Generation: Baby-Sitters Club

One of the things readers loved about “The Baby-Sitters Club” was its depictions of babysitting. Babysitting has been a core piece of American girlhood for a century, and an important right of passage. But the job has evolved, and continues to change for new generations of parents and kids. This episode, we travel to a local babysitting class to explore the changing nature of American childhood, tweenhood, and babysitting. And we learn how these early work experiences shape the workplace. 

GUESTS:

• Yasemin Besen-Cassino is the author of “The Cost of Being a Girl: Working Teens and the Origins of the Gender Wage Gap”
• Danielle Otterspoor teaches babysitting classes through her business Better Babysitting Certification

"Generation: The Media We Love & How It Shapes Us" is a podcast series from Connecticut Public. Each season tells the origin story of a beloved cultural touchstone, asks what keeps it alive across generations, and explores how it helps us become who we are.

For more about "Generation: Baby-Sitters Club", visit ctpublic.org/babysitters.

To learn more about the podcast "Generation: The media we love & how it shapes us," visit ctpublic.org/generation.

"Generation: Baby-Sitters Club" is hosted by Daniela Doncel. This series was reported, written, and produced by Lily Tyson and Daniela Doncel. It was edited and produced by Cassandra Basler. Sound design and mixing by Jay Cowit. Megan Fitzgerald is our project manager. Ayannah Brown and Mark Mirko are our visuals producers. Sam Hockaday created our show art. Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

 

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since its start in the 1980s, “The Baby-Sitters Club” has grown to include multiple spin-off series, including a collection of graphic novels that young readers today continue to devour. This episode, we travel to a BSC anniversary party and to a graphic novelist’s studio to learn about how the series has evolved to stay relevant for new generations — from the covers to the text itself — the work that goes into creating a graphic novel, why young readers today love them, and what this can tell us about why we shouldn’t turn our noses up at the books young readers want to read. 

GUESTS: 

• Gale Galligan is a graphic novelist who has adapted five “Baby-Sitters Club” books 
• Kym Powe is the Children and Young Adult Consultant with the Connecticut State Library 

"Generation: The Media We Love & How It Shapes Us" is a podcast series from Connecticut Public. Each season tells the origin story of a beloved cultural touchstone, asks what keeps it alive across generations, and explores how it helps us become who we are.

For more about "Generation: Baby-Sitters Club", visit ctpublic.org/babysitters.

To learn more about the podcast "Generation: The media we love & how it shapes us," visit ctpublic.org/generation.

"Generation: Baby-Sitters Club" is hosted by Daniela Doncel. This series was reported, written, and produced by Lily Tyson and Daniela Doncel. It was edited and produced by Cassandra Basler. Sound design and mixing by Jay Cowit. Megan Fitzgerald is our project manager. Ayannah Brown and Mark Mirko are our visuals producers. Sam Hockaday created our show art. Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many fans of “The Baby-Sitters Club” found the series through the on-screen adaptations, whether the 1990 HBO show, the 1995 movie, or the 2020 Netflix series. 

This episode, we talk about how a book moves from the page to the screen, what it means for readers when a favorite book is adapted, and what forces determine what we see. We meet the child actors who brought to life beloved characters, and the showrunners and critics who grew up with the series. And we ask what it means when media for girls gets dismissed, and why these beloved shows and movies aren't getting wider recognition.

GUESTS: 

• Zelda Harris played Jessi Ramsey in the 1995 “Baby-Sitters Club” movie
• Constance Grady is a critic at “Vox” 
• Meg Lahey played Mary Anne Spier in the 1990 series
• Rachel Shukert was the showrunner of the 2020 Netflix “Baby-Sitters Club” adaptation

"Generation: The Media We Love & How It Shapes Us" is a podcast series from Connecticut Public. Each season tells the origin story of a beloved cultural touchstone, asks what keeps it alive across generations, and explores how it helps us become who we are.

For more about "Generation: Baby-Sitters Club", visit ctpublic.org/babysitters.

To learn more about the podcast "Generation: The media we love & how it shapes us," visit ctpublic.org/generation.

"Generation: Baby-Sitters Club" is hosted by Daniela Doncel. This series was reported, written, and produced by Lily Tyson and Daniela Doncel. It was edited and produced by Cassandra Basler. Sound design and mixing by Jay Cowit. Megan Fitzgerald is our project manager. Ayannah Brown and Mark Mirko are our visuals producers. Sam Hockaday created our show art. Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The popular children's series “The Baby-Sitters Club” launched 40 years ago in 1986 when editor Jean Feiwel approached author Ann M. Martin to write four books. Since then, the series has grown to include hundreds of titles, multiple on-screen adaptations, and generations of young readers impacted. 

This episode, we time travel to the Scholastic Book Fairs of our childhoods to learn about the origins of “The Baby-Sitters Club” — and other iconic paperback series — and discover how they shape generations of readers and the publishing industry.

