Dear Hank & John

Bibliographic Information:

• Title: Dear Hank & John
• Episode: 289- No Moon Chickens, May 10, 2021
• Hosts: Tom and Hank Green
• Producer: Rosianna Halse Rojas
• Editor: Josef “Tuna” Metesh
• Platform: Independently Produced (as of November 2020)
• Dates: June 7, 2015 -present

Genre: Comedy

Format: Podcast

Rating/Interest Level: Teens (Common Sense Media, N.D.)

Summary: Brothers Hank & John Green answer questions that have been emailed in from listeners. They offer advice and talk about subjects such as Mars, AFC Wimbledon (English football club), chickens, the noise that chip bags make, their upcoming books, and more. The topics range from random thoughts to deep, emotional subjects. Each episode is approximately 45 minutes long.

Host Background: John Green is an American author, YouTube creator, and podcaster. He has written many YA novels, including An Abundance of Katherines which was a Printz Award Honor Book in 2007. His next book, Paper Towns, was a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars was a New York Times Bestseller and received critical acclaim. The movie adaptation of this book was number one at the box office in 2014. John Green was included in Time magazine’s list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014 (Wikipedia, 2021).

John Green was born on August 24, 1977 to Mike and Sydney Green in Indianapolis, Indiana. The family lived in several places in the U.S. during his childhood. Green attended Kenyon College and double majored in English and Religious Studies. After graduating, Green worked as a chaplain at a children’s hospital in Columbus, Ohio. This experience led him to become a writer. His book The Fault in Our Stars was based on this experience (Wikipedia, 2021).

Hank Green (William Henry Green II) is an American author, YouTuber, podcaster, musician, and internet producer. He is best known for producing the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers with his brother, John. The brothers co-created the educational YouTube channels Crash Course and SciShow. Hank Green also created and produced many other YouTube channels and podcasts, released a music album, and has a huge following on TikTok. Green has written two novels; An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) and its sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (2020). Both books debuted as New York Times Bestsellers. (Wikipedia, 2021).

Hank Green was born on May 5, 1980 to Mike and Sydney Green. He earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from Eckerd College and a M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Montana.

In 2015, John and Hank Green started the podcast Dear Hank & John.

Reaction/Interest: Dear Hank & John came up on every list when I Google searched for “best podcast for teens.” It was recommended to me by several teens when I asked what podcasts they listen to. I could not find any written reviews by teens about the podcast, but there are many TikTok videos saying how awesome it is.

Critical Evaluation: Dear Hank & John is very entertaining and engaging. There are many jokes and the banter between Hank and John is funny and charming. Their answers to everyday life questions and the stories they tell are interesting and humorous. I listened to a few episodes and I am hooked! Their conversation about the noise that the bag that chips come in makes had me laughing out loud while I was driving. Most teens are probably already familiar with John Green’s books and movies and Hanks YouTube videos and podcasts. Teens will enjoy this funny, entertaining, informative podcast.

Speed-Round Talk: How much does a helicopter weigh on Mars? Why don’t chips come in cotton bags? How is WFC Wimbledon doing? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in the podcast Dear Hank & John. The Green brother will have you falling off your seat laughing as they answer their listener’s questions about important facts of life.

Creative Use for a Library Program: For a library program, I would have the teens listen to an episode of the podcast, followed by some YouTube videos created by the Green Borthers. The teens could write sample emails to send into the show that hoepfully, Hank and John would read on their podcast. I would have copies of John and Hank’s books avaialble for teens to check out.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: I do not foresee any challenges to this podcast.

Reason for Inclusion: I included this podcast because Tom Green’s books and movies are very popular at my library and circulate well with teens. Hank Green’s books seem to be more popular with “New Adults” but I feel that they have some appeal to teens. Teens will enjoy this fun, lighthearted podcast.

References:

Common Sense Media. (N.D.). 10 must-listen podcasts for tweens and teens. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/10-must-listen-podcasts-for-tweens-and-teens

Vlogbrothers. (2021, May 7). Are we the same person? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0iG6fxuPjE&ab_channel=vlogbrothers

Wikipedia, (2021, May 11). Hank Green. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Green

Wikipedia. (2021, May 11). John Green. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Green_(author)

You are Current. (2020, March 2). Photo of John and Hank Green. [Photograph]. Youarecurrent.com. Retrieved from https://youarecurrent.com/2020/03/02/dear-hank-and-john-show-set/