Feminist Frequency Radio

The 92nd Academy Awards will air this Sunday, which means we at FFR must once again extract what meaning we can from an awards show which consistently seems to celebrate the same stories from the same people. Why are the Oscars still such a big deal, and why do we still need to talk about them? We take a look at what the nominations say about the kind of narratives which are held up as the best, including our thoughts on performances, and the stories we loved over the last year that were overlooked.Time Stamps:0:59 - “Homemaking with Anita Sarkeesian”5:22 - Main Discussion on the nomination choices for the 92nd Academy Awards40:21 - What’s Your Freq Out?Carolyn on Kentucky Route ZeroEbony on Dracula (Netflix, 2020) and Bad Boys for LifeAnita on Wired to Wear exhibit at The Museum of Science and Industry in ChicagoLinks Mentioned:Anita’s appearance @ The Washington Post (livestream begins 5pm ET on 2/6) - https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live-the-power-of-play-video-games-and-esports/“Greta Gerwi

Laura Hudson, writer and friend of the podcast, joins Anita and Carolyn this week for our discussion of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, the latest adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. The film has earned several Oscar nominations, but conspicuously missing is a Best Director nomination for Gerwig herself. Join us as we discuss how this retelling of March sisters’ story brings up questions of class, race, and what a 151-year old novel has to tell us about the issues and obstacles still faced by women today.Time Stamps:1:52 - Getting to know special guest Laura Hudson6:42 - Main Discussion on Little Women39:04 - What’s Your Freq Out?Carolyn on Watchmen (HBO)Laura on Kentucky Route ZeroAnita on The Spy (Netflix)Links Mentioned:Jennifer E Morrow tweet on Little Women - twitter.com/jenniferemorrow/status/1210386224537645057“Greta Gerwig on the Lives of Little Women And Why ‘Male Violence’ Isn’t All That Matters” by Greta Gerwig, Vanity Fair, January 11, 2020 - https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/01/

This week we journey through the brutal landscape of The Witcher. Probably best known through CD Projekt Red’s video game series, the Netflix adaptation has met with mixed reviews. Join us as we take a look at ways in which fantasy and Patriarchal tropes are presented, reinforced, acknowledged and questioned in a self-aware story that may not be sure on which side it lands. Should you toss a coin to your witcher?Time Stamps:1:40 - Exploring whether or not Anita can BECOME a podcast3:50 - Main Discussion on The Witcher41:20 - What’s Your Freq Out?Ebony on Vera and ShetlandCarolyn on Uncut GemsAnita on EuphoriaFollow Us:Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagram

We’re back in the Star Wars Universe! In episode 105 of FFR, we wondered after three episodes where all the women were in The Mandalorian. Now that season one is finished, we’re revisiting the spaghetti space western with special guest Jonathan Mann, to jam out to his viral song “Baby Yoda Baby Baby Yoda,” talk about Star Wars deep-lore and our own fan theories for next season, and to weigh in on the representations of women The Mandalorian ultimately offered.Time Stamps:1:34 - Capitalism and the dark side of Baby Yoda (Baby Baby Yoda)12:45 - Main Discussion on The Mandalorian - Season One41:05 - What’s Your Freq Out?Jonathan on TikTokCarolyn on Little Women and the 2020 Oscar NominationsAnita on The Shining Girls by Lauren Buekes (Zoo City, Moxyland)Guest FREQ out: Halex Pereira on Inferior and Superior by Angela SainiFollow Us:Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramFollow Jonathan Mann:YoutubeTwitterPodcast

Happy New Year and welcome back to FFR! We’re kicking off the decade with a deep look at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. A cultural phenomenon spanning 40 years, here’s our look at what the final chapter of this space opera delivered, where it delighted, where it disappointed, and who it didn’t represent.Time Stamps:4:23 - Main Discussion on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker39:12 - What’s Your Freq OutCarolyn on Knives OutEbony on Courtney Milan and the Romance Writers of America (RWA)Anita on Stars Are Legion by Cameron HurleyLinks Mentioned:“Are We Really Going to Pretend That Gay Kiss in The Rise of Skywalker Matters?” by K. Austin Collins - https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/12/are-we-really-going-to-pretend-the-gay-kiss-in-the-rise-of-skywalker-mattersFollow Us:Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagram

