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Welcome to a podcast all about the animated classic Anastasia with a bit of Little House on the Prairie sprinkled throughout! This week, the town of Walnut Grove is hit hard by some major tax increases leaving everyone despondent and unwilling to participate in the centennial celebration for the United States. An optimistic immigrant from Russia rouses everyone back to patriotism with his moving speeches and everything is fine by the end. Yay taxes! Yay America! In addition to broaching some heavy subjects surrounding current events, Amy, Julie, and Marissa gush about all the recent things we are fangirling over like Glow, Sharp Objects, Lonesome Dove, sci-fi novels, Tim Gunn, Tim Curry, and doll repainting. Julie makes us listen to a song that Amy later butchered in editing to save on time. We had a lot to catch up on. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week, Ma (and everyone else) is concerned that Pa’s side hustle has resulted in a sidechick with a lovely, young widow. It turns out that he’s just telling a bunch of (white) lies to get Carolyn a set of historically inaccurate dishes. Julie is obsessed with murdering everyone this week and eating pickled foods, Marissa tells us about the FLOTUS china pattern exhibit at the Smithsonian (Reagan had some ugly ones) and gripes about historically inaccurate currency, and Amy gushes about her other favorite television shows Poldark and LOST.  4 8 15 16 23 42. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This year Pa finally has a good crop… but so did everyone else so everyone sells their crops at a loss. To make a little extra, Pa and Mr. Edwards accept a dangerous side-hustle freighting blasting oil through mountainous terrain to the railroad. Joining them on their journey is Henry Hill, a black man who has successfully completed this dangerous venture many times before; and Murphy, a racist fool. We also go off into some deep rabbit holes as we discuss important topics like black representation on prime time network TV today – and less important topics like Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede in Branson, Missouri. Julie also forces us to reveal some embarrassing moments. It’s a good one. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Pa’s righteous rage is back this week when Miss Beadle is fired for being unable to control the behaviors of some older boys in class, and the school board hires a tyrannical psychopath named Mr. Applewood in her place. Poor Laura takes the brunt of his wrath until the savior of Walnut Grove (Charles Ingalls) eloquently Matlocks (it’s a verb now) the fuming Mr. Applewood right outta town. We discuss the crazy things teachers are expected to put up with, our frustration with some continuity issues in Little House (where’d Miss Beadle’s fancy house go?), and how inappropriate it would have been for Charles to be in Miss Beadle’s apartment alone with her. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week, we have a train to catch! Mr. Edwards adopted son Carl is a real idiot and endangers the life of his family’s farm animals, Laura, Mary and himself (twice) because he is the absolute WORST. Laura is kind of a liar, and Mary is… well… a pushover. Mr. Edwards and Charles are on a race against time to save the lives of their children and several other train passengers, and we get several action-packed scenes worthy of a low-budget Indiana Jones film.Julie explains to us why Independence Day is her least favorite holiday. We spend the last 10 minutes talking about food. Amy reveals some of her biggest life regrets. That’s about it. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, the Ingalls clan gives Ma a weekend to herself so she can bake pies and nearly die of an infection. If not for the brave antics of the family cow and Ma’s feverish (mis)interpretation of the scriptures, she just might have. Amy and Julie get into it again about what is really happening in this episode, and Marissa questions faith in general. We find a few historical inaccuracies and talk in depth about our own disgusting wound stories (so you might want to skip the last 10-15 minutes if you are squeamish.) Special Thanks to our nurse researchers Courtney Schuman and Nicole Ellsworth for answering our many questions. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Walnut Grove’s star student Mary Ingalls qualifies to represent her town at a math competition in the big, swanky city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Laura struggles with feelings of resentment towards her sister who seems to do everything perfectly while Mary suffers under the immense burden of maintaining her “perfect” status in the eyes of her hometown. Amy, Julie, and Marissa discuss the psychology behind coming in second place, test anxiety, and the importance of white noise machines. