Generation BSC: A Baby-Sitters Club Podcast

Emergency Meeting alert! We're as excited as all of you about the Netflix series and will be kicking off a weekly series to do a deep dive into the show to discuss with each other and you. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on social media for updates on new episodes! Despite being the eponymous Walking Disaster, Jackie Rodowsky plays less of a central role in this book than you’d otherwise expe...

Pranks are sweeping the neighborhood, with new babysitting charge, Betsy Sobak, and the Pikes leading the charge. And despite Kate’s prediction that the prank war declared on Betsy by the BSC could NEVER be after Claudia’s accident because that would be too shitty a thing for them to do, it turns out that they are, in fact, just that shitty as they decide to use a prank war to teach Betsy a lesson...

It’s our first Stacey book post-move back to NYC and as we predicted, Stacey’s mistake is two-fold – initially she thinks it was a mistake to invite the BSC to New York to visit and meet Laine, but she comes to realize her own mistake in not appreciating her friends for who they are and acknowledging and not taking for granted the amazing city she gets to live in. After the lighthearted reprieve o...

Kate and Lauryn hold their final (for now) Emergency Meeting to discuss what Mary Anne’s doing in quarantine (with some general final thoughts on the rest of the BSC and Stoneybrook in general). We agree that Mary Anne is feeling EVERYTHING and using a regimented schedule to stay focused on maintaining connections and helping others and avoiding getting bogged down by those emotions. Her dad likel...

It’s our first episode since the teaser for the new Netflix BSC series dropped, so Kate and Lauryn take a quick sidetrack to discuss their excitement and thoughts (generally and with respect to the FINALLY confirmed perfect casting of Marc Evan Jackson as Mary Anne’s dad). Then diving into the story at hand, we immediately touch on the Cokie Mason of it all (as she has made her long-awaited first...

Kate and Lauryn’s ongoing focus on the girls and what we think they’re doing to handle quarantine continues with an examination of Stacey’s situation in particular. We think Stacey’s going a little stir-crazy due to her lack of yard and outdoor space, her parents, and her high-risk status due to her diabetes and have divergent ideas about how she’s dealing with school, with Kate discovering she ap...

It's Jessi’s first book and you know what? We’ve discovered/confirmed that Jessi’s pretty awesome. Past Kate and Lauryn didn’t know what they were missing in Jessi (and Mallory), but we think that maybe they just weren’t aspirational enough when we were reading since they were more similar to us in age and “coolness” (and let’s be honest – in-person fangirling and thirst). This book was very much...

Kate and Lauryn continue with their emergency meetings to check in with each of the girls and discuss what we think Claudia is doing during her COVID-induced quarantine. We disagree initially about how Claudia reacts to school being cancelled, with Lauryn focusing on the schoolwork aspect and Kate focusing on the interpersonal face-to-face interactions. We touch on how we think Claudia and Janine...

It’s our first regular episode recorded remotely post-quarantine and we’re discussing what we’ve agreed to be one of the best BSC books to-date in the series. This one tackles two potentially difficult topics – child pageants generally and Jeff’s long-imminent return to California – with nuance and consideration and we’re here for it. Dawn gets dramatic about the induction ceremony for Jessi and M...

Kate and Lauryn are going a little stir-crazy in self-isolation and have called another emergency meeting to discuss how we think Kristy is doing in quarantine (with the intent being to discuss each of the girls and beyond as this continues). Kristy is definitely being pragmatic about the situation and doing what she can to make the best of the situation and help however she can. Regarding the BSC...

We’ve long been anticipating (or dreading) this day, but Mallory (and Jessi) has officially joined the BSC! Despite the end of the last book with Stacey’s invitation to Mallory to join, the BSC decides to put Mallory through increasingly unreasonable tests and trials before she quits. This one also includes Jessi moving to Stoneybrook, Mallory deciding they would be best friends (and making it hap...

Kate and Lauryn call their first emergency meeting for an update on the state of the world and the state of the podcast before getting into a discussion of the recent releases and knowledge-drops related to the upcoming Netflix BSC series. We already knew Netflix was making a show and that Alicia Silverstone and Mark Feurstein were involved, but the details since then have been completely under wr...

Fresh off their timeless summer vacation to the Bahamas and Disney World (timeline wonkiness, what?), the girls are promptly faced with the Stacey’s family’s departure from Stoneybrook to return to NYC. It’s a rough road, particularly for Claudia, but the girls face it with excellent modelling behavior for readers – as Lauryn puts it in the episode, scary things happen, but good things can come fr...

