Parenting Roundabout

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week, in the final episode  EVER  of this podcast. Catherine's library find  is  Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers , published in 2021 by The Lonely Planet. There's also a  second volume  of even more travel tales.  Terri's random recommendation  is all the ways you can keep up with us when we're no longer...

Each Wednesday, we've been discussing an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . We stay on the island for this entire episode, but jump between two timelines just to keep things interesting. To Terri's dismay, the love quadrangle of Sawyer/Kate/Jack/Juliet is back in action. Mentioned:  Call the Midwife   and a  pertinent scene from  The Princess Bride . We're wrapping up our...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Fittingly, for our last Tuesday episode, we're finishing season 3 of  Shrinking . In a three-season arc of grief, forgiveness, and moving on, it turns out "moving on" is the least dynamic part of the story, as the season ends with the characters scattered around the globe. Still, we enjoy these characters and will come back to...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is a resource for kids who love history:  Honest History , which has magazines, books, and a blog, all with fun facts and appealing illustrations. Terri's random recommendation  is, first, to stay out of  Twitter jail  if you can. And second, we have some important news about this podcast to share. In the...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . This episode, telling the story of what Sawyer's been up to since the Oceanic Six took off, gives us another example of how things can be going just fine (in your kids' world, in your own life, and so on), and then it's all upended in a moment.  Next week, we'll continue with season 5, episode 9, "Namaste." W...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . Whoever the "bodyguard of sadness" was, they did a terrible job with this episode, because  every  one of Jimmy's friends and family members is leaving him: temporarily, permanently, metaphorically. It all required a great deal of face acting from Jason Segel. Next week, we'll finish season 3 with...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is the joy of putting items on hold. It's like ordering yourself a gift: It will arrive at some undetermined future date (surprise!), you'll get something you know you want, and it's completely free. Terri's random recommendation  is a handy piece of technology that she recently discovered:  Mirroring her...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . This week, it's the tale of one John Locke, and how he journeys from the island to the North African desert, then to Los Angeles and finally back to the island, with a few side quests along the way. He's up, he's down; he's in a wheelchair, he's walking; he's dead, he's alive. It's a lot. Next week, we'll con...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . This time, Jimmy's dad (played by Jeff Daniels) arrives to give all the bad dads of  Lost  a real run for their money. While he doesn't actually murder anyone, he does contribute to the demise of Jimmy's fledgling relationship with Sofi, and show us that he won't have a problem breaking Alice's he...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is the misleadingly titled  Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Lives of Royal Servants  by Tom Quinn. It's not, in fact, about the servants, but about the people they serve, and who cares about them? Terri's random recommendation  is a rather lukewarm one, more of a curiosity than a gung-ho endorsement: the  new  Scru...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . The Oceanic Six have (mostly) reassembled, and we (sorta) find out how they ended up on a plane together, flying back to the island. And we receive what might be the strongest piece of parenting wisdom the show has ever given us: "The results will be unpredictable." Next week, we'll continue with season 5, ep...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . Alas, Terri's fervent hope that Maya was simply lost in the crowd at Disneyland was dashed. That sad outcome was only one of several disappointments in this episode, but it did yield some parenting advice that everyone can (and should) follow. Mentioned: " Don't Be Suspicious " on  Parks and Recre...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is the first in a new kids' chapter book series. It's called  You're a Winner, Gracie Wei , and the author is  Kristen Mei Chase . This is another fun case of "Hey, I know that writer!" Terri's random recommendation  is also a book, another in her series of Hollywood and Hollywood-adjacent memoirs:  The Fr...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . In Los Angeles, Ben is still busy assembling his group of island departees, and Sun has to choose between her kid and her is-he-dead-or-alive husband. On the island, that husband is having a pretty bad day, and Charlotte learns the hard way that she should've listened to her mother. Next week, we'll continue...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . This is sometimes a happy fun show and sometimes a sad scary one, and this one tipped the balance a little too far toward sad (at least at the end). However, Candice Bergen knows our podcast motto, so we appreciate that. Next week, we'll continue with Shrinking S3 E8, "Depression Diet." We'll be b...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is a novel that had many blurbs that appealed to her, so she wants to check it out:  Like Family  by Erin O. White. She also has a follow-up to last week's history of Victorian parenting. It's  Hot Victorians: Meet Your Dream Man From the Past   by Aaron Radford-Wattley (inspired by an  Instagram account  ...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . In Los Angeles, Ben continues his manipulative efforts to return the gang to the island. On the island, time jumps plague the Sawyer/Locke/Juliet team, and guess who wasn't killed in the freighter explosion? Mentioned:  Tom Irwin , who plays Ben's lawyer and also Angela's dad on  My So-Called Life . Next week...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . Be reassured that no Dereks die in this episode, thankfully. And both parents and kids step up when it matters, but we've got just enough worrying moments to keep us concerned about what's to come. Next week, we'll continue with  Shrinking  S3 E7, "I Will Be Grape." We'll be back tomorrow to discu...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is a book of nonfiction that may sound like a parenting book, but doesn't, in fact, contain useful advice for the modern parent. It's  Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children  by Therese ONeill. Terri's random recommendation  is a pair of documentaries that are helping her j...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's  Lost . The Oceanic Six took a back seat in this episode, so we could follow the island residents as they jumped through time, and Desmond as he walked directly into the path of Charles Widmore. Mentioned:  Klingon vs. Ubbi Dubbi on  The Big Bang Theory , the '70s kids' show  Zoom .  Next week, we'll continue with se...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . This season is supposed to be about moving on, but our characters are really moving in a one-step-forward, two-steps-back manner. Mentioned: Jason Segel singing " Nightswimming ," the  Les Mis car karaoke scene from this episode, an earlier rendition of the song by Jason Segel and his  How I Met Y...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find  is a book by Caroline Dooner with a title that appeals:  The F**k-It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy . Terri might be skeptical of the advice, but she salutes anyone who's figured out how to make money with their writing. Terri's random recommendation  is our old pal  Zoom , which allows us to record together...

Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost . This episode continued the theme of fallout from the Oceanic Six's departure, as Hurley struggles with maintaining the lie that the group told. Back on the island, Daniel's trying to figure out what timeline they're all in, and Frogurt becomes Fried-gurt. Next week, we'll continue with season 5, episode 3, "Ju...

Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's  Shrinking . This time, Liz tried to extend her mom powers by surveilling Brian and Charlie, but crashed and burned with her actual offspring at a critical moment. And Derek learned a lesson about taking candy from children. Next week, we'll continue with Shrinking S3 E5, "Hold Your Horsies." We'll be back tom...

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a book to read to your dog (probably while your child is listening):   The Bedtime Book for Dogs   by Bruce Littlefield. She also made the happy discovery of a fourth title in the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries series:  The Rushworth Family Plot . Mentioned:  The Book with No Pictures ,  The Monster...