GUESTS: 

• Jean Feiwel is the co-creator and the original editor of “The Baby-Sitters Club” series. Now she is Senior Vice President and Publisher at Macmillan
• Seth Lerer is author of “Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History, from Aesop to Harry Potter”
• Margaret Mackey is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta who studies youth literacies 

"Generation: The Media We Love & How It Shapes Us" is a podcast series from Connecticut Public. Each season tells the origin story of a beloved cultural touchstone, asks what keeps it alive across generations, and explores how it helps us become who we are.

For more about "Generation: Baby-Sitters Club", visit ctpublic.org/babysitters.

To learn more about the podcast "Generation: The media we love & how it shapes us," visit ctpublic.org/generation.

"Generation: Baby-Sitters Club" is hosted by Daniela Doncel. This series was reported, written, and produced by Lily Tyson and Daniela Doncel. It was edited and produced by Cassandra Basler. Sound design and mixing by Jay Cowit. Megan Fitzgerald is our project manager. Ayannah Brown and Mark Mirko are our visuals producers. Sam Hockaday created our show art. Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How has a 200+ book series about a group of tween babysitters shaped the publishing industry, Hollywood, and the lives of the people who grew up with it? And what can those babysitters teach us about friendship, entrepreneurship, and girlhood? This five-episode podcast revisits the popular series to learn about why we cherish stories that take the tender years between elementary school and high school seriously. 

"Generation: Baby-Sitters Club" is the latest season of the podcast “Generation: The media we love & how it shapes us” from Connecticut Public. 

For more about "Generation: Baby-Sitters Club", visit ctpublic.org/babysitters.

To learn more about the podcast "Generation: The media we love & how it shapes us," visit ctpublic.org/generation.

"Generation: Baby-Sitters Club" is hosted by Daniela Doncel. This series was reported, written, and produced by Lily Tyson and Daniela Doncel. It was edited and produced by Cassandra Basler. Sound design and mixing by Jay Cowit. Megan Fitzgerald is our project manager. Ayannah Brown and Mark Mirko are our visuals producers. Sam Hockaday created our show art. Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The team behind “Generation: Barney” and “Generation: Gilmore Girls” is back with something new. This season, we take a look at how a group of adventurous tweens created a worker-owned childcare cooperative that fueled over two hundred books and multiple on-screen adaptations. 

Meet "Generation: Baby-Sitters Club”, a five-episode podcast series about the books we love and how they shape us. 

Coming October 2026. 

Visit ctpublic.org/generation for more!

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year, fans travel to Connecticut to get a taste of Stars Hollow. No, the town doesn’t exist. But it is inspired by very real places. Those places have even been shaped by the show. In this episode, we explore which parts of Connecticut inspired "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. We’ll road trip with you to discover your own piece of Stars Hollow – and to see how the real-life places compare to the Connecticut on the show. 

Parents, a heads-up: audio contains a few bleeped explicit words.

This episode is sponsored by Panera. Whatever you’re feeling—at Panera, It Just Meals Good. Order now at PaneraBread.com.

Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

For more about "Generation: Gilmore Girls", visit ctpublic.org/gilmore

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 years after its premiere, "Gilmore Girls" lives on because of its fans. Those fans have created a special community – one that feels a lot like the small town of Stars Hollow in the show. What is it about "Gilmore Girls"  that inspires people to come together? And what can it teach us about what we’re missing in our daily lives? 

“Gilmore Guys” podcast host Kevin T. Porter, cast member Yanic Truesdale, and Fan Fest Society event organizer Jennie Whitaker reflect on the special fandom that is keeping the show alive on television screens and in our hearts. 

For more about "Generation: Gilmore Girls", visit ctpublic.org/gilmore

This episode is sponsored by Panera. Whatever you’re feeling—at Panera, It Just Meals Good. Order now at PaneraBread.com.

Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Gilmore Girls" premiered on The WB in October 2000 and it’s still finding new fans 25 years later. In this episode, we’re on a mission to find out how "Gilmore Girls" found its audience, while staying true to itself – from its "Gilmore speed” delivery, its pop culture-packed references, and its complicated female characters.  

Hear why it resonates from actor Keiko Agena, who played Lane Kim on the show, and fan and "Ginny & Georgia" creator Sarah Lampert. 

Parents, a heads-up: audio contains a few bleeped explicit words.

This episode is sponsored by Panera. Whatever you're feeling—at Panera, It Just Meals Good. Order now at PaneraBread.com.

Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

For more about "Generation: Gilmore Girls", visit ctpublic.org/gilmore

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do three Gilmore Girls and a small town continue to resonate with generations of fans? And what does a TV series that ended nearly two decades ago tell us about who we want to be? This three-part podcast looks for answers in the place that inspired it all: Connecticut. 

"Generation: Gilmore Girls", coming December 2nd, listen wherever you get your podcasts.

For more, visit ctpublic.org/gilmore.

"Generation: Gilmore Girls" is sponsored by Panera. Whatever your feeling—at Panera, It Just Meals Good. Order now at PaneraBread.com.

Marketing support provided by The Podglomerate.

Support the show: https://www.ctpublic.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.