In Episode 115, "Power Plays," Flourish and Elizabeth discuss three listener letters that deal with the use (or misuse) different kinds of power in and adjacent to fandom. How do we navigate a social media world where creators can find—and fuel a backlash towards—negative critique? How do the amorphous structures of the fanfic world give some readers and writers more power than others? And what can you do if the person making your life miserable in a closed fandom community is also in charge of that space?

In Episode 114, "Live From GeekGirlCon," Elizabeth and Flourish take the show on the road and record their first-ever live episode—from the 9th annual GeekGirlCon in Seattle, Washington. They're joined by Kristine Hassell, the con's director of community engagement, to talk about diversity and inclusion at geek-oriented events, especially around disability, race, and gender. How can volunteer-run organizations with tight budgets make sure that everyone feels welcome and is able to participate?

In Episode 113, Flourish and Elizabeth look at brand social media accounts' relationships with fandom, from direct appeals to adopting the persona of a fan. When a musical, a breakfast restaurant, or a streaming service tweets about a Star Wars ship, what exactly do the people managing these accounts hope to achieve? They also answer a listener question about private vs. public fannish spaces online—and unload their feelings about Tumblr's new group chat feature.

In Episode 112, Flourish and Elizabeth talk to Rainbow Rowell, author of Fangirl, Carry On, Wayward Son, and many other novels, as well as the current run of Marvel's Runaways comics. They dig into the fandom experiences that inspire Rainbow's fiction, the differences (and similarities!) between fanfic and original writing, and Flourish feels the pain of being the only non-lurker in the conversation.

In Episode 111, "Canon, What Canon?" Flourish and Elizabeth discuss listener questions about the relationship between fans and the source material—including what happens when fans are more interested in fanon than canon. Topics discussed include headcanon orthodoxy, fanworks about fanworks, characterization, "death of the text," and whether Agent Dana Scully would prefer Herbal Essences or Pantene shampoo (and none of it strawberry-scented, damnit!).

In Episode 110, "Ask Fansplaining Anything: Part 5," Elizabeth and Flourish answer a new collection of listener letters and voicemails. Topics covered include ageism, "valorizing" bad behavior in fic, multishipping, and further thoughts about the phrase "OOC," in real life and in fiction.

Amidst a string of mediocre-to-bad articles about fandom in mainstream publications, Flourish demands answers from Elizabeth: How does one of these things get made? They discuss different kinds of publications, pitching, editing, differences between academic and journalistic writing, and fandom's tall poppy syndrome. They also respond to a listener who asks whether there's a statistical way to determine a fandom's percentage of "filthy kinksters."

In Episode 108, Flourish and Elizabeth interview Claire Kiechel, a playwright and a writer on The OA, a Netflix TV show that was recently cancelled—and the subject of a passionate fan campaign to bring it back. They discuss fandom conspiracy theories, the impact of violent stories on our emotional lives, why Hollywood is shunning original story ideas, and, most importantly, how BBA is THE BEST.

Continuing an annual tradition, Flourish and Elizabeth celebrate their fourth anniversary with guests from the past year, who talk about changes in fandom from the global to the personal. Topics include shifting privacy norms, fanzines and other smaller-scale fan activity, stanning corporations, and that old chestnut, fan/creator interaction on social media. A note: this conversation was recorded before Tumblr was sold and AO3 won a Hugo, but still! These points hold up!

In Episode 106, "The Neverending Franchise," Flourish and Elizabeth debrief after Fansplaining's panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, "Don't Dream It's Over: What Fans Do When Long-Running Stories End." They discuss the panelists' takes on the topic—what happens when specific iterations of a franchise come to an end—and dig into the (sometimes radically different) perspectives of various stakeholders in entertainment franchises, including fans, writers, producers, marketers, and more.