In today's episode, we’ll be saving the competition show responsible for the rash of broken arms suffered in basements, backyards and TV rooms while trying the latest trick seen on the disco-era dance show … DANCE FEVER. This was the pop culture nugget that gave us Deney Terrio, a name no Gen Xer will ever forget. But it wasn't just the spandex and dance moves that kept us glued to the TV -- it was also the parade of celebrity judges, awkwardly pretending like they knew anything at all about...

Welcome to our second tribute to Dynamite Magazine, the star-studded, joke-filled People Magazine knock-off for kids that we ordered through our Scholastic book orders. Dynamite was the news source most trusted by Gen X children and, in this episode, we'll perform dramatic readings of the important scoop Dynamite fed to us; do you know why Willie Aames spells his name with two A's? We do! And so will you after listening to this important episode! Stay informed! Tune in today!

Join us for the latest installment of our ongoing series called AM Radio Gold, celebrating the songs we heard when AM radio was king. In this episode, we'll be focusing on the radio hits from the year 1979-- which gave us some of the most memorable music in history. But this episode is not a history lesson. It's personal. And the three of us will share the songs WE waited for on the radio. We'll tell you who we were, where we were, and what these songs meant to us. Which song is the...

Hello listeners! Today is Christmas Day and the PCPS is taking the week off to rest and recharge -- and so today's episode is an encore of “The Most Seventiest of 70s Christmas Albums.” But before the episode begins, we're dropping in a little gift to you; in November, Kristin appeared onstage in a production called Listen to Your Mother, an annual event featuring local writers and their essays about motherhood where she told a hilarious story about the Christmas she became a Guitar Hero....

Grab a pen and start circling (mentally) as we take you through a stack of old December TV Guides from the 70s and early 80s. Each of us is choosing which shows we’d have been watching … and not watching … which leads to some pretty strong memories and feelings! Which Krofft stars made a surprising appearance with Oral Roberts (and Mrs. Oral Roberts)? Who can make a Christmas song sound sultry? Which holiday specials do all three of us agree are the worst? And why does Carolyn want to retire...

We’re kicking off Season 11 by celebrating that motley group of messy-haired kids who wore the coveted striped shirts and ran amuck in a big, open, Boston studio singing silly songs off-key, playing silly games, performing silly skits, and speaking in a silly language that SOME of us (cough… Kristin …) can still speak in today. Zoom taught us more than how to fold a cootie-catcher or blow cheerios across the floor with a straw, it was a show that provided us with lessons that we weren’t...

Still Singing, Singing, Singing a Song with The Carpenters

It's our "Podcastiversary" and we're celebrating by bringing you an encore of our 100th episode retrospective, where we reminisce about where (and how) we started and how far we've come! We're also bringing you an ALL NEW opening conversation where we chat about all that's happened in the past 48 episodes (spoiler-alert: it's a LOT!). Grab a glass of Asti Spumante and join us in toasting to all the incredible moments of the past three years!

Join the PCPS as they celebrate their favorite thing about Thanksgiving -- TV! Today's encore of episode 92, “Turkeys on TV,” takes a deep dive into three of our favorite Thanksgiving TV episodes as well as a peek into our 1970s classroom festivities. (Which one of us puked up Thanksgiving dinner lunch in the library?) We’re also giving you a brand new intro conversation where we all agree on WHO we are most thankful for (do you have a mirror handy??) as well as paying tribute to Matthew...

Have you ever stopped to acknowledge the profound impact of your childhood friendships, even the most casual and fleeting ones, on your adult identity? This week's episode is a re-share of Kristin's interview with Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship; a discussion that shows how nostalgia for our childhoods is helpful when discovering who we are today. Carolyn and Michelle help introduce the episode with their own discoveries, too -- friends who mirrored their complicated family...

Once again the PCPS is holding a college-level course on an iconic movie from our youth: this time it’s the 1987 feel-good, forbidden-love, hip-swivelin’ classic Dirty Dancing. But as you’ll hear in this episode, Dirty Dancing was so much more than a “dance movie.” In true PCPS fashion we’re dissecting everything from the ironic chemistry of the co-stars to the very serious, critical issues the movie explores like classism and the controversial abortion storyline. We’re also celebrating the...

In today's episode we'll be saving an obscure episode of The Waltons called the Changeling in which the littlest sister, Elizabeth, is haunted by a Poltergeist --YEARS before the movie Poltergeist hit theaters. No one in the entire world seems to remember this oh-so-70s episode except Kristin who hasn't stopped thinking about it since 1978 -- and that includes not just Carolyn and Michelle but also Kami Cotler, the actress who played Elizabeth Walton in the episode! So we made Kami rewatch...

