Kate Vlasek

EM004: Emergency Meeting - Stacey in Quarantine!

May 12th, 2020  |  33 mins 47 secs

emergency meeting, stacey

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 apparently has VERY strong opinions about the type of student Stacey is (i.e., one who would freak out if she got a C). Kate thinks Stacey is focusing on aspirational imaginary outfits and Lauryn contemplates a lifestyle blog for the tween set. And (of course) keeping up with the girls in Stoneybrook and Laine and finding enjoyment in having so much time to talk to them. In lieu of our typical check-in, we take a page from some of our favorite podcasts and focus on the positives with our own fucking hoorays and what’s making us happy recently (Never Have I Ever; the Parks & Recreation reunion; The Science of Sci-Fi by Erin Macdonald; Harry Potter audiobooks; Star Wars Day (a/k/a Kate's birthday) and Star Wars generally; and friends and family). We end with a HUGE thank you to all the healthcare and other essential workers keeping us safe and the world running.

Episode 016: Jessi's Secret Language!

May 5th, 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins

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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 an afternoon special-type examination and depiction of deafness and how one should interact with deaf individuals and while we’re disappointed in the fact that Jessi’s first book was an “issue” book and that there’s a lack of representation of any actually-deaf characters, we really enjoyed this one and the way the story presented itself. We remind ourselves just what a strong series this actually was and is (to-date at least) and how well they’ve held up, particularly since they’ve given us such interesting and deep topics to discuss and reflect on. We also spend some time talking on our childhood loves of ballet – with Lauryn actually participating and Kate enjoying from the audience – but both recalling an obsession with Coppélia traced to this very book. We discuss Jessi’s meta reference to the “last chapter,” Lauryn’s borderline obsession with Richard Dreyfuss as a child, the correct usage of “LEGO,” the stylishness (or not) of rat tails, and Kate’s certainty that her obsession with Cokie Mason will finally be plot-specific discussion worthy in the next book.

EM003: Emergency Meeting - Claudia in Quarantine!

April 28th, 2020  |  30 mins 1 sec

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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 are handling being quarantined together (likely exactly how they have in the two books where their relationship has been a focus – conflicts initially, but coming around to understanding). We discuss whether Claudia is on the front lines of mask-making, either actually making them or possibly finding ways to decorate the masks, especially to make them more fun and less scary for kids. Knowing Claudia’s love of junk food and Nancy Drews, we discuss how we think Claudia is getting more of these things to satisfy her needs and whether her parents have maybe softened their position on these items given what’s going on in the world. Lauryn pretends that Amazon doesn’t exist in the version of 2020 that the BSC is in for purposes of our discussion and Kate questions whether Claudia would even use it if it was available. We definitely agree Claudia is using her time at home to focus on her art (and exploring new media) and on fashion and creating amazing outfits, potentially creating (or expanding) a fashion Instagram or blog. We again end with a quick check-in on how we’re feeling and getting through self-isolation this week.

Stay safe and healthy everyone!!

Episode 015: Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn!

April 21st, 2020  |  1 hr 4 mins

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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 Mallory and uses an invitation by Mrs. Pike to help Claire and Margo prepare for the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant to distract from Club-related jealousies and the difficult situation at home with the Schafer parents working out an arrangement for Jeff’s temporary return to California to see how it goes. The rest of the BSC (aside from Mallory and Jessi, who are opposed to pageants) gets into the competitive aspect and each get their own girl to help prepare. As always, the girls learn from their mistakes and realize they don’t need to compete or be jealous of each other. We discuss the “best” talent at the pageant (Margo’s poem recitation while opening and eating a banana with her feet), our past and current feelings on pageants in general (and how the book presents a balanced take), Dawn’s dramatic nature, Mrs. Schafer’s shockingly (to Lauryn) on-point advice and knowledge drops to Dawn, Mrs. Perkins thoughtful commentary on competition generally, and the world of big cat owners. We also touch on the significant number of instances where the BSC members take their charges to other locations, frequently without any kind of note or other notice for the parents, and again note how rich the people in Stoneybrook seem to be.

