Happy Halloween month! I just returned from Chicago, where I got to spend an almost-perfect weekend with Hannah, Marcelle, and Coach (only not completely perfect because we missed Zoe so much!) We had an amazing time at Women & Children First for Hannah’s book event, did lots of karaoke (see below), went swimming in Lake Michigan (I definitely caught a cold from doing so but it was WORTH IT), and got to talk together for literal hours. Genuinely, my voice was HOARSE from all the yapping.
Thank you all who showed up to WCF on Friday!! It was a packed house and it was so special to see all of you come out to support Hannah and Marcelle.
We couldn’t do things like fly from four separate cities to see each other for 48 hours without you all, so THANK YOU! Your support not only means we get to make a bunch of really amazing shows; it also means we get to travel to see one another and to meet listeners every now and again. We hope we can do it again, soon!
xoxo,
Gaby, Hannah, Marcelle, Coach, and Zoe
Wow, it is Jurassic Park o’clock up in here!! You all had so many great questions about Hannah's NEW 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! Part two can be found on Patreon at our $5+ tiers—you know you want it!
We were also recently joined by (they/them) to discuss the most zeitgeist-y neurotransmitter around: dopamine! Have you been targeted Instagram Reels and TikToks 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-science, "hedonic Calvinism," eugenics, Big Pharma, manipulative algorithms and more! And don’t forget to check out Jesse's Dopamine Dispatch!
Making Worlds Episode 9 is Out Now!
If you join our Patreon (at any paid tier) you get access to Hannah McGregor’s video podcast, Making Worlds! In our most recent episode, Hannah talks with Cynara Geissler (she/her) about Steven Universe! They talk about how the show allows them to see their individual roles in a larger collective moments, the metaphors for queerness throughout, and how it transcends traditional family structures. Watch here!
Watch Along: Saturday, October 19th at 2 pm ET
Join us this Saturday for a watch along of Jurassic Park! Hannah and Coach will be on mic via Discord! Our watch alongs are every two months — don’t miss this weekend or you’ll have to wait until December! Patreon supporters at our $5+ tiers get access to this perk!
It’s Not Too Late to Get Our Latest Mug!
At our $20+ tiers you get a new mug every six months! Our latest design is out and patrons get until November 7th to get it for free! Join today to get the discount code and place your order for a free mug!
Click the pic to get a special gift from Jan, a patron, who we adore!
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We Love Book Vloggers!
Clever Girl was mentioned in Ketchup & Pickles. Thanks to Emily for the shoutout!
Someone asked for “dino girl autumn” music recs on Instagram and I said, sure we CAN DELIVER. Playlist on Spotify here or Apple Music here.
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You’re all already watching Agatha All Along, right? I get it, we're all burned out on Marvel content, but it's actually very important that you watch Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza hate-fuck each other with their eyes. This is actually my favourite piece of witch-based media in a long time. Hanh's Agatha Harkness was introduced by Wandavision (which you don't need to watch, though it is also very good) and now she's heading up her own miniseries. The basic premise is that Agatha and a scrappy coven of witches (including Patti Lupone and a jaw-droppingly gorgeous Sasheer Zamata) have to walk the Witches' Road to regain their powers. Together, they face a series of trials embedded in metaphorical houses that are also stand-ins for their various dark secrets. The magic in this show is satisfyingly rooted in real witchcraft -- potion making, ritual, music, and craft -- rather than the hand-wavy magic of other Marvel fare, and while it's often spooky it's not too scary (and I'm a tiny scaredy baby!). I'm resisting the urge to write a whole essay here which is how you know it's good.CW: discussion of death and terminal illness. This fall (aka Autumn) I have gotten some really hard news about people I love. A good friend of mine died quite unexpectedly a couple weeks ago, and while grieving him I've also learned that my grandmother has an aggressive and incurable cancer. I'm handling these heartaches about as well as one can, but I'm absolutely devastated. I wish I could have had a chance to talk to my friend one more time; every moment I have left with my grandma is charged with urgency and despair. As so many of you know, there's no easy way to lose someone you love. Oops now I'm crying! And oops maybe you are, too! I promise I am going somewhere with this. This month, I'm recommending that you call someone you love and listen to them tell you about their day. If they give you a hard time for using the phone as a phone, you can simply say, "I read a SUPER FUN newsletter and it made me miss you and I just wanted to hear your voice." But please call them. Listen to the perfect sound of their voice as they talk about work or the cat or groceries, etc. Even if it's awkward, I think getting that call will be really special for both of you.Hey sl*ts! It's soup season! For me, that means I'm following zero recipes and immersion blending everything. My mother will tell you that everything begins by sautéing onions — and I tend to live by that rule. Olive oil, garlic, herbs and onions are the start of every soup I improvise. From there, add stock and your chopped cauliflower and/or squash and/or potato and/or carrot and/or literally whatever, and cook until everything is soft (an hour?). Then blend, baby, blend! In a blender or Cuisinart or with your immersion blender until it's the consistency you want! Plop your soup in a bowl and depending on the flavor profile, add feta (if we're doing something like lentils and cauliflower) or yogurt (if it's more of curry/carrot/ginger thing), or some other cheese because that's usually the right call! Happy fall!!!!!! *sluts <3It’s been said before, and I’ll say it again: nothing is ten dollars anymore. So, a little $12 treat I recently got was a set of hair clips from CHUNKS. Recently I’ve noticed so many cute girlies walking around town with their multicolored hair clips and I wanted some for myself! They are fun and easy way to accessorize and bring another level of PIZZAZZ to a look. If you want to get your own little 12- 16 dollar hair clip treat, I recommend perusing the OOPSIES section of the CHUNKS website.It’s OCD awareness week! Did you know your favorite digital projects coordinator has OCD? Now you do!! Despite being heavily medicated, I do not consider myself to be “in remission” (I put this in quotes because OCD is not curable, but it is possible to have very few symptoms with the help of medication and therapy—shoutout to all of you who are!) because I still deal with compulsive behavior flare ups and intrusive thoughts a LOT. You might be asking, Gaby, what the hell does this have to do with a reading recommendation? I’M GETTING THERE. I just started How to Hide in Plain Sight by Emma Noyes, which is rom-dram about a twenty one year old with obsessive compulsive disorder who returns home to visit her big family and attend a wedding. I’m only a little less than halfway into it, but it’s one of the more authentic portrayals of OCD that I’ve read—it deals with the really troubling parts of the disorder in a way that makes me feel very seen. I really recommend it to anyone who thinks OCD is about keeping things in order or washing your hands. Love to all of my OCD-heads out there! <3
Okay, bye! xoxo
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