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week Laura gets struck by lightning and love for another actor that has played Lucille Ball’s son at some point. Nellie also has her sights set on the same boy and will stop at nothing to take him away from Laura.In addition, Amy and Julie reveal that they spent much of their early teens "catfishing" people in chat rooms. Marissa makes us question life by explaining that Ben Franklin’s kite experiment might not have gone exactly as history lets us believe. Finally, we all agree that the world needs Julia Stiles to make a comeback. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Spoiler Alert: Amy might give an important plot point away from the film Annihilation. She has no idea though because she hasn't seen it. We’re sorry. Mr. Edwards deeply desires to form a strong bond with his eldest adoptive son, John Jr. John, Jr. wishes for the same thing; however, Mr. Edwards likes hunting and John cannot BEAR to shoot another living thing. John, Jr. loves reading and writing poetry, but Mr. Edwards cannot read and is very embarrassed about it. Mr. Edwards decides to force the issue and make John accompany him on a weekend hunting trip, and things escalate really quickly. Amy, Julie, and Marissa discuss how society should broaden its definitions on what it means to be “manly.” We all unpack a lot of complicated issues and go off into a million tangents about movies with scary predators. Julie challenges us to write our versions of “Old Dan Tucker.” Also, do bears like bread? For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week, Mary is tasked with ordering in a new Bible as a gift for Reverend Alden’s birthday, but is underwhelmed by the selection available within the Sunday school kids’ budget. Laura is immediately impressed with an ad in a catalog promising to double your money by selling homeopathic remedies. She works on convincing Mary that this is a smart move. Unfortunately, they can’t move any of the products on their hands despite Laura slowly morphing into a tiny con woman. Laura is annoying us right now, and Amy is real salty about life in general. Julie challenges everyone to go as low as you can go with our voices to some mildly comical effect. We all discuss our various schemes for faking sickness to stay home from church or school. Most importantly, Julie and Marissa admit that Reverend Alden can be pretty cool sometimes. And that, to Amy, is the greatest gift of all. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

“I think gold is made for kings and pharaohs―that's what I am.” ― Big Sean Welcome back to a half hour spent in Walnut Grove where all of life’s problems are neatly solved in less time than it takes to bake a potato in an oven. Today, Laura and her buddy Jonah make a discovery that will make them very wealthy. Laura’s imagination takes a wild and gloriously glittery turn, and we love every ridiculous second of it. In addition, Marissa teaches Amy and Julie a few facts about the California gold rush, and together we learn more about the various types of wetlands than one could ever wish to know. We all discuss what we would buy if we suddenly came into some money as well as the times we thought we were about to get rich before reality rudely set in. Finally, we discover that there is a companion Bob’s Burgers episode to every episode of Little House on the Prairie. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Have you ever wondered how the Olesons and Ingalls families would behave with each other if they were stuck in the wilderness together with a merderous dog? Join us this week and find out! Hint: It’s as crazy as it sounds. Amy, Julie, and Marissa discuss out past camping adventures (none of them are positive.) Marissa links this episode to an episode of Bob’s Burgers which is suspiciously similar, Julie airs out some past grievances about her social struggles growing up, and Amy announces her idea for a low-fi Little House video game. (We are collecting resumes from all interested game developers.) Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

We’re back with the bittersweet conclusion to “Remember Me” where Pa struggles to find a home for all three Sanderson children, Laura struggles to find a home for the third puppy, and Mr. Edwards struggles to find the courage to open his heart to love again. Viewers are also delightfully treated with an introduction to another of Harriet’s wealthy and impeccably dressed family members, Miss Minerva Farnsworth. In addition, Marissa poses an ethical quandary to Amy, and Julie asks an interesting question to our male listener (listners?) about facial hair. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week we meet Julia Sanderson, widowed mother of three, who learns she hasn’t much time left in life. With admirable courage and a smoky-smooth voice, she makes preparations for her children with Charles Ingalls help. Mary and Laura also rescue three puppies that look suspiciously like Jack. In the first several minutes of this episode, we learn the Jeff Scale origin story as well as meet who is arguably one of the worst residents of Walnut Grove. Amy and Marissa discuss whom they would leave their children with in the event of their death. (Hint: Julie might end up with a lot of children.) We also learn a lot about the early developments of cancer treatment and discuss how rainy funeral scenes are extremely cliché. (Trigger Warning: This episode deals with losing a parent to a terminal illness.) Special Thanks to our nurse researcher Courtney Schuman for answering our questions. