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The Story Of 'Veggie Tales': A 'Preach' Podcast Special

VeggieTales Preach image.
Renee Bright / KUER

If you grew up in the 1990s, or if you're the parent of someone who did, your life was probably touched in some way by "VeggieTales." The computer-animated show featured singing vegetables that teach kids bible stories. It became a Christian media empire, with a bestselling VHS and DVD series, a broadcast TV version and even a feature film. Then it went bankrupt. 

In this one-hour special from the podcast Preach, host Lee Hale explores the rise and fall of VeggieTales with its two creators, a.k.a. Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, who first met on their bible college's (wait for it, wait for it...) puppet team.

With "VeggieTales" staging a comeback, hear the story of how Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki created a massive cultural franchise, why it all fell apart, and what they learned about faith along the way.

Lee Hale began listening to KUER while he was teaching English at a Middle School in West Jordan (his one hour commute made for plenty of listening time). Inspired by what he heard he applied for the Kroc Fellowship at NPR headquarters in DC and to his surprise, he got it. Since then he has reported on topics ranging from TSA PreCheck to micro apartments in overcrowded cities to the various ways zoo animals stay cool in the summer heat. But, his primary focus has always been education and he returns to Utah to cover the same schools he was teaching in not long ago. Lee is a graduate of Brigham Young University and is also fascinated with the way religion intersects with the culture and communities of the Beehive State. He hopes to tell stories that accurately reflect the beliefs that Utahns hold dear.
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