World Book Day is proud to present 'Todd Douglas: Boy Wizard' in association with Pinbury Town Council, Pinbury Rotary Club and Southwestern Railways. Written and narrated by the author, P.G. Spalding. Any resemblance to existing boy wizards is purely coincidental. © Funk & Wagnalls, 1999.

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals! After being visited by three ghosts in the night, Tom and Tomek have been spooked into doing an Encarta and Chill Christmas special and you better believe it's packed with more unnecessary filler than a turducken. 'Tis the season to reflect upon the legend of Graggle Simpson, Batman and Robin's wildlife crimes and THE most 90s cameo you will ever find in a pantomime. Gifts are exchanged, poems are shared and a giant Portuguese bird is marvelled at. ...Oh, and keep your eyes on your podcast app of choice tomorrow for an extra little treat nestled beneath the proverbial tree - don't worry, Mum's got the receipt!

It’s time once again to dial up and clear out the Encarta & Chill AOL inbox before it exceeds its 5MB of storage. When you’re as lackadaisical about research as we are, it’s always a ducksend to be able to turn to our unofficial team of experts with a penchant for penning emails more promising than if they carried the subject 'Pictures of Anna Kournikova, definitely not a virus...' In our fourth correspondence special, you help us uncover the raunchy secrets hidden within the Spice World video game, ponder the purpose of popper tracksuit bottoms, and recoil at the thought of being burdened with a pile of nugget buddies (as easily as they may be remedied by a comfortable pair of said popper tracksuit bottoms). John Wark, Dexter Holland’s decoy, and the Princess Diana Beanie Baby round out a stellar lineup of whimsy to draw the curtain/Rachel on 2025.

If your grandad ever tries to bore you with talk of the Preston North End 'Invincibles,' point him in the direction of the latest Encarta and Chill watchalong. This episode sees Tom and Tom attempting to make sense of the “unprecedented sports television machine” that was Sky Sports in the early ’90s - an operation of Death Star proportions that left fans in no doubt that the beautiful game was, in fact, invented in 1992. “A whole new ball game” was the mission statement as the Premier League burst into life amidst a flurry of quasi-erotic shower sequences, giant Bart Simpsons, and breakfast in bed courtesy of Anders Limpar’s wife. It's time to go football crazy, podcast mad, but can you really do a watchalong of a 90-second TV advert? When it’s the greatest 90 seconds ever committed to film, you can.

Grab your best Kangol bucket hat, throw on your United Colours of Benetton sweater, and slip into your freshest pair of Reebok Classics – or whatever your mum’s laid out on the bed (Donnay, probably) – because it’s time to talk fashion! The Toms may only wear red and blue jumpers, but this week they’ll be reminiscing about a time when their drips gave Dennis Taylor and Princess Diana a run for their money. They’ll also be discussing alternatives to 'The Rachel', exploring the origins of Mufti Day, and presenting evidence that could blow one of the world’s most notorious Mandela Effects wide open.

Did Mariah Carey write the music for Wario Land? No. Did Michael Jackson write the music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3? Quite possibly... And that’s not even the most fascinating piece of video game folklore Encarta and Chill has to offer this week - because this is a podcast that dares to accuse Geri Halliwell of committing high treason in her own video game! Join Tom and Tomek for their second look back at ’90s gaming in an episode that - much like Metal Gear Solid - is best enjoyed from inside a box.

Hei! Tervetuloa Encarta ja Chill. Jos pystyt lukemaan tämän, älä tuhlaa aikaa tämän tekstin kääntämiseen, vaan paina play-nappia... Have Tom and Tom run out of ideas, or is this actually the most fitting 90s topic of all? Far from the distracting colours, shapes, and sounds exported to British shores from across the Atlantic, one particular Nordic republic quietly set about changing how we communicate about the former forever. No era-appropriate mood board would be complete without a Nokia handset and it's the Finnish pulp-mill-turned-telecommunications giant that provides the backbone of this episode. Sure, it was assumed the fourth-largest listener base would be Canadian. Yes, a Due South watchalong was already in the works to celebrate that fact. But instead, here's an episode about Moomins and Mika Häkkinen. Just don’t make the same mistake as Kelly Rowland by trying to listen to this through an Excel spreadsheet.

The Toms are planning a birthday party — and you’re all invited… although you will have to fight them for Colin the Caterpillar’s face. Encarta and Chill is celebrating its very first podcastiversary, so expect the passing of anticlimactic parcels, orange juice weaker than a kitten, and of course, a McDonald’s balloon on a stick. Set against a backdrop of sickly Dalmatian cakes, sticky ball pits, and shticky bugs voiced by Woody Allen, this promises to be the ultimate 90s kinder soirée. And don’t forget to grab a party bag on your way out (translation: stay tuned until the end of the episode for some BONUS AUDIO — which, frankly, doesn’t deserve the capital letters it was just announced in).

If - like many - you consider Ryan Gosling's best on-screen outing to be The Notebook, Half Nelson or Bladerunner 2049, you're DEAD wrong. Say cheese and DRIVE as Tom and Tomek fire up the Ford Taurus to revisit one of Gosling's first major roles fresh out of The Mickey Mouse Club... a 1996 episode of Goosebumps! It’s officially spooky season, so what better way to celebrate than with another Encarta and Chill watchalong? Expect a haunted camera, a porcelain goose, and the most disappointing family barbecue of all time. But how much of that will steal focus from Canada’s finest thespian/hammer-wielding stuntman?

