The Stranger Things Podcast

The season finale is here and every thread we've been following finally snaps tight and the characters stop thinking about clues and start thinking about survival. Darrell and Addi walk through how the group rallies to take the fight where it matters most, pushing past exhaustion and fear to stop the next phase of Horde Prime. They also discuss the episode's most brutal emotional turns with Dan, t...

A new piece of the puzzle lands in the Hawkins Investigators Club's hands, and the team fractures into three directions with one goal in mind: find something that explains what is happening in Hawkins before the next escalation turns into a full disaster. On one track, Mike, El, and Nikki end up under Mrs. Baxter's guidance as a set of unsettling encounters forces them to trust each other in real...

Two terrifying creatures just crashed Dustin's solo run to the Food Mart, Eleven goes out on a limb to save him, and the gang goes underground to celebrate Nikki's birthday. In " The Party " (Chapter Eight), Darrell and Addi break down a pivotal episode that splits the tension right down the middle, balancing genuine warmth and celebration with full-on creature horror. The Hawkins Investigators Cl...

A blizzard has swallowed Hawkins whole, and the gang is more fractured and in more danger than ever before. In "Enter the Storm" (Chapter Seven), Darrell and Addi break down one of the season's most intense and emotionally charged episodes yet, as Lucas and Max are on the move, braving the storm to reach higher ground and get a Code Red out to the rest of the team — all while the threat from the U...

A blizzard is rolling into Hawkins, and the cold outside is the least of everyone's problems. Chapter Six of  Stranger Things: Tales From '85 opens with a chilling flashback to November 1984, right on the heels of the original series' second season, before snapping back to a winter that is quickly getting out of hand. The gang is scattered and the stakes are multiplying fast: Dustin heads off on a...

A secret photo, a tabloid newspaper, and an unknown monster lurking beneath Hawkins. This week's episode of Tales from '85 is packed with tension, teamwork, and an settling final reveal. In " The Weekly Watcher " (Chapter Five), Darrell and Addi break down one of the season's funnest episodes yet, where the Hawkins Investigators Club finds themselves in a race against the press after a polaroid ph...

Secrets have a short shelf life in Hawkins, and Chapter Four of Stranger Things: Tales From '85 puts that truth front and center. A rattled Mike decides it is time to come clean to Hopper, setting off a chain of events that builds into a tense, action-packed race against something monstrous. Meanwhile, Dustin pulls Steve into the Hawkins Investigators Club, Nikki welcomes Will into her world with...

Something is changing in Hawkins, and the gang is starting to realize the threat they are facing is bigger than anything they have dealt with before. Chapter Three of Stranger Things: Tales From '85, "Evolution," picks up the pace in a big way, as Nikki's mysterious past begins to come into focus and the dangers lurking around Hawkins start to evolve into something far more unsettling. The Hawkins...

Hawkins, Indiana has a way of turning even the most ordinary things sinister, and this time, the darkness is taking root at a farm. Picking up right where the premiere left off, Chapter Two of  Stranger Things: Tales From '85  wastes no time pulling the gang back into trouble. Nikki officially joins the crew and gets swept into the newly formed Hawkins Investigators Club, but what starts as an exc...

Hawkins, Indiana never stays quiet for long, and in the dead of winter 1985, it's already getting weird again. Darrell and Addi are diving headfirst into Stranger Things: Tales From '85 , the brand-new animated spinoff from the Duffer Brothers and showrunner Eric Robles, set between the events of Seasons 2 and 3 of the original series. In this premiere episode, the gang's innocent plan to shovel s...

The final chapter of Stranger Things has closed, and the Hawkins crew is gone but not forgotten. After years of covering every twist, monster, and Upside Down revelation, we're gathering with listeners who've been on this journey from the beginning to dissect what worked, what didn't, and what it all meant. From the emotional gut punches to the unresolved mysteries, we're leaving no stone unturned...

The Stranger Things era is officially over, but "One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5" documentary gives us one final glimpse into the magic behind the final season. Join hosts Darrell and Addi as we dive deep into this intimate Netflix special that pulls back the curtain on the production. We break down the emotional interviews with the Duffer Brothers, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wol...

The conversation continues! Welcome to Part 2 of our listener feedback extravaganza for "The Rightside Up," the Stranger Things series finale that gave us so many emotions we're still processing. Hosts Darrell and Addi are back with even MORE of your incredible contributions because you weren't done sharing your thoughts, theories, and feelings about how this epic saga concluded. In this episode,...

