Over the course of the last few months I have been hard at work with Brazilian Dragon Productions. As a one-man podcasting machine who struggles with perfectionism, I waffled on when to formally kickstart the rebranded identity, but this moment feels right.

When I started the podcast in May of 2020, I was looking for something to do after graduating college at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. An avid consumer of podcasts, and a veteran college radio DJ, I started the Brazilian Dragon Podcast (the name inspired by the Brazilian Dragon from Survivor, Abi-Maria Gomes) as a pandemic hobby.

In the years since, I’ve seen it as an excuse to hangout with my friends who live far away and chat about media that is important to us. But what I did not recognize until recently was how much I’ve learned about audio production, entrepreneurship, comedy, improv, and entertainment journalism through this craft.

Additionally, I felt a little directionless with the podcast, feeling uninspired to get behind the microphone, despite the enjoyment and fulfillment it provided. It became easier to push recordings back or procrastinate editing and distribution on episodes. The random 2010s Scooby-Doo movies I had no childhood attachment to made it difficult to elicit inspiration to hop on the microphone, and episodic recaps were not stimulating my creativity.

I spent time away from the podcast to try to really figure out what I wanted to do with it, and within that time, I began to recognize where my interests laid: nostalgic television 2000s kids grew up watching on cable, and animated movies. Not only would it excite me most to revisit, but it would be a podcast I would generally listen to or seek out.

Thus, this rebrand process began. There are now two very specific projects I am committed to — Animation Station, where my friend AJ and I will be revisiting animated film, with our first season entirely focused on Pixar, and Slime Time, Rewind, where myself and friends will revisit Nicktoons, Disney Channel shows and movies, and similarly related nostalgic content 2000s kids grew up on.

At the end of the day, if the podcast ends up only listened to by my close friends and family, I am at peace with that. I am excited to make and listen to this content. I spent so many years wanting the podcast to be more successful or to provide opportunities, but these projects truly fulfill me enough for it to not be anything more.

That said, I am hoping that the content my friends and I make has a positive impact on others, and if so, I am fully combining my creative efforts with my business needs, launching a Patreon and upgrading my Substack to create opportunities for revenue in exchange for creating more content and community.

With that said, I appreciate the time you have taken to read all this, and I hope you join me for either or both of these new ventures. And please subscribe to both Animation Station and Slime Time, Rewind on your favorite podcast application, and leave a 5-star rating and review while you’re there.

Obrigadeiro,

Felipe

Share Felipe’s Substack

Leave a comment

Give a gift subscription

My Survivor Origin Story

I was channel surfing during on February 22nd, 2012. I stumbled upon the Tribal Council for the second episode of Survivor: One World, the show’s 24th season. I was immediately captivated by an argument between Kat Edorsson and Nina Acosta, leading to Nina’s vote out. I deep-dived into Survivor immediately and watched the very first episode of the series that night on YouTube.

Throughout that month, I had been struggling with depression, having become a target of bullying from my friend group. I felt incredibly alone, and Survivor became my escape in the Spring of 2012. I found Survivor: Marquesas, the franchise’s fourth season, and binged it quickly. The next season I got my hands on was Survivor: The Amazon from 2003, starring a 24-year-old Cesternino. As a self-deprecating, smart, funny, horny, pop culture loving 9th grader, I saw someone that I identified with. Not only was Cesternino a magnet for confessionals with his wit and commentary, he was the first player I encountered who was strategically celebrated for positioning himself best to win the game. Despite ending up in 3rd place, Cesternino forever changed the game, leaving his mark as “the smartest player to never win,” as host Jeff Probst called him at the reunion show.

As a chronically online teenager, I utilized the Survivor Wiki to discover that Cesternino had started a reality television podcast in 2010 called Rob Has A Podcast. I immediately began listening as I churned through every season of Survivor, and through this discovery, I got into Big Brother 14 (won by fellow The Traitors contestant Ian Terry) the summer I transitioned from Lexington High to Phillips Academy.

The RHAP Binge

My first year at Andover, I took every opportunity to listen to the RHAP archives from 2010 - 2012, consuming all the content from before I had discovered the podcast. Whenever I was studying at the library, or exercising at the fitness center, or walking to class, I was binge-listening to RHAP. Despite not being a ‘Day-One’ RHAP listener, I’ve done my homework to belong; and in the year 2026, having listened for 14 years, I’ve essentially been there since the start of the premier reality television podcast. I became a patron as soon as I could afford to do so in my freshman year of college (2016), and my deep love for Cesternino’s podcast grew with the patron community. Much like when I originally got into the content, I binge-listened to every patron episode Cesternino had done, the highlight being the 5 for 5 series he continues to produce with his wife, Nicole.

