The Green brothers are everywhere… on the Internet, in their books, and now in your ears!
Title: Dear Hank and John
Hosts: Hank Green, John Green
Production company: Complexly
Publication date: 2015-present
Genre(s): Advice, comedy, entertainment
Available platform(s): Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Audible, and more
Interest level: According to 406Families, a parenting blog, Dear Hank and John is “best for teens and their adults” (2020).
Summary: In this podcast, brothers John and Hank Green respond to listener-submitted questions about life's big and small conundrums and curiosities. Past questions have included “shower thoughts”-style ones like “can fish see water?” or “why aren’t people over 18 called majors” to emotional ones like “how do I not cry at rude customers?” or “How do I find meaning in life?” Similarly, the brothers’ answers can also oscillate between the funny and the emotional. Their advice can range from profoundly thoughtful and heartfelt (usually from John), to humorous (usually from Hank), even to dubious (from both).
Between questions, the brothers often engage in lighthearted banter, joke around, or discuss recent news from their personal lives, news from the planet Mars, because Hank loves space, and news about soccer, specifically AFC Wimbledon, a team John sponsors. The podcast is presented in hour-long weekly episodes and has been in production since 2015; however, as mentioned in the most recent episode from May 22, 2023, the podcast is currently on hiatus due to Hank Green’s recent cancer treatment and diagnosis.
About the hosts: John Green (he/him) primarily writes YA fiction; some of his most popular works include Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, among others. Several of his works have also been adapted for film or television. John’s younger brother Hank (he/him) is the author of the science fiction novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing as well as its sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. However, he is perhaps better known for being a science communicator; Hank is passionate about science and is well-loved for his commentary on TikTok as well as his educational videos on the SciShow and Crash Course YouTube channels. Both Green brothers also share a YouTube channel called vlogbrothers, to which they post weekly video messages addressed to each other that are also viewable by the public. The Greens are also well-known for their philanthropic efforts, namely through the Project for Awesome (Green, n.d).
Critical review: I don’t watch religiously, but I enjoy vlogbrothers videos when they show up in my feed. This one about John’s misadventures with his Apple watches might be a favorite.
I’ve also read a couple of John’s books, including his adult nonfiction The Anthropocene Reviewed, and have certainly consulted SciShow and Crash Course videos to understand new concepts. However, while I’ve generally consumed some of the Green brothers’ stuff, I’m not a big podcast person. So I had never tuned into Dear Hank and John prior to developing this mini-collection. Now that I have, I want to dive into their back catalog of over 600 episodes!
It’s really amusing to listen to the brothers’ conversation unfold, and I find both of them so naturally humorous (at times, John leans into the sentimental, but I’m sentimental, so I don’t mind at all!). I will say, though, that it’s probably wise that they advertise the podcast as one that doles out “dubious” advice because while they’ll occasionally provide direct informative answers to questions (especially Hank, if it’s a scientific question), they often go off on tangents or relate the question to their own experiences in a way that doesn’t necessarily provide solid advice. This is definitely more of an entertainment podcast than it is a strict advice podcast, but if a listener is in the mood to eavesdrop on an interesting conversation, this podcast is a good choice.
Related programming ideas: Launching a teen advice column could be really fun! The library could have local teens apply to be columnists. Peers could anonymously submit questions through the library’s website, and the teens named “columnists,” could respond. If teens who submit consent to having their question posted publicly, questions and responses could also be published for viewing on the library website.
Brief pitch: The Green brothers are everywhere… on the Internet, in their books, and now in your ears! Okay, they’re not actually in your ears, but their conversation can be! In the Dear Hank and John podcast, listeners can submit questions about any topic under the sun, and the brothers will provide advice. Don’t listen to the advice, necessarily – as they often say, it’s dubious advice – but do listen to their amusing thoughts about living on this weird planet.
Potential challenges: I don’t really foresee any challenges for this podcast; although it’s humorous, I wouldn’t say the humor is at all provocative or controversial. Some topics (such as the discussion about Hank’s cancer) may require more maturity to understand and appreciate in full.
Reason for inclusion: The Green brothers will be familiar to those who have consumed their written work or videos, and the name recognition makes this a good choice for the collection. I also think the humor has cross-generational and would be easily enjoyed by teens and their families, giving them more to discuss at the dinner table.
Check this out: Start listening now!
References:
Green, H. (n.d.). About Hank. https://hankgreen.com/about/
Green, J. (n.d.). About John Green. https://www.johngreenbooks.com/bio
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