It’s the end of the decade! And though it was a tough task, we’ve narrowed down all the media from the last 10 years to our fave five in literature, film, music, television and gaming. Stroll with us down memory lane as we revisit the titles that made us reflect, made us feel, and maybe even moved the needle on what media has to say about the world around us.Time Stamps:1:07 - Ebony’s Fave FiveBook: An Unkindness of Ghosts (2017) by Rivers SolomonFilm: Winter’s Bone (2010) directed by Debra Granik, story by Daniel WoodrellTV: Heaven Sent (2015) episode of Doctor Who directed by Rachel Talalay, written by Steven MoffatMusic: Hozier (immortal) fae legend and spooky bastard (Runner up - Gary Clark Jr)Game: Donut Country (2018) developed by Ben Esposito11:27 - Caro’s Fave Five(honorable mention) TV: San Junipero (2016) episode of Black Mirror directed by Owen HarrisFilm: Museum Hours (2012) written and directed by Jem CohenTV: Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) developed and written by creators David Lynch and Mark Fr

Ho Ho Ho, and Happy Holidays! This week we present the Feminist Frequency x Bechdel Cast Christmas Crossover episode. Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante join Anita to discuss the Disney+ movie Noelle, starring Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader. Is this film an empowering #girlboss take on the holiday film genre? Well, maybe from the perspective of a “woke dad”. Listen in to hear our real thoughts on rule by divine monarchy, holiday puns, and at least 3 things this movie gets right.Time Stamps:Defining and reminiscing on the DCOM Genre - 1:52Main Discussion on Noelle - 4:40What’s Your Freq Out - 46:46Anita on The End of The Day by Claire NorthCaitlin on the movie Knives OutJamie on She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the Scattered podcast, and the Netflix true crime series Who Killed Little GregoryPS: Today we're proud to announce one of our upcoming initiatives to help challenge the culture of abuse, harassment and sexism in the games industry: The Games and Online Harassment Hotline, a 24/7 service available

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! So join us as we take a stroll down amnesia lane with the 1996 Christmas-set action flick The Long Kiss Goodnight starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is experiencing something of a critical renaissance of late. Find out what we think of it as we discuss how Samantha Caine fits into the pantheon of female action heroes, the movie’s overall stance on gender politics, and the better movie Ebony sees under the surface of the one we got.Time Stamps:3:15 - The Long Kiss Goodnight41:40 - What’s Your FREQ-Out?-Carolyn on A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood-Ebony on Adam (Moroccan film)-Anita on The Get Out KidsFollow Us:Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramDonate to our End-of-Year Fundraising Campaign

It’s official: Baby Yoda is our cuteness overlord. This week, Star Wars fan and friend of the podcast Jessica Zollman joins us again as we talk about The Mandalorian. We discuss the show’s wildly skewed gender representation, the fun we had on Twitter for bringing up the show’s wildly skewed gender representation, the power of Baby Yoda, and what we’re liking and not liking about the show after three episodes.Time Stamps:2:45 - Our history with Star Wars 5:40 - The Mandalorian 39:55 - What’s Your FREQ-Out: Carolyn on Death Stranding, Jessica on the adventures of Florida dog, Anita on 28 Days Later Links Mentioned:Love Baby Yoda I Cannot Florida Dog The Zero Hours podcast Jessica Zollman’s photography Anita's tweets on The Mandalorian Follow Us:Join our Patreon Our Website Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram

FemFreq Radio is bringing you a live one this week! That's right, podcast fans: this week's episode was recorded live at our home away from home in Seattle at Geek Girl Con! After some of our standard "we've forgotten how to podcast" intro fumbling, things get interesting when Anita, Carolyn, and Ebony offer their choices for standout media properties from the past decade. Anita has some choice words to say about a fish; Carolyn refuses to be pigeonholed into CMBYN fandom; and Ebony laments what could have been in a historic small town in NY.Follow Us:Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagram 

