“I got through school because I paid a boy named Guggenheim to take that sort of drudgery off my shoulders… I graduated magna cum laude.”

We pick back up with Orson as he ends his time at Todd commandeering the school’s drama program, taking a summer trip to his beloved Asia, and coping with the death of his father, with whom he shared a complicated relationship.

Follow us on our (admittedly limited) socials to keep up with assignments and other exciting Welles-related news:

 * @wellesupod on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/wellesupod.bsky.social] and YouTube [https://youtube.com/wellesupod]
 * Follow Hope at @hopelichtner on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tcfqfzsel6zthdcdnst4xawq], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/hopelichtner/], and Tumblr [https://www.tumblr.com/highimhope]
 * Read Hope’s blog at highimhope.com [http://highimhope.com/]
 * Listen to Hope’s other podcasts - High on Cartoons Presents DuckTakes! [https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/high-on-cartoons-presents-ducktakes/id1619137001] and The Matrix Reclamations [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-matrix-reclamations-a-queer-fancast/id1694835591]
 * Track Hope’s work as The Millennial Falcon, the announcer for the Philly Roller Derby [https://phillyrollerderby.com/]
 * Follow Stephen at @chewywalrus on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4h4tflreclqjhvsjodqnwtsh] and Letterboxd [https://letterboxd.com/ChewyWalrus/]
 * Listen to Stephen’s other podcasts - Disenfranchised Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disenfranchised/id1531328098] and The Pod and the Pendulum [https://www.podandthependulum.com/]
 * Check out Stephen’s novel - Check In, Check Out - on Amazon, now available in paperback or ebook: https://amzn.to/44idk8y

005 - The Todd Years: Part Two (1929-1931)

“I attacked the textbooks rather than mastered them.”

In the first part of our first-ever two-part episode, we discuss Welles’s early years at the Todd School in Woodstock, Illinois, his burgeoning relationship with eventual headmaster Roger Hill, and how Orson spent his summer vacations.

Follow us on our (admittedly limited) socials to keep up with assignments and other exciting Welles-related news:

 * @wellesupod on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/wellesupod.bsky.social] and YouTube [https://youtube.com/wellesupod]
 * Read Hope’s blog at highimhope.com [http://highimhope.com/]
 * Listen to Hope’s other podcasts - High on Cartoons Presents DuckTakes! [https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/high-on-cartoons-presents-ducktakes/id1619137001] and The Matrix Reclamations [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-matrix-reclamations-a-queer-fancast/id1694835591]
 * Follow Stephen at @chewywalrus on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4h4tflreclqjhvsjodqnwtsh] and Letterboxd [https://letterboxd.com/ChewyWalrus/]
 * Listen to Stephen’s other podcasts - Disenfranchised Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disenfranchised/id1531328098] and The Pod and the Pendulum [https://www.podandthependulum.com/]
 * Check out Stephen’s novel - Check In, Check Out - on Amazon, now available in paperback or ebook: https://amzn.to/44idk8y

004 - The Todd Years: Part One (1926-1928)

“Have you ever wanted to return?”
“To childhood? I’ve been back there ever since I left.”

With all the pomp and circumstance we’re capable of mustering for an episode recorded in the wake of the 2024 US presidential election results, we finally arrive at the advent of the man himself - Orson Welles is born! We talk about the early years of his life growing up in Kenosha and Chicago, the formative death of his mother when he was just nine-years-old, and the travels, arts, and influences that began to form his own auteurist visions.

