Hi, everybody, I’m back! It’s me, your pal Count Vacula, with a brand-new No Filter with Count Vacula!I think you’ll have a lot of fun meeting today’s guest! His name is Ray Porter, and he’s an actor and voice artist who’s performed in all kinds of cool things! Ray has been in TV shows and movies your grown-up might have seen, like Frasier, and Argo, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League—and he’s been in some that you might have seen, like Curious George, and The Little Engine That Could, and The...

Hi, everybody!I’m really excited about today’s show, because Macho is here with me and we get to snack on his delicious “Macho Nachos” while we answer more of the cool questions listeners like you sent in this season!I can’t tell you enough how much all of us in the Neighborhood love hearing from you. Whether it’s a suggestion for us, or artwork you made, or sharing something that you wanted us to know about, we’re always delighted to get your letters. And we’re extra happy when we get to...

Greetings, listeners. It is I, Count Vacula's Great-uncle Vacstradamus. Also known as Gruncle Vaxie. Isn't that amusing?You know what else is amusing?No, I am asking you. Please tell me.Today, my young friends, I welcome you to “Gruncle Vaxie’s Grown-Up Corner.” Do not worry. This is not an episode for grown-ups. This is an episode about grown-ups.Poor grown-ups. Poor, poor grown-ups. Their lives are very hard. They work boring jobs. They never get to play tag. And they have hardly any...

Has anyone ever dared you to do something? Maybe it was something silly, like hopping on one leg all day, or only talking Pig Latin at lunchtime. Or maybe it was something that felt dangerous, like petting a strange dog, or jumping off the swings. But no matter what it was—what if you just didn’t want to do it?When someone dares us to do something—is it okay to say “no”? What if we already said yes, but then we change our minds? These are some of the questions Cap’n Marion is asking in this...

Hi, everybody!Today’s episode is all about one of my favorite things ever—music!I love all kinds of music. I love hip-hop and classical and mariachi and punk and jazz and reggae and folk and blues and . . . well, you get the point. One of the coolest things about music is that it can make different people feel different ways—even if they’re listening to the very same song! A piece of music that fills me with energy might make someone else feel relaxed. Or a song that makes someone else smile...

Hi there, Listeners!  Oh, um, I mean . . .LisTINers? Listenersesessess? . . . Hmmm...Anyway, friends—this week on The Imagine Neighborhood™ we’re doing a Q&A episode, which is where we answer (As!) questions (Qs!) sent in this season by YOU, our awesome Neighbors!  Or, eh . . . Should we call you "Neighborinos". . . or maybe "Neighborlings"?Well, we'll get back to that . . .As I was saying, today Vac and I got to go through all the mail we’ve received this season and decided to read your...

Hey everybody, it’s your pal Count Vacula! I’m super excited because today I get to share a very special BONUS episode of No Filter with you, featuring my good friend, “Weird Al” Yankovic (https://www.weirdal.com/)!He and I met last season, but we had such a terrific time getting to know each other that we talked and talked and talked and talked for so long that not all of it could be in the original show. But Al has a really awesome movie coming out today called WEIRD:The Al Yankovic...

Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s okay. What’s important is what we do after the mistake to help make things right! One of the very first things someone can do to help make things right is to apologize. But what if the person apologizing doesn’t really mean it? Is it enough to just say the words, “I’m sorry”? And do you have to accept an apology even if it isn’t sincere?Evil Billionaire Hamster Tantrumus Maximus sure thinks so! In this week’s episode, Tantrumus is feeling very frustrated....

It’s the season for tricks and treats, and here in the Neighborhood, we love to celebrate Halloween with scary decorations and all kinds of spooky fun! But what makes something scary? Is everybody scared by the same things? Scotty and Vac thought so, until they invited Alakazambra over to see the cool haunted house they made last year. It had monsters, and alien eggs, and bowls of eyeballs . . . and Alakazambra wasn’t frightened at all! It turns out that when you’ve been battling demons for...

Hey there, everybody! It’s me, Count Vacula, bringing you a brand-new No Filter with Count Vacula and a brand-new friend to meet!I’m so excited about today’s guest! Her name is Kari Byron (http://www.karibyron.com/) and most people know her from the TV show MythBusters, where Kari and her friends conducted all kinds of crazy science experiments to learn the truth about things. They tested everything from whether elephants are actually scared of mice (they aren’t) to whether a person can...

