The Imagine Neighborhood

Having a best friend is, well . . . the best! But when our bestie suddenly can’t be around, it can feel terrible. Whether someone we care about is moving away forever, or even if they just have to miss an important day like our birthday, it can be hard not to feel hurt, or even a little angry. In this episode, we’ll talk about using kindness to help us understand the other person’s point of view,...

Hi everybody! It’s me, Count Vacula, bringing you a brand-new No Filter! 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 o...

Disappointment is a very big feeling, and it can affect us in a lot of different ways. Someone who is disappointed might seem sad, or they might even act angry or mean. In this episode, we’ll talk about ways to help ourselves feel better when we’re disappointed—and we’ll also learn how to use kindness to understand when other people are disappointed and help them feel better, too! This week, Macho...

Guess who? . . . That’s right! 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: Bra...

Hi, everybody! It’s your good friend, Count Vacula, bringing you my newest No Filter! 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 mee...

A COUNT VACULA™ episode.  In this week’s episode, Scotty and Count Vacula are having a great time playing in their pillow fort . . . that is, until the famous blanket-castle architect Jill Koy ( Carly Ciarrocchi ) shows up. She's convinced that a pillow fort “hastabee” built a certain way—but when she changes everything around, things start to get a little shaky! So, meet us under the couch cushio...

When Macho Supreme and Count Vacula find a big cardboard box and decide to play Nebula Trek in it, Vac is excited to pretend to be one of his favorite characters from his favorite movie! But every time Vac jumps in, Macho won’t let him play. Because the actors in the Nebula Trek movie are white, Macho thinks that only white people can play them, and Vac is Asian. When we tell someone they can’t be...

My guest this week is the very kind and very smart Dr. Ibram X. Kendi . He’s a podcaster like me—but he’s also a professor, and a National Book Award winner, and a #1 New York Times bestselling author of really terrific books like Antiracist Baby and Stamped (For Kids) ! We talked about playing basketball, and cardboard creations, and how when the people you care about are happy, it can make you f...

In this week's bonus episode Dr Leslie Walker-Harding joins us to discuss ways to help kids who are afraid of getting shots. Dr Walker-Harding is the chair of pediatrics at Seattle Children's hospital and she's had to give, and get, a lot of shots. We'll talk about how she helps kids and grown-ups who are nervous to get a shot, and has some great tips for dealing with those big emotions. Get more...

Going to the doctor can be scary, even if you’re as macho as—Macho Supreme! This week, Scotty needs to get his Merman Measles shot, but Macho is so afraid something bad might happen to Scotty at the doctor’s office that he yoinks Scotty away in the Mach Billion! Will Scotty get back in time for his appointment with Dr. Alexander Camelguy, or will he . . . (apologies) . . . throw away his shot? In...

Preston Changeo (special guest star Tom Lenk) doesn’t think that wizards and monsters should be friends, and when he learns that Alakazambra and Vac are buddies he gets so upset he accidentally summons a rainbow-sherbet monster! Everyone has to work together to solve the problem, and Preston learns that being pals with all kinds of different identities is not only fun, it helps you learn new skill...

This week, you’ll meet my new friend Jad Abumrad! We have a lot in common—like, we both make podcasts, although . . . my podcast doesn’t have a Peabody Award, and Jad’s podcasts Radiolab and Dolly Parton’s America do . . . But we both like synthesizers! And we like imitating the sounds of synthesizers! And we like comparing different kinds of synthesizers! We like other things too, though, not jus...

This week Scotty takes a pirate internSHIP (ahem) aboard the Burn Voyage, and finds out there’s a lot that a Second Mate needs to learn to do—especially the all-important ARRRt of treasure-buryin’. But Cap’n Marion keeps getting distracted, and the gold is just lying on the deck where anyone can steal it! Will Scotty be able to help Cap’n Marion focus on what’s important before it’s too late, or w...

It's no secret that we love hearing from our listeners, or that we get really excited when you send in questions about things going on in The Imagine Neighborhood™, because then we get to do a Q&A episode! So, if you’ve ever wondered how Dr. Apocalypso got her name, what species of dinosaur Princess Donnasaurus is, or how many relatives Count Vacula has (lemme tell ya, that family cookout requ...

