Stuck in Stoneybrook: A Baby-Sitters Club Podcast

Janine wins her “ten millionth award” and Claudia concludes she must be adopted! Esme loves this as a metaphor for adolescent identity development, but Anne and Em are just whelmed. We discuss the neoliberalization of colleges (appropos of Janine and her community college courses) and reflect more on racism, racism, and “Asian-ness” in Stoneybrook (we see you, Timmy Hsu!). Also, Claudia is a creative genius and really helps Emily Michelle and we are all touched by it. Plus a return of the BSC Big 5!

We welcome special guest, child clinical psychologist and autism expert, Dr. Whitney Ence, to help us unravel the “Secret of Susan.” Learn some basics about autism and discuss what holds up in this book about representation and inclusion and what… doesn’t. We learned everything we knew about autism in the late 1980s from “Rain Man” and Ann M. Martin, and apparently we also learned everything we need to know about Australia from “Crocodile Dundee.” Apologies in advance to our Aussie listeners… and to the Hotbarts.

“Am I awesome or do I suck?” Emily has an identity crisis this episode as she discovers what a B Dawn is to her new family. We discuss the research on blended families and detour into talk show culture in 1990. We sort of wish we were in the “Pike Plague” and not here in this pandemic, too.

Sharon and Richard are finally tying the knot! Mary Anne’s feelings are complicated. Is she being her sensitive introvert self, or is she slut-shaming Sharon? Is Sharon a manic pixie dream girl or Oscar Madison? Does Emily know what a gum chain is? Find the answers to these questions and more this week on part one of the “Dawn & MA become sisters” arc. TO BE CONTINUED.

Mary Anne is annoying. Kristy gets too competitive. Dawn gets super bummed. Mallory is a bad spy. Jessi learns a “lesson.” And Stacey and Claudia have crushes on a boy and a MAN named name GUY and PIERRE. Join us as we discuss of all of this, plus rich people and skiing, and how the BSC has to work EVERYWHERE THEY GO. Detours involve Vitameatavegamin, making fun of Esme, and a game of “what the hell snack is that?” Super Specials inspire so many WTF moments.

In a perfect world, we’d be drinking Arnold Palmers out of reusable straws while reading BSC books in preparation for our weekly recording. HOWEVERRRRRR, dumb necessary jobs, moving houses, family obligations, and oh yeah, a pandemic, have really put a cramp in our podcasting plans. Farts. Give a listen to what Esme has to say for the full 411.

A hundred year old diary!? Sign us up! Mal is also on the case, with help from Madame Kristin and Buddy Barrett. We also discuss the People’s Court, crushes on teachers, and why we like a mystery. If this all sounds random—you are correct—but like a mystery, it ALL comes together in the end.

We are dibbly stoked to again welcome a special guest, novelist Robin Benway! We discuss writing, diabetes representation, and the McGills’ divorce, of course! Side trails lead us to supportive friendships, the kind of divorce processes that help kids thrive, and what kind of feminist is Mrs. McGill, anyway? Also a brief discussion of the weird fruit-and-creme twinkies of the late 1980s.

This book was BORING, and we don’t even have Anne to bring the fun. Esme and Emily do their best to punch it up and understand the “plots” of this snoozer. We do another BSC Big 5 and we discuss Reagan and his influence over Hollywood, though. Nothing magical here, Jessi or otherwise.

We are very excited to welcome special guest Sue Ding, creator of the fabulous documentary The Claudia Kishi Club! It’s a bummer of a book, of course, but such a classic, we were excited to discuss it with her and hear all about her Claudia expertise. We discuss the grief and dying process as portrayed in Stoneybrook, and Emily lightens it up with a soupcon of latent sexism and annoying Logan behavior. Viva Mimi!