Avatar: Braving the Elements

Avatar: Braving the Elements

Enter the amazing world of Avatar through the official companion podcast, Avatar: Braving the Elements from Nickelodeon. Join hosts Janet Varney (the voice of “Korra”) and Dante Basco (the voice of “Prince Zuko”) each week as they re-watch every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender then break down key themes, notable battles, and behind-the-scenes trivia you can’t get anywhere else. Special guests from cast members to producers join them to explore elements of the Avatarverse, including the origins of the story and how Avatar was brought to life.

Episodes

July 25, 2023 1 min
The long-awaited Avatar The Last Airbender Soundtrack, Book 1: Water, coming soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Join us for a special milestone as we celebrate the 100th episode of Braving the Elements! In this rebroadcast from Season 1, Janet and Dante are joined by former Nickelodeon executive (now CEO of Avatar Studios) Eric Coleman, aka "The Godfather of Zuko," for a candid discussion about the development of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Learn about Mike and Bryan's early ideas, their creative process, and valuable insights on navigating ...
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Let's celebrate the funniest moments of Book 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, with comedian and Avatar fan Ron Funches. This episode rebroadcast highlights not only some of Janet, Dante and Ron's favorite scenes but also the moments our fans have shared with us over social media.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Let's celebrate one of the most cherished episodes in Book 2 - "The Tales of Ba Sing Se"! Joined by our dear friend and fellow Avatar stan Danielle Radford, Janet and Dante dive into an epic recap of this special collection of sentimental and emotional Avatar vignettes. We're not crying, you are...  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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We're joined by Lauren Tom, the multi-talented actor and voice artist who brought to life Joo Dee, the smiling guide of Ba Sing Se and so many other memorable characters. Listen as Janet and Dante chat with Lauren about her prolific career in voiceover and on-screen acting, her success as a writer, mother, and being such a prominent figure in the Asian artistic community. In this captivating rebroadcast, Lauren shares her journey a...
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Join Janet and Dante as they continue to celebrate the remarkable Toph Beifong by sitting down with Michaela Jill Murphy (aka Jessie Flower), the original voice of Toph. In this rebroadcast, Michaela shares insights into her life before and after joining the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and how much she relates to Toph's bold personality. This episode promises to be a compelling and insightful conversation about the beloved ...
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Get ready to hear the story of one of the most iconic characters in the world of animation! Join Janet & Dante as they bring back Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko on a nostalgic trip down memory lane to reminisce about the creation of the legendary Toph. With exclusive insights into the creative process, we'll unpack early character concept designs and their evolution to the Toph we all know and love today. This rebroadcast promi...
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It’s the last official episode of Braving The Elements season two, and we’re going out big with two returning guests: our “dad” Mike DiMartino and the voice of Aang, Zach Tyler Eisen! Hear from two adored members of the ATLA world as we face the final episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Two. The action-packed finale of the television season may not have as happy a conclusion as the one we have closing out our podcast season...
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March 21, 2023 41 mins
In our penultimate Season Two episode, Janet and Dante welcome back Ijeoma Njaka to the pod! Who better to explore some of Book Two’s most formative and critical turning point moments than Ijeoma, an academic professor who created a class syllabus highlighting some of the great “big picture” themes of Avatar: The Last Airbender? The trio explores Zuko’s journey, the power of knowledge -- and its risks — and much more, including lot...
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March 14, 2023 41 mins
This week Janet and Dante welcome the actor who stepped in as Uncle Iroh: the delightful Greg Baldwin! Meet the warm, kind, and humble voice of the man who truly honored his predecessor by joining the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" cast after the passing of the great Mako. Always committed to respecting and continuing the work that Mako began, Greg shares some of his own background in the arts, his love of voice acting, and how his l...
