Fernando Ventresca and Jason Hanasik

Bear Fur & Sparkles

Society EN ↓ 6 episodes

Bear Fur and Sparkles is a conversational podcast about starting over—geographically, emotionally, and culturally—after 40. Hosted by Fernando Ventresca and Jason Hanasik , two former San Francisco residents who relocated to Europe in midlife to experience new ways to "do human." This isn’t a podcast about chasing youth or reliving glory days. It’s about learning new rules when no one hands you a guidebook and how being gay abroad can feel both freeing and oddly constraining. Bear Fur and Sparkles looks at the emotional, social, and political realities of being a gay man in your forties and fi...

Author

Fernando Ventresca and Jason Hanasik

Episodes

She Has Had It!: The Messy Truth About "Three 3 Year Itch" 16.06.2026 49:05

Season 1, Episode 6 (Season finale!) Fernando and Jason close out Season 1 with their most personal episode yet. The three-year itch is real — and Fernando admits he and Jeremy nearly didn't make it through. Together they unpack the four phases every immigrant/expat cycles through (honeymoon, culture shock, the breaking point, and acceptance), why it looks less like a straight line and more like a...

Armor Up! We're Going Back 13.05.2026 42:59

Season 1, Episode 5 Fernando and Jason have freshly returned from the US! For Jason, it was his first time back since moving abroad. Both of them are in their feelings . Fernando headed to Seattle's Vashon Island for his godson's 18th birthday (strangers, ferries, teen drama — it had everything). Jason flew to San Francisco to complete filming on his feature documentary. In between the laughs — Ja...

Fantasy vs. Reality: Shameless Sex and Abundant Eating Abroad 28.04.2026 45:52

Season 1, Episode 4 In this episode of Bear Fur & Sparkles , Fernando (Lisbon) and Jason (Athens) get refreshingly honest about two topics people rarely discuss together: food and sex . (Unless you freaky like that then go on girl, do you!) Fernando confesses he's gained 10 pounds since moving to Portugal — but here's the twist: he's never felt better about his body, he's off every fad diet he...

The Role Models 29.03.2026 44:27

Role models who never knew they were role models. Fernando and Jason share stories about the people they've met earlier in life that showed them they can live their lives anyway they wanted. These role models don't give you the script. But they show us what it could look like. That includes picking up and moving abroad. Plus! Fernando reveals to Jason how he saved Fernando's move to Portugal. Oh,...

Fantasy vs. Reality: Culture Shock and "Cheap" Travel 06.03.2026 35:48

Episode 2 is here! What is "disidentification?" You could be doing it right now! Jason spills the tea on that and his struggles to come to terms with new cultural norms in Greece. With budget airlines and aggressive competition, air travel in Europe is thought to be inexpensive and easy. Fernando draws back the curtain on what travel is really like within the European continent.

Goodbye, I'm Home! 17.02.2026 39:47

Season 1 debut! Episode one of Bear Fur and Sparkles starts with Jason's brush with a god on the Athens subway and Fernando's hot takes on the "Heated Rivalry" phenomenon. Then hear the full story of why they chose to leave the US and begin again with new lives in Europe. If you've ever thought about living in a foreign country, you'll love the first episode of Bear Fur and Sparkles!