Escaping Reality

Hey Escaping Reality Fam -- Happy Summer!

We're rehashing whether or not we gave Natalie fair criticism, and highlighting some other individual players who got unfairly forgotten over time (and definitely didn't deserve it *cough* Monica *cough*). Plus, talking extensively about whether or not this season should be considered a turning point in the show's history. 

You guys submitted some great Fans Have Spoken questions that we're answering at the top of the episode. And, of course, stay tuned through the end to hear your favorite #JeffNeedsAVibeCheck and Rapid Fire segments! 

Be sure to give us a follow as well on Instagram @EscapingRealityPod and on Twitter @EscRealityPod --  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe & leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and/or follow us on Spotify! Make sure to tell your friends about the pod and have them join you (and us) on our journey through reality competition shows.

As always, thanks for listening & thanks for Escaping Reality with us! 

It's time for a Talent Show Extravaganza and the queens of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under are definitely doing...something. Shout out to Art Simone for the funniest 5 minutes with absolutely no context for what her talent actually is ❤️. We're breaking down the talents, Raven and RuPaul's critiques of them, and how they all went down in front of the judges. We're also reflecting on the season as a whole and talking about what caused us to have such a 'mushy middle' of queens every week and whether or not we actually enjoyed it. 

We've got all that PLUS "Toot or Boot the Looks," #RuPaulNeedsaVibeCheck, Queens of the Week, and Rapid Fire! Spoiler alert: there's no booted looks and RuPaul doesn't need a vibe check, Rhys does. Queens of the Week are part of our rapid fire, so stay tuned til the end to hear what we're thinking coming up to the finale. 

As always, just a reminder that these opinions are solely ours as fans of RuPaul's DragRace. We are not drag professionals and are incredibly grateful to watch and share our of this show with y'all!

If you're looking for a specific segment, here's a break down:

• Intro (0:00-1:47)

Be sure to give us a follow as well on Instagram @EscapingRealityPod and on Twitter @EscRealityPod --  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and/or follow us on Spotify! Make sure to tell your friends about the pod and have them join you (and us) on our journey through reality television competition series.

As always, thanks for listening & thanks for Escaping Reality with us! 

Hi Escaping Reality Fam! I hope you have been enjoying our rewatch series -- we have been having so much fun hearing your thoughts and engaging with you all about each season. For Season 17: Gabon this week, we had SO many Fans Have Spoken comments that we tried to incorporate all your comments into the show. If you submitted, make sure you listen to hear your comment or question during today's episode!

In addition to Fans Have Spoken, we're discussing theming, our misjudgment of castaways from our previous episode, and whether or not Gabon deserves to live in this "Golden Age" of Survivor. You'll have to take a listen to hear what we think. We're playing "what if" with lots of different scenarios and discussing what makes Gabon so entertaining when, in reality, it maybe shouldn't be. 

As Stacey says at the beginning of this episode, "There's a season for everyone, but not every season is for everyone," and we're so grateful to all of you for going on this journey with us! We also have #JeffNeedsaVibeCheck and Rapid Fire, so listen til the end to hear them! Enjoy! 

If you're looking for a specific segment, here's a break down:

• Intro (0:00-3:01)

Be sure to give us a follow as well on Instagram @EscapingRealityPod and on Twitter @EscRealityPod --  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and/or follow us on Spotify! Make sure to tell your friends about the pod and have them join you (and us) on our journey through reality television competition series.

As always, thanks for listening & thanks for Escaping Reality with us! 

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH QUEENS!! Episode 6 is up next on our recap series of RuPaul's DragRace Down Under, and Nick and Agie basically just gush over the joyful werk room full of gay rubgy players and the remaining queens. Just want to give a quick note. The sound on this week's episode is ~busted~ so just make sure you turn up the volume so you can hear us! 😉

This week's episode, we're discussing the mini-challenge "Whatcha Packing Down Under" and breaking down each and every one of the makeovers of the stunning men of the gay rugby league. It was a super fun episode, and we think you'll hear how much fun we had recording as you listen. We also discuss what it means to be a drag mother (in and out of competition) as well as the best way to go about 'family resemblance' in this challenge. 

