Fake Geek Girls - A Critical Look at Pop Culture

We’re jacking in to the first three Matrix films—The Matrix, The Animatrix, and The Matrix: Reloaded! Join us as we discuss the cultural impact of the series, Jean Baudrillard, nihilism, and more! Omissions/Mistakes: The essay Missy read that identified “Know thyself” as someone Socrates said was not wrong, per se, but neglected to mention that the phrase also appeared on a colum...

Missy reads some things and revisits an old favorite while Merri experiments with mysteries and Men. What Missy’s Been Up To: Reading Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Witchblood by Matthew Erman, Lisa Sterle, and Gab Contreras Watching The Good Place What Merri’s Been Up To: Reading Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Watching Heartstoppers Men Our We...

We’re taking a look at Saint Maud, a slow-burn horror film about how scary it is to be alone. Or how scary it is to be chosen by God. Or how great it is to be chosen by God. Let’s unpack all that.  Warnings: This episode contains discussion of self harm, suicide, and other potentially distressing material covered in the film. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: The many overl...

Missy has thoughts about Grace and Frankie and “Dreams” by The Cranberries, while Merri reads dragon romance and sees that new Marvel movie everybody’s talking about. Mistakes (?): It turns out that the scene in Everything Everywhere All At Once that reminded Missy of Chungking Express is actually an homage to In The Mood For Love, a different Wong Kar-wai film! She is both wrong...

The Twilight saga continues in Eclipse, which manages to be both the best and worst book in the series so far. We’re talking about racism, misogyny, and classism, as well as how Stephanie Meyers’s take on vampires differs from most others—hint, it’s not the sparkles. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: It’s a Wolf Thing: The Quileute Werewolf/Shape-Shifter Hybrid as No...

In our latest WWBUT, Missy has no idea what year it is, Merri floats a spicy book club, and Michelle Yeoh has our hearts forever.  What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching Wet Hot American Summer Hero Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Russian Doll Season 2 Reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt Promethea Volume 1 by Allen Moore, J H Williams III, and Mick Gray What Merri’s Been Up To: Wa...

We’re taking a look at the conclusion to the Fruits Basket manga series as well as the 2019 anime! We’re talking even more about gender, trauma, abuse, and, thankfully, finding something to live for. Warnings: We give content warnings at the beginning of this episode, but to be abundantly clear, this conversation includes discussion of suicide, abuse, trauma, and transphobia, all withi...

Missy and Merri had a nice little vacation and therefore have a few things to talk about—and more references to clown romance! Gothic fiction, things that aren’t necessarily good but are enjoyable, and, of course, a Courtship update. Mistakes: Apparently, Missy is just straight-up wrong about Mexican Gothic being/feeling YA. Then again, while reading Mexican Gothic, she saw A Court of Silver...

Somehow, Merri forgot until we were already recording that she read a book where one of the main characters is a clown. Naturally, we spent most of this episode talking about that.  What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching The Wicker Man Harlots seasons one and two Life After Beth Reading Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching The Fast and the Furious...

Are you ready to cry? We’re talking about the first half of Fruits Basket, Natsuki Takaya’s hit manga (and the first anime series) about the kindest girl you’ll ever meet and a bunch of rowdy, cursed people who turn into the animals of the zodiac when hugged by a person of a different gender. As you might have guessed, this whole thing smacks of gender, but we’re also talki...

Did you know that Fruits Basket is super long? Well, we’re back with another short WWBUT episode to prove it.  What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching North by Northwest The Courtship Legends of Tomorrow Season Seven What Merri’s Been Up To: Reading Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher  Watching The Fast and the Furious 1-3 Our Website &n...

We’re taking a look at Skins, the hit series about troubled teens from Bristol. Join us as we discuss the show’s daring (and lack thereof), it’s strong representation (and lack thereof), and the danger of showing the reality of being a teenager to teenagers (and, you guessed it, the lack thereof). Warning: Contains discussions of disordered eating and suicide. Also, just to be cl...

