Fansplaining

In Episode 152, “Ask Fansplaining Anything: Part 10,” Flourish and Elizabeth tackle a new batch of listener questions that all center on the theme: “free your mind by cleansing your timeline.” Topics discussed include mismatched expectations...

In Episode 151, “Teaching Fanfiction,” Flourish and Elizabeth talk to Dr. Anne Jamison and PhD candidate Maria Alberto about teaching college courses on fanfiction. Topics discussed include how they approach fic in the classroom, the ethics of...

In Episode 150, “Post-Pandemic Fandom,” Flourish and Elizabeth reflect on the way the pandemic has changed fandom in the past 18 months—and speculate about what that might mean for fans in the coming months and years. Topics discussed include...

In Episode 149, “The Real Character,” Flourish and Elizabeth examine the rhetorical phenomenon of framing fictional characters as real, living people, independent of the texts in which they were created. Topics covered include Plato’s allegory...

In Episode 148, Flourish and Elizabeth discuss “Do Not Interact” warnings, a kind of social signalling that’s proliferated across social media sites recently—including in fandom spaces. Topics covered include the framing and efficacy of these...

In Episode 147, Elizabeth and Flourish talk with Anisa Khalifa, cultural critic and co-host of the K-drama podcast “Dramas Over Flowers.” Topics covered include K-dramas’ structural and emotional characteristics, the way these shows’ export...

In Episode 146, “If You Give a Fan a Cookie,” Flourish and Elizabeth consider the Snyder Cut: What happens when fans demand something…and they get it? Topics discussed include the inherent conservatism of (some parts of) fandom, whether the...

In Episode 145, “The Fic and the Source Material,” Flourish and Elizabeth review the results of the “Fanfiction & Source Material Mini-Survey,” in which 6,744 respondents shared their preferences on whether they need to know the canon to...

In Episode 144, “Writing Women,” Elizabeth and Flourish celebrate Femslash February by talking to breathedout, a longtime f/f fic and meta writer. They discuss her route into fandom through queer female erotica, fandom’s longstanding biases...

In Episode 143, “Ask Fansplaining Anything: Part 9,” Elizabeth and Flourish read a fresh batch of listener letters. Topics covered include age and fandom, fanfics of fanfics, pop culture’s role in protest movements, and a trio of letters about...