Thought-Speak: The Original Animorphs Podcast
by Coleman McClung & Michelle Olson
Thought-Speak is a podcast dedicated to two adults diving back into a book series from their childhood and seeing what holds up. Going through the entire Animorphs saga, you can bet that they’ll get way too in-depth with each book and tell you exactly whether you should find your old collection or leave it collecting dust.INFO BITS:Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcastGmail – [email protected] – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs
Episodes
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THE ELLIMIST CHRONICLES | Episode 66
This speak: It doesn't get any better than us jumping straight into one of the most divergent books in the series! Will Michelle and Coleman be able to cover all the intricacies and metaphors without the episode falling apart at the seams? More importantly, will they figure out how to pronounce...
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THE ANSWER | Episode 65
This speak: After bragging about our schedule in the last episode, yes, we're back after another long hiatus.... But maybe that will be the last one? We talk about our lives, the podcast, the future of the podcast, and more importantly, the book! The gang have destroyed their town and their next...
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THE CHRIS GRINE INTERVIEW | Episode 64
This speak: We sit down with author and comic artist Chris Grine to discuss in more detail his adaptation of the Animorphs series and what's coming next for his indomitable talents. We gain insights into his process and how he sees the series overall, as well as some exclusive scoops on the next...
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THE SACRIFICE | Episode 63
This speak: I hope you didn't think we'd be off the air for another year. We're hitting you with back to back weeks of Thought-Speak goodness. Here we talk about what's coming next and how close we are to the end of the series. Ax starts his last book off with a bang and it doesn't let up....
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THE ABSOLUTE | Episode 62
This speak: We're back! Again, and again, and again. Sorry folks, you're not rid of us yet. Like a parasitic alien species, we are here to climb into your auditory orifice and break down book number fifty-one in the Animorphs series: The Absolute. We also bring you some updates to the franchise…
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THE ULTIMATE | Episode 61
This speak: You're not ready for our reaction of not being ready for this episode about the Animorphs not being ready for the end of this war! That's right dear listeners, we are counting down to the end of the war and you are not prepared for what our favorite mean, lean, and sometimes green...
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THE DIVERSION | Episode 60
This speak: We're back! Again! At the start, we update the listeners on life events, other podcasts, and reasons why we've been away but come crawling back every time. After that, we jump straight into the book with a breakdown of Tobias's sad, sad home life, the adrenaline-fueled reveal of the...
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THE VISITOR: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL | Episode 59
This speak: WHOA! We get an exclusive copy of Chris Grine's latest comic adaptation of the Animorphs with THE VISITOR. Breaking down the plot, art, new depictions of fan-favorite aliens, ships, morphs, and so much more, you don't want to miss this EARLY REVIEW. We also discuss where the future of...
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THE RETURN | Episode 58
This speak: Everyone's favorite snot-nosed little Benedict Arnold is back; of course we're talking about David! From trilogy to saga, David comes back with a vengeance, literally. See Rachel like never before; super, super tall for some reason? Also, Crayak is there with his buddy the Drode....
