“You realize that it's not a parent's job to tell children who they are. It's a parent's job to meet their children where they are and help them grow into the person that they are, you could say, destined to become.”

-Julia Washington

Welcome back to “OutThink the Classics,” my own personal quest to contextualize classic pop culture for modern families.

We continue our first series, “Exploring Evil,” exploring the concept of evil in classical stories and how it relates to parenting and kids. Part 2 of Loki welcomes Julia Washington & Dr. Drea Letamendi to our library to connect Loki to parenting, psychology, and pop culture.

Learn more about OutThink Media

Cindy Marie Jenkins, Host & Creative Producer

Julia Washington & Dr. Drea Letamendi, Special Guests

Dr. Drea Letamendi (she/her/ella) is a clinical psychologist, media consultant, and two-time TEDx speaker with degrees and training from Cornell University, UCSD, and UCLA. For 3 years, Dr. Drea served as the Interim Director of the Resilience Center at UCLA known as “RISE.” As the Associate Director of Mental Health Training, Intervention, and Response for UCLA's Residential Life, she leads projects in the areas of resilience, crisis-response, and suicide prevention. Dr. Drea has a private practice as a behavioral health advisor for the gaming, visual effects, and entertainment media industries (including Warner Bros, Disney, and Riot games), and has written publications about the positive impacts of media storytelling on mental health, as covered in the Atlantic, the Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times. She created and hosts The Arkham Sessions, a podcast about the psychology of Batman and other pop culture narratives. Her latest publication with Springer is titled, The Force Awakens: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Using Star Wars.

Julia Washington is an artist, writer, and podcast host. In 2014 she was one of 14 writers for the inaugural community novel facilitated by the Stanislaus County Library. In 2017 her story 'That Face' was published in the Penman Review. She is the creator and host of Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous and Jelly Pops Book Club podcasts. Her hand-painted greeting card designs are not your mother’s Hallmark cards. Her hand-poured candles are literary-themed and come with a book recommendation. She currently lives in Modesto, California where she teeters between existential dread and watching too much television. You can find her on Instagram or TikTok @thejuliawashington.

Avi Glijanksy, Podcast Producer

Adam Emperor Southard, Theme Composer (also a fantastic photographer)

Annie Collins, PR & Marketing Manager

Angela Zhong, Logo Designer/OutThink Media

Maria Pasquarelli, Canva Coordinator

Produced by CMJ Communications LLC, DBA OutThink Media

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1. Jenkins, Cindy Marie, “How the Bad Guys Teach Kid Empathy,” OutThink Media, 24 October, 2022.
2. “Loki,” Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous, Season 2, Episode 14, https://www.popculturemakesmejealous.com/listen/loki .
3. “The Politics of Loving the Bad Guy,” Princess Weekes on YouTube, 24 February 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JewRMqUErNg .
4. Jenkins, Cindy Marie, “The Marvels: When the Villain is the Hero of Their Own Story,” OutThink Media, 11 November 2023, https://outthinkmedia.com/2023/11/11/the-marvels-when-the-villain-is-the-hero-of-their-own-story/ .
5. “Finding Your Roots,” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/show/finding-your-roots/ .
6. Instagram and TikTok @thejuliawashington
7. Episode 168: Loki, The Arkham Sessions, https://drdreapsychology.com/thearkhamsessionspodcast .
8. Letamendi, Drea, “The God of Mischief Who Would be King: The Psychology of Loki, Fandom, 3 June 2021, https://www.fandom.com/articles/loki-psychology-mcu-marvel.
9. CPPA Students, “Peudaimonia: Positive Psychology Series,” Medium, 20 July 2021, https://cppastudents.medium.com/peudaimonia-positive-psychology-concept-series-91da936944a2