Terminator: Dark Fate is the 6th entry in the wibbly-wobbley timey-wimey cinematic universe originally brought to life by James Cameron in 1984. The franchise has taken a lot of detours over the past 35 years — some more successful than others — but the supporting infrastructure of the story has never really changed: sometime in “the future,” “the machines” turn on us and wage an all-out war that leaves billions dead and the planet a devastated wasteland. But there’s a brave human resistance lead by an incredibly inspirational white dude! So in a truly bonkers effort to eradicate those pesky humans once and for all, the machine intelligence — called Skynet — sends killer cyborgs into the past to kill that human leader before he can grow into his destiny. The resistance is like “chill, bro” and sends their OWN dude back in time to prevent Skynet from succeeding. In this latest film, a lot of the accumulated mythos that was developed over the past 3 or 4 movies has been jettisoned entirely and we’ve gone back t

With another Hallowe’en behind us we wanted to dive into horror movies. It seems movie-goers have very strong options about horror — love or hate. Horror can also be a contentious genre when viewed through a feminist lens so we decided to bring on our good friend and amazing photographer Jessica Zollman to chat with us about the topic. Jessica is a huge horror fan and spends every october watching one horror movie a day. Check out Jessica Zollman’s photography! http://www.jayzombie.com/ LINKS Black Girl’s Guide to Horror: https://blackgirlsguidetohorror.com/ Tananarive Due: https://www.tananarivedue.com/ Horror Noire: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9567548/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm Bryan Thao Worra - fantasy horror, Laotian-American: http://thaoworra.blogspot.com/ Fated Mates podcast: https://fatedmates.net/ Carol Clover Follow Us: Include links to where listeners can find you online: Join our Patreon Our Website Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram

This week, Anita, Caro, and Ebony don some cool DIY vigilante masks and go dispense some of that sweet feminist street justice. We run these mean media streets!  Episode 101 of FFR is all about HBO's new series, Watchmen. Tune in to hear us discuss the intricate world-building; the incomparable Regina King; the seductive allure of vigilantism; and the racial mapping of this alternate universe. Timestamps:0:00 - 3:34: Jibber-jabber and jaw-jackery3:35: HBO's Watchmen (we're only talking about the pilot in this ep, folks)39:10: What's Your FREQ Out? Links:Learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre: https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-massacreBass Reeves was a real dude: https://aaregistry.org/story/bass-reeves-a19th-century-u-s-marshall/Peteypedia: https://www.hbo.com/peteypediaRegina King Finally Gets Her Theme Music: https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/regina-king-watchmen.htmlLearning history from Drunk History: Stetson Kennedy infilitrates the KKK: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/xd3k6s/drunk-hist

On this week’s episode, Ebony and Carolyn revisit the sci-fi horror classic Alien, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Our conversation attempts to examine some of the film’s many layers—its focus on working-class characters and their concerns, the ways in which H.R. Giger’s design for the alien taps into some of our most primal fears—while also acknowledging the filmmaking elements that help to make it such an enduring landmark of sci-fi cinema. Time Stamps:2:00 Alien43:35 What’s Your FREQ-Out? (Carolyn on Joseph Arthur’s new album Come Back World, Ebony on the documentary Memory: The Origins of Alien) Relevant Links:Ebony on Vasquez from Aliens: https://feministfrequency.com/2017/03/28/absolutely-badasses-looking-back-on-vasquez-30-years-later/

This week on FFR, we’re joined by science YouTuber Trace Dominguez to talk about the new sci-fi film Ad Astra! Our conversation covers whether or not the movie is any good (and whether or not Brad Pitt is any good in it), what it's really all about, frustration with the fact that the stand-in for humanity in stories striving to be about universal experiences is so often a white man, the film’s depiction of the moon as a place where capitalism runs rampant, and the accuracy (or lack thereof) in some of the film’s scientific ideas and terminology. Time Stamps:3:55 - Ad Astra37:00 - What’s Your FREQ-Out:Carolyn on End of the CenturyTrace on getting things right in his videosAnita on The Great British Bake-Off Links:Follow Trace on Twitter at @tracedominguezWatch Trace’s YouTube videos at youtube.com/tracedominguezThe trailer for End of the Century: https://youtu.be/tAlBU6IzDHM 

