Feminist Frequency Radio

Everyone is talking about HBO’s Chernobyl. They say it’s good but it’s not enjoyable. We decide to find out for ourselves. Entertainment this news includes: Megan Rapinoe, Colin Kaepernick, Nike and re-boycotting Nike for life, Disney’s live action Little Mermaid. Time Stamps: 03:14 - Entertainment News: Topic, Topic, Topic 13:50 - Main Segment: Chernobyl 41:31 - What’s Your FREQ Outs: 198X, Doctor Who podcasts, 84K by Claire North Links Mentioned: Sue Bird - article the president hates my girlfriend: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/sue-bird-megan-rapinoe-uswnt Artist making black mermaids: https://www.vashtiharrison.com/vashti-harrison-illustration https://twitter.com/SlavaMalamud/status/1132029943297265664?s=19 HBO Chernobyl podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chernobyl-podcast/id1459712981 Carolyn’s article about 198X: https://carolynpetit.tumblr.com/post/186007644410/198x-and-being-players-in-a-dangerous-time Doctor who podcast: http://whos-he-podcast.co.uk/doctor-who-wh

Who You Callin' Mary Sue? On this week’s episode, we tackle the topic of the Mary Sue! It’s a term that some have used as a cudgel in recent years with which to attack prominent female characters that they dislike for one reason or another, but what does the term really mean? Where did it come from? And does it still have any value in our modern-day conversations about female characters? SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 3:45 The Mary Sue 35:10 What’s Your FREQ-Out? RELEVANT LINKS: “Too Good To Be True”: 150 Years Of Mary Sue by Pat Pflieger: https://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.xhtml Become a backer of this podcast by joining our community on Patreon! Find us at patreon.com/femfreq Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos: http://bit.ly/2bDhQUX

On this week’s episode, Carolyn and Ebony continue their conversation about Life Is Strange 2, a conversation that started back in episode 63. Today, we’re talking about Episode 3: Wastelands, and we’re joined for our conversation by the writer and critic Tevis Thompson. Our discussion explores the ever-increasing political relevance of the series, the game’s noteworthy sincerity, the unconventional way in which it casts you as the character without the gimmicky powers, the specific impact of Cassidy and other characters, and much more. Also, Carolyn and Tevis talk about their admiration of Fortnite, and Ebony and Carolyn talk about the particular challenges of the past few weeks. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: Tevis intro/Fortnite chat: 1:15 Life Is Strange 2, Chapter 3: 9:55 What’s Your FREQ-Out? 45:35 Tevis: Lyrica, a rhythm game available on Nintendo Switch Ebony: The horror and anxiety of this moment Carolyn: The Polygon profile, repercussions in social media, and the widespread denial of white supremacist patriarc

This week, Anita plays hooky so Carolyn and Ebony are responsible for keeping the student body on track. Classic nerds! Our topic this week is Booksmart, Olivia Wilde's feature debut about two young overachieving women on the cusp of graduation. Tune in for a discussion of the way the film empathizes and delights with its multiplicity of characters, centers the teen girl experience, and is delightfully, unapologetically queer. Plus, we ask the question: how do we talk about films about teens versus films for teens? Time Stamps: 00:27 - Entertainment News: Gender breakdown in games at E3 2019; CD Projekt Red and transphobic game imagery; Find Me audiobook 14:22 - Booksmart 50:37 - What’s Your FREQ Outs: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda; Donny Hathaway Links Mentioned: Gender Breakdown of Games Featured of E3 2019:https://feministfrequency.com/2019/06/14/gender-breakdown-of-games-featured-at-e3-2019/ CD Projekt Red explains controversial Cyberpunk in-game ad featuring

People often use the term “guilty pleasures” to talk about media they enjoy even though they feel it has little redeeming value. But what does it mean to be a feminist media critic who sometimes finds herself enjoying media that she believes is outright harmful? On this week’s FFR, we have a frank conversation about what guilty pleasures mean to us, and our own relationship to media that we may appreciate or admire on some level, even while believing that it perpetuates harmful myths or values. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 1:25 Guilty Pleasures 35:50 What’s Your Deal? Relevant Links: Follow Mariame Kaba on Twitter at https://twitter.com/prisonculture Learn more about Rosemary Kirstein’s Steerswoman novels: https://www.tor.com/2008/10/30/not-only-science-fiction-but-more-science-fictional-than-anything-else-rosemary-kirsteins-steerswoman-books/ Tune in, subscribe, rate, and review! Become a backer of this podcast by joining our brand new community on Patreon! Find us at patreon.com/femfreq Subscribe to our YouTube chan

