Fansplaining

In Episode 185, "RPF Revisited," Elizabeth and Flourish use a trio of listener letters to return to the perennially thorny topic of real person fiction. How does RPF fit into the broader fandom space in 2022? What does "canon" even mean when it comes to real people? How do fans reconcile with troubling new information about celebrities they've written and read about? And is RPF source material the same as fictional source material, or are there fundamental differences between the two?

In Episode 184, Flourish and Elizabeth talk to Justin Bolger, who previously ran Star Wars' social media and is currently the senior brand manager for "Star Trek Fleet Command." Topics discussed include using pop culture as social capital while moving around a lot as a child, parlaying fannish interests into a career in the entertainment industry, how the gap between knowledge and wisdom shapes fandom discussions, and what exactly it was like to helm Star Wars social during the release of The Last Jedi.

In Episode 183, "Fandom and Religion," (one year into seminary) Flourish and (goes to church to sing songs) Elizabeth take a look at the way religion and fandom are discussed together: the surfacey comparisons, the more nuanced parallels, and the modes of thinking that shape fandom discourse. Topics discussed include the glut of simplistic articles comparing fannish and religious activities, the Jewish tradition of midrash, the implicit (and sometimes explicit) Christian themes in much of American pop culture, and Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play.

In the fourteenth installment of "Ask Fansplaining Anything," Flourish and Elizabeth read and respond to a fresh batch of listener questions. Topics covered include fictional fandom conspiracy theories, the use—or misuse—of the AO3 collections feature, the spaces created within fandom for toxic behavior, and advice for anyone looking to move from lurking to participating.

In Episode 181, "The Illusions of Crowds," Elizabeth and Flourish discuss a listener letter about the ways fans convince each other of interpretations or outcomes—and what happens when creators are on a very different page. Who's responsible for mismatched fan expectations? Should fandom hold some responsibility for wishful but ultimately misleading theories? They also respond to a follow-up letter from a fanbinder about the fanworks "gift economy," and how its meaning has shifted in the era of ~hustle culture~.

Flourish and Elizabeth mark yet another year of the podcast with their traditional anniversary episode format: inviting the past year's guests to share their thoughts about what's changed in fandom, both broadly and personally. Topics discussed include making your own spaces versus giving up on fandoms entirely, bringing fresh perspectives to older source material, and the continued fracturing of both the media landscape and subsequent fannish interests.

In Episode 179, "Fan Labor, Fan Consumption," Flourish and Elizabeth use a listener question to discuss some of the intersections between fans and corporations. Is there an inherent tension when fanfiction communities' "punk gift economies" are centered around properties owned by mega-conglomerates? What happens when fans performing unpaid labor for networks and studios start pushing back? And fresh off their return to San Diego Comic-Con, is it true that when it comes to fandom and capitalism, most fans just don't care?

In Episode 178, Flourish and Elizabeth sit down with Kaitlyn Tiffany, an internet culture reporter at The Atlantic and the author of the book Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It. They talk about One Direction—the source of the book's title and one of its central subjects—and Kaitlyn's journey from 1D fan to covering fandom in the mainstream press, touching on ideas about writing for different audiences, personal versus collective perceptions of fannish conversations, and the dangers of credulity when writing about online subcultures.

In Episode 177, "The Good, the Bad, and the Popular," Flourish and Elizabeth use a trio of listener letters to talk about the various factors that make fandoms spark and grow. Is there actually any relationship between the quality of the source material and the size of a fandom? Are there any reliable reasons why fandoms form in the first place? And does a show/film/book/etc being labeled "good" mean something inherently different within fandom?

In Episode 176, Elizabeth and Flourish welcome Liang Ge, a PhD candidate studying Chinese boys' love fiction (aka danmei) and its fans. Topics discussed include a history of danmei, ambivalence around gender and sexuality amongst its readers, and how fan culture has shifted with the huge success of several BL-adapted web series—and the subsequent crackdown from the Chinese government. They also respond to a listener letter about the recent meta episode, and (spoiler!) Flourish grows even more rigid in their definition of meta.