Loading...

PODCAST

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast

Join hosts Mischa Stanton and Mayanna Berrin (and friends) to talk about Kingdom Hearts, a little video game franchise about really big feelings. We attempt to unravel how this deceptively expansive game series has touched an entire generation of deeply earnest weirdos - and along the way, we may realize that what we’re talking about might not be just a video game, but a whole lot more.Never heard of Kingdom Hearts? That’s okay! We’re here to break it down for you, explain why we love it, and

leisure video games

All Episodes

00:56:47

Where is The World That Never Was?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/10/04

Part city, part spaceship, all vibes - today we’re talking all about The World That Never Was, the homebase world for Organization XIII. An empty facade of a world, reflecting the empty facades of its masters the Nobodies, it relies mostly on vibes to justify its existence at all. I mean, it’s got ordinary hallways with names like “Ruin & Creation’s Passage” - settle down a little! And then, when Xemnas populates it, he only does so with rage and suffering… which is maybe we’re not so sad to see

en

01:22:58

Who is Xion?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/09/27

Xion, the forgotten 14th member of Organization XIII, was originally a Replica made to absorb overflow power from Sora and Roxas (and replace them should they prove too willful and defiant). But Xion manages to take those scattered pieces and create something wholly new for herself. Her existence is a constant fight… one she, unfortunately, goes on to lose, so that Sora can be properly returned to the story. But despite all she goes through, Xion proves that we are more than the sum of our parts,

en

01:00:23

What Makes A Good Sleepover Game? with Jenna Stoeber,...

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/09/20

Welcome to the sleepover! We had a fantastic time recording our live show at PAX West 2026, getting comfy in our jammies with our friends Jenna Stoeber, Jasmine Bhullar & David Tilstra, talking all about playing games at sleepovers & how we discovered games in our youths. What makes a good sleepover game? What makes sleepovers so good for games? What CAN’T you find at the Thieves’ Market?? And what games should you bring to your next sleepover?Credits- Created & hosted by: Mischa Stanton

en

01:24:04

What Happens in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009)?...

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/09/13

Streamer & comedian Kelly Nicole joins us on top of the Twilight Town clocktower to recap the mind-bending mundanity of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days! As if Roxas’s story in Kingdom Hearts 2 wasn’t tragic enough, 358/2 Days turns back the clock to show us how Roxas came to be part of Organization XIII in the first place, and what made him decide to leave them behind. When you’re killing the same creatures day in and day out, being an evil minion can be pretty mind-numbing! Especially when your

en

00:43:09

Where is the Land of Dragons?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/09/06

The Land of Dragons, much like the fireworks that prominently feature in its source movie Mulan, makes a short but fiery impact on the series in its only appearance in Kingdom Hearts 2. At the time of its launch Mulan was still pretty recent, and much beloved! The art team did a great job translating Mulan’s model, her landscape, and her journey of mastery to video game form, and the world has some fantastic boss fights. But as time has stretched on and more Disney films have risen to the top of the

en

01:08:27

Who is Ansem the Wise / DiZ? with Dr. Claire Aubin

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/08/30

We are joined today by historian & certified hater Dr. Claire Aubin! She hosts a podcast called This Guy Sucked, where she tears apart so-called “Great Men” from history. So we tried to find the Guy who Sucks the most, so she’d feel right at home! Ansem the Wise was, once upon a time, the Sage-King of Radiant Garden. But when he takes in a powerful amnesiac and teaches him how to harness darkness, he is sent tumbling down into the depths of despair and the Dark Realm, and when he emerges his

en

01:14:29

What Went Down At The D23 Kingdom Hearts Panel? (News...

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/08/23

Last week Disney held their annual D23 Expo in Anaheim, and to our shock and delight, they FINALLY treated the Kingdom Hearts series as the crown jewel we have always known it to be! We got an extended look at our first Disney world for Kingdom Hearts IV, previews of new gameplay mechanics, the reveal of several newly-playable characters (like Donald & Goofy), and confirmation of some of the details we’d gleaned from previous trailers - all while STILL leaving us with more questions about what

en

01:18:08

What is a Secret Ending?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/08/17

Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe made secret endings into required reading, Kingdom Hearts was using cryptic, intense, bad-ass cutscenes to tease their future games, and blow child minds… but only those dedicated enough to reach them. Today we’re talking about the Kingdom Hearts series’ tradition of Secret Endings - what they are, where they come from, what they’re for, and perhaps most importantly, how they made us feel when our brains were still cooking.Credits- Created & hosted by:

en

00:52:01

Where is Atlantica?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/08/09

Today we’re going Under The Sea - darling it’s wetter, but is it actually better? Atlantica is a divisive world among the Kingdom Hearts fandom. In the first game, it’s a proper level - the only one where the Disney Princess actually joins you in combat! In Kingdom Hearts II… well, it’s a much-maligned rhythm game, with original songs that may not quite match the legacy of Howard Ashman’s original compositions. Why is it like this? Is it really as bad as we all remember? And what can we do to keep

en

01:12:42

How Have We Been Talking About Kingdom Hearts For An...