This week we dive into Always Be My Maybe, Netflix’s latest romcom staring Ali Wong, Randall Park (and of course) Keanu Reeves. Because we are rapidly turning into a Keanu Reeves podcast. Ebony and Anita had very different opinions on this movie. Anita tried to opt-out of this episode because she feels bad about her opinions. Carolyn still refuses to bring us any positive entertainment news but does talk about some news in games. Time Stamps: 03:15 - Entertainment News: Death Stranding, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Ma 13:12 - Main Segment: Always Be My Maybe 45:17 - What’s Your FREQ Outs: Fleabag, Fleabag, Therapy for Black Girls
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It's finally here! We made it! We have arrived at our John Wick 3 episode. Carolyn and Ebony can finally calm the hell down (not bloody likely). Tune in for a discussion of the assassin economy, visual style vs narrative coherence, fairytale logic, and really digging movies that also maybekindasorta feed our most problematic desires. Time Stamps: 01:24 - Entertainment News: Moby; Leonardo DiCaprio only dates women 25 and under; #KeanuReevesWatch2019 12:15 - John Wick 3 (aka The GOAT) 42:25 - What’s Your FREQ Out: Stories Untold, The Unkindness of Ghosts, EEEEEatsCon LA Links Mentioned: Leonardo DiCaprio's Dating Chart: https://wokesloth.com/leonardo-dicaprio-wont-date-over-25/edward/ Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures: https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/ffc/2012/10/indiana-jones-the-complete-adventures.html Stories Untold: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/stories-untold/home An Unkindness of Ghosts: https://www.riverssolomon.com/unkindness EeeeeatsconLA: https://www.theinfatuation.com/EEEEEATS

On this FFR, we’re talkin’ ‘bout the wonderful new animated series Tuca and Bertie! Created by Bojack Horseman producer and production designer Lisa Hanawalt, Tuca and Bertie stars Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong as best friends whose friendship must evolve when Bertie moves in with her boyfriend Speckle. Oh, and also they’re all birds. Our conversation covers the way in which the show explores numerous experiences and issues with honesty, compassion, and humor, as well as its avoidance of certain harmful stereotypes, and the (sadly) rare and refreshing way in which it treats female sexuality. Also, our reactions to fan reactions to the end of Game of Thrones, and the latest from KeanuWatch 2019. Segment Timestamps: 3:15 Entertainment News (GoT finale, Kea-news) 15:00 Tuca and Bertie 43:50 What's Your FREQ-Out? (Fleabag, Chelsea Manning, Dead Like Me) Tune in, subscribe, rate, and review! Relevant Links: Trailer for Always Be My Maybe: https://youtu.be/iHBcWHY9lN4 Keanu answers questions while playing with puppi

This week we go into the perilous unknown with the 2019 reboot of The Twilight Zone airing on CBS All Access. We dive into episodes like Not All Men, Wunderkind, The Traveler, and others to see which each of us liked best… and we certainly don’t all agree. 2:32 - Entertainment News 14:49 - Main Segment: Twilight Zone 46:48 - What’s Your FREQ Out Relevant Links Dandelion Immersive art project https://www.archivesandrecords.info/ How Golf Explains Trump by Sean Illing: https://www.vox.com/2019/5/10/18524172/donald-trump-commander-in-cheat-rick-reilly Tune in, subscribe, rate, and review! Become a backer of this podcast by joining our brand new community on Patreon! Find us at patreon.com/femfreq Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos: http://bit.ly/2bDhQUX

Hey, Feminist Frequency Listeners! We had a fantastic discussion about the new Netflix documentary Knock Down the House, which documents the thrilling challenges posed to the political establishment by the record numbers of women and people of color looking to unseat long-time incumbents in 2018. In addition to Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the film introduces viewers to candidates navigating the murky political waters of West Virginia, St. Louis, MO, and Las Vegas, NV. 0:00 Welcome to the incredibly high-energy goodness of episode #76 3:21 Pop Culture News/ Corporate News (Sonic the Hedgehog, Caster Semenya, "acceptable" trash talk, Ebony's reaction/non-reaction to the new royal baby, Find Me release date revealed) 16:39 Knock Down the House 46:02 What's Your Freq Out [Deal]? On the Channel: The Criterion Collection r/hobbydrama: the clam chowder fracas! Little Simz, Lemonade, Street Food Listener Freq Out from Mandy: Does the Dog Die Relevant links: https://www.criterion.com/current/catego

