Material Girls

We're going weekly, folks! We're so excited to kick off this new schedule with Part I of Material Concerns. In very fun news, Coach is now our third co-host on these episodes which means 33% more chaos, new segments (including recommendations, a creature report, and improv). To listen to Part II, head to our Patreon right now! We're doing a Patreon push during the month of April to hit $7000/month...

In this week's episode, we’re talking about the conspiracy theory that Canadian pop punk icon Avril Lavigne died and was replaced by a body double named Melissa. You heard us right! To help navigate the mess of this theory, we have an esteemed guest, Cristen Conger (she/her), who is deep in conspiracy discourse. Cristen is the cofounder of Unladylike Media, author of the book Unladylike: A Field G...

In this Material Concerns episode, Hannah and Marcelle talk about the 2005 Music Video Awards (and the Gosling/McAdams kiss), Noah as the The Notebook's (unreliable?) narrator, the line between melodrama and camp, and Gosling's undeniable charisma. As a reminder, for just  $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more! *** Music Credits: “Shopp...

She's back! Beloved podcaster and author Vanessa Zoltan (she/her) joins Hannah and Marcelle to dig into one of the most famous "weepies" of the 21st century: The Notebook (2004). If you cry at the line "If you're a bird, I'm a bird," have the phrase "What do you want?" ringing in your head, or regularly view the 2005 MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss, then this episode is for you. Hannah first context...

In this Material Concerns episode, Hannah and Marcelle talk about being emotional support for Americans, fancy linen paper in the 1700s, memes, monoculture and more! As a reminder, for just  $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more! *** Music Credits: “Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020 Used by permission. All rights re...

This week, longtime friend of the pod, Neale Barnholden (he/him), joins Marcelle and Hannah to discuss the materiality of comic books and their influence on modern-day meme culture! They talk reading conventions, colonization, de- and re-contextualization, as well as the raced and classed history of comics. Together, they then dive into Paul Davis's idea of "the culture text" (adaptations, parodie...

As chaotic as the title suggests, this episode features our Witch, Please Productions team on mic! We've got Gaby, Zoe and Coach joining Hannah and Marcelle to discuss Wicked, listener-submitted questions, 2024 Spotify stats and more. As a reminder, for just  $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more! *** Music Credits: “Shopping Mall”: by...

What is more zeitgeist-y than Wicked Part One? Well, arguably, the memes, interviews, and merch ABOUT Wicked Part One! In this episode Hannah and Marcelle are joined by the wonderful author, Youtuber and internet busybody, Leena Norms, to discuss this year's blockbuster— and the paratexts surrounding it. If you've been targeted an Elphaba eyeshadow palette, a Glinda-themed popcorn bucket, or anyth...

Welcome back to Material Concerns! In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah answer your questions. They talk Golden Girls, Friends, All-Inclusive Resorts, and Coach's Birthday! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more! *** Music Credits: “Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020 Used by permission. Al...

Over the course of its seven seasons, The Golden Girls  had 25 million viewers and earned 68 Emmy nominations. Each of the girls, Rue McClanahan (Blanche Devereaux), Bea Arthur (Dorothy Zbornak), Estelle Getty (Sophia Petrillo) and Betty White (Rose Nylund) won Emmy's for their performances and more than three decades later, the show is still in syndication. All to say, the show was popular!...

Welcome back to Material Concerns! In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah answer your questions. They talk phone games, the Witch, Please team as different types of witches, genre conventions and Twin Peaks! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more! *** Music Credits: “Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020...

In honor of spooky season, we bring you an episode about the beloved cult classic, Twin Peaks! This show from Mark Frost and David Lynch, starring Kyle MacLachlan , is widely understood as one of the most influential television series ever! And yet it its original run began April 1990 and ended just fourteen months later in June 1991. In this episode, Marcelle explores why this show, that began as...

Today we’re dropping a bonus conversation into your feed featuring Adrian Angus, a dear friend of Marcelle's who passed away unexpectedly in September. This bonus episode was originally released as a Patreon perk back in March 2021. At the time, our flagship show was Witch, Please, a scholarly podcast about the Harry Potter world and this bonus accompanied our Book three episode about The Prison I...

