Shawn Dennis joins us for a fast-moving conversation that ricochets from the Janet-Jackson “boob-bowl” to Trolls in space, the emotional architecture of Shrek, the NFL’s global reach, and even Tiananmen Square.

Across her career—from Kenner Toys to Universal Studios Orlando, from the NFL to American Girl, and finally to DreamWorks—Shawn has helped shape some of the most influential brands in modern entertainment.

We dig into what happens when a theme park opens and nothing works, why some characters refuse to fade, why the Trolls franchise needed a complete rebuild, and what DreamWorks uncovered about the emotional blueprint behind films like Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon.

The result is a wide-ranging conversation about storytelling, spectacle, cultural flashpoints, and the often VERY strange ways pop culture moves through the world.