In this week’s FFR, our 75th episode, it’s a spoilerific conversation about the latest MCU crossover epic, Avengers: Endgame. First we talk about whether or not the film worked for us purely on the level of being an enjoyable superhero film that offers a satisfying conclusion to the cliffhanger of Infinity War, before delving into deeper discussions of fat-shaming, queer representation, and the film’s one ostensibly “feminist” moment. We also cover the tragic death of director John Singleton, an infuriating draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers, and more. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 2:45 Entertainment News (John Singleton, Nick Bosa, Notch) 11:30 Avengers: Endgame 41:45 What’s Your FREQ-Out? (Veep, Steven Yeun and John Cho on The Twilight Zone, looking past the surface of Las Vegas, The Reluctant Royals novels by Alyssa Cole) RELEVANT LINKS: More on Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals books: https://alyssacole.com/

Anita has returned! But Ebony is gone. To make up for it we’ve brought back very a special guest, everyone’s favorite Iranian-American Muslim Comedian, Zahra Noorbakhsh. This week we dive into Hulu’s newest sitcom Ramy. Created by comedian Ramy Youssef we follow the story of a 20-something Egyptian-American Muslim living in New Jersey, and trying to sort out who he really is and what he really wants in a world that sends him confusing and often-contradictory messages about what it means to be a young Muslim in America today.   Go check out Zahra’s work: https://twitter.com/zahracomedy https://www.instagram.com/zahracomedy/ http://www.zahranoorbakhsh.com/ SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 4:11 - Entertainment News 12:03 - Ramy 50:57 - What’s Your FREQ Out Become a backer of this podcast by joining our brand new community on Patreon! Find us at patreon.com/femfreq Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos: http://bit.ly/2bDhQUX

Anita’s off on another one of her globehopping adventures, so Ebony and Carolyn hold it down this week with a look at the latest DC Comics flick, Shazam! There’s a refreshing sense of lighthearted fun to this film, especially in contrast to the grimdark Batman and stuffy Superman of DC’s recent movie output, and a welcome dose of heartwarming sentiment as well. We talk about the way the film contrasts a tough-guy, go-it-alone form of masculinity with asking for help and relying on each other, what it has to say about found families, and the problems with its depictions of “ideal” bodies. Also, initial reactions to the title for Star Wars Episode IX, a few personal recommendations for great new movies, and more. Segment Timestamps: 4:30 Entertainment News (Star Wars title reveal, Trump's terrible propaganda movie, Bret Easton Ellis Q&A, more) 17:05 Shazam! 44:35 What's Your Deal? (Carolyn on Columbus, Ebony on Unicorn Store, listener Jonathan on a great production of Richard II in London) Relevant Links: I

In this week's episode, Anita and Ebony are joined by comedian, correspondent, and host of The Bitchuation Room Podcast, Francesca Fiorentini. The topic under discussion in this episode is the 2-part HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, about the decades-long child sexual abuse alleged against Michael Jackson by two survivors, Wade Robson and James Safechuck. We talk about living through a moment of increased cultural reckoning with horrific crimes like these, as well as the responsibility to honor the courage of people who come forward to tell their stories. RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE,online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country. Timestamps 2:53: Pop Culture News (gamers being awful, Cowboy BeBop casting) 10:34 Leaving Neverland (CW: abuse and sexual assault) 41:25: What's

Our Patreon backers get exclusive access to special bonus episodes every single week in the form of our FREQin’ AfterParty. This week, we continued our discussion of Jordan Peele’s Us because we couldn’t quite contain all of our thoughts in the main episode. As we talked more about some of the film’s complex layers, its deeper meanings, and what aspects of it we found to be successful and not so successful, we also found ourselves discussing some of the complications that come with being feminist media critics who are deeply concerned with what films have to say about race, gender, class and other forces that shape our experiences in the world every day. How much responsibility does a film or other work have to clearly present its message? What’s the audience’s responsibility? Where does ambiguity in art fit into all this? These questions don’t have easy answers, but nonetheless they’re things we have to consider and grapple with all the time. We thought this was a particularly revealing and valuable conversa

