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A podcast by three red-headed fantasy authors talking about everything from academic mythology to dick jokes (and sometimes, both at once), as well as the role of fanfiction as an integral yet oft-overlooked part of the literary conversation and in the broader cultural context. It is, obviously, a podcast of extremely deep literary merit.
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
On this week's episode we’re discussing classics rewritten by women! The tentpoles are Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott, The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo, and Beowulf, translated by Maria Dahvana Headley.
What We’re Into Lately
Subtle Blood by KJ Charles
For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten
Luca
“Choosing” by Susan Taitel
The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes
Victoria Goddard’s books:
Tales of the Nine Worlds series
Greenwing & Dart series
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Will Darling Adventures by KJ Charles
Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare
The Good Place (see Janet with a cactus behind her back)
Moana
Carmina Burana (text)
Carmina Burana (cantata by Orff)
Hamilton
“Saltwashed” by Jennifer Mace
The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger
Rule 63 of the internet
Persona 5 videogame
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
Peter Pan by JM Barrie
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
E. Jade Lomax’s fanfic reinterpretations of The Susan Problem
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
Genderswap in fanfiction
Mad Max: Fury Road
Atomic Blonde
For Next Time
Wicked the musical
Content Warnings
Domestic abuse in The Chosen and the Beautiful
Warfare and gore in Beowulf and Unconquerable Sun
Discussion of trans and nonbinary erasure
Transcription
The transcript for this episode can be found here. Huge thanks to our amazing team of scribes!!
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
On this week's episode, we are once again answering YOUR burning questions, dear listeners!
What We’re Into Lately
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Bareknuckle Bastards series by Sarah MacLean
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis
The Untamed fanfic
“vinculum” by Skadiseven
Heaven Has A Road But No One Walks It by Silvestris
The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard
History Channel “documentaries”
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Good Omens (TV show)
Famous Fanfic Author Fahye
Down to Agincourt series by seperis
Isavalta series by Sarah Zettel
Fic author Maldoror_Chant
Feminine Pursuits series (The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics) by Olivia Waite
The Covert Captain by Jeannelle M. Ferreira
Proper English by KJ Charles
Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan
How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
Once Ghosted Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole
The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
Tremontaine series by Ellen Kushner et al.
”Glitter & Gold” by Barns Courtney
The Queen’s Gambit
X-Men
Teen Wolf
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Ranma ½
Criminal Minds
you wait and you wonder who’ll take on your odds by paperclipbitch
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
For Next Time
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Content Warnings
N/A
Transcription
The transcript of this episode is available here. Highest of fives to our wonderful team of scribes!
Wednesday Jun 30, 2021
Wednesday Jun 30, 2021
On today’s episode, we're finally getting around to doing our Diana Wynne Jones Episode! Well, sort of -- it's not exactly a deep-dive. Our tentpoles this week are Howl’s Moving Castle, Howl’s Moving Castle, and two Howl’s Moving Castle fanfics — “Hearts and Their Consumption” by setepenre_set and “Second Time Lucky” by labellementeuse.
What We’re Into Lately
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall
Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
Persona 5 fanfic
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
Other Stuff We Mentioned
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Little Mermaid
Spirited Away
Snow White
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Children’s author Frances Hardinge
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre miniseries
Good Omens TV series
Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Tam Lin Scottish ballad
Castle In the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Aladdin folktale
Tales of the Arabian Nights
Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
Labyrinth
Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Be the Serpent Episode 36: There’s No Place Like Home
Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
Eight days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones
For Next Time
Episode 90: Extravaganza!
Content Warnings
Gore / Violence - Hearts and Their Consumption by setepenre_set.
Transcription
The transcript of this episode is available here. Thank you to our fabulous team of scribes for their hard work, as always :)
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
On today's episode we are talking about dystopian stratified societies and "layered cities". Our tentpoles this week are An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, the Snowpiercer movie (the original one), and “To the Victor, The Spoil” by Annakovsky.
What We’re Into Lately
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan
Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone
marigolds by colbub
Avatar: The Last Airbender fic
Rogue One fic
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
Other Stuff We Mentioned
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
“Dixit Dominus” by George Frideric Handel
Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan
Embers by Vathara
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
This post by missellewoods
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Lara Elena Donnelly’s Amberlough series
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
The Unbroken by C. L. Clark
“And Now His Lordship Is Laughing” by Shiv Ramdas
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
"Victory Condition" by astolat
Les Mis (musical)
Les Miserables (disambiguation)
For Next Time
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Content Warnings
Sexual assault, racism, and slavery in An Unkindness of Ghosts
Violence, child harm in Snowpiercer
Sex trafficking, attempted suicide, and adult/minor relationship in “To the Victor, The Spoil”
General warnings for discussion in the episode: the spectre of pedophilia, cannibalism, classism and prejudice (as well as all above listed warnings from the tentpoles)
Transcription
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Thank you to our team of scribes for their great work!
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
On this week's episode, we're discussing those models of decorum and tranquility: Games, and game-adjacent narratives! The tentpoles this week are the C-drama version of Hikaru no Go, the film Jumanji: Into the Jungle, and the fanfic you wait and you wonder who’ll take on your odds by paperclipbitch.
What We’re Into Lately
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrum
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter
Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling
marigolds by colbub
The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Chess (musical)
The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
DIE by Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Alex’s Fun Facts History of Games Corner
Kriegsspiel game
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People, and Fantastic Adventure from Chess to Role-Playing Games by Jon Peterson
Checkmate by Naadi
The Grandfather Clock by Anthony Hill
For Next Time
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Content Warnings
None
Transcription
The transcript for this episode can be found here. Thanks to our most excellent scribes for their hard work!