Thank you for your questions about dopamine, dinosaurs and cats! In part one of this Material Concerns episode, we also launch a new segment called "Make It Make Sense" where Hannah and Marcelle rely on no research to guess why certain things are popular! Thanks for your suggestions via Instagram! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, an...

For this episode, we're joined by Jesse Meadows (they/them) to discuss the most zeitgeist-y neurotransmitter around: dopamine! Have you been targeted Instagram Reels and Tik Toks about increasing your dopamine levels or managing ADHD through pleasure abstinence? Well that may have more to do with tech bros, billionaires and health capitalism than you think! Tune in for a conversation about pseudo-...

You had so many great questions about Hannah's forthcoming book, Clever Girl and our Jurassic Park episode all about spectacle —and we answer a lot of them in part one of this Material Concerns episode! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more! *** Music Credits: “Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020 Us...

In this episode, Hannah and Marcelle discuss what made Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) the ultimate CGI summer blockbuster, the history of American spectacle, and the monstrosity of the movie's out-of-control lady dinosaurs! Hannah leads this episode and if you're left wanting more, we have great news: their forthcoming book, Clever Girl: Jurassic Park , is available for preorder right now...

We continue our summer slowdown with a new Material Concerns episode once again featuring answers to YOUR questions. Marcelle is in Ontario for a family TRIP (not a vacation because kids are present!!) and Hannah is recovering from travels east! In this episode, they answer your hard hitting questions like "why is your team so hot!!!!?" Part two of this conversation will be available at all our ti...

We're so thrilled to be joined by the incredible Karrmen Crey (she/her) for this episode about FX's coming-of-age dramedy, Reservation Dogs! Released via Hulu from 2021-2023, this show is notable not only for its rich storytelling and beloved protagonists (shoutout to Bear, Cheese, Elora, and Willie Jack!), but also for its entirely Indigenous creative team from the creators to the cast and crew....

Welcome back to another Material Concerns episode! We recorded this episode live for all our Patreon supporters so you'll notice there's a slightly different vibe; namely, Coach is on mic! We talk theory, past episodes, what's making our hearts flutter these days, and more. If you want more, tune into Part II, all about the second half of Bridgerton Season Three, through our Patreon. Become a paid...

Have you ever been to a Tupperware party? Or perhaps a Pure Romance party? Avon? Then you may be familiar with pyramid schemes! In this episode, Marcelle guides Hannah through the history of Tupperware parties and their rising popularity post WWII. She then offers some Lauren Berlant theory (which always makes for a good episode!!); specifically, their concept of "cruel optimism." If that sounds f...

We continue our summer slowdown with a new Material Concerns episode featuring answers to YOUR questions. As a reminder, we're still releasing episodes every two weeks, but every other episode will be a Material Concerns episode; an unscripted, more casual conversation between Marcelle and Hannah. In this episode, they talk about how Dirty Dancing, summer camp, Bridgerton, the female gaze and so m...

In this episode, we're talking about the HBO series The Last of Us, which was adapted from the popular video game of the same name! If you like the show, zombie content, playing video games, or thinking about how art gets transcoded across mediums, then this episode is for you! AND if you don't know what transcoding means, then this episode will really knock your socks off because Marcelle does a...

We're starting a summer slowdown! That means we're still releasing episodes every two weeks, but every other episode will be a Material Concerns episode; an unscripted, more casual conversation between Marcelle and Hannah. They'll talk about how they're doing, what they're up to, research they didn't get to in "regular" episodes, content they're consuming and more! In this Material Concerns episod...

In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah are joined by Andrea Warner (she/her), the author of The Time of My Life , an exploration of Dirty Dancing as a deeply feminist film. We begin with a conversation about sexy films that made our younger selves all hot and bothered before heading into the segment "Why This? Why Now?" Hannah guides us through the difficulty that writer and producer Eleanor Bergste...