REFERENTIAL enters the ‘Session of The Witch’ with a special series of episodes diving into the resurgence of witches in pop culture fiction and their ties to this moment in feminism, womanhood, queerness, misogynoir (and musicals!).

To start us off, I’m joined by host of Best Issue Ever’s Sara Century to talk the MCU’s latest instalment Agatha All Along! Created by Jac Schaeffer and starring Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Patti LuPone and Debra Joe Rupp. Agatha All Along continues Agatha Harkness’ story from Wandavision and gives us a glimpse into her ambiguous past. 

Listen to our thoughts on the series + find out how we fit the following in the conversation

• It works for Sarah Paulson
• Crushing on Kate Winslet 
• Patti LuPilled
• Justice for Alice
• Death
• The Current State of the MCU
• Messy Morality 
• I was falling
• The first openly gay serial killer
• We’re the weirdoes mister
• Regressive adaptations 
• Jennifer Kale did what she had to do
• Femme supers
• Tents
• Ambiguity 
• RIP Mrs Hart

Find Sara Century @saracentury on Instagram

Get Sara’s Scream zine! http://saracentury.gumroad.com

Find out more her work and podcasting at https://saracentury.com and subscribe to Best Issue Ever everywhere you get your podcasts!

Hosted and produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

All videos edited by Victor Alexander.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com Follow me @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Find out more about REFERENTIAL’s upcoming episodes on www.alsopurple.com/citations

*'Tangent' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

Thank you for listening! Leave the pod a rating to help other people find the show!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I’m joined on this episode by hosts of the Queer Cinema Catch Up Podcast Allison and Joe!

We get into 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats, directed by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan and starring Rachel Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming, Missy Pyle and Parker Posey.

The film was a commercial and critical failure that turned into a cult classic in the years since its release. We sit down to reappraise the biting satire and think about what it was trying to do in the context of today!

+ Find out how we fit the following in the conversation

• Nostalgia
• Predicting pop-punk
• The mainstreaming of punk music
• Rockism vs Poptimism
• Dicks the Musical
• Authenticity in the age of
• Pop’s teen queens and sexuality 
• Innuendo bops
• Parker Posey as Elon Musk
• An ode to Missi Pyle

Find Joe and Allison on instagram @Queer_Cinema_Catchup and on their YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@QueerCinemaCatchup 

And make sure to check out their podcast!

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Hosted and produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

All videos edited by Victor Alexander.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

Find out more about REFERENTIAL’s upcoming episodes on www.alsopurple.com/citations

*'Tangent' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

If you liked this episode, help other people find the podcasts! Share, tell a friend, and remember to leave a rating and review!

Thank you for listening!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I’m joined on this episode by award-winning poet and vampire aficionado Derrick Austin!

We delve into the most recent adaptation of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, AMC’s Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (Starring Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Bailey Bass, Eric Bogosian & Assad Zaman)

This conversation also includes our thoughts on the original book [Book 1 of The Vampire Chronicles] and the 1994 film adaptation of the story (Directed by Neil Jordan and starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt & Kirsten Dunst)

[spoilers all!]

+ Find out how we fit the following in

• Early 90s straight-washing 
• Race-blind casting vs adding to the narrative
• Repressed desire and the glass closet
• The existential terrors of being alive
• ‘Demonic White Daddies’
• Queer hierarchies of privilege 
• Mentorship and inter-community conflict
• Abusive relationships
• Selfishness & the toxicity of ‘queer families’
• ‘Containing’ Claudia
• In defence of Armand 
• The glass closets and taking queerness outside
• De-centring whiteness in queer narratives
• Clinton-era ‘radicalism’ today
• Creole Lady Marmalade
• Fantasies of carefree existence 
• Rabid fanbases
• This is a story about control.

Find Derrick on all socials @ParadiseLAust and more about him & his writing here: https://linktr.ee/DerrickAustin

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Hosted and produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

All videos edited by Victor Alexander.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

Find out more about REFERENTIAL’s upcoming episodes on www.alsopurple.com/citations

*'Tangent' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

If you liked this episode, help other people find the podcasts! Share, tell a friend, and remember to leave a five star rating and review to help people find us!

