Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Brenna and Joe continue their tradition of covering Heartstopper with a look at S03. We discuss how creator Alice Oseman tackles Charlie's eating disorder and treatment, the absence of Olivia Colman, and look ahead to the fourth (and final) season. Plus: concerns about Darcy and Tara's subplot, wanting Nick's growth to continue, how the season adapts a multiplicity of texts, and, oh yeah, A LOT of...

Brenna and Joe return to tackle two emails from the Mailbag: 1) Tea, Books & Chocolate wrote about a prolific series called Redwall by Brian Jacques, which spun into a conversation about romance novel Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday and full cast audiobooks. 2) Maddy wrote in about queer sex - specifically in Heartstopper , but also a recommendation for Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min. This...

Brenna and Joe kick off HKHS Pod S07 with a few updates, including a revised schedule and an altered format for the time being. Let's just say we were a touch ambitious! Plus: details on Brenna's mat leave, the adjustment to having two kids, and why we need more Mailbag items! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brenna...

Brenna and Joe are back for a special holiday bonus episode on Cynthia Hand's The Afterlife of Holly Chase (2017) .  The novel is very enjoyable, imminently readable, and surprising - which is nice considering it could have just been a simple Scrooge tale. Plus: colourful supporting characters, a great romance that's not the point, and why hasn't this been turned into a movie?! Wanna connect with...

Watch out for falling hammers because Brenna and Joe are back next Tuesday for a special holiday episode on Cynthia Hand's utterly delightful Scrooge tale, The Afterlife of Holly Chase (2017). Get reading! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram) > Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instag...

Brenna and Joe conclude our special Halloween coverage with episodes 5-8 of S01 of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events , which adapts books 3 & 4. With a caveat that we were burnt out by Snicket's texts by this point, we still find things to like, including Woodard's wordplay, Harris' utterly unconvincing drag and the surprise queerness of Rhys Darby in 'The Miserable Mill.' Plus: More Ca...

Brenna and Joe are back to untangle the first four episodes of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events. We compare Neil Patrick Harris with Jim Carrey, how The Reptile Room works better on the TV show, and why Aasif Mandvi is such a delightful Montgomery Montgomery. Plus: a few gripes about the length of episodes and Brenna's least favourite child actor! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on...

Brenna and Joe return for the first of three special Halloween episodes, all focused on Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)'s popular Middle Grade books A Series of Unfortunate Events . First up: books 1-3, as well as Brad Siberling's 2004 movie, starring Jim Carrey, who we're mixed on, as well as the film's pacing/ending. Thankfully the costumes, make-up and art direction are outstanding! Wanna c...

For our S06 finale, Brenna and Joe bring back guest Jenny Leigh to tackle the third entry in Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga series, Eclipse (2007), as well as director David Slade's 2010 film adaptation. Guess what? Something actually happens in this book (!), though the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob remains as frustrating as ever. Meanwhile, on the film side, Slade feels weir...

Brenna and Joe tackle one last Canadian text in 2024 and it's a doozy: Quebecois filmmaker Philippe Lesage's Genesis (2018). C/W: Sexual assault This is a challenging triptych, filled with difficult characters, as well as slow & methodical pacing. It also doesn't end in a conventional sense or with any catharsis, which means it's quite a polarizing text! What does Brenna make of this and does...

Brenna and Joe collect fellow Canadian Lindsay Traves to discuss Under The Bridge, the murder of Reena Virk and its contemporary (Emmy-nominated) TV series. We have *a lot* to say about both texts, which feature heavily fictionalized events and characters, including the roles played by stars Riley Keogh and Lily Gladstone. Plus: bizarre creative choices, Reddit sleuths and true crime, a questionab...

Brenna and Joe revisit the idea of place(lessness) thanks to Australian listener Neera's email about two recent YA romances: Dancing Barefoot  by Alice Boyle (good) and Unnecessary Drama  by Nina Kenwood (scrubbed clean). Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram) > J...

