Gen X, This is Why.

Nels FINALLY reaches his limit with Harriet. He decides to head out into the countryside as a traveling merchant. In nearby Tracy, he meets a young and very Irish woman named Molly who runs a boarding house and makes Nels feel 55 again. What could go wrong? Amye does some math and it’s painful, but not nearly as painful as Jennie’s index card. And we end the episode chatting about the newest seaso...

No one in Walnut Grove has put together the pieces yet, so Albert’s guilt over starting the blind school fire runs amok as does he- when he decides to take advantage of a Judge’s hangover, steal classified information, and run to his birth father’s “home.” Charles grabs his dime-store Ride or Die and they spend twenty valuable minutes of this episode looking for the boy. Jennie is still in the bas...

It’s the first part of the blind school fire! Join us as we relive our deepest childhood trauma. Mary’s baby is out of time as he is left to his own devices when Albert and some rando light the blind school on fire. Alice is the only one who tries to save the baby, but then uses him as a battering ram and gets nowhere. Jennie and Amye armchair quarterback this fire escape plan for a good ten minut...

Things get real creepy as three convicts break into the blind school and hold Mary, Laura, and the children hostage. Charles saves the day, but first he must perform surgery. Laura robs Doc Baker, Winoka Nels shows up unexpectedly, and Doc Baker is of use to NO ONE. We have a riveting conversation about baked potatoes and rolling down hills, and Amye cannot stop crying. For MORE content and COMMER...

Join us as we travel back to 1983 to the height of Cabbage Patch Kid mania, where cabbages are giving birth and bunnies are flying around like bees. We discuss eccentric Cabbage Patch Kid creator, Xavier Roberts, and his affinity for soft-sculpted dolls, while looking at the woman few knew was behind the idea: Martha Nelson Thomas. Research from this episode comes from the following online sources...

Charles' "grange trip" turns into a bang trip as he and Caroline attend their class reunion in Milwaukee. Charles is clearly uncomfortable as all of his high school buddies have become rich and miserable. Amy Fisher makes a surprise appearance as she tries to lure Charles into some sexy time by a pond- as usual. Caroline is also the object of desire for some 57-year-old dude who must have graduate...

In this episode, we meet Bart Slater, a thirty-seven-year-old Freshman who bullies everyone in school. Albert the Fixer devises an elaborate plan to rid the school of Bart, but Carrie opens up her trash mouth and ruins everything. Ms. Beadle does not come out against the existence of werewolves, and once again, Walnut Grove is undone by the lack of solid facts and peer-reviewed evidence. Amye rail...

In this look back at the Xmas of 1988, Doogie Howser recalls his quest to land a classic NES system for the holiday. He must face a schoolyard bully, his parents' resistance, and a town ban on video games to complete this caper. We reminisce about great Nintendo games including our favorite, Zelda. And in a case of life imitating art, we got sucked into a video game on Thanksgiving Day and almost...

This episode is full of surprises as Caroline's mother comes to visit...in a coffin, Charles decides to secretly send Caroline's father's manuscript to a publisher, and Mary has a two-year pregnancy. We give the "soddy" a new nickname, Jennie is getting worse at cooking, and Amye rants a lot. For MORE content and COMMERCIAL-FREE episodes, become a Premium Patreon Subscriber! For as little as 5$ a...

It is Rev's turn for a breakdown this week as a charlatan arrives in Walnut Grove and starts healing people. All is fine until he kills a kid and it is up to Charles to prove the whole thing is a sham. And of course, Harriet is behind this mess. We discover where Amye's fear of everything came from, Jennie gives us some info on float therapy and Benedict Arnold-not necessarily together, and we lov...

He’s back! And he’s in a real bad mood. Mr. Edwards is injured after he saves Alicia from danger. This injury converts this tough-talking mountain man into a big man baby who threatens to traumatize and destroy his entire family. Good thing sweet, intuitive Pa is on the case to fake a shooting and almost kill Edwards for real this time. Amye has a 33% failure rate in her new producer role, we play...

In this Rev-centric episode, Rev is flattered when a woman named Anna takes an interest in his....um, sermon. The two fall in love and are about to marry until Harriet decides no one can ever be happy. Will Rev choose Anna over his congregation? Will we throw up in our mouths a little bit? We share breaking news about William Henry Harrison, argue over old wives’ tales, and Amye gets a case of the...