EM002: Emergency Meeting - Kristy in Quarantine!

April 14th, 2020  |  22 mins 30 secs

emergency meeting, kristy

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, Kristy is, of course, being Kristy and coming up with all kinds of ideas about how the BSC can continue to help their charges and families (while keeping the Club going generally). In particular, we think she’s using technology to coordinate specific Zoom (or otherwise) meetings between individual babysitters and families while also doing something akin to their day camp arrangement, with daily appointments where kids can drop in (or not). (The technology will likely become an integrated part of the BSC’s repertoire, particularly for connections with kids (or babysitters) who have moved away.) In the physical world, we think Karen and Andrew (rather than David Michael as mistakenly referenced in the episode) are likely staying with the Thomas-Brewer house (and maybe their mom is there too à la the Bruce Willis/Demi Moore quarantine situation) and Kristy is keeping them and David Michael busy and engaged to allow Watson and Edie to continue working. Kristy is probably coordinating walk times with human Shannon and their respective dogs along with group hopscotch trails and scavenger and bear hunts in her neighborhood and the old neighborhood where the rest of the BSC lives to get kids outside and moving. We end with a check-in on how we’re feeling and getting through self-isolation this week.

Episode 014: Hello, Mallory

April 7th, 2020  |  1 hr 9 mins

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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 happen), Jessi’s family being subjected to some straight-up bullshit racism, and the formation of a BSC copycat, Kids Incorporated (which yes, results in us singing the theme song of the show with the same name). As always, the BSC, old and new, come together by the end, learning in the process and taking the maybe too easy way out in combatting racism. In addressing the racism storylines in this book, we acknowledge our own privilege in examining and addressing the stories of minority and marginalized groups and appreciate the limited inclusion and attempts at addressing major issues while also examining the difficulty of separating problematic art from its historical perspective and (although not applicable here) the artists later revealed to be human garbage and discussing how this type of story might be better approached by an author writing today. On lighter, but still on-topic, notes, we spend a long time reeling in the discovery that Mallory describes herself (and her entire family) as having dark brown hair, questioning whether Claudia is left-handed, and taking a deep dive into what it is about horses and pre-teen girls. In a shocking twist, we have very few random tangents, particularly of note as you’d expect us to want to change the topic from Mallory as quickly as possible, given our past feelings on her.

EM001: Emergency Meeting re: State of the World and Netflix Series Information!

April 3rd, 2020  |  24 mins 13 secs

emergency meeting

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 wraps. In the last few weeks, however, there has been a major release related to the girls and their portrayers and what the show is going to look like. We get into our thoughts on the casting and costuming, both immediate knee-jerk reactions and our more in-depth analysis, and what we are anticipating, expecting, and hoping for from the series. (Note that Kate was clearly too excited and talking/reading too quickly and inadvertently initially says that Malia Baker is Latina – clarified later in the episode, but Malia is black and Xochitl is Latina.)

Stay safe and healthy everyone!!

Episode 013: Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye

March 24th, 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins

main series, stacey

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 from scary things. We discuss the difficulty as a child (and sometimes an adult) to recognize that you can have two conflicting emotions or feelings at the same time, the interplay of “smartness” being a big part of your self-identity and instances of someone else being smarter than you, the difference between all the breadcrumbs we’ve had about Jeff’s impending departure and Stacey’s abrupt and swift move, and take a deep dive on the realities of Mrs. Porter. Tangents (both on- and off-topic) include: reality TV recent and not, garage sales, growing affection (?) for Mallory and Dawn, FOMO, colloquialisms, and the repeated use of “exotic” to describe Claudia.

SS01: Baby-Sitters on Board!!

March 10th, 2020  |  1 hr 49 mins

guest, super special

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 family as well and includes Claudia and Dawn because, why not? Kate and Lauryn invite their first guest – their often mentioned friend, Katie Schneller – to join them to discuss (among many topics) the repeated plots in this book, Game of Thrones/BSC crossover fanfic, Mallory’s bunny face signature, author intention, Katie’s scarf-tying abilities, misremembered parts of the Haunted Mansion, the ranking of donut hole flavors, Rick Steves vs. Rick Dees, and (of course) Cokie Mason.

