The podcast that shares stories
Ali celebrates the first anniversary of Storytelling Saga by sharing behind-the-scene details of the podcast from preparing, recording and editing to her goals for the podcast as it heads into its second year. She also shares some advice if you’re thinking about starting your own podcast, and she shares an extremely short story she wrote a while back called “Rules of Rejection.”
Ali and special guest, Sylvie, discuss the Netflix special, Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling, written by series creator, Joe Murray, with additional writing from Mr. Lawrence, Martin Olson, Cosmo Segurson, Dan Becker and Tom Smith. They discuss first reactions to finding out Rocko’s Modern Life was getting a special, favorite meta jokes and callbacks, thoughts on the overall theme and message, their opinions on how this special compares to other Nicktoon reboots and much more!
Check out Sylvie’s podcasts, the Sylvie Soul Writing podcast and The Vacant Lot – a Hey Arnold! podcast, as well as her website, sylviesoul.com. Also, be sure to follow her on Twitter.
Ali discusses the powerful imagery and the connecting theme of motherhood in Sue Monk Kidd’s critically acclaimed novel, The Secret Life of Bees.
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!
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.
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!
Ali shares stories about her cousins growing up involving video games, family vacations, sleepovers and holidays.
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.
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.
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.