On November 6th, 2017, I ventured to New York City for my first (of currently fourteen) Rob Has A Podcast live events, for the Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers merge episode. The online community led to real friendships and relationships with my fellow reality television, and more importantly, Rob Has A Podcast-obsessed, fans. That was the first night I met both Rob and Nicole, as well as many other luminaries in the RHAP glitterati, such as Mike Bloom.

Through this community and these events, I began to foster a personal relationship with Cesternino. As I pursued my own degree in film, television, and communication studies, I was simultaneously admiring the live evolution of Cesternino’s career. While I listened in college, Cesternino continued to build his empire, expanding from the a startup focused on the big 3 CBS shows (Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race) to building an empire that now covers all sorts of unscripted and scripted programming.

RHAP @ 10 Years

In January of 2020, I pursued a childhood dream and ventured out to Los Angeles for my senior spring semester at Boston University. Hoping to build my own career in LA and relocate after college, I arrived with an additional excitement -- Cesternino had an anniversary event planned in Los Angeles to celebrate both the 20th anniversary of Survivor and 10th anniversary of Rob Has A Podcast on February 12th. Additionally, another live event was planned in North Hollywood for March 11th, 2020 — the day the world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last in-person social activity I participated in until I got vaccinated in 2021 was the Survivor: Winners at War watch party where Boston Rob was voted out. One of the last people I interacted with in-person for over a year was my childhood hero.

In June of 2020, Cesternino was looking to bring on new talent to the podcast, specifically individuals from marginalized backgrounds. As a 22-year-old unemployed college graduate stuck at his parents’ house during a global pandemic, I was eager for any opportunity, let alone one that felt perfect for me given my love and admiration for reality television, diverse storytelling, and broadcast entertainment. I sent in an application and got a callback interview on Zoom, which I bombed. The nerves and pressure I put upon myself to impress my hero stifled my authenticity and charm; I was too insecure, and the imposter syndrome made me freeze. In the end, I was not selected for the Class of 2020 program, which sucked, but everything happens for a reason. I am forever grateful that Rob saw potential in me and that I even made it to the interview stage. Getting that stamp of approval from my hero was validating at a time where I felt very lost and directionless.

Collaboration and Growth

I picked up podcasting as a pandemic hobby, focusing on nostalgia-based rewatches for Zillennials, the cusp micro-generation between Generations Y and Z. Since finding my voice through the medium, I found meaningful opportunities to collaborate with Cesternino over the years.

In October of 2021, I co-produced and hosted a podcast episode for RHAP about Latin & Hispanic representation in reality television, which got incredible feedback from fans and reality television alumni alike.

On his series Rob and Akiva Need A Podcast, I served as a guest panelist on episode 132, all about High School Musical, and episode 139, Rob’s Biggest Fan, where I was declared to be his fan by a panel of fellow fans and Cesternino himself. I also got to talk shop with Cesternino during his Top 40 Survivor rewatch project in 2021, and we discussed the season that started it all for me, Survivor: One World.

When I launched an interview podcast series called Media Made Me, in which I tried to discover how the media that an individual consumes shapes their identity and personality, Rob was gracious enough to give 90 minutes of his time in July of 2023 for an interview. I remember the anxiety I was having before the interview, but the validation and response I got from the listeners and, more importantly, my friends, was immensely validating. One text I received stated that my podcast episode was “One of the best Rob appearances on an outside pod if not the best that I’ve ever heard;” To hear this feedback from another ‘child raised on RHAP’ meant so much to me, especially since I have an insane amount of respect for this person’s taste.

I’ve picked the pieces back up post-pandemic and returned to Los Angeles, continuing to be involved with RHAP and the online reality television fandom when opportunities present themselves in my busy schedule (usually through live events). And I continue to listen to as much RHAP that I am able to while still focusing on a full-time job, trying to find a new job, pursuing comedy and performance in Los Angeles, and maintaining a social life.

Why This Matters

Cesternino consistently remains an inspiration for many reasons: as a producer and storyteller, I have an immense respect for his broadcasting talent, his comedic chops and timing, and his intellectual insight and perspective; as an entrepreneur, his hard work, drive, ambition, and dedication to his craft and business consistently remind me that dreams can come true.

