Dawn’s back in California, surfing, and SOLVING A MURDER?!? (We can only hope that this series has taken a Law & Order turn.) Thrash’s board shows up and he’s gone! What are they gonna do? Emily talks about surfers’ political work in the eighties and nineties, Esme talks about separation anxiety and sports psychology, and Anne schools us on JAMS! Surf’s up, tune in!

Did you guys know that Stacey is really gorgeous and has an amazing physique? Well, she does. So both RJ Blaser and Robert Brewster are falling all over themselves for her and she decides to try out for the cheerleading team (and thus, for membership in “The Group”). Esme talks about middle school cliques and their influence and Anne and Emily bring us all kinds of nuggets and analysis about cheerleaders. Rah rah *SIS* boom bah! Get it!?!?

Mal is felled by mono! No kissing for this girl, just disease and a forced break from the BSC. We discuss the increased risk of depression with mono, settler colonialism, and the Quiz Show scandal from the 1950s. Who doesn’t love Snoopy? Also, this is book SIXTY-NINE. Just sayin’.

Claudia is truly living her best life in this one! Meet a famous artist she adores? Check. Attend a fancy museum party in one of Mimi’s kimonos? Check. Catch a thief in the process of an actual museum heist? Check! It’s a fun romp as the New Museum of Stoneybrook takes the town by storm and our girls (led by Claud of course!) catch the culprit! We spend way too long talking about which baby-sitter is which animal, Anne for some reason knows that koalas get chlamydia (or is it syphilis?) and no one wants to take any Pikes to the mall. Join us!

Jessi invites Wendy to replace Dawn and she… acts 11? But also just doesn’t want to work so hard. Same girl. Anne tells us about another white man who stole some stuff while Emily explains taxation to us (again!). Also, can Anne name 100 candies?

Dawn is homesick and it’s Not. Going. Away. Spoiler: she’s leaving for six months. How will the BSC survive? Also, can Stoneybrook beat Lawrenceville in the Run For Your Money? Join us to find out! Emily talks about families again, Esme talks about ambivalence, and Anne FINALLY GETS TO TALK ABOUT TOFU. Another white guys is messing with a culture’s food, you guys. ZzzzGrrrZzzz.

Stacey and Charlotte catch a counterfeiter! This is one of the few books Emily remembers from her salad days, leading us to wonder why she did not become a counterfeiter. We go over some familiar BSC content in this one— moving, incompetence of police, the carceral state, you get it. Also, lots of candy and a cute boy! Thank goodness floppy hair is finally returning to culture.

LOW-KEY ALERT! This episode includes a spoiler about “The Good Place!” OK, where we were? Ah, yes. Mary Anne gets deep into sewing and needlework and starts a sewing club for kids. It’s hard to believe she has time for this given how much work she’s doing for poor Mrs. Towne. It almost seems like Moral OCD to Esme, so we talk about that! Emily talks about sissies for a bit and Anne has a bunch of nuggets, including renaming “California Girls.” Also, a BSC Big 5!

Wow, Logan is… in trouble with a gang of 1950s toughs? In 1993, in Stoneybrook? Follow along as we watch him be an accessory to many crimes. Emily covers typologies of masculinity while Esme tries to learn what we know about shoplifting (in an academic sense). Anne just wants this whole book to be a musical (honestly, it should be). At any rate, we all need nicknames now. Like the Badd Boyz.

It’s back to Sea City! For the whole BSC! But… not until 122 pages in. Also, there’s a Hurricane. We discuss preparing kids for disaster, whether or not Logan is actually… evolving? And why Ann M. Martin keeps referencing the same 6 texts. Also, the climax of the book comes on page 3: what is superior, Heath or Skor? Listen to find out!!

It’s been three years since we took an idle conversational joke and turned it into a podcast! Join us a we play some games (and successfully stump each other), reflect on what the BSC and the podcast have meant to us, and finally answer whether Ted Lasso is really a Kristy or not. Thank you, listeners! We love you!!!

GONE FISHIN'. (Well, not really FISHING, but you know what we mean.)

Kristy goes from mansion to mansion as the Krashers get stranded in a big storm that washes out BOTH THE BRIDGES to the old Sawyer place. We discuss whether the daring Dorothy Sawyer really may have had other options, play some get to know you games to make our team stronger, and sing the praises of Charlie’s big brotherness. Two pizzas isn’t enough, y’all.

Stacey falls in LUV with one Mr. Wesley Ellenburg, the Tom Cruisiest student teacher to ever grace SMS. Charlotte crushes on Bruce Cominsky and then gives him the brushoff but also? There’s a baby goat. And in case you’re unclear, she is CUTE. Esme discusses the psych literature on crushes (and says “fondle” too many times for anyone’s liking) and Anne and Emily have a surfeit of delicious pop culture and feminist nuggets (but none as delicious as “all-natural crispy rancho-style veggie rice nuggets with nacho substitute cheese-food flavor”).

