The SSR Podcast

By: Alli Hoff Kosik
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  • Summary

  • Each week, freelance writer and lifelong bookworm Alli Hoff Kosik will challenge a guest to reread a literary throwback or to experience for the first time ever a book they may have missed as a kid. After that, they'll be asked to spill all the feels and all the opinions about that book on the air for your podcast-listening pleasure. Every Tuesday, you can find us breaking down an old school read from our tween and teen days on a new episode of the show. We'll cover everything from The Baby-Sitters Club to Holes, Nancy Drew to Harry Potter. This time around, we're a little wiser (yay!), a lot older (ugh.), and of legal age to drink wine... so we'll have a lot to say. Happy Reading!

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Art Biographies & Memoirs Comedy & Humor Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Episode 302: The Curse of the Ruby Necklace (Sweet Valley Twins) (with Sally Franson)

    Episode 302: The Curse of the Ruby Necklace (Sweet Valley Twins) (with Sally Franson)
    Nov 26 2024

    We’ve covered our fair share of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield’s high school hi-jinx on the podcast, but at long last, Alli and her guest turn their attention to a kinder, softer version of the twins: the middle school sub-series, Sweet Valley Twins. Episode 302 is all about The Curse of the Ruby Necklace, which chronicles the ~super chilling~ journey the twins take when they find their way to a local Hollywood film set and a decades-old family mystery. Guest Sally Franson is a superfan of the series and this book, and the episode is a rollicking good time that celebrates Jess and Liz as sixth graders with questionable detective skills.


    Sally Franson is the author of Big in Sweden and A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out. Follow her on Instagram @sallyjf.


    CHECK OUT THE SWEET VALLEY EPISODES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

    Episode 202: Tall, Dark, and Deadly (Sweet Valley High #126) (with Andie J. Christopher)

    Episode 289: Alone in the Crowd (Sweet Valley High #28) (with Claire Lombardo)


    CHECK OUT SALLY’S BOOKS:

    Big in Sweden

    A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out


    CHECK OUT SALLY’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

    Swift River by Essie Chambers

    Blood Test: A Comedy by Charles Baxter

    Show Don’t Tell: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld


    MORE READING:

    “My Erotic Awakening in the Pages of ‘Sweet Valley High’” (The New York Times, 2024) <— written by our guest!

    “The lasting power of ‘Sweet Valley Twins’: How my daughter and I are connecting over the series” (Today, 2024)

    “YA Authors Reminisce About the Influence of ‘Sweet Valley High’” (Publishers Weekly, 2024)


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    50 mins
  • Episode 301: Troubling a Star (with Elise Hu)

    Episode 301: Troubling a Star (with Elise Hu)
    Nov 19 2024
    This week, join Alli and her guest for an exciting voyage to Antarctica… and also for a conversation about Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle. The fifth installment in L’Engle’s beloved Austin Family Chronicles series, the book was published in 1994 and explores subjects of espionage, nuclear waste dumping, drug trafficking, and more. Join the fun as we try to unpack all of it—and don’t be turned off if you’re not familiar with the story. Alli and Elise both read Troubling a Star, and they’re still not sure how much they know about it.Elise Hu is a journalist, podcaster, and entrepreneur. Host of TED Talks Daily and co-host of Forever 35, Elise also recently published Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital. Follow her on Instagram @elisewho.CHECK OUT ELISE’S BOOK HERE!CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS MADELEINE L’ENGLE EPISODES:Episode 15: A Wrinkle in TimeEpisode 184: A Ring of Endless LightCHECK OUT ELISE’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love by Laurel BraitmanToward Eternity by Anton HurYou Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke EmeziThick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan CottomMORE READING:“Troubling a Star, by Madeleine L’Engle” (Pickle Me This, 2019)“Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle” (Fill Your Bookshelf, 2020)“Troubling a Star” (Kirkus, 1994)“Book Review: Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle (1994)” (Read-at-Home Mom, 2014)“The Creepy Authoritarianism of Madeleine L’Engle” (The Paris Review, 2019) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    50 mins
  • Episode 300: THREE HUNDRED! | A Retrospective

    Episode 300: THREE HUNDRED! | A Retrospective
    Nov 12 2024
    Join Alli as she marks the big 3-0-0 with a rare (and unscripted!) solo show. She reflects on why she struggled to plan this special episode, what she’s been thinking about as this milestone approaches, the journey she’s taken with SSR since 2018, and the behind-the-scenes struggles she rarely shares. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Cheers to 300 episodes!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    30 mins

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