Fansplaining Elizabeth Minkel & Flourish Klink
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- TV & Film
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Fansplaining is a podcast about by, for, and about fandom. It’s hosted by Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel. New episodes come out every two weeks. If you want to call us and leave a message for us to read on air, our number is 1-401-526-FANS!
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Episode 219: Tropefest Speedrun
Episode 219, “Tropefest Speedrun,” kicks off with a big announcement: as you might have guessed with Flourish a few months away from a) giving birth and b) being ordained as a priest, they are going to be leaving Fansplaining in May. Post-Flourish plans for the podcast still TBD, this episode builds off the long-running “Tropefest” series for Patrons and jets through ten fanfiction tropes and themes in an hour, including classics like time loops, identity porn, truth serum, and sex pollen.
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Episode 218: The Money Question 3: Books???
Following previous installments on the thorny intersections of money and fanfiction, Episode 218, “The Money Question 3: Books???” tackles the recent debacle around people illegally selling bound copies of others’ fic, which has mostly centered on mega-popular Dramione works. Jumping off from Elizabeth’s WIRED article on the subject—which ties the practice to the current pull-to-publish wave as well as the Twilight fan-run presses of the early 2010s—Elizabeth and Flourish discuss the context collapse when a fic “breaches containment,” double standards in attitudes towards money and various fan practices, and, for likely the 1,000th time on this podcast, what exactly “fair use” means.
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Episode 217: Fanbinding
On Episode 217, “Fanbinding,” Elizabeth and Flourish talk to Tiffo (aka Fanboundbooks) about the art of turning fanfiction into physical books, and the fanbinding collective known as the Renegade Bindery. Topics discussed include how exactly you make a book, Renegade’s origin story and huge growth in recent years, fanbinders’ firm commitment to the non-monetized gift economy, and Binderary, a month-long event this February with challenges, fan-run classes, and more. Plus! (Spoiler) Flourish literally joins the Renegade Discord during the recording session.
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Episode 216: Allegra Rosenberg
On Episode 216, “Allegra Rosenberg,” Elizabeth and Flourish talk to the fandom journalist and Terror Camp organizer about her journey from tween fan reporter to writing a book about the pre-digital history of fan culture. Topics discussed include coming of age on Tumblr, learning to put on IRL events while deep in music fandom, getting that fannish feeling from immersive theater, and, of course, Terror Camp, a fandom-academia hybrid event that celebrates fans’ investment in historical research.
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Episode 215: The Broken Contract
In Episode 215, “The Broken Contract,” Flourish and Elizabeth look at the sorry state of television in 2024, where the streaming revolution has devolved into sudden cancellations, deleted or shelved shows, opaque viewer numbers, and very little stability for audiences—and especially fans—to get invested in something new. How can fans build fandoms—and, for that matter, how can TV creators build the works themselves—when executives are constantly pulling the rug out from under them? Plus: they respond to a pair of letters about the previous episode, on AI and dealing with a negative AO3 comment, respectively.
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Episode 214: Ask Fansplaining Anything: Part 18
In the newest installment of the long-running “Ask Fansplaining Anything” series, Flourish and Elizabeth tackle a fresh batch of listener comments and questions. Topics discussed include fic that “breaches containment,” AI and fanworks, differing norms around the AO3’s “Major Character Death” tag, and what to do when Someone Is Wrong On the Internet.
Customer Reviews
Definitely for-fans, by-fans
And no, we're not talking about the mechanical devices!
I was a little skeptical when stumbling across this podcast, if only because I've seen so many approaches of fandom take on an almost anthropological approach - a, "we are reporting on this community from afar" approach as opposed to someone who can see and understand the nuances within.
A few episodes in, and all of my fears were completely gone. It is a show that speaks to different corners of fandom (fanart, cons, etc) but doesn't talk down to them - instead, it's a celebration of the community as a whole while still providing some excellent commentary around it.
Great work. And hey, thanks.
Brilliant
I've been away from fandom for a while but I'm now writing academically about fan culture and I stumbled across this wonderful podcast. Such great content delivered by two incredibly engaging presenters who know their stuff. So pleased I found Fansplaining :)
Clever and fun!
I love this podcast, it's a really intelligent discussion about the silly things that make us squee! Great guests and great conversation around issues in fandom.