My guest this week is the amazing Carly Ciarrocchi . You might know her from her Emmy-nominated work hosting The Big Fun Crafty Show and Snug's House for Universal Kids, or as host of Sprout's The Sunny Side Up Show, or from Weird But True! on Disney+, or from her terrific podcast HEY STORY GO! Even though Carly likes to get up early and I'm nocturnal (I just learned that word!), it turns out we b...

This week I got to meet a very smart and kind person named Brittany Murlas. She's a mom who started a really cool book club called Little Feminist. They find terrific stories with all different sorts of heroes in them, and send the books out to families all over the world! Brittany and I talked about a lot of very important things, like bedtime monsters, and feminism, and macaroni and cheese! She...

An ALAKAZAMBRA™ episode Magical maven Alakazambra Tyesha Morganis is getting ready to hold the world’s biggest wizarding festival! But planning something as amazing as the Conjure-Con isn’t easy... The bat wings are missing, the cauldrons are filthy, no one has any idea when the Port-O-Whiz delivery will happen, and the Wizards are getting restless. What’s the greatest wizard in the multiverse to...

This month we got some very important questions for our friends in The Imagine Neighborhood™, and it’s time to answer them with a Q&A episode! Stay tuned next week for a new episode of The Imagine Neighborhood. And keep listening the week after that for more No Filter with Count Vacula! Get more at: IMAGINENEIGHBORHOOD.org Friend and follow us! TWITTER , FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM

This week in the The Imagine Neighborhood™, Scotty and Vac can’t wait for the All-Town Hand-Me-Down! Everybody in the Neighborhood collects clothes and toys they’re not using anymore, and they send them all down a chute so that someone new can use them. It’s a really fun way to be kind—plus, everyone gets a new hand-me-down in return! But this year, something’s not right. The chute is malfunctioni...

Hi, listeners! It’s me again . . . your pal, Count Vacula, with my very own show, No Filter with Count Vacula! On No Filter, I’ll practice making new friends and getting to know all kinds of people. This week, I’m chatting with Biz Ellis from the podcast One Bad Mother . Biz and I talk about how being “bad” can sometimes be a good thing, how to find buried treasure in your own backyard, and how to...

A COUNT VACULA™ episode.  Count Vacula is celebrating his 1,000th birthday, and his Great-Uncle Vacstradamus has come to visit! With big birthdays come big new responsibilities, and Gruncle Vaxie gives Count Vacula one week to learn to make breakfast and do the laundry. It’s time for Count Vacula to level up, because helping around the house isn’t a chore—it’s a great way to be kind! So snap on yo...

It’s time for a new Q&A episode! We’ll answer questions about Vac’s digestive system and what inspires Doctor Apocalypso. Plus, we’ve got special guest Dr. Jasmine with us! She’ll talk with us about the food on her spaceship and about the best ways to stay kind to everyone, even when someone like Rick Fryer is being unkind or unjust. Get more at: IMAGINENEIGHBORHOOD.org Friend and follow us! T...

Oh, hey listeners, it’s me! It’s your friend, Count Vacula, and today I’m talking to my good friend, Macho Supreme. We’ll talk about making friends with monsters, space squids, and how to prepare for disco emergencies!  Get more at: IMAGINENEIGHBORHOOD.org Friend and follow us! TWITTER , FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM

This week in the Neighborhood, Macho Supreme is off to the Space Marines’ Space-Cademy summer camp. To keep the Pixie Pandemic at bay, the camp has made a whole lot of changes—but Macho liked things better the old way! Luckily, Scotty is around to help him learn to “get bendy" and think of ways those changes might be okay . . . or even fun! Get more at: IMAGINENEIGHBORHOOD.org Friend and follow us...

It’s me, Doctor Apocalypso, live from the Wasteland! Some of you out there sent in questions for me. So today, Cyclopia and I are rollin’ up to answer them in a Q&A episode! I’ll talk about how it feels to still miss Giganticus, and how to get out of bed like a rock star. And Scotty will answer questions about his house, new Imagine Neighborhood episodes, and even about sushi! Take a listen, a...