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March 7, 2023 47 mins
Our friend Migizi Pensoneau takes a break from writing on “Reservation Dogs” for this week’s conversation about ATLA 219: “The Guru!" Janet and Dante are thrilled to have Migizi's perspective, humor and insight, since, as they like to say almost every recap and discussion: “A lot happens in this episode!” Book Two draws towards a climax as Sokka reunites with his dad, Azula’s plan is dangerously close to succeeding (will Katara fin...
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Join us in remembering Mako, the legendary actor whose iconic voice brought Uncle Iroh to life. Janet and Dante are joined by Mike, Bryan, and ATLA Voice Director Andrea Romano for a wonderful conversation honoring the great Mako Iwamatsu. In addition to sharing memories of Mako’s work as Iroh in "Avatar: The Last Airbender," the group looks back on Mako’s extraordinary life and career, including his stage, screen, and television w...
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February 21, 2023 33 mins
Reunited for the first time on a Braving The Elements episode: the voices of Zuko and Azula! Grey DeLisle joins Janet and Dante for their breakdown of ep 218 of ATLA, “The Earth King,” and the trio are delighted to be together at last. Except for a few moments when Azula seems to be trying to take over the narrative…! Will Team Avatar convince the King to believe them? Will Zuko survive his sudden illness? What’s the deal with the ...
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Janet and Dante welcome two amazing advocates in the disability community who also happen to be big fans of the Avatarverse: Jimmy Clare and Ru Jones! Jimmy Clare is a Motivational Speaker, Autism Advocate, Author, and Founder of CrazyFitnessGuy, and Ru Jones is a Disability advocate + content creator! Both bring their love of Avatar: The Last Airbender to BTE, and sharing their perspectives on the represenation of disability in th...
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February 7, 2023 51 mins
Come with us… for a tranquil visit to Lake Laogai… with Joel Kim Booster! Janet and Dante are thrilled to be joined this episode by the inimitable and truly hilarious Joel, as together they dig into the Gaang’s encounter with the mercurial Jet, their further attempts to rescue Appa, and the discovery of a significant secret woven into the political and cultural fabric of Ba Sing Se itself. And speaking of discoveries, you’ll find o...
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Celebrate the gorgeous design of Ba Sing Se and more with three key artists of the Avatarverse! This week Janet and Dante welcome the brilliantly talented Elsa Garagarza, Angela Song Mueller, and podcast regular and “dad,” Bryan Konietzko! Find out incredible behind-the-scenes details as Elsa (Supervising Background Designer) and Angela (Character Designer) talk about their artistic development and roles in the Avatarverse. Learn a...
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January 24, 2023 43 mins
Janet and Dante recover from “Appa’s Lost Days” with the brilliant and hilarious Ron Funches! What better way to transition from the emotionally poignant Appa-centric episode of Book Two to the rest of the season? By taking a break with one of the funniest comedians around to focus on some of the joyful, silly, and especially funny moments of ATLA, with particular focus on the second season. You’ll also hear from Ron about how he f...
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January 17, 2023 57 mins
The wonderful Evanna Lynch (aka Luna Lovegood in “Harry Potter”) comes back to the podcast for “Appa’s Lost Days!” Janet and Dante can’t imagine a better guest to weather the heartache of this crucial and unique episode of ATLA, when we find out what happened from the moment Appa was taken away as Toph struggled to keep The Library from sinking in that eponymous episode. How many tissues will it take to absorb our tears as we talk ...
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We’re not done celebrating the magic of “The Tales of Ba Sing Se.” This week we welcome two of episode's writers, Andrew Huebner and Katie Mattila! Janet and Dante are thrilled to be joined by writers Katie Mattila (“The Tale of Zuko”) and Andrew Huebner (“The Tale of Iroh”) for one of the podcast’s best behind-the-scenes episodes yet. Find out more about how The Tales came to be, including what Katie and Andrew’s actual “regular" ...
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January 3, 2023 37 mins
It's the start of a brand new year, friends! Whether you're a bender or non-bender, we hope you're having a fantastic start to 2023.  This week, we have a special re-broadcast of our delightful conversation with the amazing Grey DeLisle, the voice actress who played Azula on ATLA - getting deep into her experience recording on the series, and what projects she's keeping busy with outside the Avatarverse. And yes, we get to hear the...
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