If you wanted a glass of juice, you wouldn’t ask for a glass of moose, would you?If you wanted to go to the park, you wouldn’t ask to go to the shark, would you?Using the correct name for things is important—and using the correct name for a person is even more important! Because if you call your juice a moose, no one’s feelings will get hurt. But a person’s name is a big part of their identity, and saying their name wrong can make them feel very sad . . . in fact, in this week’s episode,...

Hi there, everybody! It’s me, your pal Count Vacula, bringing you a new No Filter with Count Vacula, and introducing you to another interesting new friend!Today’s guest is Dr. Marion Nestle, PhD! Her favorite thing (and one of my favorite things, and probably one of your favorite things, too) is food! She has spent her whole life studying food, and her main job is teaching people about the best foods to help keep your body—and even your pets’ bodies—healthy and strong. Sometimes we choose our...

Do you call it a see-saw, or a teeter-totter? Do you call it soda, or pop? Do you say wash, or warsh? Do you call them sneakers, or tennis shoes, or maybe kicks?  Do you “get ready” to do something, or “fix” to do it?  The way that people speak is called their “dialect,” and these are all examples of various dialects. Your dialect can reflect a lot of things about your identity—like your ethnic or cultural heritage, what part of the country you live in, and even where your neighborhood...

Oh boy oh boy! Hey, friends! It’s me—Count Vacula, starting off a brand-new season of No Filter with Count Vacula just for you!My first guest is named Riley Black, and she has maybe the most fun job in the world. She’s a paleontologist, which means she studies dinosaurs! And Riley doesn’t just study them—she’s an explorer who hunts for fossils and dinosaur bones in the desert. Riley loves to learn all about the way the world was millions of years ago, and she also loves to teach other people...

Hi there, listeners!Summer’s almost over, but (buuuu-uuuuuut!) that’s good news—because it means that a brand new season of The Imagine Neighborhood is right around the corner!Everyone here is so excited to share all of our exciting new adventures, and introduce you to all of our awesome new friends!  In Season Five we'll ride roller coasters, find wizard treasure, talk to space chickens, steal tiny spoons, do feats of daring, throw birthday parties, stop a royal rout, and of course, eat lots...

Helloooo out there you radical rockers, and happy summer! It’s me, Doctor Apocalypso, coming to you live from the Doc Apocapalooza music festival where ten thousand fans are having an awesome time jamming out to my newest song “The Way I Say I Love You!”  You heard a short version of the song in the Great Breakfast Mess (https://www.imagineneighborhood.org/podcast-1/episode/256c5207/doctor-apocalypso-and-the-great-breakfast-mess) episode, but today we’re sharing the whole entire thing, so...

Everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes they’re small mistakes, like forgetting our jacket or dropping a fork on the floor. Sometimes they’re bigger mistakes, like breaking a rule or being unkind to someone. But whether the mistake is big or little, we might feel embarrassed, upset, or even scared about it. What if the mistake makes someone angry? What if they yell at us? What if we can’t figure out how to make things right? . . . These are the questions that Doctor Apocalypso is asking herself...

Hi, friends—guess what? It’s almost time for summer break, so today I get to bring you this season’s very last episode of ...

Have you ever felt scared? I sure have. It can be really hard to feel scared feelings, and it can be confusing, too. Like, I know I’m scared of falling into quicksand, and being turned into a bagel (again), and I’m definitely afraid of being chased by Australian crocodiles! But I can feel scared even when none of those things are actually happening.  Sometimes I get scared just imagining scary things. I worry about things that might happen, and then I start thinking about how unfair it would...

Hey there, friends! It’s me, Count Vacula, with a fresh No Filter just for you!I’m really happy because this week you get to meet Lauren Ashley Smith (https://www.laurenashleysmith.com). She’s a television writer and producer, and in fact, Lauren was the first-ever female African American head writer of a sketch comedy TV show! She’s smart and funny, and best of all, she’s very kind.When you’re trying to make a new friend, it’s helpful to ask them questions about themselves and then really...