Podcast 118: A "Hey Arnold!" Reeducation

In what is perhaps the darkest pair of episodes in the show’s canon, we take a step away from wholesome, grounded slice-of-life storytelling in order to take a detour to see just how poisonous Arnold…

Helga becomes an edgelord standup comic and learns (or doesn’t) a thing or two about the risks of punching down. Afterward, relations between Mr. Simmons and the class are put to the ultimate test wh…

After discussing which characters would bend which elements in the Avatar universe, we look at what is perhaps the strongest holiday-focused episode in the show’s run, particularly due to it’s excell…

The show continues its stellar track record of portraying the universality of unrequited childhood crushes as Michael recalls his own trials and tribulations with like-liking girls and them not like-…

We spend way too much time reading into the unseen specifics of Coach Wittenberg & Tish’s relationship and question the community's perception of their union, and later discuss arbitrary elitism and …

We strap in for a wild ride through the Jolly Olly Man’s heart of darkness in addition to sharing our theories about how such a disgruntled purveyor of frozen treats came to be. After that, we are se…

Arnold’s kindness gets taken advantage of, while Helga fails to recognize the importance of accepting help. We see how their most defining traits can also be their potential undoing.

For questions/co…

The potential for gainful employment is in the air this week as we discuss how unrealistic and potentially harmful it is to use standardized testing as a means to tell 9 year-old children what the co…

Sid's paranoid desperation takes center stage when he thinks he has killed Principal Wartz, while Arnold finds himself in a dino-sized heap of trouble when he and Eugene get stuck on a roller coaster…

We’re knock-knock-knockin’ on heavens door as Grandpa prepares to face the music and buy the proverbial farm. Afterward, Helga finds herself forced to spend time with Miriam and catches a glimpse of …

Madness meets music when we follow Curly’s latest descent into villainy, after which we look further at the perils of parasocial relationships and relish in the unapologetic smarm of one Ronnie Matth…

Stinky finds out what his pride is truly worth, and the results are about as satisfying as finally catching this dang ball in this here cup. Afterward, we have an absolute ball (sans cup) diving back…

We place the show firmly in the sweet spot of the Slice of Life genre as both Sid and Helga find themselves in too deep in their own respective webs of lies and insecure boastfulness.

For questions/c…

We realize Cranky Grandpa is our least favorite iteration of the Sunset Arms patriarch, but find solace and endless amusement in the vocal stylings of Gerald’s changing voice. In the process, we also…

We take a swing at understanding how Arnold’s love of baseball coincides with his need for a father figure, and how he draws strength and guidance from Grandpa, Ernie and Mickey Kaline to fill that r…

Season 3 gets off to a fantastic start when Helga embarks on a hijinks-filled heist to recover an embarrassing answering machine message (remember those?) detailing her love for Harold, while Harold …

We take one last look back at season 2, giving Gerald & Harold their respective flowers as standout characters, in addition to discussing the growing pains inherent in this slice of the “Hey Arnold!”…

Arnold’s attempts to preserve his vision for a parade float honoring the city from Big Bob’s soulless interference brings up a rather timely discussion of the conflict between art and commerce. Meanw…

It’s an age-old tale of the haves versus the have-nots when Arnold & Gerald face off against the deliciously pretentious Rex Smythe-Higgins III in a rousing display of maritime mayhem. Afterward, Arn…

Years ahead of its time, the story of Eugene coping with his hero The Abdicator not being what he seems shows us what happens when fandom goes wrong and reminds us to keep our parasocial relationship…