Thank you for listening!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

(Preserving Pride Part 1)

Trying something a little different and introducing a new format...

I started working on this after being advised to stay in doors because the streets we’d marched on were now being threatened by rioters who feel anyone Brown, Black or different doesn’t belong. 

Trans Pride Brighton was the first Trans Pride event outside of the United States. It is also one of the largest, gathering 45,000 people in 2024 in protest and celebration. Grass-roots and community-led, the TPB organisation is run by a team of volunteers who deliver an event that has only grown more vital since its establishment in 2013.

Trans Pride Brighton is where people gather in action to share their intention for the world to be better for them and each other.

Press play and join the march.. 

Featured voices in order of appearance 

• Khaliden Nas
• Sarah Savage
• Al
• Mzz Kimberly
• Ruth from SolFed (Brighton Solidarity Foundation)
• Oli
• Bosun
• V from the ECP (English Collective of Prostitutes)
• Victor Alexander from the Trans Pride Brighton Committee
• Cass From the Trans Pride Brighton Committee 
• Traveller Pride
• Alaska Nas

Thank you everyone who contributed their voices to this episode and to the Trans Pride Brighton Committee for another year of pride and protest without compromise.

Find resources and more about Trans Pride Brighton at https://linktr.ee/transpridebrighton

Make a donation at https://transpridebrighton.org/donate/

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Hosted by Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Produced & edited by Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Videos by Victor Alexander (Check out his film video essays @Clevvergirl on tiktok!)

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to leave a 5 star rating and review to help people find the podcast!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to regular programming!

[Part 1 of a series.]

Have you ever heard the term 'digital blackface'? The Real Housewives franchise has spawned a million gifs and opinions; all asking if this is how 'we'' should be represented- and what these shows mean for the community.

For Episode 3 we decided to examine that statement through a discussion about Bravo's Black led Real Housewives franchise (with some thoughts on the other casts sprinkled in).

Do these shows reduce Black women to something problematic for mass entertainment? Or is it us who do that work because of our hang ups?

I’m joined by screenwriter, social media producer and classically trained musician (?!) Lauren Warren (Nerd of Prey!)(Caw!!)(most recently a finalist in the ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch Competition) to talk all about Bravo's Real Housewives franchise.

We cover Real Housewives of Atlanta [RHOA] and Real Housewives of Potomac [RHOP], with thoughts on some of the other casts sprinkled throughout (Orange County, New York, New Jersey, DC, Salt Lake City and Vancouver).

Listen to us think about existing as a Black woman in public, failing in public, respectability and the weight of representation

+ Find out how we also fit the following into the discussion

• Secret lesbians, queerness, panic and RHOA
• Kim, whiteness and power in early RHOA
• Corporate activism as a commercial exercise
• Colorism, and RHOP
• The collapse of polite fiction, pretence and reality in public
• Shout out to The Nerds of Prey!
• Mash Ups and Remixes
• Alaska the cat attacks
• Pocket gays
• Double standards 
• The reality reckoning 
• Reality vs Documentary
• Nene Leakes you will always be famous
• Bravo’s Flop era
• Existing

If you like homework, or looking for a recommendation list you can find the 'Citation Page' for this episode on my website, available from the first Sunday after the episode is up! !

https://www.alsopurple.com/citation-corner

You'll find all the quotes, books, tv, and pods referenced and recommender in this conversation.

Find Lauren Warren @TheValidVictorian on Instagram and @IamLaurenP2 on Twitter all the socials!

Keep up to date by following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Produced and hosted by Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

Video production by Victor Alexander (Find more on the REFERENTIAL Youtube page!)

Find out what I’m up to at www.alsopurple.com

Don’t forget to leave a 5 star rating and review to help people find the podcast!

Thank you for listening!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Crossover pt. 11 (finale !)

