Grab a pen and start circling (mentally) as we take you through a stack of old December TV Guides from the 70s and early 80s. Each of us is choosing which shows we’d have been watching … and not watching … which leads to some pretty strong memories and feelings! Which Krofft stars made a surprising appearance with Oral Roberts (and Mrs. Oral Roberts)? Who can make a Christmas song sound sultry? Which holiday specials do all three of us agree are the worst? And why does Carolyn want to retire to Colonial Williamsburg?? It’s a fun, silly, nostalgic trip through the pages of the Guide we all read like novels, complete with actual clips from the commercials that have lived in our heads for decades (Norelco razor, anyone?)!

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We’re kicking off Season 11 by celebrating that motley group of messy-haired kids who wore the coveted striped shirts and ran amuck in a big, open, Boston studio singing silly songs off-key, playing silly games, performing silly skits, and speaking in a silly language that SOME of us (cough… Kristin …) can still speak in today. Zoom taught us more than how to fold a cootie-catcher or blow cheerios across the floor with a straw, it was a show that provided us with lessons that we weren’t getting in our classrooms and a show that made us feel seen and included … not to mention taught us all that zip code that has lived in our brains for decades — sing it with us — OOOO…21…34!

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This week is an encore presentation of our deep dive into the music of the rock and roll era's most celebrated brother/sister duo, The Carpenters, whose music became a staple of the 1970s wedding. This is the launching pad for a brand new intro conversation about the latest wedding dance Kristin attended and what role OUR music now plays on the Gen Z dance floor (hint: it's not our party anymore). And then it's back to the Carpenters for our encore content where we'll gush about our favorite Carpenters songs and what made them oh so personal. Which song connects Carolyn to her father? Which song made Kristin cry post-partum hormonal tears in the middle of the night? Plus, how did the songs get that signature sound? Sometimes when you know the stories, the songs get even better.

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It’s our “podcastiversary” and we're celebrating by bringing you an encore of our 100th episode retrospective, where we reminisce about where (and how) we started and how far we've come! We're also bringing you an ALL NEW opening conversation where we chat about all that's happened in the past 48 episodes (spoiler-alert: it's a LOT!). Grab a glass of Asti Spumante and join us in toasting to all the incredible moments of the past three years!

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Join the PCPS as they celebrate their favorite thing about Thanksgiving -- TV!

Today's encore of episode 92, “Turkeys on TV,” takes a deep dive into three of our favorite Thanksgiving TV episodes as well as a peek into our 1970s classroom festivities. (Which one of us puked up Thanksgiving dinner lunch in the library?)

We’re also giving you a brand new intro conversation where we all agree on WHO we are most thankful for (do you have a mirror handy??) as well as paying tribute to Matthew Perry and all the wonderful memories he left us with. Thankful for our friends, indeed.

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Have you ever stopped to acknowledge the profound impact of your childhood friendships, even the most casual and fleeting ones, on your adult identity? This week's episode is a re-share of Kristin's interview with Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship; a discussion that shows how nostalgia for our childhoods is helpful when discovering who we are today. Carolyn and Michelle help introduce the episode with their own discoveries, too -- friends who mirrored their complicated family situations, friends who showed them what wealth really looks like -- we all have people from our pasts who helped us learn about ourselves.

Here's what Dear Nina has to say about this episode: Walk down memory lane with Kristin Nilsen, a middle-grade fiction writer and co-host of The Pop Culture Preservation Society Podcast, as we scrutinize our early social interactions and their lasting influence. We acknowledge the importance of these friendships, even those that were temporary, and appreciate the roles they played in shaping us. We also take a quick nostalgic dive into the central friendship themes in our favorite childhood books from Charlotte’s Web to The Secret Garden to The Babysitter’s Club series and the Sweet Valley High series. Special shoutout to Braeside Elementary School and the many classmates who made my childhood so special."

Many thanks to Dear Nina for the opportunity, the conversation, and for the friendship!

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Once again the PCPS is holding a college-level course on an iconic movie from our youth: this time it’s the 1987 feel-good, forbidden-love, hip-swivelin’ classic Dirty Dancing. But as you’ll hear in this episode, Dirty Dancing was so much more than a “dance movie.” In true PCPS fashion we’re dissecting everything from the ironic chemistry of the co-stars to the very serious, critical issues the movie explores like classism and the controversial abortion storyline. We’re also celebrating the soundtrack and giving love to all those indelible songs that take you right back to Kellermans! Lace up those Capezios and join us for this in-depth discussion of Dirty Dancing!

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In today's episode we'll be saving an obscure episode of The Waltons called the Changeling in which the littlest sister, Elizabeth, is haunted by a Poltergeist --YEARS before the movie Poltergeist hit theaters. No one in the entire world seems to remember this oh-so-70s episode except Kristin who hasn't stopped thinking about it since 1978 -- and that includes not just Carolyn and Michelle but also Kami Cotler, the actress who played Elizabeth Walton in the episode! So we made Kami rewatch the episode and join us on the podcast for a conversation about this very un-Waltons-style episode of the Waltons that forever linked puberty and poltergeists in Kristin's pre-pubescent mind. Kami spills the tea on all the ghosty shenanigans (hint: watch Bewitched for tips) and how it felt to go through puberty on Waltons Mountain with millions of viewers tuning in each week. We think you'll love Kami as much as you loved Elizabeth -- and The Waltons might be your newest Halloween ritual! You're welcome!

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In today's episode, we'll be celebrating the discovery that our childhood memories might be just what the doctor ordered, in a discussion of how nostalgia has helped so many of our listeners through difficult times. When we started this podcast several years ago, our goal was not a serious one. First and foremost, we wanted to entertain. And we wanted to do that by bringing funny, unexpected references to things that people once held dear -- like romper stompers, and Dr. Shrinker and the 64 box of Crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back. But then something surprising happened -- almost immediately we started getting emails and DMs from people who shared with us that they had found us at a very important time. It might have been illness or heartbreak or job insecurity. And often, because we are of a certain age, it was that last kid leaving the nest or grieving the loss of a parent. And somehow these discussions of Schoolhouse Rock and Battle of the Network Stars gave us the superhuman strength to carry on. We'll delve into the science behind this phenomenon with Jennifer Cramer-Miller, author of the book Incurable Optimist: Living With Illness and Chronic Hope and give you all a peek into our Pop Culture Therapy Toolboxes -- aka the music, tv shows and other pop culture remedies we turn to when we need to soothe our ragged souls.

Visit Jennifer Cramer-Miller’s website

Follow Jennifer on Instagram and Facebook

Purchase Incurable Optimist: Living With Illness and Chronic Hope on Amazon or Bookshop.org

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In today's episode, we’ll be turning the record over and saving the rest of the album that everyone got for Christmas in 1978; known officially as Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture. In the second installment of this two-part episode, we'll discuss every song from sides 2, 3 and 4; from the hot rod anthem full of dirty words and the legendary mocking of Sandy for her purity (Ay fungool! I’m Sandra Dee…) to Rizzo's lament on the evils of slut-shaming. Make sure you're wearing a bra, because we might be doing the hand jive.

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