A WWBUT so short that Missy forgot she edited it. Join us as we discuss movies we can’t talk about without spoiling, cool crimes, and mafia romance. What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching The One I Love Reading Lucifer Book II by Mike Carey and a bunch of others What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching Inventing Anna Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reading Bound by Honor/Bound by Hatred by Cora Rile...

We’re taking a look at John Constantine’s journey from comics to screens in Constantine (the movie) and Constantine (the show)! What genres are these? Who are they for? And more importantly: where are the politics? Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: Gabriel, Abortion, and Anti-Annunciation in The Prophecy, Constantine , and Legion by Jeffrey Tripp “There Is No Spoon”:...

We’re talking about time travel romance, Star Wars saturation, and surprise Jenny Lewis vocals in this short peek at what we’ve been up to. What Missy’s Been Up To: Reading One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston Lucifer Volume 1 by Scott Hampton, Peter Gross, Mike Carey, and others Listening To Song Exploder What Merri’s Been Up To: Reading Scarred by Emily McIntire Watching The...

We’re taking a look at some of the iconic Hellblazer arcs! Join us as we discuss comic coloring, the history of Vertigo, what makes a super/hero, and whether John Constantine cares about anything at all. (He does. Do not @ us.) Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: Four Colorism, or, the Ashiness of it All by Zoe D. Smith Should Old Comics Be Recolored? Ever?   Examples of Aaron Camp...

It’s a light couple weeks for us. We’re talking about books from the 80s, books from today, and who Queer Eye is for. What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching Grace and Frankie Hugo Reading Moonheart by Charles de Lint What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching Queer Eye Antlers Reading Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas Visit Dwarven Rations to learn more about their delicious cakes for TTRPG fa...

We finally close out our time with The Vampire Diaries, examining how the show’s format contributes to its sometimes strange storytelling decisions, how the humanity switch intertwines with concepts of neoliberalism, and just how poorly this story treated Bonnie Bennett.  Mistakes: Missy mixes up the names of the brothers at least once, probably more. If she says, for example, that Damon is...

We return from a surprise break to talk about Spider-Men, how we don’t believe that all men are demons, and the first rule of book club.  What Missy’s Been Up To: Reading Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo Devotions by Mary Oliver Watching: The Matrix Yes, God, Yes Spider-Man: No Way Home My Fair Lady Thelma & Louise The Lives of Others What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching: Eterna...

An unexpected week off has given us the world’s longest WWBUT. Mistakes: Missy keeps saying ‘spiritualism’ in the section on Braiding Sweetgrass, but she means spirituality. What Missy’s Been Up to: Listening To: Art History for All Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Finna by Nino Cipri How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black Comrade...

This episode brought to you by a Covid booster and a series of bad months. We’re talking about Venom, The Matrix (not the new one), Spencer, and more! What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching Last Night in Soho Fame Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind Game Changer Reading Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Hellblazer Volume 7 – Tainted Love by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon Mister Impossible...

It’s time to stumble through history as we talk about Derry Girls, a sitcom following the lives of teenagers in Troubles-era Northern Ireland! We’re talking about the roots of the conflict, gender and sexuality, and bending the truth. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: My Northern-Irish Family Reviews Derry Girls by Nate Jones Humor and Humanity: Sr. Michael from Derry Girls by M...

When we take a week off, our shorter WWBUTs become long. Join us on this journey into depravity, the Dust Bowl, grief, and the border of California and Nevada! What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House Bad Times at the El Royale What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 Searching… Hadestown Vertigo The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover Playing Jenn...

We’re taking a trip back to Forks to discuss New Moon, the second book in the Twilight saga. Let’s talk about death, youth, religion, and racism—and why Edward being a creep is less troubling than Bella wanting to be young forever. Warning: Because of the content of the book, this episode includes discussions of suicidal ideation and suicide. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: &#...

Back when we recorded this, it was peak spooky season, so enjoy some Halloween recommendations in, uh, mid-November. Also, Dune. What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching The Two Towers & Return of the King An American Werewolf in London Ginger Snaps St. Elmo’s Fire The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness Dune What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching Halloween III: Season of the Witch Dune R...