Follow us on our (admittedly limited) socials to keep up with assignments and other exciting Welles-related news:

 * @wellesupod on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/wellesupod.bsky.social] and YouTube [https://youtube.com/wellesupod]
 * Read Hope’s blog at highimhope.com [http://highimhope.com/]
 * Listen to Hope’s other podcasts - High on Cartoons Presents DuckTakes! [https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/high-on-cartoons-presents-ducktakes/id1619137001] and The Matrix Reclamations [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-matrix-reclamations-a-queer-fancast/id1694835591]
 * Follow Stephen at @chewywalrus on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4h4tflreclqjhvsjodqnwtsh] and Letterboxd [https://letterboxd.com/ChewyWalrus/]
 * Listen to Stephen’s other podcasts - Disenfranchised Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disenfranchised/id1531328098] and The Pod and the Pendulum [https://www.podandthependulum.com/]
 * Check out Stephen’s novel - Check In, Check Out - on Amazon, now available in paperback or ebook: https://amzn.to/44idk8y

003 - Orson Begins (1915-1926)

Class is back in session and your TAs - Hope and Stephen - are back to take a climb up the Welles family tree to see just how far the apple that is Orson fell. We're taking things right up to the birth the man himself, so get ready for a LOT of (necessary!) table setting.

Follow us on our (admittedly limited) socials to keep up with assignments and other exciting Welles-related news:

 * @wellesupod on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/wellesupod.bsky.social] and YouTube [https://youtube.com/wellesupod]
 * Read Hope’s blog at highimhope.com [http://highimhope.com/]
 * Listen to Hope’s other podcasts - High on Cartoons Presents DuckTakes! [https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/high-on-cartoons-presents-ducktakes/id1619137001] and The Matrix Reclamations [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-matrix-reclamations-a-queer-fancast/id1694835591]
 * Follow Stephen at @chewywalrus on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4h4tflreclqjhvsjodqnwtsh] and Letterboxd [https://letterboxd.com/ChewyWalrus/]
 * Listen to Stephen’s other podcasts - Disenfranchised Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disenfranchised/id1531328098] and The Pod and the Pendulum [https://www.podandthependulum.com/]
 * Check out Stephen’s novel - Check In, Check Out - on Amazon, now available in paperback or ebook: https://amzn.to/44idk8y

002 - The Road to Orson (1905-1915)

“Hello, Americans, this is Orson Welles…”

Join Hope and Stephen, your TAs for this course, as they introduce themselves, their objective, their respective histories with the subject, and their bona fides on the advent of this exciting new exploration into the life and work of one of the greatest filmmakers in modern history - the late, great Orson Welles!

Follow us on our (admittedly limited) socials to keep up with assignments and other exciting Welles-related news:

 * @wellesupod on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/wellesupod.bsky.social] and YouTube [https://youtube.com/wellesupod]
 * Follow Hope at @hopelichtner on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tcfqfzsel6zthdcdnst4xawq], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/hopelichtner/], and Tumblr [https://www.tumblr.com/highimhope]
 * Read Hope’s blog at highimhope.com [http://highimhope.com/]
 * Listen to Hope’s other podcasts - High on Cartoons Presents DuckTakes! [https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/high-on-cartoons-presents-ducktakes/id1619137001] and The Matrix Reclamations [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-matrix-reclamations-a-queer-fancast/id1694835591]
 * Track Hope’s work as The Millennial Falcon, the announcer for the Philly Roller Derby [https://phillyrollerderby.com/]
 * Follow Stephen at @chewywalrus on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4h4tflreclqjhvsjodqnwtsh] and Letterboxd [https://letterboxd.com/ChewyWalrus/]
 * Listen to Stephen’s other podcasts - Disenfranchised Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disenfranchised/id1531328098] and; The Pod and the Pendulum [https://www.podandthependulum.com/]
 * Check out Stephen’s novel - Check In, Check Out - on Amazon, now available in paperback or ebook: https://amzn.to/44idk8y

001 - “By Way of Introduction…”

Class is in session! Join your TAs/hosts Hope and Stephen as they take a deep dive into the life and work of one of America's most influential performers, filmmakers, artists, and raconteurs - the late, great Orson Welles! New episodes every other Tuesday! 

Welles's University

Class is in session! Join your TAs/hosts Hope and Stephen as they take an extremely deep dive into the life and work of Orson Welles.

Welles University

Shows