This weekend, Carolyn, Kristin and Michelle celebrated five years of The Pop Culture Preservation Society with an action-packed weekend that ended with a Shaun Cassidy concert. When it comes to the PCPS, it seems like all things either start or end with Shaun Cassidy. Fresh off of airplanes and exhausted from extroverting for days, we sat down in front of our mics to share the details with you while they're still fresh; the TV appearance, the live episode recording, meeting listeners in the wild, and the cherry on top ... sharing Shaun Cassidy's latest concert performance with a group of local listeners. Unscripted, unedited, and unprepared, we present you with our thoughts and feelings about our anniversary celebration as they come to us.

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They were only 30 seconds long, but somehow they’ve lived in our brains for 40 years. In this episode, we dive into the unforgettable (and occasionally regrettable) commercial jingles of our GenX childhood. From “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” to “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz,” we’re unpacking the tunes that made us sing, shop, and sometimes cry.

Find out which jingle makes Carolyn very anxious (spoiler: it involves a meat product), and which one got Kristin in trouble back in the day. Join us as we hum, cringe, and celebrate the musical marketing magic of the 70s and 80s—where every brand had a beat, and every beat sold something.

Purchase the GenX Journal from Spotgirl Design here

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Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation here

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1975 was a HUGE year for pop culture, and today having a BIG 50TH BIRTHDAY PARTY for many of the things we watched, played with, read, listened to, and went to the movies to see in that banner year. Wonder Woman, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, Starsky & Hutch, Captain & Tennille, Glen Campbell, JAWS, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Ramona The Brave, Tuck Everlasting, Whack-A-Mole, the Egg McMuffin, Big Red Gum — and SO MUCH MORE! It’s a 50th birthday party like no other, right here at the PCPS!

Purchase the Spotgirl Design GenX Journal here

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Grab your plastic pumpkin bucket and come along with us as we visit our Halloweens of the past. From our own costume memories (why were we all dressed as hobos and gypsies in the 1970s??) plus some of YOURS (snips of wig hair Elmer’s Glued to the face, and mohair Princess Leia buns FTW) to sticking our hands in bowls of peeled grapes and cold spaghetti, GenX Halloween was just better, wasn’t it?

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Today we'll be saving the book that just won't quit, the 1970's classic that keeps coming back in every new generation, with new covers, new editions, and multiple movie adaptations. Lois Duncan's I Know What You Did Last Summer is one of the first books written for teens about teens and it ruled The Scholastic Bookfair all through the 70s, 80s and 90s. It hooked readers (and future movie-goers) with an enticing premise about four friends who accidentally kill a young boy on his bike and try to keep it secret. But what happens when that classic story from the 1970’s is updated for 21st century readers? Ummm…we might have some opinions.

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After last week's discussion of our twentysomething obsession with Thirtysomething, we sit down with one of the show's most memorable stars. Mel Harris played the inimitable Hope Steadman from 1987 to 1991 and created a character who stirred up feelings of domestic bliss and feminist angst in equal measure; for Gen X women, Hope Steadman was a lovely blueprint mixed with a cautionary tale and we watched her every move when designing our own lives. Mel Harris played that role in tandem with her own Thirtysomething life, bringing an authenticity that spoke keenly to millions of viewers. Join us as she reminisces about her relationships with her cast mates, her most memorable episodes, the responses from viewers like us while also giving us a little intel on the possibility of a Thirtysomething SEQUEL in the works!

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Many of us GenXers may have only been twentysomething, but we couldn’t get enough of thirtysomething! Join us as we share our BIG feelings about the show that made us all want to be part of that group of friends who were like big brothers and sisters to us, teaching us how to navigate an adult life we might not have been ready for, but sure had our eyes on. What was it about this show that wasn’t even about our generation but spoke SO loudly to it?!? We’ll try to figure it out! Plus, find out which host thinks she’s an Ellyn, who’s pre-husband was in advertising so was basically Michael, and which host thought she and her college boyfriend (now husband) looked so much like a younger-version of Hope and Michael she had pictures of them next to each other on her bulletin board. MAKE SURE TO LISTEN TO THE END OF THE EPISODE to find out a HUGE surprise re: next week’s episode!

Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.

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Saturday Night Fever is an emblem of the 1970s. The white suit, the finger in the air, the lighted dance floor, and the sound of The Bee Gees swallowed every corner of our culture and will forever define that moment in time. The book FEVER: The Complete History of Saturday Night Fever by Margo Donahue examines every aspect of the making of this cultural juggernaut and gives us SO much to talk about -- from the transformation of its young star and the Deney Terrio controversy to the conflicting feelings we Gen Xers felt when we grew up and watched it with our adult eyes. We hash it all out for you with this new book at our fingertips; who needs the internet when you've got FEVER?

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Public

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In our final can of PCPS Light before S17 starts next week (!!) we're giving you our latest recs by letting you know what we've been reading, watching, and listening to. Come for the recs, stay for Carolyn's song.

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Do you know who wrote the theme song to “The Waltons?” Or where Ann Romano was moving her family in “One Day at a Time?” Find out if Carolyn and Kristin do as Michelle tests their pop-culture knowledge with quizzes from our favorite throwback magazine and website, REMIND. (Shouting the correct answers at your listening device encouraged. Shouting at Carolyn and Kristin not.)

Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.

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Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation here

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Send us an email at [email protected]

Support Carolyn and Down syndrome research https://secure.givelively.org/donate/lumind-idsc-foundation/bank-of-america-chicago-marathon-october-12-2025/carolyn-cochrane

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