A weekly podcast about young adult literature, their film and television adaptations and everything in between. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Brenna Clarke Gray Podcasts
Praxis pedagogy exists to promote those who are honing their craft as educators. Life is an apprenticeship and we want to support a rising guild of educators across all disciplines and backgrounds who wish to center their praxis and their pedagogy on what really matters.
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Thanks to listener requests, Brenna and Joe dig into the fantasy world of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart and its 2008 film adaptation starring Brendan Fraser. It's...not what we expected. In addition to less driving, Joe wanted more fantasy, while Brenna wanted more famous characters. Possible reasons this didn't connect for us: translation issues and t…
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Book Club Announcement: Just Listen (June 2025)
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At the request of Miriam, we're re-starting Book Club! Our first pick is Sarah Dessen's Just Listen (2006), which concerns rape and eating disorders (C/W). In order to proceed, we need your thoughts! Send us an email response at [email protected] before June 20th! Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @b…
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Brenna and Joe tackle the buzzy four episode Netflix limited series Adolescence (2025). Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham (with all episodes directed by Philip Barantini), the show has drawn raves for its single long take format and outstanding acting. But what's missing from the discussion? Does it earn the acclaim? And what should a poten…
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Brenna and Joe have a quick conversation about Miriam's email regarding the stark realities of Olympic winners, with a quick comparison to lottery winners. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray > Joe: @bstolemyremote (Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky) Have a ma…
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Brenna and Joe return to inspirational sports movies with The Fire Inside (2024), but this is secretly two movies in one! The first is the story of Clarissa "T-Rex" Shields fighting for boxing gold at the Olympics; the second is what happens upon her return to Flint, Michigan. Anchored by two stellar performances from Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree H…
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Mailbag 42: Comic Adaptations and Kids on Screen
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We're back with a fresh Mailbag courtesy of Sophie and Tea, Books and Chocolate. First up: a question about the popularity of comic adaptations of books such as the After series?! Then, a response about the recent Quiet on Set episode which further complicates the issue of kids working in entertainment. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us…
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Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024)
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Thanks to a prompt from listener Victoria, we're checking out Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024), the five part docuseries exposing harmful working conditions on Nickelodeon shows in the early 2000s. It's grim to say the least, not just for survivors like Drake Bell, but broadly speaking all of media that employs children. Should we even…
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We're checking out director Sydney Freeland's Indigenous basketball movie, Rez Ball (2024). C/W: suicide (off-screen) Co-written by Reservation Dogs' Sterlin Harjo, this underdog feel-good sports film does exactly what you expect and not much else (Prompting another round of "it's fine, why does it need to be more?"). Still, at nearly 2 hours, Joe …
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Brenna and Joe return with their first book to film adaptation episode with a discussion of Scott Westerfeld's 2005 dystopian novel Uglies and the long delayed 2024 film adaptation by McG. This is...a miss. The book has extremely shallow commentary and has editing issues, while the film has (yes) ugly CGI hoverboard action and an unconvincing love …
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Brenna and Joe are joined by Conrad Chambers, Joe's co-host from The Queer Gaze podcast, to discuss 2023 UK gay coming of age film Bonus Track. It's a little bit slight, albeit full of charming performances and nicely fills the gap left by Heartstopper and Sex Education. Plus: nepo babies, a Josh O'Connor cameo, and confusion about the period setti…
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Mailbag 41: Heartstopper's Tara & Darcy, Banned Book Club, and Child Actors
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Brenna and Joe are back for another mailbag, with recommendations from Tea, Books and Chocolate, gentle criticism about Heartstopper S03 and a call to action from Miriam, and request for coverage about child actor exploitation on set from Victoria. Want to recommend a book or participate in a new iteration of Banned Book Club? Contribute your sugge…
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Brenna and Joe return to discuss My Old Ass (2024), our second Megan Park text (after The Fallout). Don't let the title put you off! This is an extremely sweet and charming coming of age film, although as listener Spencer wondered: is this more for millennials than actual teens? We tackle the question, as well as the hilarious reverse "coming out" …
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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 adap…
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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 recommenda…
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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…
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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 thi…
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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)…
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A Series of Unfortunate Events S01 Episodes 5-8
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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…
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A Series of Unfortunate Events S01 Episodes 1-4
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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…
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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
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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, m…
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The Twilight Saga: Eclipse feat. Jenny Leigh
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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 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…
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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…
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Under The Bridge feat. Lindsay Traves
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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 ch…
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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: @brennacg…
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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…
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