Welcome to our slightly unhinged summer series, Millennial Falcon! This three-part series is all about the fandoms we've never felt like we were truly a part of until the past few years, our Millennial Falcons, if you will. For Rhonda, that's romance novels, and for Erin it's Star Wars. In our introductory episode, we discuss our histories with our respective Millennial Falcons, why we feel it took us so long to engage with them, and how we feel about those fandoms now. We also talk a little abo...
Jun 15, 2025•1 hr 5 min
In the finale of our The Office series and of our regular season, we look at the show's ties to popular media that came both before and after. Erin did a deep dive into the history of the mockumentary, and you won't believe what the first one was! We also discuss some well-known mockumentary films, like This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show, and works that use mockumentary elements, such as When Harry Met Sally and Arrested Development. Then we explore the stylistic impact of The Office on subsequ...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 20 min
In part four of our discussion of The Office, we dive in to the various romance storylines the show featured, and how we feel about them! From the classic sitcom "will-they-or-won't-they" tension between Jim and Pam, to Michael and Holly's second chance romance, to the hilariously toxic relationship between Kelly and Ryan, there's a little something for everyone. (Erin's personal favorite is, of course, Dwangela.) Our exploration veers into a series of hot takes on romance novel tropes like enem...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 48 min
“Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised.” –Michael Scott Likeability plays a huge role in how characters on The Office relate to one another, and how we as the audience perceive them. Discuss! This episode also features our second Finer Things Club meeting, in which we talk about the novel The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende and Rhonda learns how effe...
Mar 20, 2025•1 hr 39 min
Despite its undercurrent of warmth and optimism, The Office (US) went to some pretty dystopian places in its explorations of the workplace--which were really just reflections of the boring dystopia of our reality. In this episode, we look at how The Office fits within the context of Workplace Dystopian media, works such as Superstore, Office Space, Sorry to Bother You, and Silicon Valley. We also place The Office head-to-head with the most popular workplace dystopia on TV right now, Severance. O...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 26 min
If you've ever listened to us trade The Office references on the pod and thought, "why don't they just talk about The Office already?" this new series is for you! In your orientation packet, you'll find an overview of our thoughts on the American series in comparison with the original British version, and a quiz to discover which characters we are. We also go over a preview of the topics we plan to discuss in the coming episodes, including, but not limited to: Race, gender, class, and the dystop...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Our yearly tradition of discussing our favorite movies and TV, plus a little music and books, is back! We had every intention of talking about Wickiator/Glicked, but there's really no story there. There's Wicked, which we talked about for far longer than we intended because we had so many thoughts, and then there's Gladiator, which... was a movie. We also talked about some common themes we noticed in the media we were drawn to in the past year, plus a few pieces that were just a little disappoin...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 51 min
Check your Christmas ornaments, there might be important documents inside! Please enjoy this regifted episode from 2019 about the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe, specifically A Christmas Prince. ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Honestly, this episode was a long time coming. A Christmas Prince is rich in cultural influences, from the lives and loves of historical real-life royals, to classic fairy tales, to... investigative journalism, I guess? We also discuss other vitally important topics, like the ...
