Tag: Berenstain Bears podcast

Episode 521 – The BEAR Essentials!

Stan and Jan Berenstain wrote a parenting guide, and Becca and I have some questions.

This week, we crack open THE BEAR ESSENTIALS: parenting advice, unexpectedly advanced vocabulary, and a VERY thorough index. We explore the Berenstains’ earlier cartoons for adults, consider the financial wisdom of Barbie and Beanie Baby college funds, and take an entirely reasonable detour into Psalty the Singing Songbook.

But first, Becca has a new clue in our ongoing mystery of those unusual Berenstain Bears hardcovers: matching Tuesday Morning stickers. We follow the discount-store trail and try to piece together how these books ended up on the shelves.

Have one of these mystery editions sitting around your house? Let us know in the comments!

There’s always more Bear Country.

Episode 520 – The Berenstain Bears and BECCA IS CO-HOST!

After more than 11 years of Deep in Bear Country, I officially have a co-host! Becca Peter joins me and she’s brought a Berenstain Bears mystery that has even Mike Berenstain stumped.

Becca has uncovered some unusual hardcover editions featuring messages from Stan and Jan, unfiltered parenting advice, maybe a connection to the Berenstains’ parenting guide(?), and Ronald Reagan’s death. We’re gonna get into these!

We also talk about how Becca found the show, our plans to revisit classic First Time Books, and why vintage coloring books might provide us with an alarming amount of material.

Have one of these mysterious editions? Know where they came from? Have something you’d like us to cover? Write to us at berenstainbearcast@gmail.com!

Episode 519 – Sister Bear Learns to Share | Brother Bear Loves Dinosaurs!

After more than a decade in Bear Country, Becca Peter is still finding Berenstain Bears books that have completely escaped my attention.

This time, we’re exploring Sister Bear Learns to Share and Brother Bear Loves Dinosaurs: two overlooked board books featuring peculiar rhymes, unfamiliar cubs, and a potentially alarming explanation for Brother’s love of dinosaurs.

Does Sister actually have anything to learn about sharing? Who are Jason and Melanie? Is the pterodactyl being a little too showy?

Plus: vintage coloring books with actual plots, our dreams of Berenstain Bears graphic novels, and the joy of discovering there’s still more Bear Country to explore.

Find Becca on TikTok at tiktok.com/@defectivebecca

Episode 495 – The Berenstain Bears And The Neighborly Skunk/The Missing Pumpkin

This week, we rewatch the 1985 Berenstain Bears episode pairing “The Neighborly Skunk” with “The Missing Pumpkin.” We talk Too-Tall’s first TV appearance (and why he looks nothing like the books), Frank Welker’s very Frank-Welkery skunk, and why “use animals to teach anti-prejudice” never quite works the way creators hope. Then it’s off to Farmer Ben’s for a pumpkin caper, Papa’s “slapstick” “detective work,” and Snuff stealing the show. Plus: a quick shout out to comedy writer Rowby Goren.

Episode 494 – The Berenstain Bears And The Giant Bat Cave/Wild Wild Honey!

This week, I’m checking out “The Giant Bat Cave” and “The Wild Wild Honey!” Get ready for political corruption, eco-terrorism, and a sexually aggressive bee queen! Sister Bear overthrows city planning, Papa Bear declares war on insects, and it gets sticky!

Episode 491 – The BABY Berenstain Bears’ Nap Time

It’s nap time, babies! This week on Deep in Bear Country, let’s wrestle with Mike Berenstain’s latest board book, The BABY Berenstain Bears’ Nap Time (2025). From Honey Bear’s refusal to rest, to pillow cuddles, to the eternal struggle of transitions, this one’s a full-on nap time confessional. Get ready to tune in, turn on, nod off.

Episode 489 – The Berenstain Bears: Get Outdoors

This week I’m talking about The Berenstain Bears Get Outdoors (2025), a simple Level 1 reader where the Cubs camp in the backyard, Papa Bear makes a mess of things, and—out of nowhere—Mr. Raccoon shows up. Along the way, I share a few of my own disastrous camping stories, look back at the old Ghost of the Forest tale, and explain how this very podcast somehow landed me in a 3M commercial.

Episode 485 – 10th Anniversary and “Parents Are Such A Lot Of Trouble!”

It’s the 10th anniversary of Deep in Bear Country, so let’s reunite with longtime friends Brad Mariska and Jeremy Gloff to mark a decade of Berenstain Bear-loving chaos! Brad and Jeremy reflect on the origins of the show, the evolution of their collecting journeys, and the joys and… other joys of the Berenstain Bears fandom.

And, we’re super jazzed about the exciting release of a long-lost boutique book from Stan and Jan Berenstain—Parents Are Such a Lot of Trouble—recently discovered in the Berenstain archives and published via print-on-demand. We dive into the book’s significance, emotional resonance, and raw artistic charm, and explore what makes it such a powerful find for fans and collectors alike.