Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're honored to welcome legendary television creator, producer, and puppeteer Sid Krofft! As one half of the iconic duo Sid & Marty Krofft, Sid helped shape generations of childhood memories through imaginative, groundbreaking series like H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. The brothers later brought their creativity to a new era with the Nick Jr. hit Mutt & Stuff, ...
Nov 29, 2025•57 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we are joined by executive producer and children's television creator Don Moody! Don's career started as a fine artist, before founding the advertising agency Moody Communications. He then entered the world of television production, where he was an associate producer on several shows with ABC. He is best known for co-creating WordWorld, a PBS Kids show that originally stemmed from a series of books and to...
Nov 22, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we welcome the multi-talented puppeteer, puppet wrangler, producer, and writer Jamie Donmoyer! Jamie pupeteered for Sesame Street in the Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic attraction at Universal Studios Japan, contributed to the holiday special Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, and performed with the Sesame gang in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was an additional puppeteer on Johnny and the Sprite...
Nov 15, 2025•58 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're joined by award-winning children's musician and singer-songwriter Justin Roberts! Before becoming one of the most beloved names in family music, Justin got his start in the indie-folk scene as a founding member of Pimentos for Gus. After the band's split, he found his true calling creating smart, heartfelt, and irresistibly catchy songs for kids and parents alike—beginning with his 1997 debut album,...
Nov 08, 2025•56 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we speak with the incredibly talented Jean Marie Keevins — a puppet artist, producer, writer, designer, and one of the most versatile creative forces in the puppetry world! Jean Marie shares her fascinating journey from building puppets for Avenue Q and Disney on Ice to her time as Vice President of Puppet Heap, where she coordinated puppet builds for numerous projects with The Muppets. You will also hear...
Nov 01, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're joined by two incredible talents who helped shape the voices of our childhoods, Sonja Ball and Rick Jones! Sonja is best known for bringing to life beloved characters such as Wimzie on Wimzie's House, Jane Read (Arthur's mom) on Arthur, Huckle Cat on The Busy World of Richard Scarry, and Spookley from Spookley the Square Pumpkin. Rick voiced C.L.Y.D.E. in C.L.Y.D.E. and Fu-Fu on Sagwa, the Chinese S...
Oct 26, 2025•1 hr 8 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're thrilled to welcome writer and producer Scott Kraft! Scott has had an incredible impact on children's television, with a career spanning beloved animated and live-action projects. From his early work with Nelvana on classics like Rolie Polie Olie, George Shrinks, and Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, to co-creating the musical hit The Fresh Beat Band with his wife and creative partner Nadine van de...
Oct 19, 2025•44 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we are joined by Vivian Bayubay McLaughlin, best known to Playhouse Disney fans as Vivian, one of the beloved hosts of the preschool favorite Out of the Box! Vivian shares how she landed the role, her favorite songs and crafts from the show, what it was like to perform in the Playhouse Disney Live! tours, and so much more. We also dive into the lasting legacy of Out of the Box, the impact it's had on gene...
Oct 12, 2025•1 hr 48 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we welcome television and film producer Dete Meserve. Dete shares her journey from serving as executive producer on the PBS Kids hit Ready Jet Go! to taking the reins as executive producer and showrunner of Weather Hunters, the newest PBS Kids series created by America's beloved weathercaster Al Roker. This conversation touches on the importance of teaching kids about weather and science in fun, accessibl...
Oct 04, 2025•20 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we welcome actor, writer, producer, and creator Wesley Eure! Known to millions for his role as Michael Horton on Days of Our Lives and as Will Marshall on the beloved sci-fi adventure Land of the Lost, Wesley's career spans across soap operas, television, film, and children's entertainment. He's appeared in series like Insight and CHiPs, acted in films such as C.H.O.M.P.S., Tool Box Murders, and Jennifer,...
