Strange Bedfellows

The boys are joined by author Erin Chack this week for a discussion about the hit 1990 film Ghost Dad, the hit 1996 Bone Thugs-n-Harmony song “Tha Crossroads,” A Baby-Sitter’s Club Mystery book, and–surprise, surprise–Jack talks about G.I. Joe way more than anyone wants him to. Music Credits: “My Sharona” MIDI “Cover of 'Tha Crossroads’ by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony” by Daniel Bryan Profitt "You Are My...

It’s a real sewing circle jerk this week, Baby Nation (to use a technical term), and if you happen to be into that sort of thing AND you’re a fan of the 1990 fantasy graphic adventure game “Loom,” this one's really going to be right in your sweet spot. But there’s still plenty to love even for folks who are on the fence about weaving, sewing and weaving/sewing-based videogames because the boys hav...

Oh wow! This week, Tanner had to wait over an hour while Jack finished reading the book and setting up his audio, and in that time, he got a little bit silly with some rosé and seltzer. In Stoneybrook, Stacey develops a crush on some dude who may or may not be a half-python-half-man, but also THERE’S A GOAT IN THIS BOOK NAMED ELVIRA AND SHE’S JUST A BABY AND SHE’S VERY GOOD! Music Credits: “Pompei...

Happy Trails, Baby Nation! Jack and Tanner are taking a tour of Boston’s “The Freedom Trail” this week, thanks to the entity known as Jahna N. Malcolm, who co-wrote this novel with Ann. M. Martin and (presumably) The Boston Tourism Board. Unfortunately, Dawn and Mary Anne are at each other’s throats again this week, so the boys distract themselves from that unpleasantness by spending a laudable am...

It’s time for another BSC: Mystery, which means it’s time for another interview, except it’s not an interview, because interviewers don’t make their guests read children’s books. Reading “Beware Dawn” with the boys this week are Katie Heaney and Arianna Rebolini, authors of the incredible new book, “Public Relations,” and apparently a very steaming piece of erotic fiction featuring an eel man. Top...

Strap on your best learnin’ hat and get ready for a good, old-fashioned education! This week, Claudia is learning from Stacey about where apostrophes go; Tanner’s learning from Jack about something very dry and almost certainly made up out of whole cloth called “The Lexical Order,” and Jack’s learning from Tanner all about the hit 2001 supernatural horror film “13 Ghosts,” starring the great Matth...

In dibbly day, in distant night, no babies shall escape their sight. Let those who listen twice a fortnight, beware our digressions, because we talk about Green Lantern A LOT in this episode. Music Credits: "She Comes Through The Fog” by Haunted Me http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Haunted_Me/ “Seeing Red” by Regular Gonzales http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Regular_Gonzales/War_Were_Declared/Reg...

A "very special” episode this week, Baby Nation, since Ann – in her infinite wisdom and unaccountable cruelty – decided to throw Jack and Tanner another curveball with a powerful novel about the triple threat of poverty, systemic racism, and teenage eating disorders. But with an exquisite grace worthy of Jessi herself, the boys manage to tiptoe shockingly quickly in the opposite direction of these...

Mary Anne is finally getting that makeover we’ve been hearing about for so long! We also have reason to believe that Mr. Spier and Logan have a lot more in common than we thought, and that Mr. Spier and the X-Men’s Wolverine have a lot more in common than we thought. He’s the best there is at what he does, and what he does is weird sex play with food. Also, Jack is moving to Texas so nothing else...

It's the first ever Baby-Sitters Club Mystery! And things get very mysterious, very quickly. Stacey McGill has stolen a powerful ring that turns the babysitters against each other. Meanwhile, the boys are attacked by a terrible spectral presence in the room, Tanner spills an entire beer onto his crotch, and it seems almost certain that a fissure has been opened up between our world and the strange...

It's "pandemonium" in Stoneybrook this week! Which means, troublingly, that ALL the demons are back. And, perhaps worse, all the boys are being strange and difficult, which is stressing Mallory out to no end. A guest appearance from some of the business boys over at Goliath Industries does very little to ease the tension, and neither does the extended discussion of alleged boy Logan Bruno's compli...

Sorry Baby Nation, no room for notes this week. Too many works cited. But thanks for listening!    Works Cited: Martin, Ann M. Claudia and the Middle School Mystery. New York City: Scholastic, 1991. Print. Positive K. “I Got A Man.” The Skills Dat Pay Da Bills, Island. 1992 Star Trek: First Contact. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, performances by Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar...