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THE RESISTANCE | Episode 57
This speak: Back to the basics! We dive into Animorphs book #47 and try to make sense of these dueling storylines. Civil War-era middle-grade antics dealing with abject racism and earning your place in society? Check. Giant tree-hugging space lizards fighting for their home alongside Trekkie…
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THE INVASION: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL | Episode 56
This speak: We're back! We talk about the show's return and what it means to us and all the changes in our lives. Diving deep into the first official Animorphs graphic (Graphix?) novel, we break down the original plot that started it all and how it holds up in this new format. Amazingly after…
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THE DECEPTION | Episode 55
This speak: Aximili (and those "teenage human-animal morphers" he's aligned with) discover the existence of the new Visser One's next evil plot! And it involves Visser Two! And some mysterious coordinates at sea! The Animorphs are no strangers to dangerous missions, but this time things are…
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THE REVELATION | Episode 54
This speak: Marco's dad has a big new project at work. He's apparently developing humanity's first instance of Z-Space travel. Marco realizes the dangers involved, and of course, his father is soon made a target for Yeerk infestation. After losing his mother to the Yeerks, Marco isn't going to…
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A VERY ANIMORPHS CHRISTMAS! | Episode 53
This Speak: What if the Animorphs series had done a Christmas special? Would the Animorphs meet Santa Clause? What do the Yeerks do on Christmas? Will the kids get to enjoy their Christmas break? It's questions like these that keep us up at night.... but not anymore! Hosts Michelle and Coleman…
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THE UNEXPECTED | Episode 52
This speak: Cassie just boarded the wrong plane.... During a scuffle with the Yeerks at the airport, Cassie is separated from the others and pursued by scores of controllers. She manages to elude them, temporarily, by hiding out on a departing plane. But things rarely go as planned for our team…
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THE TEST | Episode 51
This speak: Tobias is in over his head - again! After helping to locate a missing child in the woods, Tobias ends up in a vet's office with no way out! And it's the Yeerks that get to him first, headed up by his old nemesis Taylor. The one-time Sub-Visser claims to be helping the Yeerk Peace...
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THE JOURNEY | Episode 50
This speak: Marco's got all sorts of problems! First, there's this camera he's got to snatch from some dude's apartment that just might have some pics of the team in mid-morph.... The only thing standing in his way is one. Tough. Dog. That, and he can't morph. Why not? Because of all the...
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THE FAMILIAR | Episode 49
This speak: Jake is having a tough time being the leader of the Animorphs (and the leader of Ax). After yet another gut-wrenching battle with the Yeerks, the team is fragmented and tormented and looking to Jake for guidance, but ol' Jakey's not in the mood. Lucky for him, when he goes to bed that...
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MEGAMORPHS: BACK TO BEFORE | Episode 48
This speak: Jake's had enough. Enough of the bloody battles. Enough feeling powerless to help. Enough of being an Animorph. So naturally, Crayak is all over him ready to pounce, sending in the Drode to offer Jake a way out. But of course, a deal with the devil is no deal at all, and Jake awakes…
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THE OTHER | Episode 47
This speak: Marco witnesses what appears to be footage of an Andalite on television, sending him flying from the coop over to Ax's scoop. With Ax's technological advancements they're able to replay the footage and find out exactly what they're dealing with here.....an after-school special about…
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THE HIDDEN | Episode 46
This speak: The hunt is on.... for Animorphs, that is! Cassie is enjoying normality one day when Erek busts in and gives her a new mission: Run! It seems the Yeerks have found and repaired some downed Helmacron technology, and now they are able to track the morphing energy the Animorphs emit when...
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THE ARRIVAL | Episode 45
This speak: During a botched mission, Andalite Aristh Aximili (and the Animorphs!) are unexpectedly aided by extra Andalites! Aximili is enthralled with the alluring Estrid, but his Animorph allies are only certainly skeptical. Aximili of course entertains his Andalite allies and adds his aid to...
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THE WEAKNESS | Episode 44
This speak: Jake's outta town or something, so naturally Rachel turns into a power-hungry dictator that takes over the Animorphs (she gets Ax too!) and convinces everyone to go out and just start attacking all the controllers they know about to make Visser Three look bad in front of the bad...
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THE MUTATION | Episode 43
This Speak: Something-something Visser Three, yadda-yadda the ocean, let's just get to Atlantis already! When the Animorphs go to Atlantis(!), they discover the undiscovered truth about the lost city of Atlantis.... which is that it's not called Atlantis. Actually, it's "Nartec". Or at least…
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VISSER | Episode 42
Thought-Speak is delighted to invite you to our recap and review of a very special Animorphs offshoot, Visser. Joining the typical lineup of hosts, Michelle and Coleman, is a brave Animorphs fan and Andalite-tier Patreon subscriber, Richard! After all, such a special book requires a very special...
