We Disrupt This Broadcast

In this episode of We Disrupt this Broadcast, Gabe González introduces us to the Peabody Award-winning series, Bluey, an outstanding animated children’s show that has become renowned as the best family co-viewing experience. WDTB Executive Producer Caty Borum interviews creator and writer Joe Brumm about how he developed a series that is funny, heartwarming, realistic (despite its dog characters), and tackles some of life’s toughest issues in each 7-minute episode. They discuss the power of play in the lives of children (and adults), the strategy to make both parents and kids laugh and why it’s important to have a girl character lead the show. Gabe then chats with The Read host and podcasting legend Crissle, a vocal Bluey fan, about what makes the series so disruptive, changing the way we see children’s television.

In this episode, we ask the question, “Why is normalizing the experiences of adolescence, especially for young girls, so disruptive?” Caty Borum, WDTB Executive Producer and Executive Director for the Center for Media & Social Impact, interviews legendary author and disruptor Judy Blume, author of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Blubber, Forever, and the center of the recent Peabody Award-winning documentary about her life, Judy Blume Forever. Caty and Judy discuss her inspiration, using writing to find a way to a better life, puberty as a time to celebrate girlhood, and finding community through fighting book bans. After their interview, Caty speaks with Chelsey Goodan, author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls, about the untapped power of teenage girls and the importance of feeling seen.

Host Gabe González speaks with Ron Nyswaner, creator of Peabody-Award winning historical romance, Fellow Travelers. In a far-reaching, in-depth conversation, Gabe and Ron discuss the evolution of gay identity, how to write complex queer characters, and why foot-licking scenes are an important part of getting young folks interested in queer history. After their interview, Gabe dives deeper into the history of queer representation on TV with documentary filmmaker and professor Katherine Sender.

In this episode, host Gabe González introduces us to the loving, incisive, and decidedly off-beat humor of Somebody Somewhere, a show that is redefining home, friendship, family, and even traditional narrative structure. He interviews the series’ stars Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller and they discuss the importance of making friends after 40, found family, why queerness and faith are not contradictory, and how platonic love can sometimes be the one that helps us become fully ourselves.

Gabe González has an intimate and wide-ranging conversation with Bobby Wilson and Ryan Redcorn, writers on the two-time Peabody Award-winning show Reservation Dogs. They talk about the groundbreaking series, which features an all Native cast and crew, and how an all-Native writers’ room contributes to the accurate representation of reservation life on screen. Gabe is then joined by Dr. Philip Deloria, Native historian, to talk about the alternately hilarious and horrifying path for Native representation on TV, why flawed characters are important, and why Native folks might be the funniest people you’ll ever meet.