Fake Geek Girls - A Critical Look at Pop Culture

We bring our James Bond series to a close with Daniel Craig’s take on the iconic character. What does it mean to bring this character into the 21st century? Is this take better than what came before? Where can the series go from here? Warnings: Contains spoilers for No Time to Die. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: “Casino Royale” and Franchise Remix: James Bond as Superhe...

It’s been a busy time for us, so this week’s WWBUT is a bit shorter than usual! We hope you enjoy it anyway. What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching Hereditary Practical Magic What Merri’s Been Up To: Reading The Hating Game by Sally Thorne The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid  Check out our sponsors this episode: Dwarven Rations and Jeff Stevens Games ! The p...

We hope you like Norse myth and penis jokes, because it’s time to discuss The Almighty Johnsons, a New Zealand comedy show following the misadventures of gods reincarnated into mortal bodies. We’re talking about farce, the misappropriation of history, and this show’s complicated relationship with masculinity! Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: The Almighty Johnsons: Norse G...

This is a what we’ve been up to episode, but it’s also an impromptu analysis of Promising Young Woman, complete with some minor spoilers. Consider yourselves warned! Warnings: As we mentioned, some spoilers for Promising Young Woman, which includes discussion of sexual assault and violence against women. What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching: Top Gun Over the Garden Wall The Fellowsh...

It’s officially the 90s, and it’s time to talk about metrosexuality, Michelle Yeoh, and torture scenes as we dive into Pierce Brosnan’s take on James Bond. Warnings: The section on torture scenes is, uh, adult-oriented. It’s not our fault that Madonna said “Sigmund Freud, analyze this!” Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: Licence to Thrill: A Cultural Histo...

Some weeks there’s a surprisingly unified theme to what we’ve been up to, and then there’s this week. We’ve got horror movies, mushrooms, and, uh, spicy book content once again. If you downloaded this episode already and got the Bond Randos episode instead, please re-download! We’ve now attached the correct audio file. Warning: Not joking about the spicy book content....

James Bond is a seriously weird franchise. In this episode, we’re tackling the short-lived, non-canon Bond stories: Casino Royale (1967), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Never Say Never Again, and both Timothy Dalton films.  Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films by James Chapman Queer re-view: Casino Royale (1967) by Dav...

Taking a week off sure left us with a lot to talk about, and we even cut a few things out! (We’ll miss you, Goethe’s Faust.) Join us as we catch you up on what’s been going on in our spare time. What Missy’s Been Up To: Reading Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 1 by Nagata Kabi Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Watching Furious 7 My Big Fat Greek Wed...

Do you ever just feel abundantly seen by cartoon birds? Join us as we take a look at Tuca and Bertie, discussing adult animation, sex and relationships, surrealism, and how sometimes your limbs just figuratively fall off and that’s okay. Warnings: We discuss both sex and sexual assault within the context of the show—nothing more explicit or intense than what might appear in Tuca and Bertie,...

Green knights, hazel woods, and… well, we got two synonyms for green out of this week’s ‘what we’ve been up to’ things. That’s something! What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching The Green Knight Mad Max Playing The Sims: Cottage Living What Merri’s Been Up To: Reading Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert Shipped by Angie Hock...

What do Scientology, internet preservation, and shady advertising for children have in common? Neopets! No, really. We’re talking about the world’s greatest virtual pet site (probably), including how it functions as a sort of microcosm of life under capitalism. No, really. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: The Neopets Addiction by David Kushner The Org Board by WhatIsScientology...

There are really no words to describe the wild genre-hopping we did over the past couple of weeks. We’ve got your Russian folk horror. We’ve got your cute romances. We’ve got your fast cars, your witches, your mis-marketed fiction. We’ve got it all. Warnings: This one ended up so spicy that the livestream was deleted from YouTube for content. I wish I was kidding.  Wha...

Join us as we venture into the 70s and 80s in Bond films with Roger Moore’s snarky, snobbish take on the famous (and infamous) spy. We’re talking about the Cold War, race relations, and changing concepts of desirable femininity as we make our way through some serious ups and downs in the quality department. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History...