In today's episode, we'll be celebrating the discovery that our childhood memories might be just what the doctor ordered, in a discussion of how nostalgia has helped so many of our listeners through difficult times. When we started this podcast several years ago, our goal was not a serious one. First and foremost, we wanted to entertain. And we wanted to do that by bringing funny, unexpected references to things that people once held dear -- like romper stompers, and Dr. Shrinker and the 64...

In today's episode, we’ll be turning the record over and saving the rest of the album that everyone got for Christmas in 1978; known officially as Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture. In the second installment of this two-part episode, we'll discuss every song from sides 2, 3 and 4; from the hot rod anthem full of dirty words and the legendary mocking of Sandy for her purity (Ay fungool! I’m Sandra Dee…) to Rizzo's lament on the evils of slut-shaming. Make sure you're...

In today's episode, we’ll be saving the album everyone got for Christmas in 1978; one of the best-selling soundtrack albums of all time: known officially as Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture. Grease was everywhere in 1978 -- not just in theaters but also on the radio and in our homes, most notably in our bedrooms and rec rooms where we acted out each song like seasoned Julliard performers. In the first installment of this two-part episode, we'll discuss the origin story...

The controversial 1973 commercial for the memory game Hüsker Dü inspired this episode in which we pepper each other with questions that all start with the phrase "Do you remember ....?" It's a rapid-fire round-up of random things that intrigue us but don't warrant an entire episode. We're talking about Rerun and doobies (or Doobies) and Mouseketeers and Gnip Gnop and our deep-seated fear that touching a Ford Pinto would blow up the world. That's just a small taste of the topics that popped up...

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, our generation’s TV shows had THE BEST THEME SONGS. And they’ve all been living in our heads — rent free — for the past 30-odd decades! Join us as we count down the Top 10 (or 16) TV theme songs from the 80s shows we loved as determined by YOUR votes (and ours, obviously). Will your favorite take the top spot? Will it even make the list? Listen (and sing) NOW to find out.

There is very little in life that elicits the same ecstasy we felt at our grade school book fairs. Even our Christmas morning memories pale in comparison to the day our schools became bookstores. Whether you walked down the hall to the makeshift store with your teacher OR ordered your books by circling pictures on a newsprint order form, shockingly few of us are ambivalent about that experience. In this episode, we’ll share your memories of the bookfair along with a long list of the books,...

Today we'll be saving the book with the lime green cover that said all the things we couldn't say out loud: Judy Blume's 1971 coming-of-age classic for the boys, "Then Again, Maybe I Won't." Even after 52 years in print, this book still ranks the highest in its utter forthrightness, daring to acknowledge that boys struggled with their unruly body parts and unsettling thoughts. Join us for a book club discussion in which the word "hard" comes up over and over and over and over again. And Judy...

We all have songs that we attribute to memorable moments in our lives — some memorable for good reasons … and some for not-so-good reasons. Regardless, the song and the memory have stuck with us on a cellular level for decades. Join us today as we each share three songs that “made us” from that time in our lives when pretty much everything made an impact on our lives ... Junior High. Which songs did we each choose? Whose song reminds her of the truly clever and original phrase she uttered to...

We’re kicking off SEASON 10 by catching you up on all we’ve been up to since you last heard from us AND playing a heated game of 80s music trivia, where Kristin and Michelle go head-to-toe (#LisaLisaAndTheCultJam). Which movie soundtrack produced the most radio hits? Who did Duran Duran open for in 1982? And can you sing the second line to “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go?” Listen NOW to play along, to see who will wear the 80s music crown … and to find out who will have to do the Moonwalk.

Remember when Mork was on Happy Days? Or when Charlie's Angels sailed on the Love Boat? Today the PCPS will be on its own criss-cross adventure with the hit podcast Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. Listeners send us questions about our friendship almost as often as we get Gen X pop culture questions. It's clear that people want this to be real -- as if three women holding each other with care is a help to them in their daily lives. And what people are most surprised to hear is that...

Today we’re replaying an episode full of all the hilarious misheard lyrics we’ve been singing wrong for decades: “Hold me closer, Tony Danza,” My fart is weak,” Wrapped up like a douche” … and so many more! Join us for a BRAND NEW opening conversation and then stick around as we laugh and sing to all our society members’ contributions and play a rousing game of “Name That Misheard Lyric!"

Today we're replaying one of our most enlightening conversations: Are each of us a "Mary" or a "Rhoda?" Join us for an all NEW opening convo rehashing this great debate, and then listen in (or listen again!) as we discuss what qualities make each unique and relive some of our very favorite moments from this truly dynamic duo!

Buckle up those seatbelts (but don’t really because we didn’t use them) and let’s hit the road, GenX style! Journey with us as we take an encore trip through all our collective road trip memories from the 1970s and 80s — the car ride, the games, the stops, the souvenirs, the pools, the food, and so much more. We’re sharing YOUR stories as well as ours! It’s a fun ride you don’t want to miss with a BRAND NEW opening conversation!