Tuca & Bertie’s Lisa Hanawalt on Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Funneling All That Knowledge Into Cartoon Birds

The first thing that I noticed when watching Tuca & Bertie
was that there was a LOT going on. Bertie is frantically trying
to navigate her magazine job at Conde Nest AND her dream of being
professional baker AND her relationship with her loving and
sometimes perplexing boyfriend Speckle. Tuca is just trying to
navigate what it means to be a responsible adult as she manages
sobriety, romance, and a changing relationship with her best
friend, Bertie. Beyond that, there’s just a lot happening on the
screen, like quick visual gags, complex background characters,
and a universe where plants sometimes have human bodies and are
somewhat mystical. 


We were excited to find out all about it from our Maximum Fun
colleague, Lisa Hanawalt (co-host of Baby Geniuses), who created
the show and runs it. Lisa shares her stories of mental health’s
role in her life from being a shockingly morbid preschooler to
panic attacks on the freeway as an adult. We never do get her to
explain the plants with human bodies but she does fill us in on
the Sex Bugs, which may be both pubic lice AND a touring rock
band.


Watch Tuca & Bertie Sundays at 11:30 pm on adultswim or
online. Listen to Baby Geniuses here on on the podcatcher of your
choice. Visit Lisa Hanawalt's website for books and prints.


Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly
members of Maximum Fun. 


Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear
what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you
like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at
depreshmode@maximumfun.org.


Help is available right away.


The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255,
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Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.


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