Episodes
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Weekly Roundup: “Better Than Fiction” and Our Series Finale
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E9, “Namaste”
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....
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E11, “And That’s Our Time”
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…
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Weekly Roundup: Honest History, Twitter Jail, Podcast News, and What Is a Young Adult
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E8, “LaFleur”
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E10, “The Bodyguard of Sadness”
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.…
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Weekly Roundup: Library Holds, iPhone Mirroring, and Good Mom Moments
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.…
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E7, “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”
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,...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E9, “Daddy Issues"
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...
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Weekly Roundup: “Yes, Ma’am,” the Return of “Scrubs,” and Parents Oversharing
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E6, “316”
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…
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E8, “Depression Diet”
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...
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Weekly Roundup: “You’re a Winner, Gracie Wei,” “The Friday Afternoon Club,” and Messy Moms
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E5, “This Place Is Death”
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…
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E7, “I Will Be Grape”
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,...
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Weekly Roundup: “Like Family,” Duolingo, and Warning Labels We Need
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…
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E4, “The Little Prince”
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?...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E6, “Dereks Don’t Die”
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....
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Weekly Roundup: “Ungovernable,” “Still,” “BRATS,” and Parenting Mantras
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E3, “Jughead”
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....
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E5, “Hold Your Horsies”
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...
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Weekly Roundup: “The F-It Diet,” Zoom, and One-Star Parenting Experiences
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…
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E2 “The Lie”
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E4, “The Field”
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...
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Weekly Roundup: “The Bedtime Book for Dogs,” the “Opalite” Music Video, and the Winter Olympics
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...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S5 E1, “Because You Left”
Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. We kick off season 5 with a check-in on the Oceanic 6. How are they doing? Not that well, as Kate has to flee from a pushy lawyer, Hurley's going viral in a compromising photo, and Ben's popping up to be...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E3, “D-Day”
Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's Shrinking. This episode brings us that old sitcom standard: A new baby! And a huge crowd of people hanging around nervously (Brian) and bossily (Liz). Mentioned: Childbirth scenes on thirtysomething and ER....
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Weekly Roundup: “Feel the Bern,” Wakeout, and Real-Life Conversation Hearts
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a cozy mystery inspired by the Bernie Sanders mittens meme. It's called Feel the Bern (of course), and the author is Andrew Schaffer. Terri's random recommendation is a browser add-on called Wakeout,...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E13-14, “There’s No Place Like Home, Parts 2 and 3”
Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. In the final two hours of season 4, the Oceanic Six finally, officially, leave the island. The island also leaves its former location, and Ben beats it, too, leaving Locke in charge. But we also know that that...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E2, “Happiness Mission”
Each Tuesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, that's Shrinking. This week, Paul was sidelined from his job, but still managed to provide some therapeutic and parenting advice to Derek. And Gabby vented her anger at Louis, but also nudged him to live his life...
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Weekly Roundup: Graphic Novels for Kids, Geological Twitter, and Parenting Points Challenges
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is the universe of graphic novels for kids. In addition to mainstays such as Pokémon, Captain Underpants, and Dog Man, you can find beloved series like Magic Tree House and Baby-Sitters Club in graphic…
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E12, “There’s No Place Like Home, Part 1”
Each Wednesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. This episode kicks off the three-part season finale. The Oceanic Six are scattered from beach to jungle to freighter, with a very quiet baby in tow. However will they manage to get off the island? Next week,...
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Parenting Tips from “Shrinking” S3 E1, ”My Bad”
Each Tuesday (formerly Wednesdays, but we've made a shift), we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. Currently, we're happy to be back with our friends from Shrinking. They're facing both new and evolving issues: an emptying nest, a refilling nest, a difficult diagnosis, and more....
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Weekly Roundup: “Just Do Nothing (for Parents),” Prayminder App, and Snow Days
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a parenting book. Its title caught her eye, but it's not necessarily what it seems (who woulda thought?). That title is Just Do Nothing (for Parents): How to Parent Better By Doing Less by Joanna…
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Parenting Tips from “A Man on the Inside” Season 2
Each Wednesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and for this week, we binged A Man on the Inside's season 2. As with last season, we enjoyed the gentle, loving Mike Schur sitcom of it all and the many wonderful actors, even if the mystery wasn't especially strong....