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Aaaaand we’re back! Thank you to everyone for sticking with us on our two-week hiatus while Amy and Julie were in Aruba. Love is in the air this week when Laura (and Grace Snyder) attempt to get the men in their lives to ask them to the annual Spring Dance. After taking some of Ma’s shoddy advice, both Laura and Grace end up getting themselves into more than they signed up for. We introduce two exciting, new segments: Marissa’s Outrage Corner and Doc Baker’s Book Reviews. In addition, we get some fantastic gift ideas for our meat-loving loved ones in our life. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week everything gets a little creepy when Laura is taunted into approaching the run-down mansion of the town hermit and possible murderous maniac Amos Pike. The two quickly develop an odd relationship, and Laura spends every afternoon in his house cleaning – AND HER PARENTS DO NOT CARE. After Laura learns the truth about Amos’ absent wife, she shoulders the very-adult responsibility of breaking the tragic news to him and becoming his therapist even the he clearly needs some professional help to sort through his complicated grief. In addition to discussing this signature Victor French episode, we argue about the color of a dress in a painting, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and how much we love short stories. What you won’t hear is the 3 minutes of Julie yelping and shrieking at every little noise while we were recording this episode… For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Grab a bowl of applesauce and sit down to this crackerjack of an episode! Walnut Grove is gearing up to play in the annual baseball game against the town of Sleepy Eye. The problem: they have a lousy pitcher (ahem, Nels.) The solution: They find one in mild-mannered Jebidiah Mumfort. A new character also saunters into town by the name of Slick McBernie, and he, along with his truly remarkable moustache, are immediately inducted into out Hottie Hall o’ Fame. Listen to find out how the game ends… I bet you can’t guess. We talk hot-heads, hotties, and a hot-tempered Jesus in this episode about “America’s Favorite Pastime.” We also spend almost the entire last half of this podcast episode talking about the upcoming Winter Olympics BECAUSE WE CAN! For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week Walnut Grove gets a shiny new bank with a less-than-friendly banker (whom we all immediately like.) Pa makes some more poor financial decisions, Ma attempts to raise more money for the school’s textbook fund without using her womanly wiles, and Laura makes fishing buddies with a middle-aged man without knowing his name which makes us question Ma and Pa’s parenting methods. We also discuss Gilmore Girls (again), Mr. Worldwide (Pitbull), how embarrassing our pets can be, and what qualities make a good banker. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

This week, the entire Ingalls family is concerned about Mary. Her grades are suddenly failing, and Pa is the only one smart enough to figure out that she needs glasses. That entire mystery takes most of the episode to solve. After her eyes are opened to a whole new world via glasses, she is immediately terrorized by the Oleson kids who tell her she will never get married now that glasses have turned her into a hideous monster. Mary decides she'd rather fail at school than be a spinster so she hides her glasses. Thankfully, a dopey version of Ryan Gosling swings by to make out with Miss Beadle (who also wears glasses) proving to Mary that maybe the Oleson kids are just mean and have no idea what they are talking about. Amy, Julie, and Marissa delve into subjects like body image, what personal "flaws" plagued us when we were teenagers, and how we learned we finally needed glasses. We also talk about how depressing Planet Earth can be and how washing your face with oil can possibly solve acne issues. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.

Welcome to Season 2! This week, Hansen’s Mill is forced to close due to some unforeseen circumstances leaving the Ingalls family in debt to the Mercantile and on Harriet’s bad side. The whole family manages to rally together to earn enough money while keeping the family farm up and running so that they can clear their debt and purchase caffeine and sugar until the mill reopens. In addition, we talk about various lighthearted subjects like murdering spouses, poverty, what we ate when we were broke, and the kindness of strangers/friends during our lean times. For more articles, photos, and other resources on each episode, visit our weekly companion blog here. Special Thanks to David Rose Publishing for allowing us use of his iconic theme for the Little House on the Prairie show. (Composition Credit) © 1974 David Rose Publishing Co. | (Master Recording Credit) ℗ 2010 David Rose Publishing Co.