As a 28-year-old pushing 30, I think about where Cesternino was when he started the podcast — it took him time to figure out his career, which blossomed in his 30s, after the Great Recession of the late aughts. I often finding myself frustrated at the lack of opportunity the entertainment industry has provided post-pandemic, especially heightened after the strikes and fires in Los Angeles. I think back to that 14-year-old kid who found RHAP and all the beautiful things that blessed both myself and Cesternino in the 14 years since. I know there’s bountiful things in my future, and Cesternino’s triumphant return to reality television tonight is emblematic of the adage that good things happen to good people.

I am so excited to support my childhood hero and watch him have this renaissance in the public eye. To see him rubbing elbows with the entertainment industry glitterati, such as Lisa Rinna, Ron Funches, and Tara Lipinski, while millions of luminary fans of The Traitors get to be reacquainted with Cesternino, or discover him for the first time, is insanely exciting. I know I had great taste as a child, becoming a fan of his at 14; now I’m excited to share my love of him and his content with my friends and fellow fans of The Traitors. Rob Has A Podcast has been the most dominant piece of media that shaped me as an individual (more than Survivor, more than Disney, more than Glee); I am so thrilled for the next chapter of Cesternino’s legacy to be written, and I cannot wait to be a small part of the ride for this, and all his future adventures.

Thank you Rob Cesternino, for everything you have given me, and good luck this season! I hope it was a blast in the castle this summer, and I look forward to the childhood joy of watching you on television (the first time I get to do so, live).

Subscribe now

Looking Back Upon Goals

My first newsletter of the year focused on the goals I had set upon myself, and while I expected to look back upon those aspirations with little accomplishment, I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I had accomplished. I produced my first AND second comedy shows, with the first one selling out. I recorded 80% of the two podcast projects I set out for myself, so even if I did not “cross the finish line,” I still put a lot of time and effort into my craft. Additionally, I began drafting a short film and wrote both a sketch AND a short, Bluey-inspired pilot, the latter for my application to the Sesame Place Workshop. Lastly, I filed for an LLC and am, on paper, a small business owner of an independent production company. I find myself to be a very ambitious person, and while I was not able to check off all the boxes, I am proud of the effort I put out and the progress I have made in these realms.

Professional Depression

I will be fully upfront that my career prospects fill me with an existential dread. When I was finishing my degree in Film and Television, I had multiple professors lecture upon the notion that the film industry would be bountiful with opportunity as more companies enter the streaming game. Unfortunately, those promises would disintegrate as the world shut down in March 2020, killing all the momentum I had been gaining. I graduated college in May 2020, and the film industry has never recovered in the over five years since. I’ve had many close calls but between the strikes, the fires, and the streaming bubble popping, I have yet to find my footing in the industry I dreamed to contribute to since I was a very little kid.

Additionally, I have found myself to be increasingly jaded within my current workplace. I try to remain grateful for the full-time job with great benefits at a movie studio, but it is hard when corruption and toxicity surround every corner of my department. I keep my head down and do my job, but I have felt the corrosion of my heart over the years, and I yearn to find happiness again. And I felt it for a fleeting moment, when I got another job offer; unfortunately, due to “new policies” that blindsided me (and all my peers), I was unable to return to my part-time role that I originated in, leaving me vulnerable to an independent contractor role with no benefits. I had to make the immensely difficult decision to keep this job and forego the opportunity, a decision I second-guess daily.

This year exemplified the old adage that “your coworkers are not your friends,” a cruel reality I unfortunately found myself understanding more and more as the year went on. It became a painful reality that my workplace is not a safe space for me, and that, while I am exceptional at what I do, I do not have the desire to sacrifice much more of my well-being for an environment that tends to bring out the worst in others I previously saw as good-hearted individuals. To be clear, there are a few gems that fall through the cracks of this cold-hearted establishment, but those are becoming harder to find as time goes on.

In terms of progress, I did interview at both Creative Arts Agency and TikTok in the summer. And I have begun to excel at networking and am proud of the confidence I have demonstrated while honing this skillset.

I think back to the young, naive 24-year-old who started this job, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to take on the world. I promise to myself that in 2026, I will find that happy individual once again, and I will soon turn the page onto the next chapter of this book.

Personal Relationships

While some relationships have faltered or outright disintegrated, those that matter have continued to flourish. And while it is painful to reflect on what seems to be no longer there (especially with individuals one felt especially close to), I have also found some incredible new friendships this year, which have been profoundly rewarding.

In January, I entered what would become an “on-again, off-again” relationship with a wonderful “young lady” (as my friend Quandel would say) named Felicia; while we’re not together anymore, she has become one of my best friends in a very short timeframe, and I look forward to the many adventures we will continue to have together, including a potential disc jockeying class.

