We’re back on the books, babez! It’s “The Berenstain Bears Reach For The Stars” from 2025 and we’re asking, “Hey. Is this scientifically accurate?” Let’s find out!

This week, it’s all birthdays and bull dodging with “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday” and “To The Rescue!”

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 … Continue reading "Episode 495 – The Berenstain Bears And The Neighborly Skunk/The Missing Pumpkin"

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!

We’re back to talk the 1985 Berenstain Bears TV show with episode two! It’s “The Spooky Old House” and “The Fly-Away Pizza!” Woo hoo?

This nightmare of an episode is brough to you by my unfettered ADHD and a time crunch. Enjoy me rambling about Canadian child actors’ bit roles!

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, … Continue reading "Episode 491 – The BABY Berenstain Bears’ Nap Time"

After a break to work on my Fringe show, I’m back in Bear Country with a look at The Berenstain Bears: World’s Best Papa Bear, a gift book from 2024. On the surface, it’s a sweet, simple tribute to dads—but reading it got me thinking about my own father, what it means to protect your … Continue reading "Episode 487 – The Berenstain Bears: World’s Best Papa Bear"

This week, I head outside—despite my deep hatred of bugs, gnats, and all things “outdoors”—to talk about The Bears’ Picnic, the third “I Can Read It All By Myself” book by Stan and Jan Berenstain. It’s a classic tale of a well-meaning family picnic gone hilariously wrong, with Papa Bear dragging the family across bear … Continue reading "Episode 486 – Berenstain Bears: The Bears’ Picnic"

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. … Continue reading "Episode 485 – 10th Anniversary and “Parents Are Such A Lot Of Trouble!”"

In this week’s episode, I almost took a break again (thanks, cough!), but I’m here to bring you a quick Mother’s Day look at The Berenstain Bears: World’s Wisest Mama Bear — a 2024 gift book by Mike Berenstain. PLUS — exciting news! Next episode is the 10-year anniversary of the podcast, and I’ll be … Continue reading "Episode 484 – The Berenstain Bears: World’s Wisest Mama Bear"

Riding a bike? Never learned. Feeling like an outsider? Always. In this episode of Deep in Bear Country, I get personal — and a little philosophical — about why bike riding has always baffled me, and how The Berenstain Bears’ Bike Lesson accidentally became a warning about life, failure, and stubborn optimism. Plus: a weird … Continue reading "Episode 483 – The Berenstain Bears’ The Bike Lesson!"

Gossip, Journalism, and Junior High Justice! This week on Deep In Bear Country, I am joined once again by the first-ever guest of the show, Mitzi — now a fully fledged junior high student with opinions and receipts. Together, we dive headfirst into one of the most wild Big Chapter Books in Berenstain history: “The … Continue reading "Episode 482 – REWIND The Berenstain Bears and the School Scandal Sheet (1994)"

Before they created the beloved Berenstain Bears, Stan and Jan Berenstain were drawing… THIS?! Tax-Wise: A Pictorial Romp Through the Tax Form (1952) is a bizarre, hyper-specific IRS humor book filled with visual gags, surreal scenarios, and more gendered 1950s weirdness than you can shake a W-2 at. In this episode, I (Phil Gonzales) walk … Continue reading "Episode 481 – Tax-Wise: A Pictorial Romp Through the Tax Form by Stan and Jan Berenstain"

In this egg-cellent Easter episode, we’re cracking open The Berenstain Bears Meet the Easter Bunny (2022), a delightful early reader book that reimagines the 1980s classic Easter Surprise — but with updated illustrations, a softer tone, and the return of everyone’s favorite grumpy hare! But that’s not all! We dive DEEP into the strange, fascinating, … Continue reading "Episode 480 – The Berenstain Bears Meet the Easter Bunny!"

The Berenstain Bears finally meet real bears—and everything we thought we knew about Bear Country changes. This week, I break down “The Berenstain Bears: Here Come the Bears!”, a brand-new Level 1 reader that seems simple… but hides big implications about evolution, cultural identity, and the Berenstain multiverse.

“We ate our honey. We ate a lot. Now we have no honey in our honey pot!” This week on Deep in Bear Country, we’re taking a nostalgic look back at The Big Honey Hunt (1963)—the very first Berenstain Bears book! Join me as I revisit this classic, explore its origins, and discuss how Stan … Continue reading "Episode 478 – The Big Honey Hunt (REVISITED!)"