Stuck in Stoneybrook: A Baby-Sitters Club Podcast

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.