Additionally, I have become a permanent third-wheel to my friends Travis and Alex, whom I met in July. I had so much admiration for their adventurous lifestyle (it feels like they are traveling almost every weekend), and I feel immense joy getting to live vicariously through their adventures via stories and social media on the rare weekend they are in Los Angeles.

One of the rarely unspoken joys of life is the opportunity to make new friendships with the people your friends date. A few of my friends have entered new relationships, and getting to be introduced their significant others has been a delightful new experience in my late-20s.

Lately, I have also found myself reconnecting with friends from my early-20s, primarily from the pandemic era, which has been immensely healing. For a guy who feels lost and disconnected from the world that he currently inhabits, it has been exhilarating hearing about the accomplishments of my longtime friends. I look forward to celebrating these accomplishments, including multiple weddings, in 2026.

Pop Culture Consumption

I ventured out to the movie theaters 62.25 times this year (.25 for the time I had to leave my first screening of M3GAN 2.0 because of the obnoxious teenagers playing musical chairs and screaming at each other for the first act of the film). I saw seven AMC re-releases (and took my first trip to the Vista for my friend’s birthday screening of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood); getting to experience Jaws and Casper for the first time, and rewatching Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, The Breakfast Club, Toy Story, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Back to the Future on the big screen, was a great use of my AMC A-List pass.

My favorite original movie was Twinless, a dark comedy about two men who meet in a support group for twin grief. Other standouts of the year were Zootopia 2, Sinners, Elio, and Is This Thing On?. My least favorite movie of the year was HIM.

A goal of my year was to read eight books this year; I read 7.5 with inflation (two audiobook re-listens of Rob Cesternino and Taran Armstrong’s Blockumentary duology, as well as half of Mockingjay). My favorite was Catching Fire, but Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum and Disney High: The Untold Story of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire by Ashley Spencer both captured my interest as well.

Regarding television, I watched 620 new episodes of television, with the first episode being of Squid Game and the last being of Heated Rivalry (I did watch half of an episode of Ironheart on Tuesday evening, and intend to finish it). My favorite shows of the year, in order, were Australian Survivor vs. The World, Adolescence, Andor, The White Lotus, and The Pitt.

Below will be some addendums, inspired by my friend Daniel’s yearly newsletters.

Family and Travels

I started the year off in Rio de Janeiro and (unfortunately and against my wishes) ended the year in Los Angeles. In January, I visited Búzios and Rio de Janeiro; in March, I traveled to Rio again for my grandmother’s 90th birthday. I took two trips to Boston in the spring, an RHAP event and my brother’s graduation. In June, I went to visit my friends Kosta, Vale, and Candela in San Francisco. For my 28th birthday at the end of July, my family and I went to Disney World in Florida, and we spent the day at EPCOT. In November, I returned to San Francisco for another RHAP event. For Thanksgiving, I went to Indiana for the first time to spend the week with my brother and parents in West Lafayette, where my parents have relocated to.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see this tremendous world and experience it with the people I care about most. My birthday trip especially was the happiest I remember being in a long time.

2026

I believe in 2026 to bring me immense happiness and new opportunities. I have faith that good things are coming my way, especially as the Chinese New Year presents us with the Year of the Fire Horse, which is characterized by moments of seizing opportunity, transformation, and community, all of which are key elements I find relevant to my life at this stage.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read all this. Feel free to reach out with your favorite movie or show from 2025 if you got to this part.

Obrigadeiro for reading,

Felipe

ADDENDUM

1. Every Show I Watched An Episode of

   Abbott Elementary

   Adolescence

   Andor

   Australian Survivor: Australia vs the World

   Australian Survivor: Blood vs Water

   Australian Survivor: Brains vs Brawn

   Australian Survivor: Brains vs Brawn II

   Australian Survivor: Heroes vs Villains

   Big Brother 27

   Black Mirror

   Daredevil: Born Again

   Deal Or No Deal Island

   Echo

   English Teacher

   Everwood

   Four Seasons

   Heated Rivalry

   I Love LA

   Ironheart

   Nobody Wants This

   Overcompensating

   Phineas and Ferb

   Pluribus

   Seinfeld

   Severance

   Shrinking

   Skeleton Crew

   SpongeBob SquarePants

   Squid Game

   Squid Game: The Challenge

   Star Wars: The Clone Wars

   Storybots: Answer Time

   Suits L.A.

   Superstore

   Survivor 48

   Survivor 49

   Survivor South Africa: Champions

   Sweet Tooth

   The Amazing Race 38

   The Celebrity Traitors UK

   The Challenge: Vets and New Threats

   The Last Of Us

   The Pitt

   The Real Housewives of Miami

   The Sex Lives of College Girls

   The Studio

   The Traitors US

   The White Lotus

   Total Drama Action

   Vampirina

   What If...?

