October 1988 Teen Life: Fat Camp, Jelly Beans & Popcorn Lung

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Our treat for October (as the spine line promises) is a brand-new issue, and we’re starting things off by discussing its Teen Life topics! Catherine goes to a weight loss camp and collects insights from her fellow female staffers on how to ask out dudes. Karen facilitates as three readers make over their bedrooms in very different styles. Christina returns to the fiction department with a cautionary tale about jelly beans. All that, plus Body Talk; a BUNCH of Help letters from readers signing themselves “Confused”; and a Stuff You Wrote submission that is…not in good taste. Pour yourself a bowl of jelly beans and listen!

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Episode Rundown

These times are for the original edit of the episode and may shift due to dynamic ad inserts.
00:00:00 Hello, It Is October 1988 00:02:20 In Our Lives + Spine Line 00:09:13 Feature: Welcome To Fat World 00:15:45 Feature: How To Ask A Guy Out 00:23:09 Feature: Big Bedrooms 00:31:58 Fiction: Jelly Beans 00:37:12 Body Talk 00:42:47 Help 00:49:40 What He Said: How Did You Like Being Asked Out (By A Sassy Staff Member, No Less)? 00:51:28 Stuff You Wrote 00:59:10 Goodbye For Now 01:00:55 On The Road: Salt Lake City

Episode Notes

๐Ÿฅ›
Luverne, MN's Tri-State Band Festival
๐Ÿ“ธ
Sylvia Plachy's website
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"3,813 Pounds Down, 6,187 Or So to Go" on NYTimes.com
๐Ÿฅค
Alba '77
โš–๏ธ
Weight loss camps still in operation
๐Ÿ•
Camp Colang alumni group on Facebook
๐Ÿ“
Camp Colang on LocationsHub.com
๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐ŸŽจ
Website for "Jelly Beans" illustrator Betsy Everitt
๐Ÿšดโ€โ™€๏ธ
The Presidential Fitness Challenge
๐Ÿฟ
"Do You Risk Popcorn Lung When You Make Microwave Popcorn?" at CSPInet.org
๐Ÿ›ฃ
"Karen Catchpole Hit The Road 12 Years Ago...And Hasn't Stopped Yet" at the Bare Necessities blog
๐Ÿ›
"Go To Your Room (and Decorate)" on NYTimes.com
๐Ÿ“ท
Andrew McCarthy on Instagram
๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿฆฝ
Susan Nicastro at Partners for Youth with Disabilities
๐Ÿชฆ
Marci Jean Groteler's grave
๐Ÿˆโ€โฌ›
Quiz: How Superstitious Are You?