Estradiol Illusions

Our Sundance coverage continues with another film from the Shorts Program. GNT is a hilarious film all about thrush, aka yeast infections! Filmmakers Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown chat with Ian all the way from Australia about their process making the short. The color palette and writing is top-notch. Ian highly recommends checking out the film!

Poster image of GNT by Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown, an official selection of the Shorts Program at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

We are delighted to kick off our Sundance coverage with Hazel McKibbin and Angela Wong Carbone, director and star of the film Doublespeak from the Shorts Program. Doublespeak follows Emma (Carbone) as she deals with the aftermath of a sexual discrimination case in her workplace.

The film, which premiered today at Sundance, is available on Vimeo for everyone to watch (highly recommended before listening to this episode): https://vimeo.com/439062018

You can learn more about Hazel and the film on her website: https://hazelmckibbin.com/  and on Instagram @hazelmckibbin

You can learn more about Angela on her website: Angelawongcarbone.com and on Instagram @labellacarbone 

Poster image of Doublespeak by Hazel McKibbin, an official selection of the Shorts Program at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

We are so excited to welcome trans icon Zackary Drucker to the show to talk about her fascinating new HBO documentary series The Lady the Dale. The series dives into the complicated life of G. Elizabeth Carmichael, a trans woman whose Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation created the three wheel car known as the Dale. Zackary & Ian discuss Liz's life and legacy and the ways the world responded to her gender identity at the time.

The Lady and the Dale premieres on HBO on January 31st.

Ian's review of the series: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2021/01/the-lady-and-the-dale-provides-a-riveting-perspective-of-a-trans-pioneer/

Film poster courtesy of HBO. Headshot courtesy of Zackary Drucker.       

We are delighted to welcome Nomi Ruiz, star & producer of the new film Haymaker. Nomi talks about her experiences making the film, incorporating her music background as a singer into the narrative, and the importance of authentic transgender storytelling both behind the scenes and on screen. 

Haymaker is in theaters, VOD, and Digital on January 29th. 

Ian's review of the film: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2021/01/haymaker-is-a-worthy-entry-into-the-trans-film-canon/

We are delighted to welcome Inga T. Winkler & A.J. Lowik to the show to talk about their work in the field of menstruation education. Inga is lecturer at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights and the Director of its Working Group on Menstrual Health & Gender Justice. A.J. is a non-binary trans PhD candidate and researcher at the University of British Columbia with a focus on trans people's lives and health.

Inga & A.J. discuss their work and the ways to combat menstruation stigma, the challenge of moving the ball forward past "visibility," and the ways to speak about menstruation in an inclusive manner for trans and non-binary menstruators.

Inga recently co-edited the Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies, which is open-access and wonderfully formatted for online browsing. You can access the book here, https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-981-15-0614-7

A.J. has written an article on trans & non-binary menstruators for the International Journal of Transgender Health, which can be accessed here: https://ianthomasmalone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Lowik-Just-because-I-dont-bleed-doesnt-mean-I-dont-go-through-it-Expanding-knowledge-on-trans-and-non-binary-menstruators-2.pdf 

You can learn more about Inga at her website: https://www.ingawinkler.com/ and on Twitter @inga_winkler

You can learn more about A.J. on their website www.ajlowik.com and on Instagram @thegenderoffender

Palgrave Handbook cover image courtesy of Palgrave Macmillan.      

Disneyland has cancelled the Annual Passholder Program, leading to many disappointed superfans clinging to their AP popcorn buckets and Halloween AP magnets for relief. Ian is pretty sad. She also thinks that the media is being ridiculous in criticizing APs for being Karens, hogging the park, and being too obsessed among other things. Ian offers some analysis on the current situation and why she thinks the AP program will be back pretty soon after the pandemic.

For more Disneyland fun, check out our other episodes including the three park ranking of every ride in Disneyland and our Galaxy's Edge analysis.

Grab your gold-dust and your conductor's whistle, because we're going to Shining Time Station to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The Shout! Factory blu-ray set contains a number of wonderful bonus features, including numerous deleted scenes from the storylines that didn't make it into the film. Ian & Tara talk about the legacy of the film and its place within Thomas lore.

Film poster courtesy of Shout! Factory

Join host Ian Thomas Malone as she breaks down The Mandalorian's excellent second season. The Baby Yoda Show covered a lot of ground this year, finally bestowing a proper moniker on the little fella. As Grogu heads for the Jedi Temple, Ian talks about what worked and what didn't for season two.

Ian's written review: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2021/01/the-mandalorian-season-2-review/

What an episode! Join Ian for a recap of what she referred to as a the best chapter of Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back. Such a beautiful tribute to everything fans love about this franchise. If only R5-D4 had come along for the adventure from Tatooine.

Ian's written review: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2020/12/the-mandalorian-season-2-review-chapter-16/

Programming note: we will return after Christmas with a full review of season two. Happy Life Day everyone! 

We are doing a deep dive into LGBTQ TV lore by exploring one of the all-time greats in the medium, St Elsewhere, which aired a transgender storyline all the way back in 1983. We are joined by Jessica Halem, former director of LGBTQ Outreach & Engagement for Harvard Medical School and tireless advocate for inclusivity in medicine, to help understand evolution of the medical community toward gay & transgender patients over the past few decades. Jessica shares so many great insights from her career, helping put these episodes into context.

We'll be talking about the episodes 12-13, "Release" & "Family History," from St. Elsewhere's first season. Both episodes can be watched on Hulu. Ian highly recommends the series as a whole, which features Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel, Ed Begley Jr., and William Daniels (Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets World) in starring roles.

You can learn more about Jessica on her website https://www.jessicahalem.com/ and on Twitter @jessicahalem

Jessica's partner Jen Manion appeared on an earlier episode of EI promoting their book Female Husbands.  

St. Elsewhere title card courtesy of MTM Enterprises