Missy’s been up to nothing, but thankfully Merri has it covered with— seriously , another episode we have to be extra-special-sure we mark explicit? Good lord. Warnings: We’re not kidding! The section on Red White and Royal Blue gets spicy as we dive, once again, back into a discussion about what makes a spicy sex scene. What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching Fast 5 Blast From the Pas...

Join us on this trip down memory lane and into the forests of Forks as we examine Twilight, the enormously loved and extremely reviled YA vampire series! Do we think it deserves all that hate? Did we like it better as adults? Team Edward or Team Jacob?? (Just kidding, we’re not answering that last one… yet.) Notes: Missy’s not entirely satisfied with the section on how media can/...

Hope you’re ready for some mood ping-pong this week as we both consumed very different kinds of media. Only God can judge us (especially Missy).  What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching Douglas Nobody Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Waiting for Guffman What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching Apostle Luca Reading How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black Our Website  |&nbs...

We’re taking a closer look at the James Bond film franchise, and more specifically the early Sean Connery days. What kind of cultural context gave birth to these films? Is real-world espionage a factor or nah? And the most important question: which of these iconic Bond themes is the best? Warning: We really made use of the explicit tag on this one to repeatedly reference genitalia. Some Sour...

We’re sorry, we just cannot stop talking about spicy topics! In this case, it’s sexual chemistry, Dirty Dancing, and (in non-spicy content), Cruella. Addendum: While talking about In the Heights, Missy neglected to mention that Leslie Grace, who plays Nina, is Dominican-American and Afro-Latinx, though colorism is still an issue in the film’s casting. Felice León’s work at...

Sometimes you just have to get on a surrealist train to learn more about empathy, and that’s just a fact. We’re talking about Infinity Train, an animated series about growth, opportunity, tragedy, and a cat with cool outfits! Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: ‘Infinity Train’ Review: An Endless Ride Through Dreamlike Worlds by John Anderson Manifesto of Surrealism by...

Wow, what a wholesome time we’re having! Absolutely nothing untoward happens in this episode! (This is mostly true but also a lie, Merri’s reading spicy books and Missy’s talking about Grace and Frankie’s raising awareness of bodily changes with advancing age, so. You know.) What Missy’s Been Up To: Listening To: That’s Weird Watching: Grace and Frankie Raya and...

Brooding boys, lots of blood, and the peak of 2009 fashion—it’s time to take a closer look at seasons 1 – 4 of The Vampire Diaries. We’re talking about gothic fiction, taboo desires, and the strange lack of engagement with race in the CW’s hit vampire series. Content Warning : Contains brief mentions of sexual assault as well as the expected discussions of violence and sex....

It’s time for Missy to wax poetic about Carmen Maria Machado again, for Merri to talk about knife girls, and for the two of us to sigh fondly over how much Cardan Greenbriar is a wife guy (change my mind). What Missy’s Been Up To: Reading The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2014, edited by Paula Guran The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado, Dani, Tamra Bonvillain Queen of Nothi...

We hope you like Keats, because he’s back for another round. We’re talking about Philip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife, the second book in the His Dark Materials series! Join us as we tackle negative capability, death worship, and genre classifications—you know, just super easy, light fare. Mistakes: Missy repeatedly says “negative culpability” instead of “capabilit...

It’s time for jazz, a long discussion of YA fiction, and Val Kilmer.  What Missy’s Been Up To: Watching All That Jazz Paranormal Home Inspectors Legends of Tomorrow Touch of Evil Playing Genesis Noir What Merri’s Been Up To: Watching Shadow and Bone Without Remorse Real Genius Reading Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray Our Website  |  Twitter  |  F...

Cult film Donnie Darko is notorious (get it?) for being a labyrinthine narrative of time travel, teen angst, and destruction. But is there something more beneath the surface? Join us as we discuss cult cinema, literary references, and (sigh) Deleuze. Some Sources You Might Find Interesting: The Streaming Void: Has the era of the cult film come to an end? by Judy Berman Donnie Darko in his mind&#82...