Kathryn Van Arendonk is a critic at New York Magazine who writes about TV and comedy, and I (Miranda) have loved her work for a long time. I was watching a lot of Bluey when I first started realizing that all my favorite TV reviews on New York Magazine’s Vulture site were written by the same person, and that person was Kathryn! It felt like magic when she started writing about Bluey and like even MORE magic when Kathryn announced that she will be writing a book (a “cultural deep-dive”) about Bluey that will be out in 2027. She’s currently elbow-deep in Bluey research and she joined us to explore the phenomenon that is Bluey, to answer all our questions about Bluey creator Joe Brumm (like has he left the show?? is Bluey about to be ensh•ttified??) and more.
Links:
* Kathryn’s Joe Brumm profile for New York Magazine
* The Daniel Tiger Conspiracy subreddit
* Hilda
If you love the work we do on Mother Of It All, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscribers get access to everything behind the paywall, like subscriber-only episodes, book reviews and more. If you subscribe at the founding member level, we’ll send you one of our awesome tote bags. And it’s always free and helpful to follow, share, rate and review our show here and everywhere else you listen to podcasts you love. Thank you!
* Visit our Bookshop storefront to find all the books we’ve mentioned here and in previous episodes. When you shop there, we get a small affiliate fee (yay, thank you!).
* Visit motherofitall.com to send us ideas for a future episode or learn more about the show.
* Follow the podcast on Instagram (@themotherofitall) or Bluesky (@motherofitallpod.bsky.social)
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.