Sep 27, 2025•1 hr 20 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're thrilled to welcome back voice actress and children's musical artist Debi Derryberry for her third appearance! Beloved for bringing countless animated characters to life, Debi now turns her talents toward soothing songs with her brand-new lullaby album, Go to Sleep, releasing September 26th. In this episode, Debi shares the inspiration behind the album, the creative process of crafting music to calm...
Sep 20, 2025•32 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we welcome acclaimed music supervisor and composer Jeff Zahn, whose work has soundtracked some of the most beloved children's television of the past three decades. Jeff's credits include iconic series like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, Madeline, Arthur, Wimzie's House, and Caillou—for which he also wrote the unforgettable theme song. Jeff composed the music for the film Sp...
Sep 13, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're joined by the talented children's director and producer Koyalee Chanda! Koyalee got her start on the groundbreaking Nick Jr. favorite Blue's Clues, where she directed and wrote episodes, directed the show's memorable "video letters", and even provided the original voice of the character Magenta. From there, her directing journey took her to SeeMore's Playhouse, Sesame Street's beloved "What's the Wo...
Sep 06, 2025•1 hr 30 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we welcome actress, composer, and teaching artist Liz Filios! From 2010 to 2012, Liz brought joy to young viewers as one of the hosts of Sprout's morning block, The Sunny Side Up Show. Continuing her work with kids, she went on to create Storytime in the Zoom Room in 2020, a free interactive learning space for children and caretakers. Beyond her work in children's entertainment, Liz is an accomplished sta...
Aug 30, 2025•51 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we honor another puppeteer who is no longer with us, by interviewing Jan Nelson, the wife of legendary puppeteer Jerry Nelson, best known for originating the roles of Count von Count and Herry Monster on Sesame Street, Floyd Pepper, Robin the Frog, and Lew Zealand on The Muppets, Gobo Fraggle on Fraggle Rock, and Emmet Otter on Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, just to name a few. Join us as we discuss ho...
Aug 23, 2025•1 hr 24 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we welcome back legendary puppeteer and puppet builder Jim Kroupa for a deeper dive into his career in the world of puppetry, after speaking to him previously for the Between the Lions reunion special. Jim got his start with The Jim Henson Company as an additional puppeteer on The Muppets Take Manhattan, and went on to bring countless beloved characters to life — from Batly on Eureeka's Castle, to Otto Ot...
Aug 17, 2025•2 hr 48 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we spoke with Kristin DiQuollo and Chris Loggins, both of which who work for Fred Rogers Productions, where Kristin is a co-executive producer on Donkey Hodie and Chris is a supervising producer on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Our discussion today covers the upcoming crossover special, Daniel Tiger Visits Someplace Else. We talk about what went into bringing these two worlds together, the puppet versions ...
Aug 09, 2025•24 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're joined by blogger and journalist Allison McClain Merrill! Allison is a travel writer and pop culture reporter who is best known for being a historian of one of television's most popular networks, Disney Channel! We discuss favorite shows and DCOMs, the golden era of Disney Channel, any favorite former TV stars she spoke with, and her upcoming book titled The Best of Both Worlds: How Disney Channel B...
Aug 02, 2025•1 hr 20 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're joined by actress Nitya Vidyasagar! From 2008 to 2015, Nitya was beloved by generations as Leela, one of the human characters on Sesame Street. She shares memories of her time on the iconic series, including performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, appearing alongside the Muppets on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and performing in the Jim Henson's Musical World concert at Carnegie Hall. Sh...
Jul 26, 2025•35 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we talk all things Disney with Emmy-winning writer, producer, and director Bobs Gannaway! Bobs began his storied career at Disney developing the Timon & Pumbaa series and executive producing 101 Dalmatians: The Series with longtime collaborator Tony Craig. He went on to create Mickey Mouse Works and the fan-favorite Disney's House of Mouse. Bobs also brought beloved characters to the small screen with...