Episode 012: Claudia and the New Girl!

February 25th, 2020  |  1 hr 9 mins

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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 conversation and re-evaluation regarding crushes and friendships at that age and their emotional complexities. Kate redeems her memory when her prediction of this book was spot-on (but she doubles down that Eddie from her Ghost at Dawn’s House prediction will for sure be in Beware, Dawn!, Mystery #2). As always, we touch on plenty of TV references – this time including, but not limited to, The Good Place, Project Runway, and Buffy. Newbury Award winners that we know and love are discussed in an actually on-topic tangent and we sort of make predictions for the next two books. Clearly, we’re figuring out how Super Specials actually fit in! We touch on Benedict Arnold (with Lauryn being a supporter? maybe?), Banksy, what art is anyway, early 2000s fashion, possibly and definitely problematic descriptive words, and reaffirm #nonewpeeps.

Episode 011: Kristy and the Snobs!

February 11th, 2020  |  1 hr 8 mins

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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 Kilbourne (one of the aforementioned snobs). Kristy and Shannon have a prank war before finally becoming friends after Kristy’s dog Louie has to be put down. Yes, it’s another SUPER emotional book, this time one that completely came out of left field and floored us during reading (as it likely will in this description). We spend some time discussing dogs we love and loved, while also discussing growing into your “self” and feeling comfortable in your skin, quoting Homer Simpson, pondering the power of positive thinking (however that works for you), and obsessing over Amelia Bedelia. Also – we learn how to properly pronounce Mary Anne’s last name thanks to our listener Deanna!!

Episode 010: Logan Likes Mary Anne!!

January 28th, 2020  |  1 hr 9 mins

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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 boys at that age, the on-going absence of Cokie Mason, and feeling left behind when your friends take steps you haven’t yet. We touch on shipping from a more global perspective and realize we were both unexpectedly here for it for #reylo in The Rise of Skywalker. Lauryn reveals her Jenny Prezzioso past and unintentionally (?) shades Kate’s styling abilities, while Kate manages to squeeze in multiple references to Kristy’s Mystery Admirer and identifies strongly with Mary Anne.

Episode 009: The Ghost at Dawn's House!

January 14th, 2020  |  1 hr 8 mins

dawn, main series

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 Kate’s is 100% a future Mystery book plot and Lauryn’s Underground Railroad thoughts may still be revealed to be accurate). Lauryn relays her tale of “accidental” library book theft and Kate sets everyone up for the terrifying revelation that horror movie characters are living lives just as normal as ours before the horror events kick in. Plenty of random tangents abound as always: repeated day movie/TV tropes, bad Christmas movies on demand, first class plane travel, nerdy dog names, and font design.

Episode 008: Boy-Crazy Stacey!

December 31st, 2019  |  1 hr 10 mins

main series, stacey

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 maturity generally along with navigating the ins and outs of nurturing friendships and romantic relationships simultaneously. Kate gets her first major soapbox moment with a discussion of sunscreen and Lauryn gives us some insight into her quintessential 7th/8th grade crush. We each reveal our irrational fears derived from early childhood movie-viewing (sharks for Kate and birds for Lauryn) and yet again question some of Stacey’s sartorial (along with life) choices.

Episode 007: Claudia and Mean Janine!

December 17th, 2019  |  1 hr 12 mins

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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 (except when it comes to correcting grammar and speaking like a walking thesaurus in certain situations). There is some debate over how best to pronounce Reese’s Pieces and we again find ourselves questioning Stacey’s sartorial choices. Seriously - we clearly just accepted what the other girls said about her while disregarding the outfit descriptions!

Episode 006: Kristy's Big Day!

December 3rd, 2019  |  1 hr 4 mins

kristy, main series

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 alert - Kristy's super on board not only with being a bridesmaid but with the dress and flowers in her hair that go with it. We were way off in our predictions! Shocking, but true!