Pop Culture Preservation Society

Forget organized sports leagues and structured activities. Today's episode celebrates the original "unplugged" generation: Gen X! We're taking a deep dive into the impromptu, self-governed world of neighborhood games that defined our childhoods. From the chalk artistry of Hopscotch to the frantic dashes of Kick The Can, these weren't just games; they were life lessons in strategy, teamwork, and knowing when to r...

Today we’ll be saving the precious messages inscribed into our school yearbooks that no one ever imagined would be read aloud PUBLICLY 40 years later. But that's exactly what we did -- welcome to Gen X Yearbook Reader’s Theater! (Sorry, Debbie). There may not be anything that signals the end of the school year more than the distribution of yearbooks. And the signing frenzy that follows..And so – we all spent significant time wi...

Get ready to kick off Season 16 as we flash back to the glorious chaos of Field Day! We're diving headfirst into the GenX end-of-year tradition that either filled you with the thrill of victory (and a coveted ribbon!) or the dread of impending physical exertion. We'll reminisce about the agony and the ecstasy of the tug-of-war (remember that glorious rope burn?), the awkward coordination of the three-legged race, and the su...

Tune in today as the topics of our Season 16 episodes are REVEALED! Consider this your TV Guide preview issue for the new season of The Pop Culture Preservation Society, full of pithy promos, clever hooks, and even a Season 16 theme song. Before the big reveal, Carolyn warms up the crowd with a walk through an actual TV Guide Preview Issue from 1979 (does anyone else remember Out of the Blue starring Olivia Barash? Or is it just Kr...

After a new opening conversation where we give a tribute to an non-M-named icon of our era, Linda Lavin, we are thrilled and honored to be talking to the trailblazing woman who wrote for some of the most iconic shows of the 70s and 80s, Susan Silver. Join us as Susan, the first female writer for The Mary Tyler Moore Show who opened the door for over 20 female writers after her, regales us with her start in the business, shares some...

Today we’re saving our GenX prom, that "Night To Remember,” the one we wanted to have just "One More Night" to experience "Always and Forever” — the dresses, the themes, the music, and all of OUR memories … and YOURS! Who drank so much water that day to be able to fit into her dress that she had to pee all night? Whose prom was basically a mini-wedding ceremony? Who had a serious wardrobe malfunction in the car? And...

Which Sesame Street skits have been living in your head for the past 50 or so years? Rubber Duckie? Mahna Mahna? Ladybug Picnic? Grover screaming “FAAAAAR?” There are SO many classic, memorable skits we’ll never be able to get out of our brains — and we’re not complaining! Join us for an encore of one of our HAPPIEST episodes as we count down YOUR Top 10 (or 14) favorites! Which shockingly appears low on the list? Which was the #1 ...

We're back with an encore presentation of our tribute to Sesame Street with the added bonus of a surprisingly serious conversation inspired by a New York Times article about the demise of creative jobs for Gen Xers. If you went into a creative field as a young adult in the 90s, you have likely seen a tsunami of change in your industry, sometimes to the point of extinction. Once again, Gen Xers have to adapt and change and perse...

Come with me, take my hand, and we'll ruuuuuuunnnnnn..... to Amherst, Massachusets for a gathering of PCPS listeners at the first-ever Free to Be You and Me museum exhibit and singalong at the Eric Carle Museum of Picturebook Art. It was .... how shall we say... EPIC? People have feelings about what could be the most important album for anyone born between the years 1965 and 1980. There was crying. Lots of it. PCPS listeners me...

The movie adaptation of Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret came out two years ago this month and it's just starting to hit streaming services -- so we're bringing you an encore presentation of our episode reviewing/gushing over the movie. In addition to that, our new opening conversation includes an invitation to come see us IN PERSON for a book club discussion about Margaret at Anderson's Booksh...

Free To Be ... You and Me was our generation's manifesto, played in every household and every classroom across the nation until we all knew that it was all right to cry, and mommies are people, and Atalanta didn't have to get married if she didn't want to. Join us for a deep dive on the album's origin story and take our hands, come along as we r-u-u-u-u-u-n-n-n-n with our own thoughts and feelings about our favorite...

No better way to prep for our upcoming visit to the Eric Carle Museum for Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts than to revisit one of our favorite episodes, "Where The Wild Books Are." Join us for an all new opening conversation where we share what we're most excited to see at the museum as well as our dismay over some Eric Carle books that have been banned.

Snuggle up close as we share our memories of our favorite...

Today we’re chatting about a handful of our most Hūsker Dū-inducing social media posts that have gotten the most attention from all of you. What was it about those little SeaWees mermaids that made you like and share by the 1000s? Or what about the brother boy detectives that made us all way more interested in solving crime? Why does Shakey’s Pizza give so many of you ALL THE FEELS? And let’s not forget the love for that granola-lo...

Travel with us to Gilley’s in Houston, Texas for a great debate about Urban Cowboy. Is it the Texan Saturday Night Fever? Do we even like Bud? What about Sissy? Why is the mechanical bull the lead player? And despite our differing opinions, how great is that soundtrack?!? (On that we all agree!) And bonus! We’re welcoming one of our favorite voices to the conversation: Amy Lively, high school history teacher, Urban Cowboy fan and h...

Settle in as we each take a deep dive into a Very Special Episode that is also Very Memorable for a variety of reasons. Who can’t forget when Barbara’s friend OD’d on “One Day at A Time?” Who is now fairly certain that her distaste for Leif Garrett began when his character pressured Buddy to have sex on “Family?” And who will never forget Alex P. Keaton’s 30-minute therapy session after he lost his friend in a car accident on “Fami...

The 1970s and 1980s provided us with copious amounts of well-intentioned wisdom about the most sensitive and traumatic social issues of the day — drug and alcohol addiction, eating disorders, rape, pedophilia, suicide, child abuse and more — and packaged them into very memorable “Very Special Episodes.” These heavy-handed moral lessons were often hard to watch … yet were incredibly valuable and effective. Today we’re describing som...

James at 15 was an oh-so-70s groundbreaking coming-of-age dramedy before dramedy was a thing and served quite literally as the inspiration for 1998's Dawson's Creek. James at 15 was full of bell-bottoms, shearling jackets, groovy slang, boys who play flute, righteous dudes, fierce feminists and 'first times' -- and it attracted teen viewers like moths to a flame. And yet somehow it only lasted one season. The show&#...

Celebrate Valentine’s Day week with us, the handsome and smooth Chuck Woolery, and a few awkward and repulsive contestants on the TRUE reality dating show we all loved, “Love Connection.” Back in 2 and 2? Nope, we’re sticking around for an hour reminiscing about the fabulous 80s hair, the giant ‘staches, the smarmy guys, a couple of the most awkward dates, and the handsome host that represented all of us with his hilarious (and spo...

Last week we gave you a front-row seat to the 1982 Grammys, and this week we’re giving you an inside look at who we each were in 1981 and the songs from that year that meant the most to us … and why. Who thought “Too Much Time on My Hands” was the key to her popularity? Who was a hopeless romantic lip-synching “Endless Love” to a mystery “man” when she was only 12? And for which of us did “The Best of Times” sadly mean the opposite...