Jul 19, 2025•59 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, it's another dive into the world of puppetry and show business with puppeteer and actor Brian Jones! For several years, Brian brought characters to life with The Muppets, contributing to projects like Muppets Most Wanted and the 2015 ABC Muppets series. On stage, he wowed audiences with Puppet Up!, and beyond the world of puppetry, he showcased his acting chops in popular shows like Community, Bones, Wilf...
Jul 12, 2025•59 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we sit down with the incredibly versatile and accomplished session singer Randy Crenshaw! From Beetlejuice to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Randy's vocal work has been the hidden heartbeat of countless beloved films and series. For decades, he's lent his talent to a wide range of Disney projects — including the Winnie the Pooh franchise, The Thirteenth Year, and Phineas and Ferb. Randy also shares his e...
Jul 05, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we talk puppetry and pop culture with the incredibly talented puppeteer and puppet builder John Cody! John shares his fascinating journey through the world of puppetry, from his freelance work on Sesame Street, including the Cookie Monster's Bake Sale specials and helping bring back fan-favorite Barkley, to performing at the beloved Sesame Street attractions. We also dive into his work on the Apple TV+ se...
Jun 29, 2025•2 hr 1 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome Katherine Pully, a former child actress best known for her role as Beth on Barney & Friends during Seasons 7 and 8! Katherine shares her memories of working on the beloved children's series, from what it was like filming with the iconic purple dinosaur to her favorite behind-the-scenes moments. She also reflects on how her time on Barney shaped her childhood, the friend...
Jun 21, 2025•37 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! In this episode, we're joined by the incredibly talented Canadian puppet artist and performer, Matt Ficner! Known for his unique characters and imaginative designs, Matt has brought countless puppets to life across television and film. We dive into his early work on The Noddy Shop, where he co-created the show's beloved puppets alongside the late Noreen Young and performed characters like Rusty, Lichtenstein, Fred, ...
Jun 14, 2025•32 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! In this episode of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we welcome the legendary voice behind some of animation's most unforgettable characters — Charlie Adler! With a career spanning decades, Charlie has brought to life an iconic range of roles, from Nat Smurfling on The Smurfs, Mad Dog on TaleSpin, and Buster Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures, to Ed and Bev Bighead on Rocko's Modern Life, Ickis on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and ...
Jun 07, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome the incredibly talented Canadian actress and voice artist Jennifer Seguin! Best known as the voice of Doris, Caillou's mom on the long-running children's series Caillou, Jennifer has brought warmth, humor, and heart to countless beloved characters across children's television. From Graziella on Wimzie's House and Millicent Crosswire on Arthur to Mom on Rotten Ralph, Madelei...
May 31, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! In this episode, we're joined by the dynamic Canadian composing duo Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins, the musical minds behind some of the most beloved children's shows of the past few decades. If you grew up watching PBS Kids, chances are you've heard their unforgettable work! From Peep and the Big Wide World to Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, Design Squad, WordGirl and Super Why!, Steve and Terry have helped shape the ...
May 24, 2025•45 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome the multitalented Aubrey Miller! Aubrey has been lighting up screens and stages since childhood, getting her start as the Junior Beats version of Kiki on Nick Jr.'s The Fresh Beat Band and showing off her dance moves in Just Dance Kids 2. From there, she landed guest roles on hit shows like Kickin' It, Sam & Cat, Shameless, and Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. Disney Cha...
May 17, 2025•46 min
Welcome to Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, the podcast where nostalgia comes alive! This week, we're joined by the legendary songwriting duo Michael and Patty Silversher! Known for crafting some of the most iconic and beloved tunes in children's television, the Silvershers have been the musical minds behind countless favorites from Disney and The Jim Henson Company. From writing the unforgettable theme songs for Adventures of the Gummi Bears and TaleSpin to penning songs for Chip 'n Dale Rescue Ran...
May 10, 2025•1 hr 24 min