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/08/02

It’s our 1st Anniversary! Making this show for an entire year has been a special joy and a blessing. We talk about how it’s going, what making the show has been like, and everything that’s changed for the KH fandom this year - actually a lot somehow! We’ll read some lovely listener messages from a special collection of our most frequent callers, and we’ll give each other the most beautiful anniversary gift: a long, luxurious discussion about what Disney worlds we’d like to see in a future

en

01:11:06

What are Items & Synthesis?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/07/26

Consider items: They are things! Useful tools & upgrades are a video game staple, and in our quest to 100%-completely explain the Kingdom Hearts series, we’ll go through them all. Where do potions come from? What are our most memorable Key Items in games? Why does Kingdom Hearts 3 get TWO crafting systems? And how can a keyblade design be sexy? We’ll throw the answers to all of these questions and more into a recipe, and hopefully synthesize some kind of coherent episode.Credits- Created &

en

00:31:16

Did Someone Really Leak The Kingdom Hearts...

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/07/22

As we were setting up to record future episodes, we got a hot tip on a WILD new Kingdom Hearts scene that leaked online. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen to date, it may have huge implications on the future of the story, and it was released amidst a frenzied cyclone of internet drama - one which drew us to deeper places than we’re usually comfortable with. It’s just another day in the Kingdom Hearts fandom! Join us for this special minisode where we are reacting HOT to the Missing-Link leaks!For an

en

01:11:15

Who is King Mickey?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/07/19

Who’s the Monarch of the Realm who wields Kingdom Key D? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! As is only befitting his station, King Mickey is a central player in the KH mythos. From humble beginnings, only being allowed to appear in a single moment in the first Kingdom Hearts game, we find Mickey at the center of every major conflict in the series, along the way passing on hard-won knowledge and wisdom to a new generation of Keyblade wielders. But with an air of such gravity and consequence, we may have to ask

en

00:58:39

Where is 100 Acre Wood?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/07/12

Come frolic with us through the 100 Acre Wood, Kingdom Hearts’ safe haven world! It’s the only world where the Heartless never appear, and it’s a delight to Sora whenever he can find the time to return here for some chill minigames (provided you find the Torn Pages, and don't accidentally skip over them). But as the series matures more and more, the bright pastels and simple nature of Winnie the Pooh’s adventures seem more and more out of place. Is there still room along Sora’s increasingly-bitter

en

01:22:54

What Happens in Kingdom Hearts Coded (2008-2010)?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/07/05

Is there really a lore-critical Kingdom Hearts game that was only available on mobile phones exclusively in Japan? Sort of! Today we’re covering the plot of Kingdom Hearts Coded, the often-neglected entry to the franchise that follows Mickey and a data copy of Sora as they attempt to debug Jiminy’s Journal, recover what was lost there when Naminé messed with it, and uncover the meaning of the mysterious messages left inside. It asks important questions like: Are the friendships we make in simulated

en

01:12:30

Where is Halloween Town? with Bex Taylor-Klaus

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/06/28

Our good friend, collaborator & divine enigma Bex Taylor-Klaus drops by, despite never having played a Kingdom Hearts game before, to talk all about their favorite Disney movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas! The inclusion of this cult-classic holiday fairy tale, a favorite of alternative 90s kids everywhere, brings nuance and depth to its handful of appearances in Kingdom Hearts. And that’s not to mention some of the best looks in the series, from Sora’s goth Santa outfit to that time

en

01:08:20

So, How 'Bout That Kingdom Hearts 4 Trailer? (News &...

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/06/21

There’s a brand new trailer out for Kingdom Hearts 4! Four years since our last look at any new footage, there’s finally something new for all of us to obsess over. And wow, what a trailer it was - with plenty of juicy story details, our first solid look at the combat systems, and reveals of characters new & old (and some that are somehow both?). Who are all of these people? We’ll pore over every frame and bring you as much context as we can. Get hype, everybody: there’s life in this franchise

en

01:07:29

What is Data?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/06/14

Take a drive with us along the Information Super-Highway - today we’re talking all about Data! In addition to everything else it’s doing, Kingdom Hearts also has full-on Matrix-style simulations. Those simulations are pretty useful for hiding secrets - like people you don’t want to be found, or secret malevolent forces you’d throw away the rest of the universe to contain. Could one of those secrets be the true tie between the realms of Reality and Fiction? Could Data hold the key to tying the

en

01:03:06

Who is Maleficent?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/06/07

It’s her, it’s she: the Mistress of All Evil! Sometimes, in a story as complicated as Kingdom Hearts, you need a villain who’s just in it for the vibes, y’know? And Maleficent is willing to curse a girl’s entire life just because she wasn’t invited to her birthday party, so she easily fits the bill. But just because it’s easy to describe her motivations doesn’t mean they’re any less biting: her presence looms large over the entire KH series, reaching as far back as the Age of Fairytales and into the

en

01:14:00

What are Summons?

Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast ·

2026/05/31

Although there’s plenty of friendly faces on the list of Summons that appear in Kingdom Hearts, the mechanic itself is never quite as impactful as its Final Fantasy counterpart. When a mechanic that started as begging the Gods for aid is reduced to Just Another Little Guy, it makes a whole game system feel small... Are the Summons worth seeing, even if you’ve got other flashier toys in your toy box?Credits - Created & hosted by: Mischa Stanton & Mayanna Berrin - Music: “Sunset Dew” by

en

63 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

Sports Cards Nonsense

Sports Cards Nonsense

Acá Entre Nozz

Sonoro | Aká y Allá studiozz

Motorhome Matt

Matt Sims and Keith Gooden

21 Questions by Trivia Tribe

Mike van Acker