It’s a super special, super long, super guest episode to discuss the first Super Special - Baby-Sitters on Board! Mr. Pike wins a week-long cruise/Disney trip at work and the Pikes invite Stacey and Mary Anne to be mother’s helpers, just like Sea City. (When this book takes place, who knows, as they reference Sea City, but say this is still that summer...) Watson decides to take the Thomas-Brewer...

Claudia’s got a new friend, despite our insistence on no new friends. Ashley Wyeth moves to town and is a Serious Artist. Claudia is immediately enamored of her and starts spending all of her time with Ashley, completely ignoring the BSC, her babysitting charges, and Stacey, in particular. Lauryn initially gets excited about the first non-straight "romantic" crush in the series, which leads to a c...

Kristy’s been living in her new neighborhood for months now and refuses to get to know anyone because they’re all snobs with a pool, multiple tennis courts, and a cook named Agnes. She’s forced out of her self-imposed isolation when the BSC starts advertising in her neighborhood and jobs with new families start coming in, which takes jobs from Kate’s favorite future associate member, Shannon Kilbo...

There’s a new boy in school – Logan Bruno, fresh from Louisville, Kentucky – and Mary Anne has a crush! He crushes right back, surprising Lauryn, whose main reaction to Mary Anne consistently seems to be “her?” Discussion of the gender dynamics and “romantic” relationships at play in this book includes tangents (both related and wildly varied) about shy girl tropes, the ins and outs of talking to...

Dawn, her love of scary stories, and her search for a hidden passage in her house (built in 1715) are the focus in this book and episode. No really, the main plot is all about Dawn and her search for and discovery of a hidden passage and then her slow revelation of its existence to her friends and family. We both acknowledge just how wrong our predictions about this one were (with the caveats that...

The BSC is separated for the last two weeks of the summer for conveniently-timed vacations, including a trip to Sea City for Stacey and Mary Anne, as they travel with the Pike family as mother’s helpers. Stacey falls in LUV while shirking her babysitting responsibilities, while Mary Anne gets her first (somehow?) sunburn to deal with while covering for Stacey. We discuss first crushes and LUV and...

Claudia and Janine just don’t seem to get each other after some backsliding since their personal and relationship growth in Phantom Phone Calls. Things come to a head after Mimi has a stroke (completely blindsiding Kate and Lauryn in their reread). We discuss our experiences with siblings and grandparent health issues and spoiler alert, find ourselves unexpectedly, but solidly, on Team Janine (exc...

Kate and Lauryn take on the wedding industrial complex when Kristy's mom and Watson have to move their Fall wedding up because of "reasons"... In addition, there's the $3 per hour that the BSC members are making for babysitting fourteen children for like 40 hours in one week leading up to the wedding? There are lots of feelings, but of a much more positive variety than last episode! And spoiler al...

After becoming the Alternate Officer of the BSC, Dawn takes on primary responsibility for babysitting the so-called “Impossible Three” Barrett children. There are very problematic aspects of this story and WE. HAVE. FEELINGS. The continuing discussion on maturity takes an extreme turn in this episode due to the negligent and borderline absentee parenting by Mrs. Barrett. We recognize our prior mis...

Mary Anne takes a stand and saves the day in multiple ways. After a huge fight where the girls aren't speaking, Mary Anne makes a new friend in Dawn Schafer and grows as a person before bringing the Core Four back together, taking care of a very sick child, getting her dad to see her as more mature and ready for more freedom. The conversation about maturity continues, with a focus on jealousy, gro...

Stacey reveals the shocking truth! … she has diabetes? And also her parents refuse to face reality and keep pursuing miracle cures, to the detriment of Stacey’s mental and emotional health. Kate and Lauryn continue their discussions of maturity, how being older definitely does not make one wiser or more responsible, the entirely reasonable fear of crying at school, and medical personal autonomy. L...

Before there were actual BSC Mysteries, there was the original - Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls. Are the girls being stalked by the actual Phantom Caller (who wants to steal… their hair ribbons…)? Or is there something else to this mystery? Kate and Lauryn’s Great Ideas touch on growing pains related to varying levels of maturity, sibling rivalry, what it means to be “smart,” imagination, and...