We are on the road with the Spier-Schafers! Sharon and Richard are not equipped and Esme tells us why. Emily wonders what this book (with clear Boston Tourism spon con) would be like if it was written now with, um, ANY acknowledgement of non-white people. And Anne had a whole pack of nuggets! It’s a 20 piece! Listen in and say a prayer for Marshall Gaines, family photographer.

Is this book is about crime? It is not. It’s about NYC glamour! It’s about dancing! It’s about the Palm Court and Zabar’s! Emily and Anne have lots of nuggets, and Esme makes them take a Dating Questionnaire for their eleven year old selves. Also, are any actors good? Emily is suspicious. Tune in and find out!

Emily’s mom (and Esme’s sister) is in town just in time for the publication of this banger by the mysterious Margot Becker R. We discuss Dayna’s boomer childhood compared to Ann’s boomer childhood, plus what we think was left out of the story when Scholastic pushed this to market in 1993 (and why Dayna’s current students that love the BSC wouldn’t love this book). Hard work gets you everywhere, people! Plus lots of nuggets including the original Pikes (and Emily MISSED IT).

Have we mentioned lately that we think Claudia has ADHD? In this book we learn that she doesn’t have dyslexia, but Shea Rodowsky does. Of course, this is an opportunity for Esme to talk about validation and dialectics, Emily to talk about fictional and proposed “fashion czars/tsars,” and Anne to have a nugget fest, from Whoopee cushions to Jordan Catalano! Join us, won’t you?

This book is not kind to kids in the foster system! But is it on purpose, to help us relate? Or is it just crap? We discuss Lou McNally’s genderqueer presentation and the dangers of equating that with her trauma. Also, a riveting BSC Big 5!!!

Jessi is helping teach a class for underprivileged children… and her classmate Mary develops an eating disorder. In this Very Special Episode of the Baby-sitters Club we learn a LOT, especially because we are helped along by our friend Dr. Sasha Gorrell! Sasha is (incredibly) a former professional ballerina and a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. She helps us tease out the psychological and medical reasons people develop EDs and separate them from the sociocultural (but you KNOW Emily brings those theories, especially in regards to how this all relates to femininity). Meanwhile, Anne uncovers some more spon-con… this one’s a Whopper.

Jessi is helping teach a class for underprivileged children… and her classmate Mary develops an eating disorder. In this Very Special Episode of the Baby-sitters Club we learn a LOT, especially because we are helped along by our friend Dr. Sasha Gorrell! Sasha is (incredibly) a former professional ballerina and a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. She helps us tease out the psychological and medical reasons people develop EDs and separate them from the sociocultural (but you KNOW Emily brings those theories, especially in regards to how this all relates to femininity). Meanwhile, Anne uncovers some more spon-con… this one’s a Whopper.

Mary Anne decides to get a normal haircut in order to continue to be herself (as Emily points out, not a makeover!) and everyone loses their mind while Carolyn Arnold tries to build a time machine. WILL SHE SUCCEED? Will Dawn and Kristy manage their emotions? Does Esme try to justify all of their behavior by again reminding Anne and Emily that they’re all 13 year old children? Listen and find out! Also, some prime Back to the Future content, of course. In this particular “Hot Take,” we relive one of Emily's favorite childhood books: “The Box Car Children,” which to the title is about children who… live in a literal box car. We explore just how darn *INDUSTRIOUS* these kids are, why Henry is so fast (Anne's verdict: "practical") and how the three of us would fare as orphan sisters in a boxcar or abandoned barn. You're not wrong if you assume we may be in trouble.

We met Donny on Instagram and could tell immediately that he was the kind of *STAR* we needed to discuss SS9, “Starring the Baby-sitters Club!” We learn about Donny’s antics on Instagram, TikTok, and Elon Musk’s Twitter while we discuss just how racist and sexist “Peter Pan” is, how good theater is for teenagers (according to theater teachers: VERY GOOD), and delve a little into what choices high schools make in their play and musical selections across the decades. Come with us and SING OUT, LOUISE! In this particular “Hot Take,” we relive one of Emily's favorite childhood books: “The Box Car Children,” which to the title is about children who… live in a literal box car. We explore just how darn *INDUSTRIOUS* these kids are, why Henry is so fast (Anne's verdict: "practical") and how the three of us would fare as orphan sisters in a boxcar or abandoned barn. You're not wrong if you assume we may be in trouble.

Surprise! Here’s a lil’ sumpin’ extra for the holidays! “Hot Takes” are Patreon-exclusive episodes where Emily, Anne, and Esme give their silly/thought-provoking/random thoughts into various pop culture gems. So here’s a sneak peak and, if you want more, become a Patron! Link is in our bio. In this particular “Hot Take,” we relive one of Emily's favorite childhood books: “The Box Car Children,” which to the title is about children who… live in a literal box car. We explore just how darn *INDUSTRIOUS* these kids are, why Henry is so fast (Anne's verdict: "practical") and how the three of us would fare as orphan sisters in a boxcar or abandoned barn. You're not wrong if you assume we may be in trouble.