Noble cause, questionable content - a fitting appraisal of both Comic Relief and the podcast that is about to spend half an hour talking about said charity. This episode of Encarta and Chill focuses on three singles that sum up fundraising in the ‘90s better than if Tomek had recorded the whole thing from a bath of beans. David Bowie invents Y2K Futurism, Elton John’s funereal tributes are upstaged by Ed the Duck, and Tom loses the will to live.

It's Morphin time! Before becoming the cultural phenomenon that was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, an unhinged, unaired pilot episode (and pilot whale!) threatened to derail everything. Welcome to a time when dinosaurs ruled the bowling alleys with their ableist slurs, a sky scraper (singular) had a mind of its own, and a stinky space witch set out to conquer earth... and some other neighbouring planet that is also there. Only four teenagers with attitude can save the day... and some grade-A nerd named Billy who is also there. Join Tom and Tomek as they wheel out the TV/VCR combo for a watchalong of a piece of television that almost certainly should have stayed consigned to Zoltar’s gimp room. Confused? You still will be by the end of this episode.

It's about time this incredibly manly podcast got in touch with its feminine side... Following a brief hiatus (that was obviously spent chopping timber and branding cattle), Tom and Tom are back to talk Barbie, Baby-G and Britney. Girl power rules in this episode that explores the parallels between the Ancient Egyptians and Billie Piper, why Polly Pockets are prime real estate, and drops a showbiz exclusive regarding a pop icon’s unbelievable power play on Pepsi. And if that's not enough to get your pink convertible's motor running, a paper fortune teller makes a bold prediction for the podcast and Bliss magazine reveals Tomek's true style.

The House of Lords is listening, Shigeru Miyamoto is stuck down a well, and EastEnders’ Ethel is Tottenham until she dies (quite literally)… and that’s before we even get to your correspondence! WHO ruined a wedding with the help of Bart Simpson? WHAT’s so arousing about losing at GoldenEye? WHY would anyone go fishing for dinosaurs? And HOW many decibels does a Magnum ice lolly register? All these questions - and more - will be answered in Encarta and Chill's third deep dive into the mailbag.

Would you trust someone who took only a single bite out of each meal, wore a woolly hat to the beach, or shared a bed with their grandparents? Didn’t think so. Yet these were exactly the kind of deranged individuals children regularly welcomed into their imaginations in the ’90s. In the latest chapter of Encarta and Chill, Tom and Tomek have their £1 tokens at the ready as they explore the bizarre world of books. Books that inspired. Books that made noises. Books that revealed the Glowacki family’s home address… And just when Lou Bega and Sonic the Hedgehog’s cameos seemed incongruous - along comes a product-placing, bread-guzzling, copyright-infringing wizarding prodigy. After all, having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!

Dr. Kasia Tee is in da house to hold Tomek and Tom's hand through the complex world of politics... but is Encarta and Chill really about to tackle the subjects of the Maastricht Treaty, Black Wednesday, and the rise of New Labour? This was an era when ideology blurred, leadership waned, and quiet revolutions reshaped the political map forever… but who’s got time to dwell on that when Coco Pops have only gone and changed their bloody name? Despite some spin that would leave Alastair Campbell reeling, even David Blunkett can see this is an episode about Lombard Direct masquerading as one about politics.

If you ever found yourself cruising down the A303 in the ’90s and looked up to see a portly fellow kitted out in a babygrow and neckerchief, you knew things were about to get wild. Breakfast at 9pm. Pancakes endorsed by the Queen. Windows with a bovine view. What’s not to like? Quite a lot, according to the British public. This week, Tom and Tomek raise a glass of “typical full-flavoured wine” to this fallen roadside behemoth - and discover its bulimic cousin, Happy Eater, is alive and well off the southeastern coast of East Africa!

As Arsène Wenger rears his head above the African savanna and dead-eyed zebras whinny themselves into submission before their newborn king, a new episode dawns on Encarta and Chill. This week, movie music is under the spotlight - and it’s a damn bright one, because Val Kilmer is standing by with a pair of impossibly reflective lips. So be sure to don your sunglasses (and if you could put them on in unison à la Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, that’d be ideal). The lions may look bad and the aliens even worse, but Batman demands that you pay this episode some serious lip service.

A mysterious package has arrived at Encarta and Chill HQ, and Melissa Joan Hart is beckoning the Toms to take a peek inside. In this very special episode, a portal to the 1990s is torn wide open, revealing a Woolworths Pic 'n' Mix's worth of nostalgic goodies just waiting to be misremembered. Hear the shocking tale of how a gooey alien duped emergency services, uncover the hidden subtext of Tots TV, and explore the rich (tea) backstory of the PG Tips chimps. There’s also plenty of reminiscing to be done about cress, party bags, and unnecessarily sexy rabbits. ---------- Check out Natstalgia1990s on Etsy to get your hands on your own Mystery Box.A massive thank you to Kieran Scully from Folkestone for sending this one our way!

Sadly, most school buses can’t fly or transform into submarines - but they can always be relied upon to take you somewhere that sells a shark on a stick. Join Tom and Tomek as they embark on a field trip to just about anywhere except the advertised subject matter. Will there be mentions of the Natural History Museum, the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and 10 Downing Street? Possibly. Will there be meandering rambles about Furbies, naff birthday cards and 750-gram Toblerones? Guaranteed.

Coco Pops have been scientifically proven to help hippos dive off boards and broker peace with aliens - but can they convince you to tune in to the 28th instalment of Encarta and Chill? Tom and Tomek certainly hope so. After two episodes glued to the telly, they’ve saved the best for last… the adverts! So grab yourself a pint o’ gravy, crack open a rice pudding and join them as they attempt to turn your milk chocolatey with a patience-testing deep dive into the greatest sporting comeback in the history of the Amazon rainforest.