Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Helle Strandgaard Jensen, "Sesame Street: A Transnational History" (Oxford UP, 2023)

Host: Pete Kunze
Guest: Helle Strandgaard Jensen (Associate Professor, Aarhus University)
Date: December 29, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode of New Books and Media, host Pete Kunze interviews Helle Strandgaard Jensen about her book, Sesame Street: A Transnational History. The discussion explores how Sesame Street evolved from an American educational TV series into a global media phenomenon, and how its transnational travels reveal much about childhood, education, media, and business in the modern world. Jensen challenges common perceptions about the show’s altruism and anti-commercial ethos, offering a nuanced, comparative history that examines Sesame Street’s adaptation, resistance, and reinvention across different cultural contexts.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

Helle Jensen’s Background and Path to Sesame Street

• Jensen’s Academic Journey: Trained as a historian in Denmark (Aarhus University, formerly Roskilde). Earned a PhD at the European University Institute, Florence, followed by fellowships in the US, UK, Sweden, Norway. Now Associate Professor and co-director for the Center for Digital History at Aarhus ([02:09]).
• Initial Interest: Her MA thesis explored Danish children’s TV and found Kermit the Frog’s influence on local characters. This sparked a curiosity about Sesame Street’s international impact:

  “The producer…who was very inspired by Kermit to make this Danish frog, he talked a lot in his papers about… a sort of fear and fascination relationship with Sesame Street really piqued my interest.” ([03:18])

Moving Beyond Nostalgia: Why a Transnational Approach?

• Existing Literature (e.g., Street Gang documentary/book) often focuses on nostalgia and US-centric celebration.
• Jensen’s Aim: To shift from domestic history to comparative, transnational, and business-focused analysis, considering both successful and failed cases.
• What’s Missing: Previous works rarely discuss the “business side of Sesame Street” or critically interrogate its model of childhood.

  “Money is not as cute as the Muppets…It’s definitely money sturdy sometimes.” ([05:47])

The Research Process

• Global Archival Work: Jensen visited archives in 7 countries, covering 11 archives, often facing incomplete records, especially in Italy and France ([09:42], [13:12]).
• Tool: Used Tropy software to organize, tag, and cross-reference materials, enabling detailed comparative research ([09:42]).
• Archival Realities: Comparative work is shaped by what archives have survived—children's media is often under-preserved ([12:44]).

The Origins of Sesame Street in US Social Policy

• Context: Developed under the Johnson administration (Head Start, War on Poverty), with funding from Carnegie and Ford foundations ([14:29], [18:44]).
• Educational Model: Relied heavily on cognitive psychology; aimed to “improve the individual child” with numeracy and literacy, rather than enacting structural change.

  “Thinking about the educational system as somewhere where the individual can improve their way of life…the individual can get to live the American dream is a very individually focused way…” ([14:29])

• Progressive Critique: The series reflected a shift away from progressive, socially oriented education toward measurable outcomes ([18:44]).

Positioning in the US Media Landscape

• Business Strategy: CTW (now Sesame Workshop) firmly positioned Sesame Street as “not commercial, not Disney,” but initially tried to sell to commercial networks/Disney before joining PBS ([20:35]).
• Target Audience: Ostensibly disadvantaged children, but mass medium logic and cognitive psychology led to a generalized “model child” ([20:35]).

The Business Side: Merchandise and Markets

• Cross-Media Franchise: Merchandise and licensing were crucial for financial sustainability; grant funding was time-limited ([24:15]).
• Product Philosophy Shift: Initially insisted on only “educational” merchandise, but loosened as scale increased ([24:15]).
• “Selling, But Appearing Not to Sell”: Maintained nonprofit/anti-commercial branding while engaging in commercial practices, especially abroad.

  “I go really into detail with this selling, like selling but appearing not to sell strategy. That was fascinating…” ([28:55])

Entering Global Markets: Early Push and Obstacles

• Early International Strategy: CTW began marketing Sesame Street globally in 1968, even before the US premiere ([29:40]).

  “It is the strategy. It’s not something…people just saw that this was amazing in the US…but that’s not how cultural transfer happens.” ([30:41])

• Sales Agents: Hired agents in the UK and France to open European markets; early success in Latin America despite financial uncertainty ([30:41]).
• Cultural Imperialism & Localization: Criticisms emerged of “Americanization” and the show’s educational philosophy, especially in Western Europe, where public service broadcasting and progressive education already dominated ([34:18]).

