The Baby-Sitters Club Club


The Baby-Sitters Club Club is a comedy podcast hosted by Jack Shepherd and Tanner Greenring. The co-hosts read and analyze books from Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitters Club series. The trailer's description is "A big dumb idiot and his brilliant, charming friend discuss the classic Baby-Sitters Club novels of Ann M. Martin in chronological order. Get ready to look with new eyes at the timeless adventures of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, and I guess Dawn. And probably Mallory too. Fine, and Jessi."

Production

The first episode released in February 2016, and the episodes release weekly.

Background

Shepherd first read the books as a child, borrowing them all from his cousin, shortly after moving from England to the United States.
Shepherd and Greenring are former colleagues at BuzzFeed and have been friends for many years. In 2018, Greenring told Culture Eater, "We’d just launched a big podcast division and we were experimenting at the time and we just thought 'ok we’ll just do shows about whatever!' Like the two of us goofing off at work together, sure we’ll do a show. The very first pilot we recorded was recorded at the studio at Buzzfeed and there’s an extra character on it called Producer Julia who was our podcast producer. So, we sat on it for a while and felt like it was more of a personal project, we don’t want Buzzfeed to have to worry about this or spend resources on this producing it. We ended up just taking it away and started doing it ourselves as fun and as an excuse to hang out."
In the same interview, Shepherd added, "It’s funny, we never thought we’d do as many books as we have, and the premise was that I knew the books and Tanner didn’t, but that is long gone because a) we’ve read way further than I ever did as a kid and b) Tanner is probably a world class Baby Sitters Club expert at this point."
Michelle Ruiz of Vogue interviewed both co-hosts in July 2020, ahead of the release of the Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club. Shepherd said, "We’re in an era where people are realizing that it was not a great idea to constantly dismiss fiction aimed at young girls.” He said that rereading the books has been “been incredibly enriching and powerful and a huge part of our lives.”

Format

Episodes are generally one hour long and focusing on one book.
A large part of the show is about conspiracy theories, such as that the characters are bees rather than human. In a 2016 interview with JSTOR Daily, Greenring said, " seems like such a place out of time... It’s like The Stepford Wives. It doesn’t exist on any maps, and it’s 45 minutes away from anything, and it’s totally safe. And everyone knows everyone else. And there are no outsiders or danger.”

Segments/bits

Beyond the general format of discussing the book, Shepherd and Greenring host different recurring segments included randomly in episodes. Segments include:
The show also has a related mini-show on Patreon, called the "The Baby Sitters Baby Elite, Elite Baby, Little Sister BIG Episodes," about the Baby-Sitters Little Sister series.

Reception

The show has received positive reviews.
Katie MacBride, writing for Bookriot, said, "Yes, Jack borders on being the annoying guy in Literary Theory 101 who came to class wearing a fedora and refused to refer to the book as anything other than 'the text.' I know, doesn’t seem worth listening to on its own. But Tanner is the guy who came to that class solely so he can make fun of Jack and that is super worth listening to."
Ann, from the blog and podcast The Modern Mrs. Darcy, wrote, "One of my happier finds this past year has been Jack and Tanner’s delightfully ridiculous podcast The Baby-Sitters Club Club. It turns out I’m not the only thirty-something woman who counts these books as a crucial stepping stone on her road to lifelong booknerdery, and whose love for the works of Ann M. Martin still burns after for all these years."
Tom Greiving, writing for LA Mag, called Shepherd and Greenring "two lovable idiots" who made him "laugh."
Writing for The A.V. Club, Jose Noteras pointed out episode #78, Claudia and Crazy Peaches, as a standout, and said that "loyal listeners and newcomers alike will be drawn to comedic insights on the BSC’s most tearful moments."
Tara Gold, from the blog The Librarian Who Doesn't Say Shhh, said, " approach the books with a tongue-in-cheek serious literary analysis, and slowly build a whole world of inside jokes over dozens of episodes... Their efforts to 'deconstruct the canon' of the 'Sitter Cycle' authored by 'Princess Annabelle Matthews Martin' are hilarious, but also clearly rooted in a deep love for the books and what they represent of our millennial childhoods. The true heart of the BabySitters Club Club is how likable and delightful Jack and Tanner are. I really get the sense that they could host a podcast on any topic and have a brilliant following, but I’m happy they picked the BSC to start their journey."
USA Today called the show "a bizarre premise that's wonderfully executed... It’s roughly as productive as an actual book club, in that it includes a good amount of alcohol, very little discussion of the novel at hand and a ton of fun."
M.J. Franklin, writing for Mashable in 2018, said of the show, "...what makes the show so hilarious are the many theories that Shepherd and Greenring generate about what's actually going on in the town of Stoneybrook. Is the Baby-Sitters Club marxist? And are the characters secretly in a parallel universe that's actually a beehive? Who knows, but after listening to this podcast, you won't be able to read The Baby-Sitters Club the same way again."
In September 2019, Muck Rack ranked the show 14th based on their number of unique visitors per month, with nearly 7 million.
In November 2019, the show was mentioned as an example in a New York Times article titled "Even Nobodies Have Fans Now " Jamie Lauren Keilas describes the phenomenon as:
Listeners may press play for the content, but many of them eventually come to nurture something like a one-way friendship with the hosts. This kind of daydreaming is an in-joke of the form, best articulated by a popular meme: On first glance, it appears to be a picture of a kid eating ice cream with his friends. Upon closer inspection, he’s actually alone; the three laughing women are models printed on a billboard advertising ice cream. The caption: “How it feels to listen to podcasts.”
Lizz Schumer, writing for Good Housekeeping, listed the show among the 25 best comedy podcasts of 2020: "Those who wiled away long hours reading the Ann M. Martin series will also love this podcast, in which hosts Jack Shepherd and Tanner Greenring read the books, delve into the Baby-Sitters Club universe and share what they learn along the way. It's perfect for comedy and BSC fans alike."