Ash and I sat down for one final conversation about X-Men ’97! We talk our overall season one X-Men thoughts, our overall podcasting thoughts and answer listener questions. Plus, introducing ‘The Mix’, a new segment with a line up of heavy hitters jumping on the third chair to share their thoughts on the season overall. Featuring:

• Thee Miss Sundi!
• Screenwriter Lauren Warren!
• Graphic Policy’s Elana Levin!
• CEREBRO’S Connor Goldsmith!
• Victor A & Tom B!
• Comic writer and icon Stephanie Williams!
• X-Men '97 assistant director Matthew Bordenave!
• X-Men '97 storyboard artist Marvin Britt!
• And the elusive Chris Williams!

One last time, for the children...

Dig in!

We’ve been alternating episodes on both our feeds so make sure to follow both REFERENTIAL and  IMMORTAL X OF WORDS to catch up!

Find Ash @Vanthefirst on all socials and his podcast X of Words everywhere you find your podcasts. 

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Hosted by Ash Alleyne and Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

*'Tangent' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

If you liked this episode, help other people find the podcasts! Share, tell a friend, and remember to leave a rating and review!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Crossover pt. 10!

Icons in the room! We’re joined by Brett Mannes and Evil Jeff, hosts of the OG Queer nerd podcast “Comic Book Queers: Legacy”!

We dig into our thoughts and feelings on Episode 10, Season 1 of X-Men '97 - the Season One finale:‘Tolerance is Extinction - Part 2’.

Come listen to us dig into this episode and find out how we also fit the following in. 

• Nerd podcasting in the Pre-Krakoa boom, pre-Serial. 
• Ash reveals his American heritage
• Don’t put Evil in a room with a Jean and a gun
• CAW
• Bastion chokes a lot of women
• Bastion threw the first brick at Stonewall
• Oppression 101
• Steven Universe monologues vs Punching fascists
• Sinister is the oldest Twink in the club
• Ash v Khaliden. Continued.
• Call Me By Your Face
• A moment of appreciation for Jiz, may she never be forgotten
• Why are you down there?!
• The actors nightmare
• Serialised television and event TV
• The return of a now regular segment!
• Clenching
• Storm in this season’s narrative
• Storm/Morph/Beast and the most visibly marginalised mutants

Make sure to subscribe to IMMORTAL X OF WORDS and stay tuned for a special mailbag episode closing to close out the crossover!

Find Comic Books Queers: Legacy on instagram @Comicbookqueers!

Find Brett Mannes @Brettmannes on Instagram!

Find Evil Jeff @EvilJeff on Instagram!

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Find Ash @Vanthefirst on all socials and his podcast X of Words everywhere you find your podcasts. 

Hosted by Ash Alleyne and Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Edited and Produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

*'Tangents' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

Help other people find the podcasts, share and remember to leave a rating and review if you liked the episode!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Crossover pt. 9!

We’re joined by actress, drag performer, rapper, activist and nerd Bianca Castro aka Jiggly Caliente! (Drag Race Philippines judge, Pose, Rupaul's Drag Race Season 4, All Stars 6, co-host of Translations!) to talk through all our feelings on X-Men '97 Episode 9, Season 1 ‘Tolerance is Extinction - Part 2’.

Come listen to us dig into this episode with an icon in the room!

+

• X-Men '97 as that one ex you keep coming back to
• Jiggly Caliente's history with the X-Men
• Comics as a young immigrants' teacher
• Veronica Lodge with superpowers
• Social Parallels
• Discrediting revolutionary ideas
• Sisterhood, adaptation, Jean Grey & Ororo Storm Munroe
• Jean gets her Naruto on
• I try to get Ash and Jiggly to fight
• The return of a regular segment
• Can Storm do something again please?
• Marvel Vs Capcom
• Sitting on Lilandra's eggs
• Shut up Charles
• Bonding over violence
• Queers against assimilation
• Fatal (attractions) Matters
• Xavier's not like us
• XopXopXopXopXop
• The return of the cosmic chicken

We'll be alternating episodes on both our feeds so make sure to follow both REFERENTIAL and Immortal X of Words! 