The series finale dropped and you had SO MUCH to say that we couldn't fit it all into one episode! "The Rightside Up" brought the Stranger Things saga to its emotional conclusion, and our inbox was STUFFED with your reactions and heartfelt messages about how this show impacted your lives. Hosts Darrell and Addi are dedicating this first of TWO listener feedback episodes to YOUR voices because the...

After four years of fighting monsters from another dimension, the the Hawkins heroes face their final battle—one that will determine not just the fate of Hawkins, but whether Eleven can ever escape the cycle of being hunted. Join hosts Darrell and Addi as we break down "The Rightside Up," the epic series finale that brings the Stranger Things saga to its emotional conclusion. We dissect the climac...

Will Byers came out to his friends and family, Max woke up from her coma, and the Party discovered "The Abyss"—and YOU had ALL the feelings about every moment! "The Bridge" delivered the most emotionally powerful episode of the season, and our inbox was flooded with your heartfelt reactions, theories, and incredible insights. Hosts Darrell and Addi are dedicating this entire episode to listener co...

On the four-year anniversary of Will Byers' disappearance, the Party reunites for a final battle—but first, Will must confront his deepest fear to overcome Vecna. Join hosts Darrell and Addi as they break down "The Bridge," the emotional penultimate episode that brings everything full circle. We dissect Max's triumphant awakening from her two-year coma, analyze Dustin's game-changing revelation th...

A black hole threatening to consume humanity, an "un-proposal" that broke our hearts, and Max on the cusp of escaping Vecna's mind—and YOU had SO MUCH to say about all of it! "Escape From Camazotz" delivered some of the most emotionally devastating and mind-bending moments of the season, and our inbox absolutely exploded with your reactions, theories, and brilliant breakdowns. Hosts Darrell and Ad...

The Upside Down is collapsing—and it's not because of Vecna, it's because of an exotic matter black hole that could consume the entire human race. Join hosts Darrell and Addi as they break down "Escape From Camazotz," the episode where everything we thought we knew about the Upside Down gets flipped on its head. We dissect Dustin's shocking revelation about the shield generator being a wormhole be...

Plans on plans on plans—and YOU had thoughts on ALL of them! "Shock Jock" kicked off Volume 2 with teams scattered across two dimensions executing elaborate strategies, and our inbox absolutely exploded with your theories, reactions, and breakdowns. Hosts Darrell and Addi are dedicating this entire episode to listener contributions because you brought the fire on every major moment: Will's hive mi...

Three teams across two dimensions are executing bold and dangerous plans—and if you think nothing could go wrong, you haven't been watching Stranger Things. Join hosts Darrell and Addi as they break down "Shock Jock," the midseason premiere that kicks off Volume 2 with even more elaborate schemes than before. After Will's radical self-acceptance moment unlocked his powers in the previous episode,...

'80s pop queen Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now" just invaded Vecna's dream world—and in this explosive episode, the legend spills exclusively on the Upside Down magic. We sit down for a thrilling and fun chat where she reveals her phone "blowing up" after episode 3, the joy of watching Holly Wheeler dance, bake, and sass her on cassette tape ("just a pop star!"), and why it feels like pure '80s...

The response to our "Sorcerer" recap was so massive, we had no choice but to dedicate an entire follow-up episode to listener theories—and it gets wild fast. Addi and Darrell dive into your reactions and ideas surrounding the episode's biggest moments, from the children's rescue mission and the Demogorgon chase into the Upside Down to Will's vision of Vecna's web and his shocking emergence as a ne...

Stranger Things Season 5 just delivered its most shocking power shift yet—and it didn't come from Eleven. In our Season 5, Episode 4 "Sorcerer" breakdown, Addi and Darrell dive headfirst into the episode that changes everything. From the desperate rescue mission to save the children to the pulse-pounding moment when a Demogorgon is chased straight into the Upside Down, this chapter pushes Hawkins...

What happens when an episode is SO explosive that listener feedback takes over the entire show? "The Turnbow Trap" broke the internet—and our inbox—so hosts Darrell and Addi are dedicating this entire episode to YOUR voices, theories, and reactions. We received an overwhelming flood of listener contributions about every major moment: the kids' ingenious plan to take down the Turnbow family, the de...