Dec 25, 2024•1 hr 44 min
We have another regifted episode for you this week! We couldn't choose between our two Narnia episodes, so we're regifting both! This episode from December of 2022 touches on gender and violence, and how children experience fear and danger in fantasy worlds, all themes we explored in our A Song of Ice and Fire discussions. This one is perfect for if you want to dive a little deeper into another perspective on those ideas. We have one more regifted episode for you, so look for that on Christmas D...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Happy December! We are taking a much-needed break to enjoy the holiday season, but thought we'd take the opportunity to revisit some of our previous episodes this month. It's Regifting Time! This episode from our Chronicles of Narnia series in December of 2022 explores the topics of magic, magic systems, and prophecy in fantasy fiction and Narnia's relationship with other fantasy classics. It's a perfect coda for some of our A Song of Ice and Fire discussions. Join us the rest of December for mo...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Why do so many fantasy stories center on the protagonist fulfilling a "Chosen One" prophecy? We don't really answer that this week, but we do talk about the undercurrent of prophecy in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the "Song of Ice and Fire" that this universe is named for. We also look briefly at how specifically Chosen One prophecies are present in many of our favorite fantasy works, and how prophecy is often tied to religion, and we explore some of the major religions of Westeros. ...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In Westeros, when you're here, you're family. Oh, wait, that's The Olive Garden. But we're talking about families this week, and, like most things in Westeros, being part of a family is generally not a great time for anyone in this world. Certainly not as fun as having dinner at The Olive Garden. We look specifically at the Targaryen family and some possible historical inspirations for this mythical dynasty. The blonde dragon people share some interesting similarities with the Egyptian Pharoahs ...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 13 min
He's just Jon and he's enough! (Jonough?) This week we're talking about men in Westeros, exploring how masculinity is constructed in the world of Game of Thrones. Questions we discuss include: How do medieval European ideals of masculinity inform this world's gender expectations? What is the relationship between violence and masculinity, or perceived masculinity? How do family systems and relationships perpetuate masculine ideals in Game of Thrones? Why is Daemon Targaryen Just Ken? We also have...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In part two of our series discussing Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, we look at how women navigate the world of Westeros. Questions we explore include: How do women gain, lose, and use power in this world? How does power relate to femininity? How are the expected gender roles of Westerosi society shaped by the realities of the world? Characters we discuss include Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, and Rhaenys Targarye...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Welcome back! We're riding our dragons to King's Landing for a six-part series on A Song of Ice and Fire and all its connected works, including the TV series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. This week, we're just getting our feet wet with a look at our first introductions to George R. R. Martin's work, our thoughts on the main ideas of the series, and an overview of Martin's cited influences, including the English Wars of the Roses and the Accursed Kings series of historical novels. Plus...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 11 min
We wrap up our summer book-to-screen club series with the science fiction classic that inadvertently sparked a thousand sandworm popcorn bucket memes. Our discussion topics include Dune's influence on and connections to other staples of the science fiction and fantasy genres such as Star Wars, Wheel of Time, and A Song of Ice and Fire; how the recent Villeneuve films interpret certain aspects of the story and characters; and how the book explores girlhood (because it actually kinda does). ALSO: ...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Continuing our discussions of classic American novels, this week we read Alice Walker's The Color Purple! We talk about how the novel explores girlhood and relationships between women, the Black experience in the early 20th century, and finding the joy in life even through darkness. We also look at the 1985 and 2023 films and the stage musical, and how these adaptations interpreted the themes and characters from the book. Segments also include our pop music recommendations and What Are We Watchi...
Jun 26, 2024•58 min
Welcome to our 2024 Summer Series! This summer we decided to read some classic American novels with recent film adaptations, and we're starting with Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. We talk about our personal experiences with the novel, how we see this work in the context of American literature, and how the 1994 and 2019 film adaptations explore the book's themes. We also answer the age-old question: are you a Meg, Jo, Beth, or Amy? Join us next time for a discussion of Alice Walker's The Colo...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min
For Rhonda's Birthday Bonus we're talking COWBOY CARTER and THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Why are both of these albums' titles styled in all caps? Our conversation explores our initial reactions to and top five tracks from each album, as well as some interesting parallels between these two bodies of work. How does Beyoncé break genre boundaries on COWBOY CARTER? How does Taylor explore her relationship with art and fame on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT? And how do both albums further the cultur...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 57 min
If you thought we were going to let it slide that Depression Barbie's comfort show is the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, you thought wrong. We're digging in to some possible literary inspirations and parallels for the Barbie movie, looking specifically at Christian/Catholic creation theology and how much Greta Gerwig may have been influenced by the work of Jane Austen. We also talk about who we would choose if we could recast Ken, and follow up with a coda to our discussion of gender dynamics in ...
