and Joe have a quick conversation about Miriam's email regarding the stark realities of Olympic winners, with a quick comparison to lottery winners. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray > Joe: @bstolemyremote (Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky) Have a mail bag question? Email us at hkhspod@gm...

Brenna and Joe return to inspirational sports movies with The Fire Inside (2024), but this is secretly two movies in one! The first is the story of Clarissa "T-Rex" Shields fighting for boxing gold at the Olympics; the second is what happens upon her return to Flint, Michigan. Anchored by two stellar performances from Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry, we prefer the second, more interesting movie...

We're back with a fresh Mailbag courtesy of Sophie and Tea, Books and Chocolate. First up: a question about the popularity of comic adaptations of books such as <gulp> the After series?! Then, a response about the recent Quiet on Set episode which further complicates the issue of kids working in entertainment. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use th...

Thanks to a prompt from listener Victoria, we're checking out Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024), the five part docuseries exposing harmful working conditions on Nickelodeon shows in the early 2000s. It's grim to say the least, not just for survivors like Drake Bell, but broadly speaking all of media that employs children. Should we even be watching this kind of content? Cue the existen...

We're checking out director Sydney Freeland's Indigenous basketball movie, Rez Ball (2024). C/W: suicide (off-screen) Co-written by Reservation Dogs ' Sterlin Harjo, this underdog feel-good sports film does exactly what you expect and not much else (Prompting another round of "it's fine, why does it need to be more?"). Still, at nearly 2 hours, Joe wishes there was stronger character work and Bren...

Brenna and Joe return with their first book to film adaptation episode with a discussion of Scott Westerfeld's 2005 dystopian novel Uglies and the long delayed 2024 film adaptation by McG. This is...a miss. The book has extremely shallow commentary and has editing issues, while the film has (yes) ugly CGI hoverboard action and an unconvincing love interest. And then there's Laverne Cox as a villai...

Brenna and Joe are joined by Conrad Chambers, Joe's co-host from The Queer Gaze podcast, to discuss 2023 UK gay coming of age film Bonus Track . It's a little bit slight, albeit full of charming performances and nicely fills the gap left by Heartstopper and Sex Education. Plus: nepo babies, a Josh O'Connor cameo, and confusion about the period setting. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Ins...

Brenna and Joe are back for another mailbag, with recommendations from Tea, Books and Chocolate, gentle criticism about Heartstopper S03 and a call to action from Miriam, and request for coverage about child actor exploitation on set from Victoria. Want to recommend a book or participate in a new iteration of Banned Book Club? Contribute your suggestions in this open Google Doc: https://tinyurl.co...

Brenna and Joe return to discuss My Old Ass (2024), our second Megan Park text (after The Fallout ). Don't let the title put you off! This is an extremely sweet and charming coming of age film, although as listener Spencer wondered: is this more for millennials than actual teens? We tackle the question, as well as the hilarious reverse "coming out" scene, which parts made us cry, and why we hope P...