Lani and Becca are cooking up something very, very special for our It Takes Two episode, (hint: it's another interview!), and we need just a little more time to get it ready. In the meantime, we're releasing this bonus episode where Lani talks with her brother Alex Harms (who designed our podcast's tile art!) about watching It Takes Two as children, and what (if anything) he remembers about his sister being obsessed with Mary-Kate and Ashley. We'll be back with a full episode next week! Find us ...
Oct 26, 2021•13 min
Lani and Becca watched both parts of the Full House season finale, "Michelle Rides Again" — and wow, what a trip. (Or should we say... fall??) We talk about how refreshing it is that the adults for once care about a missing child, yet still don't take Michelle's head injury as seriously as they should. Lani tries to describe the strange experience of watching Full House for the first time decades after it aired as a huge Mary-Kate and Ashley fan, and Becca realizes that this episode unconsciousl...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 10
We've been so caught up in Mary-Kate and Ashley's production company, videos, albums, merch, TV movies and specials, Fun Club and entourage, that we've barely even covered the twins' most notable credit: portraying Michelle Tanner on Full House. Becca finally gets to share what Full House meant to her as a kid. Lani, who shockingly didn't watch the show, somehow remembers the attic and basement. Then we speculate over why this very popular show was cancelled so abruptly. Next week we'll be revie...
Oct 12, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In 1993 (or '94; it's unclear), Mary-Kate and Ashley's management team created "Mary-Kate and Ashley's Fun Club," the twins' first official fan club. The promo for this club ran at the beginning of each of their videos and promised that every registered member would receive a precious box of rare Mary-Kate and Ashley collectibles. So in today's episode, we unbox the Fun Club. Or, at least, we unbox what's left of the Fun Club folder that Lani found in her parents' basement, including original ph...
Oct 05, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Previously, on They Thought I Was You: Lani revealed to Becca that she impulsively emailed John Forster , the Grammy-nominated musician behind Mary-Kate and Ashley's first two albums, Our First Video, The Case of Thorn Mansion, basically all the music we've reviewed thus far — and invited him to be on our podcast. And much to our delight, this week we're joined by John Forster himself! John shares with us the the writing process for the music, what Mary-Kate and Ashley were like at six years old...
Sep 28, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 7
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Actually, it was a morally complicated time! In this episode, Becca and Lani open one of the most iconic chapters of Mary-Kate and Ashley's career: The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley . "The Case of Thorn Mansion" and "The Case of the Logical i Ranch," the first two direct-to-video productions released in the twins' Adventures Of series, were filmed during a hiatus from Full House and in between their two feature-length TV Movies for ABC. W...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Continuing our journey through the early projects of Mary-Kate and Ashley's career, we finally arrive at Dualstar Entertainment Group's first feature films: Double Double Toil and Trouble ('93) and How the West Was Fun ('94). Unlike Dualstar's previous releases, these films had the financial and creative assistance of ABC and are, surprisingly, high-quality films! (By '90s children's film standards.) We talk about the many similarities and differences between the two, and our own memories of wat...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 5
After inking a deal with ABC for $10 million, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s production company, Dualstar releases its first two pieces of media: The Olsen Twins’ Mother’s Day Special, and Our First Video. Lani shares her experience watching the Olsen Twins Mother’s Day Special – a Carol Burnett-style variety show from 1993 hosted by the twins featuring Tim Allen, Louie Anderson, and Joey Lawrence – in 2021. Becca dives into the twins’ first direct-to-video tape, aptly named Our First Video. Unbeknownst...
Sep 07, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The journey to child stardom continues with the twins' feature film debut: To Grandmother's House We Go . It's...not a good film. Yet this scrappy TV-movie hit gave them (read: their lawyer, Robert Thorne) leverage over ABC to found Dualstar: the multimillion dollar production company. Was Robert Thorne an angel or a devil? Did Dualstar shield Mary-Kate and Ashley from Hollywood's worst? Or did it exploit them and stunt their growth as young actors? And why was the media predicting their "inevit...
Aug 31, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Mary-Kate and Ashley were just 6 months old when they had the audition that propelled them to stardom. Learn how Hollywood producers coerced the twins' mother, Jarnette "Jarnie" Olsen, into trapping her daughters in a real-life Truman Show situation — beginning with that fated Full House audition. We also unpack the dangers of celebrity and the parallels between the Olsen twins and teen pop stars. And, of course, we play our favorite game: Britney Spears & Christina Aguilera, Billie Eilish &...
Aug 24, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 2
It's the debut! We embrace our wide-eyed childhood innocence and share our history with Mary-Kate and Ashley: where the obsession came from, what the Olsen twins meant to us growing up, and the many questions we still have about them today. Whether you're a casual MK&A fan or an O.G. Fun Clubber, come with us on this journey as we give the Olsen twins the credit, respect, and appreciation they've long deserved. BONUS: Bert & Ernie. PB & J. Obama & Biden. Who's the Mary-Kate, and ...
Aug 17, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1
As children, we wanted to be Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen-- go on their adventures, have their careers, own their wardrobe. But as we grew up, and the Olsens did too, it eventually became "uncool" -- stupid, girly, childish-- to like them. They became the butt of jokes, or at best, a nostalgic footnote. The world moved on, but we never did. Hosts Becca Roth and Lani Harms, two Mary-Kate and Ashley superfans, are setting the record straight: Mary-Kate and Ashley were never frivolous or vapid. They ...
Jul 20, 2021•2 min