Make sure to subscribe to IMMORTAL X OF WORDS and we’ll see you back on REFERENTIAL to review Episode 10. And stay tuned for a special mailbag in two weeks!

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Find Ash @Vanthefirst on all socials and his podcast X of Words everywhere you find your podcasts. 

Find Jiggly @jigglycalienteofficial on Instagram !

Hosted by Ash Alleyne and Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

*'Tangents' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

Help other people find the podcasts, share and remember to leave a rating and review if you liked the episode!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Crossover pt. 8(ish)

We’re joined by Marvin Britt (Storyboard Artist for X-Men ’97, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Blood of Zeus, The Legend of Vox Machina) to go behind the scenes on X-Men '97 Episode 8, Season 1 ‘Tolerance is Extinction - Part 1’.

Come listen to us dig into all the behind the scenes secrets of the making of this episode’s most iconic scenes 

+

• Return of the Children of Toonami 
• Is Bishop okay?
• Losing someone’s baby 
• Khaliden develops name blindness 
• Bastion got the Ash bass
• Destroying Marvin’s love of X-Men in one sentences
• Knitters 
• Where is Emma Frost?!
• The X-Mansion as a tax shelter
• Don’t mess with Michael Mouse
• The ‘pinks’
• Someone get Magneto a robe
• NEIN!

We'll be alternating episodes on both our feeds so make sure to follow both REFERENTIAL and Immortal X of Words! 

Make sure to subscribe to IMMORTAL X OF WORDS and we’ll see you back on REFERENTIAL to review Episode 9 next week.

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Find Ash @Vanthefirst on all socials and his podcast X of Words everywhere you find your podcasts. 

Find Marvin Britt @marvin_b_britt on Instagram !

Hosted by Ash Alleyne and Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

*'Tangents' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

Help other people find the podcasts, share and remember to leave a rating and review if you liked the episode!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Crossover pt. 7!

For Episode 7 we’re joined by two new chairs (Valentine Smith and Miss Sundi!) to talk all about X-Men '97 Episode 7, Season 1 ‘Bright Eyes’ (written by Charley Feldman and JB Ballard)!

Come listen to us dig into our favourite episode so far 

+ Find out how we've fit the following in:

• The Debut of a brand new segment
• The return of Trifiling Trish Tilby
• Appropriate funeral attire
• Team Rogue did nothing wrong
• Days of Genocides past
• Wading into Captain America discourse
• Jubilee’s earrings
• Ash vs Khaliden continues as new contenders enter the ring
• Western conceptions of ‘The Closet’
• Ms. Bastion’s Blues
• The many failures of Charles Xavier
• Sibling shade
• The quiet firing of Dr. Khaliden Nas
• More brief musical interludes 
• Passé Politics
• Two Dumb Bitches: “EXACTLY!”
• Shout out to Bella Donna
• Are the X-Men heroes for humans or heroes of mutants

We'll be alternating episodes on both our feeds so make sure to follow both REFERENTIAL and Immortal X of Words! 

Make sure to subscribe for next week's recap/review of Episode 8 on Ash's podcast IMMORTAL X OF WORDS and then head back to REFERENTIAL to listen to us review Episode 9 the week after that (and so on!).

Find Ash @Vanthefirst on all socials and his podcast X of Words everywhere you find your podcasts. 

Keep up to date with Dr. Khaliden Nas by checking out www.alsopurple.com and following @AlsoPurp on all socials.

Find Valentine @ValentineSm1th 

Find Sundi @SundiInThePark/@Sundi.in.the.park

Hosted by Ash Alleyne and Dr. Khaliden Nas.

Produced by Dr. Khaliden Nas

Music by PamperedFists & Anzahlung.

Podcast Artwork by Valentine M. Smith. 

*'Tangent' are REFERENTIAL's shorter bonus episodes. Slightly different from the main monthly episodes. Expect quick reviews, edited bonus out content, collabs, mailbags, live audio, and whatever else I might think of + They take less time to make so I can update the feed frequently!*

Help other people find the podcasts, share and remember to leave a rating and review if you liked the episode!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/referential/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy