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Grandma's Been There
Host and creator Siobhan Barry takes listeners back to the 1950s and 1960s. Her stories, sometimes funny and sometimes serious, are time traveling trips through the days of penny candies, neighborhood ice cream parlors, fifty-cent movie tickets, air raid drills, summers without air conditioning, street games, homemade toys, football weddings, transistor radios, Beatlemania, and a cultural revolution.
Episodes
45 episodes
Halloween
This week, I want to tell you how much I enjoy Halloween in this new millennium. Before I do that though, I need to tell you what Halloween was like when I was a little girl because it was very different than it is now.
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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19:03
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The Locomotive and the Caboose
As a young kid, I was awkward, self-conscious and devoid of confidence. I was lucky to have the support of a friend who was a self-propelled leader. She was the locomotive and I was the caboose.
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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27:32
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World Without End Part 2
Here's the second half of "World Without End." If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, please go back and listen to that first.
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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24:02
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World Without End Part 1
October 16th marked the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This week's episode is a work of fiction based on actual events. "World Without End" is the story of a little girl who challenges the validity of 1960s Cold War ...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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26:26
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A Bench For All Seasons: Fall
I'm gonna miss the summer, but I'm ready for cooler air and a whole new color palette. I love all the seasons, but there's nothing like the look, the feel and the personality of the fall.
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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17:02
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Castro Convertibles
Let me tell you how Bernard Castro helped me sleep at night when I was a little girl even though we never owned one of his sofa beds.
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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16:03
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The Looking Glass World
In 1969, it was often easy for me to feel like Alice Pleasance Liddell trying to navigate Wonderland and the world of opposites on the other side of the looking glass while always on the lookout for the Queen of Hearts. Outside my door, there w...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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28:57
Cautionary Tales
If you should happen to notice any similarities in the themes of these two cautionary tales from the past, or if you find them relatable to things that are going on in the present day, well, that could be because history does have a tendency to...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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18:57
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Living on the Edge
Our food was processed, artificially flavored, chemically preserved and loaded with sugar and caffeine. We breathed secondhand and thirdhand smoke every day. We stuck our hands, arms and heads out the windows of moving cars. And we went outside...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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22:52
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The Fabric of Life
In the 1950s and early '60s, looking and acting exactly like your neighbors wasn't a trend or a fad. It was a national obsession. For some, uniformity afforded comfort and security. For others, conformity was as comfortable as a straitjacket.
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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20:54
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Brooklyn 25, New York
Once upon a time, there were no such things as zip codes. The post office identified neighborhoods by their zones. Any mail addressed to me or my neighbors came to Brooklyn 25, New York. We liked our zone.
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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16:33
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Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You Think
Whether we like it or not, we're just a few weeks away from saying goodbye to another summer. No matter how young you are, I strongly suggest you pay close attention to this week's story and heed its advice. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you ...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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25:36
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Let's Play!
From chalk slates to Etch A Sketch, Chutes and Ladders to Mouse Trap, we've got all the games. We've got hula hoops, Duncan yo-yos, Slinkys, toy soldiers, doll carriages and Colorforms. Come on downstairs and let's play!
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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22:26
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How Sweet It Is!
During the school year, our weekends were precious. Monday morning may as well have been light years away when we bolted out of that school building on Friday afternoon. This week, we sing the praises of wondrous winter weekends. How sweet they...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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19:52
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Tap Shoes
When I was nine, I borrowed a pair of tap shoes for a school play. I fell madly in love with those patent leather musical instruments. I was hypnotized by the noise they made on the wooden stage. I had to have a pair of my ow...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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19:22
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Hot Town, Summer in the City
After the last two episodes, we need to get outside and have some fun. So, grab your bathing suits, put on your Keds and come downstairs. It's summer in the city!
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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34:49
Not What I Expected, Part 2
This is the second and last part of an episode titled, "Not What I Expected." Like last week's episode, it comes with a trigger warning because it includes accounts of physical, emotional and spiritual abuse.
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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17:04
Not What I Expected, Part 1
In some past episodes, I've alluded to the fact that my grammar school wasn't always a healthy or safe environment. This week, I'm going to go into some details. So, if you don't think you can handle listening to accounts of kids being physical...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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21:28
Independence Day
The 4th of July is all about celebrating independence. And for school kids, it's a wonderful coincidence that our country's Independence Day falls just as students celebrate the beginning of their temporary independence from classrooms, teacher...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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27:32
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Anywhere But Here
Live streams from big cities, little towns and even from the cabs of cross-country trains, twenty-four hours a day. I would have given anything to have these when I was growing up while I was stuck in a classroom daydreaming of seeing the world...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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22:04
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The Halvah Trigger
Trigger warning: This week's story contains descriptions of situations involving a child being denied halvah for reasons known only to the perpetrator who is now deceased and no longer available for comment. Listener discretion is advised.
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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16:48
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My Father Said
My father could hold his own with the best stand-up comedians. Whether he was happy or angry, the gems just flowed from his lips. I loved repeating his words of wisdom, especially at school where my teachers definitely did not&nbs...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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18:11
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The First Grade
I wish this story was all there was to tell about my first grade experience because today's account doesn't include the subject matter that requires a trigger warning. We'll tackle that version in the future when I think you're old enough to he...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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28:02
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