Apr 10, 2024•55 min
We are back from a long, semi-unplanned hiatus, but don't worry, there's still plenty more Barbie to talk about! This week we look at how both Barbie Land and Stereotypical Barbie's perspective in the film explore gender and femininity. How does Barbie Land fit into the context of women-dominated societies in other fictional works? How does Barbie as a film both defy and uphold patriarchal beauty standards? And how does Barbie as a character help us as women and feminine people explore how we ca...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Hi Barbies! We have sooooo much to talk about in this three-parter, so we squished some background discussion of fashion dolls and the cultural mythos of Barbie into this first episode. We also have some thoughts on the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the Barbie movie as a capitalist product, and our own experiences playing with Barbies as children. Then we give a brief overview of some other topics we want to dive into in our next two episodes and take a quiz to find out which Barbies we are (but, as ...
Feb 14, 2024•57 min
What was supposed to be a fun and light chat about video games this week turned into a philosophical discussion of free will as a player of video games, and how this illusion of choice translates into the choices (or lack thereof) of characters in the TV series of The Last Of Us, especially in terms of gendered actions and decision-making. It's still fun, though, we promise! Further Exploration: GamerGate coverage by Aja Romano Tropes vs. Women in Video Games video series by Anita Sarkeesian Pla...
Feb 07, 2024•49 min
This week we are getting apocalyptic! We talk about why we as humans seem to be fascinated with the fall of civilization or even of humanity itself. From the ancient epic of Gilgamesh to several separate HBO shows, our literature and culture are full of stories about humans at the end of the world. How does The Last of Us explore the human significance of the apocalypse? And what other works of apocalyptic and zombie fiction can we discuss to contextualize what TLOU might be trying to say about ...
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Welcome to our first regular episode of 2024! We're kicking the year off with a discussion of the (maybe?) zombie show that everyone was talking about in early 2023. This week we talk about our first experiences with the world of The Last of Us, discuss the question of whether or not this is in fact a zombie show, and take a quiz to find out which character we are. Then we introduce the ideas we want to explore more in-depth in the next two episodes, such as: Adapting video games for other media...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 5 min
It's a new year, which means it's time for us to talk about our favorite movies and TV (plus a little theater and music) of 2023! We also discuss how the Hollywood strikes affected how we view media, and how the theme of girlhood seemed to be a throughline in a lot of the media we loved this past year. We talk about a few of our disappointments as well, and then look ahead to what we're excited for in 2024. 2023 Stuff We Talk About: Barbie M3GAN The Little Mermaid Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Ren...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 50 min
The Wizard of Oz is a quintessentially American story, and over the 120+ years since the novel's release, the tale and its subsequent iterations have reflected the political climate of particular moments in our culture. From its inception as an alleged allegory for the late 19th century Populist movement, to the imagery of early women's suffrage in the witches of Oz, to the echoes of FDR's New Deal and the Great Depression in "Over the Rainbow," to The Wiz's positioning within the Black American...
Dec 13, 2023•52 min
We're wrapping up 2023 with a look at the beloved 1939 classic musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz, and its 1900 source novel by L. Frank Baum. This week we give you a wizard's-eye view of the topics we plan to dig into deeper in the next couple episodes. We'll look at the popular theory of the original novel as an allegory for U.S. politics and economics at the turn of the 20th century, as well as the significance of the song "Over the Rainbow" for Americans during the Great Depression. We'll...
Dec 06, 2023•58 min
Following up on our conversation from last time, this installment in our discussion of The Hunger Games looks at the vulnerability of children in both Panem and the ongoing attacks on Palestine, the troubling parallel between the Capitol citizens of Panem and we in the privileged Western world in our parasocial relationships with those respective children, and how these traumatic events will affect the human psyche and our ways of dealing with vulnerabilities. This is another hard discussion, so...
Nov 12, 2023•55 min
With a new installment of The Hunger Games film franchise hitting theaters this month, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to revisit the series, and we brought a friend! Jac Frost (known as @jacfrostisreal on TikTok) joins us for an intro to the deep-dive discussions we're planning on the books by Suzanne Collins and their film adaptations. Our conversation focuses on the ways our current world is reflective of Panem, from the ever-growing class and economic divides in our society,...
Nov 05, 2023•1 hr 12 min