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E11, “Cabin Fever”
Each Tuesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. What made Locke the way he is, you ask? Well, you'll find out in this episode, and encounter some creepy characters from the island and its orbit along the way. Next week, we'll adjust our schedule a bit and...
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Weekly Roundup: “What If You Had Animal Teeth,” Big A## Calendar, and Monetary Motivation
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a nonfiction series for kids that starts with What If You Had Animal Teeth? and moves on through animal hair, scales, feet, eyes, and more. The author is Sandra Markle and the illustrator is Howard...
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Parenting Tips from “The Lowdown” S1 E8, “The Sensitive Kind”
Every Wednesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and currently, that's The Lowdown. The season finale wrapped everything up in a fairly tidy bow, even including a wedding (for Francis's mom). Overall, we enjoyed this show, even as it swung from silly to serious and back....
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E10, “Something Nice Back Home”
Each Tuesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. This was another Jack-is-a-mess episode, even though there was a brief period of things going well for him. But his bad dad came around to ruin it all, as he frequently does. Next Tuesday, we'll continue with...
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Weekly Roundup: “The Terrible Meanings of Names,” the UPS App, and Daily Leaps of Faith
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a book that made her chuckle and got us talking about the kids and pets we've named: The Terrible Meanings of Names: Or Why You Shouldn't Poke Your Giselle with a Barry, by Justin Cord Hayes. Terri's...
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Parenting Tips from “The Lowdown” S1 E7, “Tulsa Turnaround”
Every Wednesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and currently, that's The Lowdown. As we might expect from the penultimate episode of the season, things are looking very bad for Lee, as he makes the very poor decision to confront Pastor Mark in his own church (right…
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E9, “The Shape of Things to Come”
Each Tuesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. This Ben-centric episode gave us a face-to-face meeting of bad dads, as Ben paid Charles Widmore a visit. On the island, Locke's flock worked together to take care of Claire and Aaron, and Bernard showed off a…
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Weekly Roundup: Familiar Authors, “Taylor Swift: The End of an Era,” and Resolutions for Our Families
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a title from our former podcast pal from the About.com years, Kathy Ceceri. Her book The Silk Road: Explore the World's Most Famous Trade Route is one of her earlier publications, but it's still on...
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Parenting Tips from “The Lowdown” S1 E6, “Old Indian Trick”
Every Wednesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and currently, that's The Lowdown. Like the previous episode, this one featured an amazing performance from a beloved actor, Graham Greene, but no Francis. Also like many previous episodes, it featured Lee making some very...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E8, “Meet Kevin Johnson”
Each Tuesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. Despite having seen this episode before, Terri had no recollection of it. It dropped a lot of exposition about what happened to Michael and Walt when they left the island (uh, nothing good), and ended with a...
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Weekly Roundup: “Axolotl and Axolittle,” “Future Boy” and “The Film Makers,” and Keeping Score on Family Squabbles
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is from the children's department, and introduces Terri to a current kid obsession, axolotls, with a picture book called Axolotl and Axolittle. It's a sibling tale by Jess Hitchman, with illustrations by...
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Parenting Tips from “The Lowdown” S1 E5, “This Land?”
Every Wednesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and currently, that's The Lowdown. Lee's reprieve from beatings and fights was short-lived, as this episode brought an old frenemy back into his life and they quickly came to blows. We didn't see much of Francis in this...
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Parenting Tips from “Lost” S4 E7, “Ji Yeon”
Each Tuesday, we discuss an older entertainment property, and currently, that's Lost. This episode's format kept us fooled until the end: One character's story was told in flash-forwards, while another's was in flashbacks. Tricky! We also got more of Kate acting like a sassy teen, and a big…
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Weekly Roundup: “Texts from Jane Eyre” and “Ladies in Waiting,” Mystic Monk Coffee, and We’ve Got Issues
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a couple of titles that take inspiration from literary classics: Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters by Daniel M. Lavery (from 2014) and Ladies in…
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Parenting Tips from “The Lowdown” S1 E4, “Short on Cowboys”
Every Wednesday, we share our thoughts on a newer entertainment property, and currently, that's The Lowdown. Lee makes it through this episode with no new bruises or broken bones, which is a first. And while Allen Murphy seems not to be a threat any longer, his yet-to-be-revealed boss certainly…
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