We've got all that PLUS "Toot or Boot the Looks," #RuPaulNeedsaVibeCheck, Queens of the Week, and Rapid Fire! In Rapid Fire we're playing "Whatcha Packing Down Under" just like the queens on this week's episode so stick around to hear it. If you want to play with us on Instagram or Twitter, you know what to do. 

As always, just a reminder that these opinions are solely ours as fans of RuPaul's DragRace. We are not drag professionals and are incredibly grateful to watch and share our of this show with y'all!

If you're looking for a specific segment, here's a break down:

• Intro (0:00-1:56)

Be sure to give us a follow as well on Instagram @EscapingRealityPod and on Twitter @EscRealityPod --  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and/or follow us on Spotify! Make sure to tell your friends about the pod and have them join you (and us) on our journey through reality television competition series.

As always, thanks for listening & thanks for Escaping Reality with us! 

We may have watched all available seasons of Survivor, but we had some unfinished business. In this mini-series of episodes, each of our hosts has picked a season that they feel deserves a 2nd look! Whether we were too harsh, too chaotic, or too distracted, there are a few seasons that, with some added perspective, we could dive into even deeper. 

It's Stacey's week to pick & she had us revisit season 14: Fiji! This was probably our most chaotic episode when we first watched & recorded, so we were all eager to watch with fresh eyes and calmer souls. And it did not disappoint! The season ha way more to offer than we remembered. Plus, we were able to take a much more focused approach to watching the (much deserved) winner's arc. 

We're talking about our changed castaway impressions, thoughts on an old season now that we've seen all 40, some cast-based 'Fans Have Spoken' questions, Vibe Checking Jeff, and Rapid fire! 

Have a listen & let us know: have any of your Fiji opinions changed along with ours? And stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear about Agie's pick for what we'll be re-watching next & why. 

If you liked this episode, be sure you're subscribed on Apple or following on Spotify + don't forget to give us a rating & review. You can always follow for more content @escapingrealitypod on Instagram & @escrealitypod on Twitter. 

Can you believe we're basically halfway through the first season of RuPaul's DragRace Down Under? There have been conflicting reports about how many episodes there are this season with the return of Art Simone, but we're assuming this is the halfway point. And, Episode 5 DID NOT disappoint. 

We've got the "Library is Open" Reading Mini Challenge AND a comedy advertisement maxi challenge in the same episode and what an episode this made! So many lines crossed, so much pent up aggression let out in the reads. These Down Under queens pushed Ru and the other judges to the limit with their "yeast spread" pitches and some were almost too much to take in, literally. This week also FINALLY sees some validation for our Kiwi queens, and we couldn't be more excited to celebrate Elektra Shock and Kita Mean!

We've got all that PLUS "Toot or Boot the Looks," #RuPaulNeedsaVibeCheck, Queens of the Week, and Rapid Fire! In Rapid Fire we also make ALL SORTS of predictions for Episode 6 -- the makeovers! We're so excited for next week!

As always, just a reminder that these opinions are solely ours as fans of RuPaul's DragRace. We are not drag professionals and are incredibly grateful to watch and share our of this show with y'all!

If you're looking for a specific segment, here's a break down:

• Intro (0:00-1:47)

Be sure to give us a follow as well on Instagram @EscapingRealityPod and on Twitter @EscRealityPod --  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and/or follow us on Spotify! Make sure to tell your friends about the pod and have them join you (and us) on our journey through reality television competition series.

As always, thanks for listening & thanks for Escaping Reality with us! 

We may have watched all available seasons of Survivor, but we had some unfinished business. In this mini-series of episodes, each of our hosts has picked a season that they feel deserves a 2nd look! Whether we were too harsh, too chaotic, or too distracted, there are a few seasons that, with some added perspective, we could dive into even deeper. 

Anna is up first and she picked (shocker): S10, Palau! A contentious season for this group. With some fresh eyes & a more focused watch, everyone was able to get something new out of it this time around. We're talking story-arcs, players we mis-judged (for better or worse), moments we mis-remembered, and PREMIUM JEFF CONTENT. 

Have a listen & let us know: have any of your Palau opinions changed along with ours? And stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear about Stacey's pick for what we'll be re-watching next & why. 

If you liked this episode, be sure you're subscribed on Apple or following on Spotify + don't forget to give us a rating & review. You can always follow for more content @escapingrealitypod on Instagram & @escrealitypod on Twitter. 

