The Mary Sue Squad: A Pop Culture Podcast

The Mary Sue Squad: A Pop Culture Podcast episodes:

• 06.25.2024

  Gideon the Ninth

  Lesbians in spaaaaace! Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is one of Nikkita's favorite books, but what did Kaitlyn think of the gothic vibes? Did Mackenzie appreciate the incredible descriptions of gore? Listen in to hear our thoughts on the...

  
• 06.25.2024

  Welcome to The Mary Sue Squad: A Pop Culture Podcast

  We've rebranded! Welcome to The Mary Sue Squad, where we play, read, and watch all sorts of media and chat about it. Come have fun with us!

  
• 04.01.2024

  Fourth Wing

  Fourth Wing, the 2023 Winner for Best Romantasy, Goodreads Choice Award aaaaaand the worst book we read in 2023. Listen, we respect the hustle, but this one wasn't for us. Still we had so many laughs, so laugh with us!

  
• 03.11.2024

  Crescent City

  Get into the hit Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas by listening to our hot takes about sexy fairy alphaholes and special golden girls in our episode about House of Earth and Blood.

  
• 02.29.2024

  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

  We revisit Suzanne Collins's Panem in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to discover the story of President Snow's descent into tyranny--with mixed results. Did we like being in a dictator's head for an entire book? Listen in to find...

  
• 10.21.2023

  Bonus: Taylor Swift's "Midnights"

  We did something a little different this episode** and wanted to share our love for Taylor Swift, the modern poet and lyricist herself, by sharing our thoughts about her most recently released *new* album, "Midnights." Now this episode was recorded...

  
• 09.22.2023

  Midnight Sun

  We're back to the Twilight story, but this time we are in our main emo man's head: Edward! Is he a better character now that we are in his perspective? The jury's out.

  
• 03.10.2023

  A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

  This book is why none of us can go for walks in the woods with our earphones in anymore. Thanks Holly.

  
• 03.10.2023

  Twilight

  Twilight reduxe. We go back to where it all began: would we befriend Bella, or leave her to the werewolves? Was Edward’s sleeveless shirt a fashion don’t? (It was.)

  
• 08.12.2022

  Austenland

  Mr.Darcy: is he worth the hype? In this episode we discuss Shannon Hale’s 2007 classic Austenland. We talk romance as a traditionally feminine genre, how portrayals of dating have changed, and why Martin had a fridge stocked with root beer,...

  
• 06.09.2022

  The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

  When you're just trying to get away from that one annoying guy but you can't because you're tethered by the red string of fate. In the spirit world. Beneath the sea. It's Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the...

  
• 03.28.2022

  Six of Crows

  A hardened criminal stalks the streets of Ketterdam with his crew, and he just so happens to shop at Hot Topic. In this episode, we dig into Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and discuss real MVP Inej, Nina x Matthias,...

  
• 01.28.2022

  Fangirl

  For many of us, college is a cringey coming of age and a stress-fueled reality check. Fangirl manages to represent this perfectly, albeit more charmingly. Heads up: there’s a lot of discussion of fanfic - hope you know your Omegaverse,...

  
• 05.14.2021

  The Kingdom of Back

  Oh, Nannerl. History did you dirty, but fortunately Marie Lu's fantasy novel, The Kingdom of Back, is here to put you centerstage where you should've been all along. In this episode, we discuss Wolfgang's lesser-known sister, the child-prodigy Anne Marie,...

  
• 03.31.2021

  Children of Blood and Bone

  A kick-ass heroine with hair that gets curlier the more magical she becomes, an enemies-to-lovers romance, West African-inspired magic, and giant, rideable cats: this book is so friggin awesome it's unfair to ask us to sum it up with a...

  
• 01.13.2021

  Wilder Girls

  It's all fun and games until someone grows a second spine. In this episode, we take a walk on the wild side of YA literature with Rory Power's novel Wilder Girls. We talk body horror, female representation in survivalist novels,...

  
• 12.08.2020

  A Court of Thorns and Roses

  Welcome to the sexiest court of the fey! We dissect the journey of the main protagonist, Feyre, as she navigates the magical (and terrifying) world of Fairy. We discuss depictions of sexuality in the YA genre, gendered power dynamics in...

  
• 11.09.2020

  The Hunger Games

  Is The Hunger Games a feminist novel? Three twenty-somethings weigh in on dystopian tropes in YA, Katniss's issues with her mother, and how perfectly (or imperfectly) cast the movie was. Don't worry—we get into it. --- This episode is sponsored by...