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THE PROPOSAL | Episode 41
This speak: Marco's dad has a new girlfriend! And Marco's not too happy about it... And now it seems that stress is causing Marco to mix up morphs! Marco tries to hide this all from his friends, The Animorphs (and Ax I guess?), but they've got a new mission to deal with and a controller's career…
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THE PROPHECY | Episode 40
This speak: Cassie's hearing voices in her head! The voice of Aldrea, the Andalite-turned-Hork-Bajir that died in the Hork-Bajir Chronicles, specifically. Remember her?! Well, she's inside Cassie now. And it may have something to do with the Arn that showed up at the free Hork-Bajir colony. This...
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THE ILLUSION | Episode 39
Heya folks, we’re proud to present our review of a fan-favorite book in the series, The Illusion. This is a highly praised Tobias book that…
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THE SEPARATION | Episode 38
This speak: Rachel splits in two. Shut up, don't ask questions, it just happens, okay?! Now the Animorphs (Featuring Ax the Andalite & Erek the Chee!) have to deal with two completely different Rachels. One of them is a weakling that cries a lot, the other one is seriously a psychopath. Both are...
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THE CONSPIRACY | Episode 37
This speak: Jake's great-grandpa dies, meaning an out-of-town funeral for both Jake and his brother. And as we all know, Tom is a controller. A four-day excursion away from the Yeerk pool is not something he can do. Now Tom will do anything to get out of going to the funeral. Including…
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THE REUNION | Episode 36
This speak: The Visser formerly known as One returns! And when Marco runs smack-dab into her while skipping school, he gets it in his head that he should shadow her. What could go wrong? Marco quickly finds himself breaking all the Animorphs (and Ax!) codes of conduct in his relentless pursuit of...
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MEGAMORPHS: ELFANGOR'S SECRET | Episode 35
This speak: Our story begins on an alternate, time-tinkered Earth with an entirely different set of Animorphs. Jake is an authoritarian leader. Cassie is a slave owner. Marco is excited by Pong. Ax is the same. And Tobias is in love with the last Animorph, Melissa. This new, more interesting set…
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THE SICKNESS | Episode 34
This speak: Ax comes down with a deadly and contagious case of SPACE AIDS! And just in time for the next dangerous mission to the Yeerk Pool! When Cassie is confronted by a controller claiming to be with the Yeerk Peace Movement, she learns that her old buddy Aftran (from The Departure) isn't…
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THE EXPERIMENT | Episode 33
This speak: The plot is hologram-delivered to the team once again from their paranoid android friend, Erek the Chee. This time the Yeerks are up to something beefy, and it's the Animorphs (and Ax!) job to investigate a few locales and get to the bottom of the Yeerk's sneaky new plan. All the team...
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THE EXPOSED | Episode 32
This speak: After some quick subplot melodrama, Rachel and Cassie end up at the mall (surprise surprise) where they quite conveniently encounter a malfunctioning Erek. Oh no! After helping to bail out the Chee, the Animorphs (and Ax!) are off on another wildly inconvenient mission. This time…
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THE ATTACK | Episode 31
This speak: We've got a lot of catching up to do! Michelle, Coleman, and Nate discuss everything from Animorphs to Power Rangers to Game of Thrones! We also bring Nate up to speed on what's been happening in the series thus far, we have a mini-discussion about Animorphs #1 The Invasion, we'll…
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THE EXTREME | Episode 30
This Speak, the hosts discuss the ghostwriting process now that we're entering that territory, revisiting the "listener emails" section of the show and reading some, an argument about Visser 3's feeding grounds, Coleman's bizarre feelings on this book, Ax impersonates Visser 3 again, we discuss…
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THE SUSPICION | Episode 29
This Speak, it's the amazing shrinking Animorphs! Michelle and Coleman discuss; the future of the Thought-Speak podcast, all the spoilers contained within the cover images, everything wrong with the Helmacrons, plenty of action filler scenes, Coleman's outspoken opinions on the fandom, the story…
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THE MICHAEL GRANT INTERVIEW | Episode 28
On this unfeasibly special episode of Thought-Speak, Michelle and Coleman somehow managed to snag an interview with the man, the myth, the legend, and one-half of the K.A. Applegate duo that gave us Animorphs, Michael Grant! We were lucky to have an hour of his time where we spoke with him (quite...