We live in an era of oppression, in which powerful tyrants are silencing the voices and crushing the careers of brave men who dare to engage in true creative freedom.Or maybe, people long accustomed to operating with impunity are now sometimes finding that there are consequences for their actions, and they don’t like it.This week, we're talking about the much-decried "cancel culture" we're apparently living in right now. Our conversation covers how this term distorts the actual power dynamics at play, how social media has changed the impact of our larger conversations about art and media, the conflation of criticism with censorship, and why, if cancel culture is supposedly such a threat, it doesn't really seem like anyone has been and stayed cancelled. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS:2:00 Cancel Culture28:20 What's Your FREQ-Out?Ebony on Kristen Arnett's Twitter, Carolyn on The Overstory, Anita on The Fast & The Furious: A Musical ParodyFollow Us:Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagram

Based on true events, the new Netflix series Unbelievable begins with a teenager named Marie Adler in Washington state reporting a rape to the police. The police launch their investigation, but soon, because of Marie’s erratic behavior and an almost complete absence of forensic evidence, they begin to suspect that she made up the attack in a desperate bid for attention. They pressure her to retract her story, and to “confess” that she made the whole thing up. A few years later, detectives in Colorado launch an investigation into a serial rapist whose crimes bear a remarkable similarity to Marie’s rape. Unbelievable looks closely at major structural and systemic flaws in law enforcement that stack the cards against women who experience sexual assault and that often make dealing with police an experience that compounds the trauma they’ve already suffered.  Time Stamps:03:05 - Entertainment News: Joker05:58 - Main Segment: Unbelievable39:41 - What’s Your FREQ Outs: Neo Cab, Apple Arcade, five hundred thousand di

In December of 2015, an article was published in New York Magazine that told an amazing story. In the wake of the 2008 Wall Street collapse, a group of women who worked at the New York strip club Scores saw the men and the money stop coming in, so they devised a risky, unconventional, and illegal way to make the money come in. Now the true story of these women and their criminal endeavor is the subject of the new film Hustlers. Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, the film stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu and charts the spectacular rise and fall of a criminal enterprise that tells us a great deal about wealth and power in the early 21st century.Time Stamps:* 03:50 - Entertainment News: Shane Gillis dismissed from SNL for racism, Sam Smith uses they/them pronouns* 10:09 - Main Segment: Hustlers* 39:30 - What’s Your FREQ Outs: Fun City Podcast, Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia NagoskiLinks Mentioned:* NY Times Review of Hustlers: ht

This week, we shift away from our usual format for a special bonus episode. Join Anita and Carolyn for a conversation about recent events in the gaming industry that have lead to what many are calling gaming’s #MeToo moment. Our conversation explores the social systems and biases that allow men to routinely commit acts of abuse and then protect them from the repercussions, the far-reaching pain and trauma caused by these acts and the accompanying abuses of power, and what change and justice might look like.PLEASE NOTE: This episode comes with a trigger warning for discussions of abuse and suicide.Read Nathalie Lawhead’s blog post at http://www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/calling-outSign up for our newsletter at feministfrequency.com

On this week’s FFR, Ebony and Carolyn continue our conversation about Life Is Strange 2 by diving into the recently released fourth episode, Faith. We talk about a particularly challenging scene in which Sean encounters a pair of racists, the different ways in which we approach the game as players, and the way the game continues to give its characters a surprising level of emotional complexity, and to view them through a compassionate lens. SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS: 2:50 A note from Carolyn about recent events 4:30 Entertainment News: Walter Mosley leaves Star Trek: Discovery Writers Room, Crazy Rick Asians sequel screenwriter pay disparity, the latest on Roc Nation’s partnership with the NFL 17:10 Life Is Strange 2, Episode 4 44:05 What's Your FREQ-Out: Ebony on Dexter’s fascinating badness, Carolyn on Paterson RELEVANT LINKS: Walter Mosley leaves Star Trek: Discovery: https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/walter-mosley-exits-star-trek-discovery-writers-room-after-n-word-complaint-1203326990/ Adele Lim leaves Crazy Ric