We Did the Reading

iPhones. This movie has everything: trans women, Christmas carols, donuts, meth, and prisons and your father’s making!

What does it mean for a white cis guy to make a film about black trans women and Is it possible to tell others’ stories ethically through collaboration? What’s so appealing about DIY projects? What is the difference between observation and participation? And why is this called Tangerine anyway? Listen to Pia bully Clementine about their (objectively ridiculous) name.

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We’re talking about our favorite anti-male pump up jam, SCUM Manifesto. This controversial and iconic essay was written by Valerie Solanas, founder and singular member of SCUM (the Society for Cutting Up Men) and failed assassin of pop art darling Andy Warhol. Werk!

We dig into this manifesto, break down the perfect gay storm that lead to Andy Warhol’s shooting, and celebrate the performance art of Solanas & Warhol’s relationship. Could this text be contemporary if we replaced the word “men” with “patriarchy?” How much should we consider the artist’s intention when reading a work? What would Valerie Solanas’ twitter look like?

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In 2020 while the world was literally falling apart, comic icon Simon Hanselmann stepped up as the hero we needed. Publishing daily to instagram, Hanselmann showed in real time how the cast of his cult classic series Megg and Mogg were coping in the quarantine. In our opinion, it’s the best piece of COVID media ever made, and possibly also the only good piece of COVID media ever made. It won an Eisner award for Chirst’s sake!

We talk about the catharsis of media by and for the people, the freedom provided by a cast of Problematic™ characters, and the power of shared niche interests. Pia also gushes extensively over Simon Hanselmann. (Simon if you are free this Thursday, Pia is free on Thursday when she is free.)

All hail the Anus King!

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Surprise, bitch! I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me! It’s our first episode back in New York so obviously we drank a bottle of rosé and talked about Sex and the City. And as we recorded this episode, we couldn’t help but wonder if all lesbians are Mirandas by default or if there’s a more nuanced choice for each of us.

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We’re discussing the iconic camp film, Mommie Dearest, starring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. It’s our first ever episode in the same room! We discuss camp entertainment as therapy, the behinds the scenes gossip of both the making of Mommie Dearest and the life of Joan Crawford herself.

Why are the gays so good at irony? What defines camp? Be honest, how devastating are Joan Crawford’s eyebrows? Joan us for this love letter to a film that truly broke our brains.

We’re discussing the music video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X, examining the referential nature of queer art, the influence of memes on pop music, and whether or not one can successfully masturbate using a peach.

Does Clementine look like Khloé Kardashian if she read queer theory? Who’s the Trish and who’s the Ethan? What is Pia’s favorite horse song? Join us for this dick-positive episode. #topscelebratingbottoms

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We interview Kevin Kantor about their new poetry collection, Please Come Off-Book. Using their personal experience as an actor, Kevin explores gender, family, and art-making (all the good stuff) through the lens of the American theatre tradition.

We talk to Kevin about the complicated aftermath of going viral from a traumatic poem, the nuances of being a trans non-binary theatre maker, and why we’re over straight actors playing queer (@ Timothée Chalamet). We also discuss our shared love of the 1954 Filmed Stage Production of Peter Pan Starring Mary Martin. If that unlocked a gay memory for you - call us.

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Our very first guest, long time friend and fellow gay goblin Aurelia Grierson joins us to preach the gospel that Taylor Swift is bisexual. We look at all the bisexual clues presented in T-Swift’s canon, especially on sister records Folklore & Evermore.

Is Taylor Swift bisexual? Does it even matter if she writes bisexuality authentically? Why do we as queer people search for and create queer narratives? Where is the line between T-Swift and Talyor? Do we ship trans Severus Snape and Taylor Swift? Does Pia have a shot with Caroline Calloway? All questions posed; some answered.

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Murder! Drugs! Murder while on drugs! Life size humanoid rats as a narrative device to avoid a libel lawsuit! Macaulay Culkin! This movie has everything - and everybody - you’ve ever wanted to see committed to film.

We talk about how this already homo/pomo text was adapted into an even more homo/pomo movie, and detail the truly outrageous cast which acts as a who’s who of queer cinema. James St. James: if you are free on Thursday we are also free on Thursday.

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Hear ye, hear ye! All girls, gays, and theys have been summoned to this emergency episode. The #FREEBRITNEY movement has finally garnered the attention of the heterosexuals due to The New York Times’ recent documentary about Britney’s conservatorship, bitch. We literally had to talk about it.

We discuss the machine of sexism that set Britney up to fail, the inherent paradox of teen girl sexuality, and the three music videos that might offer insight into Britney’s 2007 state of mind. Also, Chris Crocker was right.

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