Dolls of Our Lives

Pop culture podcast

Podcast

Dolls of Our Lives

Presentation
Hosted by| Allison Horrocks & Mary Mahoney
Genre| history and pop culture
Publication
Original release| 2019
Related
Website| www.americangirlspod.com

Dolls of Our Lives (formerly American Girls Podcast) is a podcast hosted by Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney in which the hosts revisit the American Girl book series they loved as children.

In each episode, Horrocks and Mahoney discuss one book from the series, contextualizing the story presented and drawing connections with elements of pop culture, including Fyre Festival, Britney Spears, and The Bachelor. They are proceeding through the series chronologically in history, starting with Felicity Merriman, a character set in the American Revolution.[1]

Horrocks and Mahoney were inspired to start the American Girls podcast while studying for their Ph.Ds in history at the University of Connecticut, where they became friends and bonded over their mutual love for the American Girl series. They met many other women who had been inspired by the books, and the podcast launched in February 2019.[2] Horrocks, a park ranger at Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Mahoney, Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, produce episodes twice a month.[3]

The podcast has received positive attention from publications like The New York Times,[1] the Los Angeles Review of Books' Podcast Review,[4] A.V. Club,[5] Marie Claire,[6] Book Riot,[7] and the Paris Review.[8] The podcast has been lauded by Book Riot for its thorough analysis,[7] by the Paris Review for its combination of pop culture and historical commentary,[8] and by the Los Angeles Review of Books' Podcast Review for "modelling the type of friendship listeners value, hope for, and vicariously participate in."[4] Margaret Lyons writes for the New York Times that Horrocks and Mahoney are "funny and knowledgeable" and address expansive topics: "The hosts toss off St. Augustine quotes, but also deeply engage with 'The Bachelorette,' wonder whether Ben Franklin’s propagandist side would have flourished in a Fyre Festival context and discuss the history of neurasthenia when Felicity’s mother falls ill with an unnamed disease."[1]

A book by the hosts Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl was announced in April 2023.[9] The book is being published by Macmillan Publishing and will release November 7, 2023.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Lyons, Margaret (August 23, 2019). "'American Girl' & Me". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
2. ^ Basler, Cassandra (December 23, 2019). "How The American Girl Dolls Inspired A Cult Podcast". WSHU Public Radio. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
3. ^ Bartucca, Julie (December 4, 2019). "It's a(n American) Girl Thing". UConn Today. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
4. ^ a b Beehler, Brianna (January 24, 2020). "The Wild World of American Girls". Podcast Review. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
5. ^ McNaught, Morgan (September 23, 2019). "Hate those electric scooters? Pessimists Archive presents 100 years of other people hating scooters, too". AV Club. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
6. ^ Jones, Alexis; Roberts, Kayleigh; Rodriguez, Bianca (November 15, 2019). "The Best New Podcasts You Should Be Listening To". Marie Claire. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
7. ^ a b Handscombe, Claire (November 24, 2019). "5 Bookish Podcasts We Discovered in 2019". Book Riot. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
8. ^ a b Hitt, Elinor (January 24, 2020). "Staff Picks: Dolls, Dakar, and Doomsday Preppers". The Paris Review. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
9. ^ "Dolls of Our Lives". Instagram. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
10. ^ Mahoney, Mary; Horrocks, Allison (November 7, 2023). Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl. Macmillan. p. 256\. ISBN 9781250792839.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

| External podcast links (?) |

* Apple Podcasts
* Listen Notes
* Pocket Casts
* Podcast Index
* Spotify
* RSS feed

|
|

* v
* t
* e

American Girl

Films|

* Samantha: An American Girl Holiday
* Felicity: An American Girl Adventure
* Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front
* Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (Soundtrack)
* Chrissa Stands Strong
* McKenna Shoots for the Stars
* Saige Paints the Sky
* Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight
* Grace Stirs Up Success
* Lea to the Rescue
* Melody 1963: Love Has to Win
* Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas

Television series|

* WellieWishers

Authors|

* Brit Bennett
* Megan McDonald
* Connie Porter
* Valerie Tripp
* Laurence Yep

Video games|

* The American Girls Premiere
* Kit Mystery Challenge!

Other|

* Book series (The Care and Keeping of You)
* Bitty Baby
* Dolls of Our Lives
* Characters (Kit Kittredge)
* Girls of Many Lands
* Götz
* Happyland
* Pleasant Rowland

* Category

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