We have another special surprise for you Escaping Reality Fam -- another interview with a past Survivor contestant!

We had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with former Survivor player Sabrina Thompson Mitchell. Sabrina, owner of Kuu Productions, is a self-proclaimed story teller and it shows. In one of our most riveting conversations yet, you can absolutely see how Sabrina is both a story teller and production dynamite. Her ability to weave a story from the most minuscule question will have you on the edge of your seat. 

In this episode we're talking: Sabrina's life before Survivor & the subway breakdown to which she credits her journey to Survivor; finding a creative outlet and community even in her own neighborhood during a pandemic; her work with CBS and other Survivor contestants to ensure diversity is preserved and valued going forward; plus, you MUST hear how she was cast on the show -- trust us, this is a story you DON'T want to miss! AND, we get some tea on what it's like to actually reach final tribal -- so all you future Survivor players, take note! 

You can follow Sabrina on Instagram @sabjuda to see what her production company is working on now (you'll want to see what they're doing)! And be sure to leave a review on this podcast letting us know if you found us because of Sabrina! 

If you liked this episode, be sure you're subscribed on Apple or following on Spotify + don't forget to give us a rating & review. You can always follow for more content @escapingrealitypod on Instagram & @escrealitypod on Twitter. 

Thank you again to Sabrina for taking us down memory lane & thanks to y'all for Escaping Reality with us! 

Episode 4 is up next and RuPaul brought us a good one with a design challenge full of op shop goodies. We also have a SPECIAL GUEST Joe Lee (@joeleegreengiant) to help us unpack the SHOCKING return of one of the previously eliminated queens, Art Simone. We don't know about y'all but we were SHOOK to our cores and had very mixed feelings about her return (mostly excitement but also confusion). 

We're talking about shade/cattiness entering the workroom in full force and the injustice of no one sticking up for our girl Elektra Shock. We also discuss the background/understanding that Ru and Michelle have of Australian (and Australian drag in general) and how that affects the judging process on this season. Joe brought so many fun theories and ideas to the table -- we can't wait for you to hear all of them. Drop your thoughts in our DMs after you listen!

We've got all that PLUS "Toot or Boot the Looks," #RuPaulNeedsaVibeCheck, Queens of the Week, and Rapid Fire! It's like we're opening a RuPaul's Drag Race time capsule to relive the best previous design challenges and bring back moments.

As always, just a reminder that these opinions are solely ours as fans of RuPaul's DragRace. We are not drag professionals and are incredibly grateful to watch and share our of this show with y'all!

If you're looking for a specific segment, here's a break down:

• Intro + Introducing our Guest (0:00-9:22)

Be sure to give us a follow as well on Instagram @EscapingRealityPod and on Twitter @EscRealityPod --  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and/or follow us on Spotify! Make sure to tell your friends about the pod and have them join you (and us) on our journey through reality television competition series.

As always, thanks for listening & thanks for Escaping Reality with us! 

Welcome back for another extra special episode of Escaping Reality! This week we're sitting down with fellow podcaster David Yontef, host of Behind the Velvet Rope, to hear all about his podcast, his famous guests, and his reality tv perspectives. 

Behind the Velvet Rope is a Pop Culture Podcast dedicated to Real Housewives, Bravolebrities and other relevant icons. Host David Yontef asks his guests all the pressing questions YOU want answered. New episodes drop 5 Days A Week, Monday-Friday! David came to visit us on our show to tell us stories of some of the favorite guests, how he finds balance between friendship & pressing for juicy answers, and his thoughts on the current state of reality competition shows.

Be sure to subscribe to Behind the Velvet Rope for your pop-culture podcast fix & follow @davidyontef and @behindvelvetrope on Instagram to keep up on all the amazing guests they have on the show. You can also subscribe to Behind the Velvet Rope on Patreon for special bonus episodes. And be sure to let us know if you found our podcast because of David! 

If you liked this episode, be sure you're subscribed on Apple or following on Spotify + don't forget to give us a rating & review! You can always follow for more content @escapingrealitypod on Instagram & @escrealitypod on Twitter. 

Thank you again to David for joining & Thanks for Escaping Reality with us!