What's the Story? with Gillian and Shana

It's the first basketball game of the season for Joe's team — will he be able to lead the team to a big win? Prince Hal also wonders about this in Henry IV Part 1, by William Shakespeare, as he struggles to be seen as the leader he believes he can be. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

We are back from our hiatus! The kids face a Rube Goldberg machine and encounter the spookiest parts of Oakdale to complete the Halloween scavenger hunt. Ichabod Crane has his own spooky encounter at the end of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

Welcome to season 2, and thank you for being with us as we celebrate one year of the podcast! In the first episode of this two-part season opener, the kids chase down clues hidden all over Oakdale in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a big prize. Joe is superstitious about the start of basketball season, but Ichabod Crane is confident he understands all the spooky happenings in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

Join us on the last episode of Wishbone season 1 as we approach the first anniversary of the show! Wishbone leads us through recaps of a few of the dozens of stories we've learned about, and we discuss our thoughts on the first year of the podcast. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

Wishbone becomes the face of a hugely popular dog treat brand, but he's worried his family and friends have forgotten that underneath the kilt and bagpipes he's still Wishbone. On the other hand, in the play The Inspector General, by Nikolai Gogol, a clerk is mistaken for a high level government official and leans into this mistaken identity to hilarious effect. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

Talbot family friend Lee is holding an event at the library about Navajo culture and storytelling, and Joe is inspired to learn about his father when he agrees to tell a story about his dad at the event. As Joe gets agitated over his disconnect with his father's memory, Lee shares a story from a Dakota tribe about how the song of a warrior lives on. Content warning: Joe's father died when Joe was a young child. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

The kids suspect there may be a ghost afoot at the library and they initiate a stakeout to protect Joe's mom from foul play. We also learn about the musical paranormal mysteries in a grand opera hall in Paris in the Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux. Our guest is Danny from the podcast Encyclopodia, and we announced that we have joined the Encyclopodia Network! What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

Joe starts running a grocery delivery service in Oakdale well before Instacart was founded, but he isn't treating David and Sam as the trusted advisors and confidants and friends they've always been to him. This reminds Wishbone of the story of King Midas and his too good to be true golden touch. What's the Story? is a part of the Encyclopodia Network. Find other people talking about the things they love and support the network: Website | Twitter | Patreon

Joe tries to prove to his mother that he loves her best, and family friend Señora Julia encourages him to remember that just being Joe Talbot is enough. Señora Julia helps Wishbone teach us about legends of Mexico from hundreds of years ago.

Sam is stumped over a gift for her dad's 40th birthday and she goes on a quest for the perfect present, which leaves her hands and pockets full of phones. Wishbone recounts the mortals, demigods, gods, and Titans that Hercules encounters while searching for the Golden Apples.

Our conversation takes some real twists and turns as Wishbone looks for a lab rat running amok in the school while imagining himself as d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. Content warning: we state that in the actual book a main character man rapes a woman, though we do not discuss this scene and it is not in the adaptation.

We go in depth about our own formative experiences in high school performing arts while David directs his classmates in the big school play amidst conflicts, tension, and hijinks. Denied a role in the Oakdale production, Wishbone plays the magical character of Ariel in the adaptation of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare.

Returning guest Mike joins us to discuss how JT (fka Joe Talbot) treats his friends when his idol freshman basketball hotshot Grady Ray invites him to join his crew. Wishbone takes us through a different young man's inner turmoil and feelings about war in The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane. Content warning: the book is set during battles in the American Civil War and our discussion covers the actors depicting people who died in battle.

Someone is secretly photographic Oakdale kids and humiliating them in a photocopied scandal sheet distributed around town. Does Lady Whistledown have it in for all-around all-star Samantha Kepler? Meanwhile, in A Scandal in Bohemia, by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is bested by someone—a woman.

David has a mishap with his mom's brand new cherry red convertible and his younger sister urges him to confess to their parents. He's a problem solver so he's pretty sure he can solve this problem, too. Wishbone tells us about the story of David (a faithful, hopeful, biblical problem solver) and Goliath.

Sam doggedly leads Wishbone and the boys into an old barn to find a relic from a famous local author. Will she face any consequences when the barn nearly burns down with the kids inside? Her adventure is nearly as dangerous as Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

While recording an episode full of digressions about middle school, we delved into a handful of the many 90s American movies about kids and animals. This is an outtake from S1E25 Furst Impressions. We'll be back with a full-length episode in your feed next week!

A blizzard rolls through Oakdale leaving anger and disappointment in its wake, but its human creators weren't caught red-handed. Revenge is top of mind for David when he's framed as the culprit, just as it was for The Count of Monte Cristo in the novel by by Alexandre Dumas (père).

Joe attempts to wrangle David's younger sister's T-ball team as a new assistant coach and things do not go well for him (though the girls have a great time). Wishbone stars as two characters in The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain. 2x Wishbone = 2x fun = 2x adorable outfits = 2000x as awesome.

