In Episode 33, Elizabeth and Flourish talk to Bob Proehl, the author of A Hundred Thousand Worlds, a novel about comics and cons that includes characters inspired by Gail Simone and Gillian Anderson. (!!!) They discuss "literary" vs genre fiction, gender dynamics in convention culture, and the fuzzy boundaries of RPF. In the second half, Elizabeth and Flourish discuss some initial results from the Fansplaining Fic Preferences Survey, in which more than 7,500 respondents weighed in on their favorite and least favorite fanfiction tropes.

In Episode 32, "Nerds for Her," Elizabeth and Flourish talk to Paul DeGeorge, half of Harry and the Potters and the creator of the #NerdsForHer, a campaign to get fandom excited about Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election. Topics discussed include the idea of "political fandom," Hillary's bad narrative, John Travolta and Emma Thompson in Primary Colors, and whether fanfiction can help foster enthusiasm for the only reasonable candidate. (Who is Hillary Clinton. Fansplaining endorses Hillary Clinton. Seriously.)

In episode 31, "Get Recced," Flourish and Elizabeth are joined by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, a fan culture journalist who co-curates "The Rec Center," a weekly fandom newsletter, with Elizabeth. They discuss recommendation versus criticism, what makes a good fic (to read and to rec), the antipathy to critique in many corners of the fanfic world, and some of their favorite—and least favorite—tropes. They also respond to listener mail: comments about fanfic's emotional payoff, "slashtivism" in the context of wider online discourse, and whether fandom fetishizes homosexuality. Cover art by Maia Kobabe.

In episode 30, "Games and Fandom," Elizabeth and Flourish interview Evan Narcisse, a journalist who covers both comics and video games. They compare gamers and media fans, think about the way that gatekeeping functions in different nerdy subcultures, and consider strategies for critiquing media texts. They also read more listener mail about fanart, and go deep on the Sims. Elizabeth does not promise to play any new video games, much to Flourish's chagrin.

In episode 29, "Shipping and Activism," Flourish and Elizabeth talk to fan studies scholars Rukmini Pande and Dr. Lori Morimoto about what happens when peoples' ships become emblems of political positions. The conversation covers the history of shipping-as-politics, the changing nature of the fan/creator divide, and the intersections of race and queerness. They also discuss a listener's response to episode 27, "Fanart Insights," and debate the monetization of fanworks.

In Episode 28, "Happy Anniversary #1," we welcome the past year's guests back on the podcast to talk about what's changed in fandom since Fansplaining began. Answers cover news items like what fandoms have emerged, which have cratered, and what's been going on in the law, but they also touch on the ways that fandom is increasingly breaking the fourth wall, the concept of "fan entitlement," and the changing ways that fandom thinks about race, nationality, and representation. Plus, we make like NPR and encourage people to donate to the Fansplaining Patreon, pledge-drive style!

In Episode 27, Flourish and Elizabeth talk to Leslie Combemale, proprietor of the Art Insights Film Art Gallery, about the role of artists in the entertainment industry (animation cels, movie posters, concept art...) and how fanart intersects with it. They discuss licensing, fanart contests, and limited-print runs, and they try and put their finger on what, exactly, makes fanart transformative.

In Episode 26, "Consplaining," Flourish and Elizabeth break down fan conventions. Elizabeth, who has only recently (grudgingly) started going to cons, is fresh out of Leviosa, a small, fan-run Harry Potter con, and both she and Flourish are getting ready to attend the big mama, San Diego Comic-Con. They discuss the differences between cons large and small, how things change when you physically meet the internet, issues of race, class, gender, and accessibility in a variety of con spaces, and the joys of encountering exactly your kind of nerd.

In this episode, Elizabeth and Flourish talk to Sarah Jeong, a lawyer and journalist who is currently a contributing editor at VICE Motherboard, about Paramount and CBS's lawsuit against the Star Trek fan film "Axanar." They also cover the new fan film guidelines have been issued in the wake of the lawsuit, and return to the question of whether "affirmative," "curatorial," and "transformative" are good categories to use when discussing fandom.

In this episode, Elizabeth and Flourish talk to Kevin Fanning, author of "Kim Kardashian: Trapped In Her Own Game," about RPF, the fourth wall, Wattpad, and branded content. Then they answer reader mail with more discussion about RPF and the fourth wall—and try to figure out whether fandom really is "broken." Interstitial music from Nicolai Heidlas Music on Soundcloud!