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Wednesday May 19, 2021
On this week's episode, we're discussing jobs, occupations, and vocations, both fantastical and mundane despite the fantastical settings. The tentpoles for this episode are Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef by Cassandra Khaw, Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, and “Always Near” by afrai.
What We’re Into Lately
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Hiding in the Leaves by aventria & iluxia (Naruto fanfic)
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
After Working At Google, I’ll Never Let Myself Love A Job Again (Op-Ed, NYT)
My Life as a Background Slytherin (webcomic)
Avengers movies
Superhero Damage Insurance (TikTok)
Star Wars franchise
Be the Serpent Space Sweepers episode
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
October Daye series by Seanan McGuire
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
John Scalzi (author)
Honor Harrington series by David Weber
We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson
Catalyst by Jennifer Mace
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
“Period Piece” by thimblefullofdespair
for a hundred vision and revisions by aventria, iluxia
Merlin TV show
Macey’s Fun Facts Tech Job Corner
An Example of Bad Radio
The Story Engine storytelling game
For Next Time
Hikaru no Go (2020 live action Chinese drama)
Content Warnings
Slavery (in “Always Near” + episode discussion)
Medical trauma & body horror (in Hench)
Cannibalism and gore (in Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef + episode discussion)
Transcription
The transcript for this episode is available here. Thanks as always to our fabulous team of scribes!
Wednesday May 05, 2021
Wednesday May 05, 2021
On today's episode, we're getting unseasonably spooky as we talk about Gothic novels! The tentpoles for this episode are Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the film Crimson Peak, and the Untamed fanfic Imago by astrophyllite.
What We’re Into Lately
The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
Die, Volume 1 by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Don’t Look Back series by acuteneurosis
Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management by Alexander Elder
Untamed fanfic, as always
Other Stuff We Mentioned
The Wicked + the Divine by Kieron Gillen
Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen
Tim Burton’s Alice movies
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Under The Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Bluebeard folktale
Beauty and the Beast folktale
East of Sun and West of the Moon folktale
Eros and Psyche folktale
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Jane Eyre miniseries (with Ruth Wilson)
‘Restraint and Revelation: or, The Necromancer of Yiling’ (Erotic Gothic Novelist!Lan Wangji)
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey TV movie
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Be the Serpent Episode 36: There's No Place Like Home
For Next Time
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
Content Warnings
Violence, gore, and incest in all three tentpoles and the episode discussion.
Transcription
The transcript for this episode is available here. Thank you to our beloved team of scribes for their hard work!
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
On this week's episode, we're talking about postapocalyptic fiction, specifically stories set in the wake of a climate apocalypse. The tentpoles are Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, the fanfic "Moebius" by AuroraNova and Mad Max: Fury Road.
What We’re Into Lately
The House of Niccolò series by Dorothy Dunnett
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
The World Figure Skating Championship
A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
love, in fire and blood by cicer
Practical Creativity by Raph Koster
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Be the Serpent, Episode 3: Apocalypse Sometime, Maybe Next Tuesday
Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Be the Serpent, Episode 38: A Hugo Award Special — The Novels of 2018
“Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time” by K.M. Szpara
Studio Ghibli movies
James Bond movies
“Peer Gynt” by Grieg
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Mass Effect games
The ending of Mass Effect 3
Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha
Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
Who Should Live In Flooded Old New York? by Brooke Bolander
Embers by Vathara
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Lotus Blue by Cat Sparks
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
The Sea and Summer (aka Drowning Towers) by George Turner
‘The Fall of Civilizations’ podcast
How We Get to Carbon Zero by Bianca Nogrady
Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
Macey’s Fun Facts Bronze Age Mediterranean Corner
1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
The most famous and meme-able trader to ever live, Ea-nasir
For Next Time
Crimson Peak film
Content Warnings
Gore and implied sexual assault in Mad Max: Fury Road
Gore and (urban fantasy standard) violence in Trail of Lightning
Transcription
The transcript for this episode is available here. Thank you as always to our brilliant team of scribes!!
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
On today's episode we're buckling on our space shoes, picking up our space harpoons, and charging up our space laser guns, because we're doing a deep dive on the new South Korean scifi film, Space Sweepers.
What We’re Into Lately
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
The House of Always by Jenn Lyon
Disarmed by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk
Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno Garcia
Boku no Hero Academia fanfic of the Star Wars crossover variety
Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Acorna series by Anne McCaffrey
Bond movies
For Next Time
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Content Warnings
Death of a child (dealt with in-text) in Space Sweepers
Transcription
The transcript for this episode can be found here. Huge thanks to our team of scribes!!
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
On this week's episode, we're getting the gang back together to talk about girl gangs, teen squads, and spooky witchy girls! The tentpoles this week are The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke, Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark, and the fanfic “21st Century Girls” by springgreen.
What We’re Into Lately
Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Dawn by Octavia Butler
A Bouquet of Czech Folktales by Karel Jaromír Erben, trans. Marcela Sulak
Boku No Hero Academia fanfic
as day follows night by The_Eclectic_Bookworm
The Untamed fanfic
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Society of Gentlemen series by K.J. Charles
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
20th Century Boys manga series
Sailor Moon manga series
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
River Tam from Firefly
For Next Time
Content Warnings
Very brief mention of sexual assault (and description of its fallout) in Foul Is Fair, one of the "What We're Into Lately" books.
Explicit depictions of racism (including the KKK) in Ring Shout.
Kidnapping, attempted assault in The Scapegracers.
Transcription
The transcript for this episode can be found here. Huge thanks to our scribe team for their excellent work, as usual!