The kids are up in arms over rumors around a middle school dance, and Joe is afraid his friendship with Sam and David might not survive a big fight. We also discuss the utterly American phenomenon of middle school dances at great length. And move over Colin Firth—the hottest Darcy in town is Wishbone in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.

Joe works outside the system to donate leftover cafeteria food to a food bank, but there's a little more red tape than he expected. He's just like Robin Hood, who steals from the rich to help the underprivileged in The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Robert Pyle,

Joe struggles to succeed in a math unit about fractions and percentages, reminding us of math tests from our past. Wishbone travels thousands of years into the future in The Time Machine, by HG Wells.

Hot takes and cold feet: listen to our divergent thoughts on bedsheets in this digression from S1E21 The Canine Cure. We'll be back with a full episode next week!

Gillian shares her forays into competitive forensics (it has nothing to do with murder). We discuss Joe's extremely 90s not-at-all secret crush on his history teacher and solve the mystery of The Purloined Letter, by Edgar Allan Poe.

Joe's classmate Nathaniel spends the night with the Talbots, and Wishbone might be added to his long list of allergies. We also see a fantastical and comical adaptation of the play The Imaginary Invalid, by Molière.

Wanda is infatuated with a new man and seems to reject her blossoming relationship with the kids' teacher Mr. Pruitt. We also see an adaptation of the story of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. This episode features our guest Jess! Content warning: suicide (at end of book and discussion thereafter)

Guests Dilpreet and Parth join Shana to delve into the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from 1,001 Arabian Nights. Meanwhile in Oakdale, David gets caught up in stolen money shenanigans... on the internet.

Wishbone leads the kids on a journey to a piece of Oakdale history. Jules Verne tries to lead us on a Journey to the Center of the Earth. Only one of these stories makes sense. Content warnings: hospitalization of family members, death of a spouse (fictional)

David is very secretive about his science fair project on the secret of life. He needs to watch out for what Dr. Victor Frankenstein completely missed when his experiments went exactly as he wanted in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.

Join Shana and guest host Dr. Sarah as Wishbone encounters two very different perspectives on "supervision" in Oakdale. He also transports us to Paris and London for A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Content warning: discussion of rape in the original book (after episode recap portion)

Joe per usual is a terrible dog owner and forsakes Wishbone's health and safety for a new mountain bike. Shana gets really into the story of Silas Marner and author George Eliot.

The boys are flummoxed when Sam spends her free time teaching bumbling classmate Nathaniel how to play roller hockey. Wishbone reminds us of the power of kindness in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo.

The kids compete in a spelling bee and Sam, David, and Joe are up for the challenge. Wishbone tells us what seems like a completely unrelated story, the tale of the knight Ivanhoe, by Walter Scott.

Joe is enamored with the Wish-o-matic, a virtual reality helmet that helps you visualize your wildest desires, while Wishbone and Wanda continually find themselves at odds. Along the lines of wish fulfillment and empathy... Wishbone tells Goethe's version of the legend of Faust.

Joe tries his best to achieve a world record. Wishbone tells us about the imaginative hero Don Quixote and his quest for fame on his own terms, in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes.

Sam steels herself to save Joe and David's soccer team during the championship game, which reminds Wishbone of the story of Joan of Arc, as written by Mark Twain.

Wishbone and Joe learn about life in Oakdale 100 years ago during a visit from the woman who grew up in their house. We learn the American Revolutionary War era tale of Rip Van Winkle from the short story by Washington Irving.

Wishbone is accused of vandalizing his neighborhood, and his friends must help show he's innocent of all charges. We learn about the curse of The Hound of the Baskervilles, in the Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The kids try their hand at poetry and David gets a little nudge. Wishbone tells us about another wordsmith who shared their words, Cyrano de Bergerac in the play by Edmond Rostand.

David's uncle is in town to lead a performance of West African storytelling. David learns how to use his imagination to problem-solve his way past embarrassment, with a little help from Wishbone and Anansi. This episode features our guest Mike!

The kids learn about being civic minded when they try to protect a beloved tree from a money-hungry developer. Wishbone tells us some stories from The Odyssey, by Homer. This episode features our guest Nick!

Wishbone falls in love at first sight, reminding him of the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. This episode features our first guest, Dr. Sarah! Content warnings: suicide (fictionalized and in reality), euthanizing animals

#BlackLivesMatter This week we are amplifying Black voices by sharing recommendations of podcasts that help us develop empathy and practice anti-racism.

Things are going missing in Oakdale but luckily our meddling preteens are on the case. Wishbone tells us about Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, though we don't learn much.

Discover what's in the No Name Grave—and find out whether Tom and Huck are up to no good—in this conclusion to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (and Wishbone and Joe).

Wishbone accompanies Joe to a mysterious part of the park. He also dons doggy suspenders to play Tom in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Join us as we rewatch the 90s PBS series Wishbone, which featured a talking dog, a variety of well-known stories, and a ton of adventures.