Case Studies in Localization and Resistance

• Western Europe: Emphasis on collaborative, arts-and-crafts, and culturally specific children’s programming over “hardcore education.” Sesame Street seen as conservative ([35:54]).
• West Germany: Local producers insisted on anti-authoritarian messaging for children; were able to leverage financial importance to CTW to force concessions ([38:18]).

  “Children are seen as a social group that needs to be able to think on their own, be empowered, stand up, speak back…” ([38:18])

• Scandinavia: Collaboration failed over IP and expectations—Scandinavians preferred to swap content informally, clashed with CTW’s commercial/IP demands ([41:40]).
• The Muppet Exception: Everyone wanted Muppets, but CTW wouldn’t license them alone; insisted on the complete educational package ([41:40]).

The Negotiation of Brand and Identity

• Transnational Production Cultures: Negotiations and tensions—between Americans, Europeans, and among Europeans themselves—revealed the complexities of making the “brand” global ([45:31]).
• Brand Recognition and Merchandise: European broadcasters’ handling of Sesame Street affected brand integrity and the ability to sell related merchandise ([45:31]).

Challenging the “Sacred Cow” of Sesame Street

• Myth-Busting: The image of Sesame Street as purely altruistic and anti-commercial is contradicted by historical necessity and financial realities ([48:23]).

  “I didn’t set out to dig into dirt…following money, it’s not cute, but it’s been fascinating.” ([48:23])

• Limitation of US Model: The “culture free” cognitive child model was resisted abroad, revealing its US-centric (and era-specific) biases ([48:23], [52:13]).
• Historical Perspective: Sesame Street’s business and educational strategies made sense in their historical context but are not timeless or universal ([52:13]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Transnational Turn:

  “Global history…turns around domestic history. You see what you miss... For instance, the business of Sesame Street is rarely touched upon in these nostalgic tales.” — Helle ([05:47])

• On the Archive:

  “You don’t go into the archive with a question. You go into the archive, you see what they have, and then you build the questions out from what you can find.” — Pete ([13:49])

• On Cultural Imperialism:

  “The workshop says it’s coincidental and people just…found this amazing thing in the US, but that’s not how cultural transfer happens…” — Helle ([30:41])

• On “Selling but Not Selling”:

  “I go really into detail with this selling, like selling but appearing not to sell strategy…how do you craft such a strategy and how are you so successful with it?” — Helle ([28:55])

• On Localization & Resistance:

  “In West Germany…to avoid having a repetition of the war…the way in which we can avoid having a repetition of the war, the Holocaust, is to have…children be more critical, stand up to adult authorities.” — Helle ([38:18])

• On “Model Child” Limitations:

  “That’s not…a very cognitive psychology model where you don’t consider social, cultural backgrounds of the kids…” — Helle ([20:35])

• On the Myth of Altruism:

  “It wasn’t…financially viable. There was no business model where it could stay…anti-commercial. It just couldn’t.” — Helle ([48:23])

Key Timestamps

• [02:09] Jensen explains her academic and research background.
• [03:18] Origin of her interest in Sesame Street—Danish TV’s “jazz frog” vs. Kermit.
• [05:47] Why a transnational/business approach; contrasts with US-centric nostalgia.
• [09:42] Description of research process and technical tools for data management.
• [14:29] Sesame Street’s link to 1960s US social policy/government programs.
• [18:44] Cognitive psychology’s influence; critique of progressive education.
• [20:35] CTW’s business positioning and target audience construction.
• [24:15] Finding the money: franchise, merchandise, and evolving business strategies.
• [29:40] Early international marketing strategies, including Europe and Latin America.
• [34:18] European resistance; emphasis on cultural and child-centric education.
• [38:18] Case study: West German localization and negotiation with CTW.
• [41:40] “Failures”: UK and Scandinavia—why attempts at localization sometimes failed.
• [45:31] Brand and IP management across markets; cross-national production tensions.
• [48:23] Rethinking Sesame Street’s legacy—beyond the “sacred cow.”
• [53:36] Jensen’s next project on public/media debates about children.

Conclusion and Looking Ahead

Jensen’s Sesame Street: A Transnational History reframes the beloved show as a product of particular historical, political, and economic realities, rather than an apolitical force for good. Her transnational and business-centered analysis reveals the complexities of translating American educational ideals abroad—and the negotiations, failures, and reinventions that ensued. Ultimately, she argues for a more critical, historicized understanding of children’s media, to the benefit of both scholars and practitioners.

Coming up: Jensen’s next book project will explore public debates about children and media, using digital history tools to trace controversies from the past 40 years across the US, UK, and Scandinavia ([53:36]).

End of Summary