Happy 1995! It's a new year, and time to make some resolutions ... which will almost immediately be broken. Angela wants to stop being so introspective (although on second thought, maybe not), Patty wants to stop being so suspicious, Danielle wants to wear makeup ... and Rickie wants a place to live, which puts everyone else's resolutions into perspective. Mr. Katimsky, recently having sworn off coffee, wants to help, but can't -- for reasons that will become SHOCKINGLY (for the 90s) clear.

Breaking it down with me this week is Aaron Berman, author of the forthcoming book So Beautiful it Hurts: The Making of My So-Called Life. (Check out Aaron's MSCL community on Facebook here.)

It's Christmas this week on the So-Cast Pod, but the yuletide is not particularly gay for Rickie, who has been cast out of the house and has nowhere to go. Fortunately, a mysterious folk singer appears to watch over him (kind of? A little unclear how she's actually helping) and Patty's two Christmas wishes are that the family go to church and that Brian shut the hell up for once. Meanwhile, Danielle points out that all this talk about religion is putting a real damper on the Christmas season.

We've got a cavalcade of podcast guests this week to break down the most famous episode of the series: From Out on the Lanai, H. Alan Scott and Kerri Doherty; from Basic Folk, Cindy Howes; and from Linoleum Knife Alonso Duralde (whose new book Hollywood Pride is not to be missed!).

We've reached episode 14, in which Rayanne is one month sober -- but alas, she's starting to get a little fidgety. Can Angela and Rickie keep her from slipping back into old habits? Especially now that Angela has her hands full trying to figure out what her relationship with Jordan has become. Meanwhile, Patty learns a thing or two about Kurt Vonnegut.

Joining me to break it down is Aaron Berman, author of an upcoming book about My So-Called Life called So Beautiful it Hurts. (Check out Aaron's MSCL community on Facebook here.) And then James and I talk about our most horrifying on-stage humiliations before the spirit of Jimminy Glick overtakes us.