Brenna and Joe are ready to wrap up Series 1 of Skins , but we're having a few issues with this finale. Is this a redemption arc for Tony? Is the depiction of mental health still dangerous? Is Cassie going to be ok? And how to interpret Anwar's father's reaction to Maxxie's queerness? It's not quite the end we want, but give us the cast singing "Mad World" any day! Oh, and stay tuned for the longe...

Brenna and Joe return to Canada for a reprieve on "the kids aren't alright" summer with D.W. Waterson's feature directorial debut, Backspot (2023). Starring HKHSPod fave Devery Jacobs, this exceptionally queer film focuses on the athleticism of the gymnastics, though Brenna is frustrated at its placelessness. Plus: strong performances from Jacobs and Evan Rachel Wood, advertising for Cineplex Odeo...

Brenna and Joe close in on the end of S01 of Skins with episodes on Michelle and Effy (kinda) as the show becomes a wild fever dream! Up for discussion: cheering on Michelle and Sid, hating Tony, critiques about the depiction of mental illness, more laments about Chris, and what we want from the finale. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the ha...

Before providing an update on future programming (in anticipation of Brenna's new baby!), we list listener Tea, Books, and Chocolate's recommendations for texts that deal with sexism and classism, including: > Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce > The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell > A Matter of Profit by Hilari Bell Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram...

Ready to cry? Brenna and Joe discuss Patrick Ness' surprising A Monster Calls (2011) and J.A. Boyana's 2016 film adaptation. These texts are both beautiful and emotionally devastating, which means we both cried A LOT. Plus: Sigourney Weaver as a British grandma, Tom Holland's secret role, Jim Kay's beautiful illustrations, and debating why the film flopped so hard in North America. Wanna connect w...

Brenna and Joe respond to listener Tea, Books, and Chocolate about how "filing the serial numbers off" of source material can lead to more successful fan fiction (see: our episode on Like Real People Do ). Plus: listener Miriam's disappointment in that episode, and a few more responses to To Kill A Mockingbird. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or us...

Our summer series on Skins continues and Brenna & Joe are ready to call it: Tony is irredeemable. Between his public show of embarrassing Michelle in episode five and then sexually manipulating Maxxie in episode six, there's no saving this character. Plus: Maxxie and Anwar's relationship, Russian stereotypes, girls punching people, and a swear-y Peter Capaldi! Wanna connect with the show? Foll...

Joe is on the struggle bus as he and Brenna tackle a classic text: Harper Lee's 1960 book To Kill A Mockingbird and director Robert Mulligan's 1962 adaptation. Issues include the shifting narration, the simplistic moral message, and the egregious use of the N word. Plus: censorship vs contextualizing, why the book isn't more studied, and Brenna's vote for the worst performer in the Oscar-winning f...

Brenna and Joe are dismayed to hear from listener Dann that (of course!) the Muzak we're been hearing on Skins isn't what originally aired. And when we find out what we *could* be hearing, it's even more galling. Grrrr! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram) > Joe: @bstolemyremo...

Joe and Brenna's journey through the first series of Skins continue with extremely different episodes: an underwhelming episode on Jal that doesn't even put her front and center, and a harrowing episode about Chris that nearly broke Joe's husband. Plus: a ratings discrepancy, hatred for Michelle, and Brenna finally confesses why her mothering instinct is kicking in so strongly. Wanna connect with...

Actual teenage listener Neve (who is the child of listener Toni from Australia!) writes in to recommend the new iteration of Netflix's Heart Break High , which sounds like an Aussie version of Degrassi ! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram) > Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter...

Brenna and Joe dip back into dystopian territory with The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey's 2013 novel and J Blakeson's 2016 film adaptation. This one is unique because it's aliens, though we are still dealing with a Chosen One narrative and a potential love quad. Plus: changing (sometimes inefficiently) perspectives, a film that moves too fast but is too long, putting film critics on blast, and whether we'...

Brenna and Joe kick off our summer programming with a long requested title: Skins . Every other week we're watching two episodes of Series 1, starting with "Tony" (episode 1) and "Cassie" (episode 2) and already we're into the thick of bad parents, hedonistic behaviour, and major empathy for Hannah Murray's Cassie, who is struggling with disordered eating. Plus: handlebar moustaches, disgusting fo...