Ali discusses the powerful imagery and the connecting theme of motherhood in Sue Monk Kidd’s critically acclaimed novel, The Secret Life of Bees.
Episode 51 — The Secret Life of Bees
Episode 50 — Rugrats
Ali discusses her all-time favorite childhood cartoon and one of the original three Nicktoons, Rugrats, created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain. She shares some of her favorite episodes and heartwarming moments throughout the series, plus all the ways she admires her favoritest baby, Tommy Pickles. A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do!
Episode 49 — “A Most Blessed and Auspicious Occasion”
Ali discusses a short story about the complications of planning a simple wedding called “A Most Blessed and Auspicious Occasion” from Raphel Bob-Waksberg’s book of short stories, Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory. She also touches on a few lines from other stories in the book that resonated with her.
Episode 48 — The Lion King Movies
Ali discusses the classic Disney movie, The Lion King (1994), its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998), as well as its clever retelling, The Lion King 1½ (2004). She shares her thoughts on everything that makes the original film such an absolute masterpiece. She also reminisces about seeing The Lion King musical on Broadway, and she compares the original movie to the 2019 remake. Hakuna matata!
Episode 47 — Cousin Chronicles
Ali shares stories about her cousins growing up involving video games, family vacations, sleepovers and holidays.
Episode 46 — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Ali discusses Betty Smith’s bestselling novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She shares all the ways she admires and relates to the heroine, Francie Nolan, and she talks about the significance of the tree’s metaphor throughout the novel.
Episode 45 — Seinfeld
Ali discusses the iconic show about nothing, Seinfeld, created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. She shares her favorite episodes, noteworthy catchphrases and relatable situations that make this sitcom so timeless and one of her all-time favorite series.
Episode 44 — Toy Story Movies
Ali discusses the first Pixar feature film, Toy Story (1995), and its sequels, Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019). She shares her favorite moments from each movie that make up this phenomenal franchise and capture the universal themes of friendship, growing up, purpose, unconditional love and adventure from these beloved toys.
Episode 43 — South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Ali discusses the movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, written by series creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Pam Brady. She reminisces about watching the movie for the first time with her siblings on a long car ride home, re-living all the filthy language and fantastic songs.
Episode 42 — Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series
Ali discusses the popular fan parody series, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, created by LittleKuriboh. She shares her favorite ridiculously hilarious moments from the spoof series while attempting to make sense of the actual series’ plot. She also reveals which pairing she’d ship. “Screw the rules, I have [a podcast]!”