   Wizards Beyond Waverly Place

   You

   Your Friends & Neighbors

2. Every Movie I Watched In Theaters

   A Nice Indian Boy

   Anaconda

   Avatar: Fire and Ash

   Avatar: The Way of Water

   Back To The Future

   Ballerina

   Black Bag

   Captain America: Brave New World

   Casper

   Caught Stealing

   Conclave

   Dog Man

   Drop

   Elio

   Eternity

   Fantastic 4: First Steps

   Five Nights At Freddy’s 2

   Hamnet

   Him

   I’m Still Here

   Is This Thing On?

   Jaws

   Jurassic World: Rebirth

   M3GAN 2.0

   Marty Supreme

   Materialists

   Mickey 17

   Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

   Nickel Boys

   Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

   Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

   One Battle After Another

   One Of Them Days

   Paddington In Peru

   Sinners

   Sonic The Hedgehog 3

   Splitsville

   Springsteen: Deliver Me To Nowhere

   Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

   Superman

   The Bad Guys 2

   The Breakfast Club

   The Brutalist

   The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

   The History of Sound

   The Naked Gun

   The Secret Agent

   The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants

   Thunderbolts*

   Toy Story

   Twinless

   Wake Up Dead Man

   Weapons

   Wicked: For Good

   Zootopia 2

3. Every Book I “Read”

   Big Brother 2 Blockumentary — Rob Cesternino & Taran Armstrong

   Big Brother 3 Blockumentary — Rob Cesternino & Taran Armstrong

   Budget Travel — Geoffrey Morrison

   Catching Fire — Suzanne Collins

   Cue The Sun! The Invention of Reality TV — Emily Nussbaum

   Disney High: The Untold Story of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire — Ashley Spencer

   Nice Girls Don’t Win — Parvati Shallow

4. Top 3 Books

   Catching Fire — Suzanne Collins

   Cue The Sun! The Invention of Reality TV — Emily Nussbaum

   Disney High: The Untold Story of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire — Ashley Spencer

5. Top 10 Television Shows (New Releases)

   1. Australian Survivor vs The World

   2. Adolescence

   3. Andor

   4. The White Lotus

   5. The Pitt

   6. Pluribus

   7. Traitors

   8. Heated Rivalry

   9. Overcompensating

   10. Deal or No Deal Island

6. Top 20 Movie Experiences (New Releases)

   1. Twinless

   2. Zootopia 2

   3. Sinners

   4. Elio

   5. Is This Thing On?

   6. The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

   7. Jurassic World: Rebirth

   8. Weapons

   9. One Of Them Days

   10. Anaconda

   11. O Agente Secreto

   12. A Nice Indian Boy

   13. Wicked: For Good

   14. Avatar: Fire and Ash

   15. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

   16. The Bad Guys 2

   17. Mickey 17

   18. Superman

   19. Marty Supreme

   20. Wake Up Dead Man

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 17 - "Super Hero-ld." They discuss the episode and pick two different superhero movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 16 - "Dial M For Merger." They discuss the episode and pick two different spy movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 15 - "Million Dollar Babies." They discuss the episode and pick two different sports movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes AJ back to the podcast as they journey to the Sorghum City for a recap of Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown.

Have any questio…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes Ari Ferarri back to the podcast as they journey to the Muscle Moto X Off Road Challenge for a recap of Scooby-Doo! and W…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes Matt P to the podcast as they journey to Brickton Studios for a recap of LEGO Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood.

Have any que…

Read more

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 14 - "One Million Bucks, B.C." They discuss the episode and pick two different pre-historic movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes Corey B to the podcast as they journey to Grimsley Manor for a recap of LEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror.

Have any que…

Read more

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 13 - "Ocean's Eight - or Nine." They discuss the episode and pick two different heist movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes Todd back to the podcast as they journey to Detroit Rock City for a recap of Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery.

Read more

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 12 - "Aftermath II: Forgive & For-Gwen." They discuss the episode and pick two different movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes Jenn back to the podcast as they journey to Florida for a recap of Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie from 2015.

Have any …

Read more

In this episode, the duo recap Total Drama Action episode 11 - "Full Metal Drama." They discuss the episode and pick two different war movies to battle in the Letterboxd segment.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…

Read more

In this episode, Felipe welcomes Nicole back to the podcast as they journey to Transylvania for a recap of Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness from 2015.

Hav…

Read more