Episodes
Extra Drama #38: Time, Travel
Nora and Marissa talk about studying abroad, just to drive the gravity of Liz's mistake home. Music credit: Meanwhile in Bavaria by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0...
Book #38: LEAVING HOME
Elizabeth Wakefield has the opportunity of a lifetime on her hands: get out of Sweet Valley and see the world (specifically, Interlochen, Switzerland). Obviously, she must be stopped. The only way out of Sweet Valley is if your parents move to...
Book #37: RUMORS
Susan Stewart is somebody, but is she *a* somebody, or is she a nobody? Nobody knows. Until somebody shows up and shows everybody who’s anybody what it really means to be somebody. Meridith Halsey is our guest. This episode features music from .
Extra Drama #36: A Social Enterprise
What is a social enterprise? What if your host had an older sister who was bad at humanities? Who is the bigger asshole in LAST CHANCE, Peter or Jessica? Though it may be hard to believe, answers to these questions AND MORE await when Marissa...
Book #36: LAST CHANCE
Did you hear that Johanna Porter is coming back to Sweet Valley High? Oh, you didn’t even hear that she’d dropped out? Or that she even existed? Well it’s a good thing Sweet Valley Diaries is here to help you get a clue. In this episode, 2...
Extra Drama #35: Spuriouser and Spuriouser
Literally the only podcast where a serious commentary on football (erm, soccer) journalism blends seamlessly into a discussion of fictional teen Elizabeth Wakefield's Eyes and Ears column. Further reading:
Book #35: OUT OF CONTROL
"This incident serves as a plot device to illustrate Aaron’s short temper."
Extra Drama #34: Two Stars for Fun
Elizabeth Schmidt returns to think about high school romance, FORBIDDEN LOVE's lessons for star-crossed teens, and Marissa's lifelong romantic angst. Plus, listener emails and snarky book reviews!
Extra Drama #33: Umbersss!
umbers (exclamation, slang): "Oooh man, you're in trouble!" Used colloquially in Albuquerque, NM and environs, primarily between children, or adults who are being ironic Marissa and her cousins, Meghan and Corrie, consider their girlhood tactics for...
Replay: SPECIAL CHRISTMAS w/Marissa's Dad
While Marissa takes a Christmas break from editing, enjoy this replay of the special SPECIAL CHRISTMAS Christmas episode with Marissa and Don Flaxbart. Happy Holidays! See you in 2020, Gladiators!
Extra Drama #31: Tell Us Apart
If he can’t tell which twin you are, he’s probably not The One. Tim Redmond (the new voice of Jeffrey French) is back to talk twins, reminisce about juvenile fiction, and reveal relevant secrets about his past.
Book #31: TAKING SIDES
SEASON 4 PREMIERE! The podcast is still here! Unfortunately so is Jeffrey French. Or, wait...is Jeffrey French actually kind of a catch? Marissa comes to terms with her raging case of First Romantic Coupling Loyalty Syndrome (FRCLS) while guest reader...
Super Edition #4: MALIBU SUMMER
Jessica and Elizabeth are live-in babysitters, living a 90-minute drive from home. But don’t worry, they still manage to make it a thrilling soap-operatic adventure, replete with double-identities, murders, and deadly rainstorms. Frank Bednarz, Esq....
Super Edition #3: SPRING BREAK
Relive your totally universal teenage memories of spring breaks in Cannes, France -- exploring the topless beaches, returning puppies to countesses, picking up medication for your host mother's patients...you know, all the normal spring break stuff....
Extra Drama #30: Shook
In this last Extra Drama of Season 3, longtime Sweet Valley High reader Cherelle Solomon is back to talk earthquakes, the appeal of Sweet Valley, and the very tantalizing possibility of reading two books at literally the same time (as long as one of...
Book #30: JEALOUS LIES
Ah, complicated teen friendships. Ah, high school sororities. Some experiences are universal. Avid girlhood Sweet Valley reader (and current therapist) Cherelle Solomon joins Marissa to examine this timeless text. Reference Shelf: BTW, the...
Book #29: BITTER RIVALS (For Real!)
It's tempting to say, "why are all these teen girls so awful?" But then you remember what being a teenage girl is like...which is not to say that Marissa and her guest, Denise Boylan, refrain from calling out teen girls like Amy Sutton, Jessica...
Dear Miss Lovelorn...I Mean Marissa
While we wait for the haunting to pass (read: until we can re-record the episode recapping Book 29, BITTER RIVALS) we're reading letters from Gladiators like you. Sweet Valley Twins, Thrillers, Special Editions, Sagas, and even audiobooks all get a...
NOT Book #29: "JESSICA'S REVENGE"
There comes a time in every podcast's run when an episode is thwarted by MAJOR TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!!! This is that time for us. As such, Marissa will not be offended if you skip this one altogether. She WILL, however, be offended if this...