Everyone is talking about Us. And for good reason. This week we dive into the hotly anticipated new horror movie from the mind of Jordan Peele. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 1:27 - Intro baner 1:44 - Entertainment News: Zach Snyder said some dumb things, Jussie Smollett and the Chicago PD, Alanis Morissette critique 14:10 - Main Topic: Us 45:02 - What’s Your FREQ Outs 50:28 - Guest FREQ out from Katie RELEVANT LINKS: Manohla Dargis on Us - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/movies/us-movie-review.html?referrer=google_kp New York Post story on Lupita Nyong’o’s voice in Us: https://nypost.com/2019/03/25/why-lupita-nyongos-creepy-us-voice-is-inciting-online-outrage/ Carolyn’s new video on Diablo: https://youtu.be/GaIHWN0LEIU If you want keep the good times going, stay tuned for the FREQ'in After Party -- which you can have access to by becoming a backer at www.patreon.com/femfreq. We want to hear from you, so head on over to feministfrequency.com/freqout and send us your FREQ-Out today! And watch our brand new min

This week on FFR, we’re talking about the new film from Neil Jordan, director of The Crying Game, Interview With a Vampire and others: Greta. Greta is a psychologically terrifying tale of an innocent young woman named Frances (Chloe Grace Moretz) who befriends a lonely, older French woman named Greta (Isabelle Huppert), only to discover that she’s gotten much more than she’s bargained for as Greta’s obsession with her begins intruding on every aspect of her life. Our conversation explores the film’s place in Ebony’s beloved psychobiddy genre, its concerns with loneliness and isolation, and its focus on women. Also, Google Stadia, game preservation efforts and more in our entertainment news and FREQ-outs! We want to hear from you too! Tell us what you’re freqin’ out about at feministfrequency.com/freqout. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 2:20 Entertainment News 13:50 Greta 42:40 What’s Your FREQ-Out? RELEVANT LINKS: Matthew Yeager’s thread about Stadia: https://twitter.com/AmazingThew/status/1108425334498705410 Carolyn’s t

This week, the crew hosts writer, designer, and founder of Sweet Baby Inc, Kim Belair for a hilarious discussion of the 1992 cinematic classic Batman Returns! Before that, though, Caro serves up a heapin' helpin' of cringeworthy Pop Culture News (this week's topics included info about James Gunn's rehiring for Guardians of the Galaxy 3; Operation Varsity Blues; and Dean Cain confirming why he was the worst Superman). The show wraps with some freq'in out about Spelunky 2, anxiety management, and Nils Frahm. If you want keep the good times going, stay tuned for the FREQ'in After Party -- which you can have access to by becoming a backer at www.patreon.com/femfreq. We want to hear from you, so head on over to feministfrequency.com/freqout and send us your FREQ-Out today!And watch our brand new miniseries, Queer Tropes in Video Games! All three episodes are available right now at youtube.com/feministfrequency!  SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS :0:00 The fun begins 1:53 Anita pulls back the curtain on edibles 5:07 Pop Cult

FFR Ep 68 - Captain Marvel The crew is back together as we dive into all that is Captain Marvel, the newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic universe. Entertainment news this week includes Steam’s disappointingly sad statements about their policies, The Division 2 and the Captain Marvel “boycott”. We’re FREQing out about The Nod, “Take me to Merch”, Tim Apple, American Heiress: The The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty by Jeffrey Toobin Join us in the bonus episode for even more (and I would say even better conversations about Captain Marvel) by becoming a backer at www.patreon.com/femfreq We want to hear from you, so head on over to feministfrequency.com/freqout and send us your FREQ-Out today! And watch our brand new miniseries, Queer Tropes in Video Games! All three episodes are available right now at youtube.com/feministfrequency! SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 3:08: Entertainment News: Steam, The Division 2, Captain Marvel Boycott (lol) 15:33: Captain Marvel 43:42: FREQ OUTS + Listener FREQ Out fr

In this episode of FFR, Anita’s off giving talks in different cities so the podcast falls to Ebony and Carolyn this week, who do their best to fill the big Anita-shaped hole in all our hearts. The focus of this episode is Lorena, the new four-part documentary series on Amazon Prime which takes a fresh look at a case that set the tabloid world on fire in 1993: the case of Lorena Bobbitt. The new doc offers a deep, thoughtful examination of all the elements at work in the trial and the public’s perception of it: the nation’s failures to treat domestic abuse as a serious issue, media standards (or the lack thereof), cultural attitudes about men and women, and so much more. Also, a few words about Terry Crews, Steven Spielberg, and as always, our personal shoutouts in What’s Your Deal? We want to hear from you, so head on over to feministfrequency.com/freqout and send us your FREQ-Out today! Become a backer of this podcast by joining our brand new community on Patreon! Find us at patreon.com/femfreq And watch our