In this crossover episode, Amye and Lori from The Untitled GenX Podcast sit down and discuss Saved By The Bell Season 2, Episode 9: Jessie's Song. When Zack Morris decides to create his own version of a boy band using Jessie, Kelly, and Lisa, Jessie cracks under the pressure of a Geometry quiz and jeopardizes Hot Sundae's promising future. Slater is shocked to learn Jessie is popping caffeine pill...

The circus comes to town and we can’t decide who we hate more: Nels, Harriet, or the weirdo clowns running around. Nels is reunited with his *gasp* fat sister, Annabelle, and in a huge act of bravery reveals to the town they are related. Is Laura a sociopath or just a lazy seamstress? Amye channels Lester Holt in a Dateline skit that falls flat. Finally, we have a really long conversation about we...

Adam is selected to win an award which leads to: Mary's glasses almost killing her, a pregnant woman in a terrible stage coach accident, Adam almost becoming paralyzed, and Charles and dollar-store Ride or Die saving the day. Albert is once again the hero as he tries to kill the Olesons with bees. Jennie puts an end to the Almonzo imitation, Amye is terrified of beehives in her walls, and we...

According to Jennie, Ms. Wilder does the whole town a disservice by asking the children to do family trees as a school project. This of course gives everyone another chance to remind Albert he's an orphan. Staley Novak is back as Albert's really, really mean dad, and in the end, Albert reveals more of his genius. Jennie is sweating out the toxins and Amye was brainwashed by the 700 Club-...

Jennie and Amye sit down with Karen Grassle, the actress behind Little House on the Prairie's beloved Ma, to discuss her forthcoming memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust. Join us as we discuss the pill, Kennedy, Shakespeare, therapy, and of course, baking pies and cutting off your leg. You can order Karen's memoir today at www.karengrassle.net To sign up for our Patreon feed, download the...

In one of the most memorable episodes for young people everywhere, Laura and Nellie get into a fight which leaves Laura hanging out in Almanzo's house in just his robe after a ride on his buckboard. Pa comes in swinging a hard left and Amye is here for it. Laura is determined to be thought of as a woman, Garvey and Charles get a new couple name, and Caroline has to clean up Charles' mess...

In this 1984 adaptation of the Stephen King short story, a bunch of kids kill all of the adults in a small farm town in Nebraska. Instead of partying and doing normal kid stuff, these kids get real passionate about corn and the upcoming harvest. We discuss our old school field trips and possible exploitation of the Amish, Jennie thinks all gingers look alike, and Amye passionately tries to clear S...

It's season six and still no Edwards...sigh. Nellie graduates from school on the first day of the new year, and is gifted a restaurant to help her land a husband. Of course, Caroline ends up running this place after Pa is injured by an oversized Tinker Toy. And Manly comes to town to hit on teenagers. We learn Bandit's real name, Amye's dog is a constant nuisance, and Jennie threate...

Little House ends the season with a big ol’ downer. We meet Dylan, a moody kid who sits in the woods and paints while reciting Homer and dreaming of the ocean. In other words, teenage Amye’s perfect high school boyfriend. Dylan is diagnosed with leukemia and ropes Laura and Albert into accompanying him on a mission to see the Pacific before he dies. Carrie definitely played with Duplo blocks, Albe...

Little House delivers the goods with an epic episode full of gun play, dying children, and Hero Mode! When two dickbags sell the town tainted meat, the citizens of Walnut Grove are at the mercy of Doc Baker who actually does something this time! Amye talks birth order as it pertains to marriage, and Jennie wants to come back in her next life as a bee. Show Notes: To sign up for our Patreon feed, d...

Charles goes to town for business and ends up saving an entire family and making such an impression on them that they name their child after him. Jennie is medicating herself live on air, Amye did some shady deals while living in the country, Jeff Goldblum gets drug through the mud, and Amye has to explain to Jennie what constitutes a "hot dad." Show Notes: To sign up for our Patreon fee...

If you loved this episode, sign up at Patreon for more Love Boat content: https://www.patreon.com/genxthisiswhy Jennie got drunk, everyone, and her notes are kind of a mess. But even sober, this episode was bonkers. Bob Crane is unknowingly hitting on his long lost daughter. Kathy Bates married a broke-down Willie Wonka, and all they want to do is bang. Finally, the WIlliams’ upgrade to the ship’s...

Jennie’s former woodshop teacher is at the writing helm again this week! After feeling some warmth from a window, Mary believes she is regaining her sight. She’s really eager to ditch the blind school to which she just committed her life, and Adam is not happy about it. Laura and Albert destroy Edward’s bachelor shack, Doc Baker knows nothing, and Pa battles and finally defeats the end boss: Mary...