Estradiol Illusions

Ian Thomas Malone
  • 4.6 (75)
  • SEXUALITY
  • UPDATED DAILY

Entertainment & LGBTQ Issues show hosted by Ian Thomas Malone (@ianthomasmalone)

  1. Frosty's Winter Wonderland

    12/10/2025

    Frosty's Winter Wonderland

    We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe for the first Frosty sequel, Frosty's Winter Wonderland. Essentially just a riff on Bride of Frankenstein, the special has next to no plot. Jack Frost makes his first Rankin/Bass appearance, decidedly at odds with his next two appearances in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July and Jack Frost, but when has Rankin/Bass ever cared about continuity? Ian tries to make sense of the chaos. This will be our final holiday episode for 2025! Be sure to check out all our other holiday episodes. Happy Holidays everyone!

    31 min
  2. Cricket on the Hearth

    12/09/2025

    Cricket on the Hearth

    We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe with the Cricket on the Hearth. One of the earliest specials in their canon, Cricket is a bit of a mess. The animation is somewhat solid, but the characters are a bunch of morons and the music is awful. What else is new? This special is pretty awful and should be avoided by everyone other than Rankin/Bass completionists. No wonder it's taken us this long to cover it! Watch at your own risk.

    41 min
  3. Frosty the Snowman

    12/08/2025

    Frosty the Snowman

    We're back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. Ian covers the classic Frosty the Snowman, the most normal of the hand-drawn animated holiday specials. Ian unpacks Professor Hinkle's villainy, and the beauty of Frosty's existential musings. Hinkle's tracking abilities don't make a lot of sense, but at least we have a Santa Claus who isn't completely worthless for once.

    39 min
  4. The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold

    12/04/2025

    The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold

    Ever wonder what a St. Patrick's Day special would look like if it suddenly became a Christmas show? The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold is easily the worst stop-motion Rankin/Bass Christmas special, twenty-four minutes of nonsense with practically no redeeming qualities. Ian does not recommend this show at all, but we at Estradiol Illusions are nothing if not Rankin/Bass completionists. Watch this garbage at your own risk! We tried to do it justice on the pod. We're sorry that any of this exists.

    44 min
  5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

    12/02/2025

    Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

    Our Christmas coverage begins! Ian revisits the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer for an episode that's more stylistically in line with our Rankin/Bass episodes than the first one we did in 2020. Ian still has a lot of complex feelings about this special, namely it's Axis of Awful (Santa, Donner, and Coach Comet). It's definitely problematic, but there's a reason people love this one so much. Be sure to check out all of EI's Rankin/Bass holiday episodes.  EI's original Rudolph episode: https://ianthomasmalone.podbean.com/e/rudolph-a-transgender-perspective/ Ian's original Rudolph article: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2017/12/a-transgender-perspective-on-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/

    48 min
  6. Mad Monster Party?

    10/29/2025

    Mad Monster Party?

    We are back, not only with our first episode of the year, but in our beloved Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. ITM covers the bizarre Halloween film Mad Monster Party?which features plenty of classic monsters, an horror icon Boris Karloff himself. Did Mad Monster Party? succeed where Universal's Dark Universe fails? Maybe not. Does this film have plenty of non-sequiturs that make no sense and cheap, borderline offensive humor? Of course. ITM also addresses the pod's long hiatus and is very excited for the return of Christmas programming in a few weeks.

    52 min
  7. The Snowman

    12/13/2024

    The Snowman

    Our holiday coverage continues with an ITM personal favorite, and not just because she bore a resemblance to the boy as a young child. The Snowman is a beautifully animated special that tugs at all the right heartstrings. Ian unpacks her relationship to the special and its themes. Note: Ian spends the first five minutes talking about EI's 200th episode milestone. Listeners looking just for Snowman are recommended to skip the first few minutes. Happy holidays everyone!

    26 min
  8. Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

    12/12/2024

    Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

    We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe! Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is in many ways a prototype to the Avengers-style team-up modern audiences are used to, a convergence of beloved heroes such as Rudolph, Frosty, Big Ben, Jack Frost, and Mickey Rooney's Santa. It is also a terrible movie, the only feature-length Christmas release in the Rankin/Bass catalogue.   ITM's sister Barbara returns to the show to unpack this trainwreck. Where are Milton's laughs? What's up with the Caves of Lost Rejections? Find out as we take one of our last adventures into this bizarre world.

    1h 7m
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4.6
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About

Entertainment & LGBTQ Issues show hosted by Ian Thomas Malone (@ianthomasmalone)

Information

  • Creator
    Ian Thomas Malone
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    200
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Estradiol Illusions