With Spring Comes Another Newsletter

Gaby Iori

Gaby Iori

— 6 min read

Hey lovely people!

It’s almost springggg!!!! You can tell I’m excited because of all the exclamation points!!

We’ve had a very busy, very exciting month here at Witch, Please Productions HQ. We’ll keep it short and sweet so we can dig right into it. Onward!

Hugs,

Gaby — and Hannah, Marcelle, Coach, and Zoe

We went to the cottage, DUH!!!!

We’re joined by Hope Rehak (writer, educator, and the mind behind beloved Substack Obsessions This Week) for a giddy and downright delectable conversation about the Canadian television hit, Heated Rivalry. We had SO MUCH FUN speaking with Hope about the androphilic gaze, fanfic, and desire (among many other things)!

Next, our very own Zoe Mix joined Material Girls to talk all about Wuthering Heights (2026)! Rather than ask if the film is a “good” or “bad” adaptation, Marcelle leads us in an episode about marriage as a marker and maker of happiness, our collective imagination around Emily Brontë's original work, Heathcliff as romantic (anti?)hero, and the lure of the abject. It’s a fun one!!

Plus, as a Valentine’s treat, we released the audio from last summer’s Daddy-themed live show with Helen Zaltzman and Martin Austwick! The show was part regular format episode, part sing-a-long, part game, and a whole lot of theory. A lot of cool art came out this live show, including Martin’s incredible, original song Daddy Really Cares.

Watch the Music Video

And as always, we’re keeping it real over on Material Concerns. Get Part Two over on Patreon!

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Pitty Party HATS!! And A Milestone

Pitty Party is still going strong over on Patreon, and because SO MANY of you joined, we’re selling HATS! These Pitty Party hats are our first ever hat merch and they’re actually awesome. We released these bad boys once we hit 1,200 paying patrons which is a HUGE milestone for us!

Thank you all so much for listening to our shows and supporting us! This kind of support is a game-changer for our team.

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WATCH ALONG: 9 to 5 (1980) on March 14th

Join us on our discord for this month’s watch along of 9 to 5. We’ll be joined by Zena Sharman, friend of the pod (and upcoming guest!). If you’ve never joined a watch along, it’s easy! Just become a Patreon at a $10+ tier and you’ll get access!

Take the Leap Today!

this image is unrelated to the below, just thought y’all should know this

I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t able to swing a whole new playlist for you all this newsletter go-round, but I’ll tell you what I’ve had on as background noise while cooking/cleaning lately: this Québécois Contemporain playlist rolling around on Spotify. Here’s the Apple Music equivalent!

This year for NYE dinner my pal Scout made a soup that I have been thinking about ever since. I've made it myself and it absolutely ruled. The only thing that has stopped it from being in my weekly rotation is that last time I made it I ate it to the point of physical discomfort. Here's the recipe Scout and also I used: https://www.thedeliciouscrescent.com/persian-noodle-soup-with-beans-and-herbs/. I used canned beans because I'm very lazy and subbed linguine for the reshteh noodles and vegan greek yogurt for the kashk and I couldn't find fenugreek but even with all that fucking around it was SO GOOD. Make it now, while it's still soup weather.
Ok, hear me out. I am LOVING this season of The Traitors. This feels complicated because of spoilers, but also because this feels like the first season where the vast majority of players think of themselves and talk about themselves as players in a game—WHICH IS WHAT IT IS! This season’s “faithfuls” are unbelievably bad at catching “traitors,” but because most people know this is a game, it’s (usually) hilarious rather than agonizing. The “traitors” themselves are absolutely wild, by which I mean they range from playing it smoothly to being SO OBVIOUS it’s a good thing the “faithfuls” have no idea what’s going on. If you’ve watched previous seasons and found it too emotionally high stakes, this is the season for you! I think it was marvellously cast with big personalities who know a game is a game. That being said, the final episodes are coming up, so we’ll see how everyone feels when the final “traitors” are revealed.
Give yourself the treat of a visit to an art store! I recently went to my local craft store without a plan and bought nothing but scotch tape — but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t incredibly inspired. I say go in without a vision and see what strikes your fancy. My journaling has improved since replenishing my tape but my mind is also all abuzz with ideas for late winter projects that includes zine-making, water color painting and some knitting. Treat the store like a library where you get to browse mediums you have yet to try!
Although I no longer read for pleasure (only for PhD pain) I figured out a great little hack, which is: if I take a class I am interested in I get to read books I would have read for fun anyway! This month I read Angela Carter’s 1979 short story collection, The Bloody Chamber. The stories are all feminist retellings of classic fairy tales, from Bluebeard’s Castle to Sleeping Beauty. They are dark and beautiful, full of blood and gore and bad ass women. If you only have time to read one of the stories, I would recommend the titular story, The Bloody Chamber. But be warned: do not read before bed or you’ll be too scared to fall asleep!
I’m listening almost exclusively to the sound of my own horrible voice while editing Pitty Party! (I’m kidding, it’s not that horrible, but listening to your own weird noises and filler words is a unique hell). I actually love editing the show, so this isn’t a complaint! When I’m not doing that, I’ve been listening to the new MUNA single on repeat, and occasionally watching the music video from this specific part onward. Naomi Macpherson hottest person alive maybe?? Greatest band in the world!!!

We love it when you do! Here are a couple recent chatty highlights to assuage Gaby’s fears of choking while alone. Thanks everyone, she needed this!

Have a topic you want us to tackle? Feel free to submit to this form!

Something else you want us to know? You can always email us at ohwitchplease@gmail.com.

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Okay, bye! xoxo

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