Your two heavily jet-lagged boys are back in the USA and they're ready to talk about our precious Dawn, Claudia's latest outfit, and saving the planet! Somehow that goes off the rails pretty fast and what we've ended up with here is a surprisingly deep dive into the life and work of the music producer Steve Albini? Sorry about that! Stick around for an appearance by Stoneybrook News's Pulitzer-pri...

There’s some new babies in Stoneybrook this week, and they only thing they love more than Kid Kits is racial purity! That’s right, they’re racist! Like, so awful and racist that it’s almost absurd. Not exactly easy to riff on, but they may be Doll People as well, so at least Ann gave us something to work with. Also, Jackie Rodowsky is starting a band! (When he’s not busy hurtling away from Earth a...

Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall when a couple of flesh-jobs hooked on Synchro and lurking around the meatspace in the dark alleyways of Roppongi, Tokyo, burble their nonsense-talk to one another? Well, you're in luck today, and wouldn't you know it, they're talking about Baby-Sitters Club #55, "Jessi's Gold Medal"! Mostly. They also have a worrying amount to say about Boat Girls, "The Watcher,...

This week, Mallory, Jack, and Tanner all dream of horses, and make the mistake of dreaming too small...   "There’s something that we K-PAXians have been around long enough to have discovered. The universe will expand, then it will collapse back on itself, then will expand again. It will repeat this process forever. What you don't you know is that when the universe expands again, everything will be...

The boys sit down for a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion about what the perfect government might be, but things get derailed essentially right out of the gate because Tanner has a cold and also, the attention-span of a fly. So, if you came looking to sink your teeth into some political philosophy, prepare to be disappointed, because this ended up being mostly about where Alan Gray fits...

We hit a record-setting number of segments this week, but what do you expect when you’re dealing with 2 MANY BABIES! (We’re still not totally sure what that title is supposed to mean, but don’t worry, we never get around to discussing it.) This week, Mary Anne and Logan get married and kiss in front of their classmates, an egg-napper is on the loose in Stoneybrook, and there may be a new queen asc...

Hello and welcome to Blackheads! A hit new show from your friends Jack and Tanner, of the Pete Black Appreciation Society. Today we're diving deep into the mysterious case of Pete's misguided infatuation with Laine Cummings, Stacey McGill's surprisingly awful ex-best friend. Join us for a wide-ranging convo about love, loss, the future of the BSC and, of course, the nightmare haunted dolls who con...

After the long, dark night of the soul, we finally have a New Dawn, Baby Nation. And despite the fact that she looks a little like a late era Axl Rose, she’s captured the attention of a new Bruno named Lewis. Can Dawn escape the thrall of Lewis Bruno? Can Mary-Ann just chill for, like, a second? Can we find Norman Hill a new family? Well, your guess is as good as ours. Tanner had to do a LOT of Go...

Let go of your hearts this week, Baby Nation, and for good measure let go of your heads as well, because this episode is a giant trust fall through space and time into a strange and glorious future. If that worries you, here are some discussion questions to keep you grounded: Is Claudia's art derivative or is she making a deliberate point about the anxiety of influence? Can Janine be stopped befor...

A very special bonus "Little Sister, Little episode," a phrase which Jack and Tanner utter about 700 times during this particular conversation because, frankly, they would not pass a field sobriety test if the podcast police dropped by during this recording. Luckily, their good buddies Goliath Hardbody and Jason Jasonson are there to keep them on track and bring you an insightful and thought-provo...

Difficult episode this week, Baby Nation! And not just because of the subject matter, which is TOUGH, but also because apparently every single airplane in America decided to buzz by Jack’s apartment during this recording session?! Look, this episode is mostly about Jack and Tanner doing their best NOT to talk about childhood cancer, but Ann insisted. Oh well.    Music Credits:  "Arboles" by Poding...

There's no easy way of saying this, Baby Nation, but Mallory is over it. She's sick and tired of her abundant chores, the endless parade of babies she's required to sit, and the constant, relentless terror of living in a parallel-universe nightmare town, infested with living dolls, chaos dinosaurs, and as of recently, wolves. Stick around for all of that, as well as a very important PSA from Jack...

We’re considering changing the name of the show to “The Pete Black Club” because we discovered our favorite character in the entire series this week. Here’s all the rad stuff Pete Black did this week: Burned Cokie Mason, worked on his part of the school project, and found a way for Tanner to mention Bread Theory. There’s some other less important characters in this book like Mary Anne and Logan an...