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THE HORK-BAJIR CHRONICLES | Episode 27
This speak: the subtle differences between the hard & soft covers, Coleman's beef with the Hork-Bajir design, how with equal parts science and Ellimist anything is possible, how the Yeerks are like ISIS, how the Hork-Bajir homeworld doesn't have a proper name, but even if it did it would probably...
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THE SOLUTION | Episode 25
This speak: As usual, we discuss in deep detail, like way too much detail, the cover illustration and the blurb on the back of the book, in-depth character discussions on Rachel and David, how David takes the 'Michael Meyers' approach to stalking the team, everyone getting "CHAOS MORPHS", Visser...
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THE THREAT | Episode 24
This speak: Another in-depth discussion of the book cover, more talk about how big of a D-bag David is, more character development for Cassie, poor cousin Saddler, Visser Tony’s hologram-ception plot, another mission gone awry, the many deaths of Tobias, and one of our favorite morph-on-morph...
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THE DISCOVERY | Episode 23
This speak: We start our review by praising the hell out of this much-loved book and by dissecting our new character David, Coleman makes a bold statement right off the gate about David, why getting the Escafil device back matters so much and why the Animorphs need to do whatever it takes to get…
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THE DEPARTURE | Episode 22
This speak: another spoilerific book cover, Cassie drops out of the war again, a fresh look at the classic "hero and villain must work together" cliche, conveniently placed leopard attacks, random tangents about long-forgotten movies, a much-needed Yeerk biology lesson covering reproduction, a…
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MEGAMORPHS: IN THE TIME OF DINOSAURS | Episode 21
This week on Thought-Speak: Making fun of the terrible covers, Liz reads the back of the book, the sudden abundance of Sario Rips, we discuss what actors the characters voices might sound like, milking T-rexes, faulty morph technology, Ax adding a T-Rex kill to his list of accomplishments…
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THE DECISION | Episode 20
This week on Thought-Speak: Making fun of the inside cover flap, Chapman's road rage, mosquitos! Ax's Matrix moves, a convenient POP! Is the Ellimist involved? Are there still any 'coincidences in this world? Captain Sam the Andalite traitor, differences between Andalite and Leeran cultures, the...
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THE UNDERGROUND | Episode 19
Today on Thought-Speak: Remember Private Thought-Speak? It's back! Also: another in-depth discussion of the cover! Does this book deserve to be more than just "the oatmeal" book? Planet Hollywood! Coincidences! Continuity! More coincidences! Nuthouses! Building a better tarantula scene! The story...
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THE WARNING | Episode 18
Today on Thought-Speak: An explanation about the most recent hiatus, a revelation about Michelle and Coleman's other projects, 90's internet lingo, more poop humor, infiltrating the WAA! HQ, the best scene with Jake's family yet, another Animorphs mission gone wrong, lovely Yeerk cannibalism...…
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THE ESCAPE | Episode 17
In this episode we're talking about when the Animorphs lose their innocence, building a better Animorphs video game, offensive parrots, Erek's under-utilized hologram powers, Coming next fall from the makers of Thought-Speak... Dolphin Rodeo!, Ocean World, #sharkpetting, why the Yeerks need to…
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THE ANDALITE CHRONICLES | Episode 15
In this super-ultra-mega-special episode, we're starting right out by introducing our super-ultra-mega-special guest co-host, Nate! We'll let him introduce himself and play a little trivia game to get him warmed up on the series. That's not all, we also discuss in excruciating detail the book's...
About this show
Thought-Speak is a podcast dedicated to two adults diving back into a book series from their childhood and seeing what holds up. Going through the entire Animorphs saga, you can bet that they’ll get way too in-depth with each book and tell you exactly whether you should find your old collection or leave it collecting dust.INFO BITS:Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcastGmail – [email protected] – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs
Hosted by
Coleman McClung & Michelle Olson